Equality impact assessment - Wiltshire Council's behaviours framework

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1. Scope

1.1 All panel members have read the policy and the action required is outlined in the action plan.

1.2 List the main policy aims / outcomes, who benefits and how

Objectives of the Behaviours Framework:

• provide a united behaviours framework for one culture; detailing ‘how’ we carry out our work;
• specify ‘core’ standards of behaviour – outlining what is acceptable and what is not;
• help managers to address poor behaviour, with a strong framework for assessing and managing performance; and
• integrate HR processes and policies to embed the framework; enabling employment for cultural fit as well as job fit.

The behaviours framework is part of a bigger piece of work looking at the organisation’s culture, people strategy and workforce planning. With the move from five councils to one in April 2009, there is a need to address inconsistencies and develop one clear culture across the council. A strong framework for guiding and rewarding good behaviour and addressing unacceptable behaviour is required to make Wiltshire a positive and collaborative place to work and reshape the current culture of ‘avoidance’ and ‘mistrust’ as highlighted in our Organisational Cultural Inventory (OCI).

Wiltshire is delivering a change programme to deliver better partnership working and cost efficiencies as directed by the Business Plan.  To recruit, performance manage, develop and retain talented people for job fit and cultural fit, this new behaviours framework needs to be embedded into all employment and management policies and processes.  Wiltshire Council will successfully achieve a positive reputation as an employer and place to live, with a workforce who take forward the right culture by demonstrating the attitudes and behaviours required to support the corporate values and vision.

1.3 What data, research or evidence is available which is relevant to this EIA?

Examples include data from case tracker, workforce data, equalities data, survey results:

• Wellbeing charter – The Behaviours Framework compliments the Workforce Wellbeing Charter in addressing the three key areas of the Charter Framework which affect health:
  - Leadership
  - Culture
  - Communication
• Shaping the Future – Comparison of all the documentation from the staff survey results, manager and staff forums, the Organisational Health Wheel and the Organisational Cultural Inventory
• Managers forum feedback results June/July – Review of managers feedback emphasised the need for the framework
• Organisational Cultural Inventory – Outlined that we have a culture of ‘avoidance’ and ‘mistrust’
• Organisational Health Wheel – Reviewing the health of the organisation’s management and staff interactions

Main themes established from the analysis of this information:

• all views agree that Wiltshire doesn’t manage change well;
• the staff survey and forum data agree that senior managers are not open and honest. However, the wheel suggested that senior managers are open and honest; the information is simply not understood by employees;
• whereas the staff survey gave a positive that managers trust their staff with their work the wheel suggested that “leaders” don’t trust staff. The forums suggest that it may be a case that employees are forced to do more and managers forced to trust during these difficult times rather than a mutual respect;
• generally it is agreed that senior managers are not visible enough;
• the staff survey and forums suggest that senior management do not set a good example. The wheel, however, suggested that this was more of a middle management problem;
• the same can be said about leadership being “good” as with the point above;
• the forums and staff survey suggest that people do not have confidence in leaders. Again, the wheel does not suggest this; and
• general theme between the staff survey and the forum is that employees understand how their roles fit in with their team objectives but do not know how they fit in with the overall picture (This may link to point one).

1.4 Is there further data or information you think would be useful in carrying out this assessment?

Clear monitoring of the frameworks use need to be taken forward, suggestions include:

• adapt and have an agreement with consultants that whilst they work at the council and are representing the council’s work, they adhere to the behaviours framework;
• look at applying the framework to the volunteering programme so those volunteers working on behalf of the council demonstrate the behaviours;
• develop recommendations on monitoring behaviours for those managers of staff who work directly with the public;
• monitor the numbers of employment tribunals or HR cases directly related to the behaviours – i.e. disciplinaries, grievances and dignity at work;
• monitor the complaints procedure to review the demonstration of behaviours from a customer’s perspective;
• review compliments and nominations for the corporate awards programme;
• review how managers are using the framework/whether they are via the staff survey and investigate the possibility of reporting on electronic appraisals.

2. Consultation

2.1 Which groups were consulted when preparing the policy/EIA? (tick boxes)

• Staff Disability Forum
• JCC (Unions)
• Legal Team
• Stakeholder Panel

Other:

• Shaping the Future Group
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Democratic Services
• Corporate Learning and Development
• Officers Transformation Board
• Member and Officer Formal Transformation Board
• ELT
• CLT
• CLT and Cabinet Liaison
• Help To Live At Home (HTLAH) project integration meetings
• Overview and Scrutiny
• Councillor Development Group
• HR Bitesize, DTR Team Day, DTR leaders meeting, Public Protection leaders meeting

2.2 Is further consultation required? If so detail below and add to action plan

• Action – investigate other meetings with the departments to ensure everyone is engaged and receives consistent information.

3. Assessing impact and strengthening the policy

3.1 Using data collected (1.2) and information gathered from consultation (2.1) what implications might this policy have on equality?

This framework aims to make the working environment of Wiltshire Council positive and friendly (excellence), open and engaging (simplicity), inclusive and collaborative (working together), honest and trusting (trust and respect), as well as making sure all staff take responsibility to speak up and use their initiative.

The behaviours sit alongside the job description and a member of staffs’ responsibility to uphold the council’s policies; the framework outlines behaviours required to support these, rather than outlining policy responsibilities.

A Project Group has formed to embed, manage and deliver the framework, and engage staff and managers. Areas under review include:

• the development of an engaging cultural brand and communications plan;
• a new appraisals framework and toolkit;
• supporting HR policies and guidance;
• the training and development programme including the induction process and e-learning;
• recruitment processes, job descriptions and contract packs;
• to embed the behaviours into all transformational change programmes; and
• to embed the behaviours into well-being and staff support initiatives.

Where appropriate, individual EIAs will be made on each of these work streams to review the potential impact of any proposed changes.

Specific examples of when equality and diversity are supported within the behaviours include:

Good behaviours:

• ‘You appropriately challenge assumptions and unhelpful behaviour’
• ‘You make sure there is a mutual understanding of task responsibility’
• ‘You allow a blameless culture; empowering and supporting your team to initiate improvements to services without fear of reprisal’
• ‘You provide your teams with defined structures and clear direction to help individuals to have a strong sense of ownership and personal responsibility for the delivery of objectives and outcomes’
• ‘You work together with colleagues and customers, and take the time to build effective and rational working relationships’
• ‘You work well with people who have different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds’
• ‘You look to work together, across and outside typical groups; initiating joint approaches to delivering services’
• ‘You listen to and involve colleagues and external customers and respond positively to suggestions before making decisions’
• ‘You facilitate member involvement and consult with representative groups when formulating strategy’
• ‘You resolve conflicts and disagreements quickly and professionally’
• ‘You change your communication style to best meet the needs of the audience and regularly check that there is a mutual understanding’
• ‘You seek others opinions and are open and honest’
• ‘You listen to the views of your team; checking that approaches are united and encouraging them to challenge and provide feedback’
• ‘You understand how your behaviours can be interpreted and consider the impact you have on others’
• ‘You listen carefully to others – showing that you respect and value their input’
• ‘You display a clear appreciation of your teams efforts and support them when there are difficulties’
• ‘You encourage team members to recognise and value individual contributions’
• ‘You support the diversity of your teams and working groups’
• ‘You involve and gain consensus from those affected by decisions and actions’
• ‘You look to understand other people and their behaviours'

Poor behaviours:

• ‘You display a negative attitude towards colleagues and customers’
• ‘You dismiss alternative ideas and discourage colleagues from suggesting new ways of doing things’
• ‘You behave in a way that might put others at risk’
• ‘You do not accept colleagues as internal customers’
• ‘You play power games and use your status to disrupt collaborative working’
• ‘You close down others by being judgemental, interrupting or talking-over them’
• ‘You choose not to work as a team by pursuing your own agenda’
• ‘You are self-interested and fail to acknowledge colleague and customer perspectives’
• ‘You refuse to share information to maintain an advantage over others’
• ‘You choose ways of communicating that confuse the message or are not appropriate for the audience’
• ‘You are disrespectful, insensitive or unhelpful to customers and your manner causes upset to others’
• ‘You deliberately exclude others from activities when you know they could benefit from being involved’
• ‘You allow disrespectful ir discriminatory behaviour to take place’

3.2 How will the policy affect different groups of staff?

Overall there is nothing to indicate that this framework will negatively impact on any specific group, however we need to be mindful that some of the behaviours could impact on certain groups such as those with cultural differences, learning disabilities and mental health issues.

3.3 Is there anything that can be done to improve accessibility and understanding of the policy amongst staff?

• Make the framework available in different formats and language, and provide staff and managers with clear and consistent guidance on using the framework.
• Remember to add any recommendations to the action plan at the end of the form

4. Summary

4.1 Will the policy will meet the council’s responsibilities in relation to equality and human rights? (tick box).

• Yes – with the completion of actions outlined in the action plan

4.2 Have you identified anything through this EIA which should be more widely adopted in other policies or built into planning/strategy work?

We need to be mindful that some of the behaviours could impact on certain groups such as those with cultural differences, learning disabilities and mental health issues.  This will need to be considered in more detail in the policy and guidance that will support the framework.

5. Action plan

Section of EIA	Actions	Target date	Review date	Responsible postholder	Done?
1.1	All EIA panel members to review the framework in more detail and confirm they have fully read and understood the behaviours.	19 September 2011	When amendments are made to the framework	Emily Till to coordinate	Yes
1.4	Adapt and have an agreement with consultants that whilst they work at the council and are representing the council’s work, they adhere to the behaviours framework	January 2012	TBC	Emily Till to discuss with the HR Policy Team	Being progressed by Tony Brett
1.4	Look at applying the framework to the volunteering programme so those volunteers working on behalf of the council demonstrate the behaviours	September 2011	TBC	Emily Till to contact Sandie Lewis Discuss with Karen Scott
1.4	Develop recommendations on monitoring behaviours for those managers of staff who work directly with the public	October 2011	6 monthly with stakeholder panel members	Emily Till to take to the stakeholder panel group	Case monitoring
1.4	Monitor the numbers of employment tribunals or HR cases directly related to the behaviours – i.e. disciplinaries, grievances and dignity at work	January 2012	Quarterly reports and annual review	Paul Rouemaine – HR Mgt Information Team	Case monitoring
1.4	Monitor the complaints procedure to review the demonstration of behaviours from a customer’s perspective	January 2012	Quarterly reports and annual review	Emily Till to discuss with Governance	Discuss with Nina’s area
1.4	Review compliments and nominations for the corporate awards programme	October 2011	Ongoing	Emily Till and Claire Adams	Adding to the awards list
1.4	Review how managers are using the framework/whether they are via the staff survey and investigate the possibility of reporting on electronic appraisals	January 2012	Ongoing	Paul Rouemaine HR Mgt Information Team	Staff survey in Feb 2012 and appraisals currently under review
2.2	Investigate other meetings with the departments to ensure everyone is engaged and receives consistent information	September 2011	Ongoing	Emily Till and Claire Adams	Attending other dept meetings
3.1	Where appropriate, individual Equality Impact Assessments will be made on each of the embedding work streams to review the potential impact of any proposed changes	September 2011	When amendments are made to the framework	Behaviours Framework Project Group	Policy is done, appraisals will be done
3.5	Make the framework available in different formats and language, and provide staff and managers with clear and consistent guidance on using the framework.	October 2011 & January 2012	Ongoing	Emily Till and Melanie Lyng	Design team to add
4.2	We need to be mindful that some of the behaviours could impact on certain groups such as those with cultural differences, learning disabilities and mental health issues.  This will need to be considered in more detail in the policy and guidance that will support the framework.	October 2011	January 2012	Melanie Lyng	Covered in the supporting policies

6. Sign-off

This policy has been fully assessed in relation to its potential effects on equality and all relevant concerns have been addressed:

• Panel sign-off - 8 November 2011
• Quality sign-off - Equality and Diversity Partner - 1 December 2011
• Director level sign-off - Service Director, HR and Organisational Development - 1 December 2011

Last updated: 23 January 2012