COUNCILLORS want to see action taken to ensure Dumfries and Galloway Council staff feel more valued and motivated at their workplace.
This comes after a workforce-wide survey with some shock results was published and tabled at the latest economy and resource committee.
Only half of workers say they have an acceptable workload, while less than two thirds of staff say that they “achieve a good balance between their work life and private life”.
Asked if they feel that Dumfries and Galloway Council is “genuinely interested in the wellbeing staff”, only 30 percent of respondents agreed.
Annandale South Councillor Sean Marshall highlighted that there were several very positive pieces of feedback from staff in the survey, such as the support employees receive from line managers, and in some areas connected to wellbeing.
He continued: “But the two that stand out to us (the Labour Group) are, ‘I feel the pressure at work affects my performance’ – which is three out of ten in the workforce feel like that. That’s quite alarming.
“And also the one further down, ‘I feel the council is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of staff’. That was 30 percent – so seven out of ten don’t.
“Obviously there will be an action plan going forward to address some of these concerns.”
Mr Marshall also said he was “very concerned” about figures which showed that one in five members of staff who responded to the survey intend on leaving the council within the next 12 months.
Anna Tuite, the council’s workforce manager, explained that more than half of respondents who said they were planning on leaving the council were aged over 55 and nearing retirement.
Meanwhile, Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Councillor Richard Marsh shared his concerns about staff motivation levels and wanted to know what action was being taken.
He said: “Clearly, looking at the survey results, the vast majority of percentages are coming back fairly low.
“So, we are trying to engage, but the staff don’t feel motivated – and unmotivated staff won’t be productive.”
He continued: “The staff aren’t feeling appreciated. Do we have an understanding of why that is? And what are we doing to try and address that?”
Mike Shepley, the council’s head of people and transformation, said: “It comes with a health warning with regard to picking out singular questions – without truly understanding the correlation between that question and others.”
He added that the survey was the first one conducted for several years, and added that the survey is being seen as an “opportunity” to properly analyse workforce issues and gain benefits from the responses received from staff.
