Building a workforce for the future

Brian M WalshExecutive Director People

Coventry City Council9 October 2013

What is a workforce strategy?

Understanding the priorities of the future:IntegrationDiminishing resources

Quality and competence

Culture and values

Leadership

Contents

BaselineWhat do we have now? How well does it work?

PlanningStated intentions: realistic outputsEmphasis on how this will be achieved

DevelopmentKeep under constant review and scrutinyEvaluate outcomes and impacts on workforce development

Workforce Strategy

Involve a wide range of stakeholders but be realistic about what you can achieve

Diversity in workforce

Move towards integration

Reducing resources

Regularity of review and information overload

Understanding the landscape

The appropriate workforce with commensurate skills, to deliver safe services

Importance of considering skill mix and qualification levels but not be bound by conventions of the past

Understanding levels of risk and ability to articulate such risks to diverse audiences

Quality and competence

A workforce strategy must address culture and values to be meaningful

Need to embrace commonality as opposed to fixating on organisational differences

Important to be able to articulate in a way that is meaningful to all – simplify the language

Culture and values

Modelling behaviour is crucial

Leaders who are accountable and visible

Can leadership be taught?

Encouraging leaders for the future

Emphasis on succession planning

Leadership

Importance of national developments and the links to local implementation

Manage the transition: recognition that workforce planning is dynamic

Criticality of championing workforce

Where next?

‘A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one’s feet’ (Laozi)