In March 2005, Dartford Borough Council agreed a strategic initiative to improve the health and well being of staff. The outcomes and improvements were of benefit to Council finances, individual staff and customers. As a result of this initiative, the Council came second in the national Municipal Journal Awards in 2006.
The Council has been engaged in a long-term community regeneration strategy. This has seen Council officers adopting additional roles and responsibilities in an environment of consistent transition. Negative aspects in this environment of change were from the outset identified by the Council as the high levels of adaptability and stress that officers were exposed to. In the first year of the strategic programme, the reported incidence of absenteeism and sickness increased when compared to the same period the previous year.
This had an impact on the Council in fiscal terms, and also in emotional and physical costs to individuals, which are often difficult to measure in quantitative terms. Equally, the impact on the Council’s strategic aims would in the long term have been frustrated because of the adverse impact on staff capacity. Understandably, this was an unacceptable situation and the Human Resource Team designed and created the Healthy Living initiative to combat the obvious impact of the change programme.
A wide consensus of needs was taken from staff and individuals groups. This was undertaken through the use of health groups; the occupational nurse and an integrated staff electronic voting system. These methods supplemented the statistics offered, by HR and Management Information Systems (MIS).
The HR manager was responsible for the leadership and management of the programme.
The strategic model that was used for the initiative contains four key features:
- work
- family
- community
- national health initiatives and the Dartford Regeneration Strategy
To integrate these areas and measure the benefits the Council created an annual Healthy Living diary. Each month this integrates three themes of: national initiatives; therapies; and education.
Staff are able to select those activities that most appeal to their needs. When activities have been completed, links are posted on the Council's intranet, which provides additional facts and details that individuals may find helpful.
This approach has provided an opportunity for individuals to appreciate the facilities and self-help services which are available in the local area.
The initiative has continued to operate since its introduction, and success, in 2006. Its objectives were to ensure:
- a healthier and more content workforce, both at work and at home
- a reduction in sickness, absenteeism and staff attrition
- the greater ability of staff to help the public by placing a stronger emphasis on meeting their emotional needs
The Council has achieved positive outcomes at three general levels:
Fiscal
The Council achieved an overall decrease in sickness leave and absenteeism year-on-year, and calculated the annual savings as £136,000, or 1 per cent of the salary budget.
Benefit to individuals
The Council has received positive feedback from many members of staff who have taken part in the initiative. Some of the feedback from staff includes reports of their being:
- more relaxed
- more understanding
- more informed
- more positive
- better able to cope
- more aware of the importance of health
- more tolerant
Benefit to customers
Customers have reported improved satisfaction with how they have been treated by Council staff. The initiative has included an educational programme to help staff to understand how emotions affect the public’s view of the Council and its services. Training was given to help staff manage their emotions when dealing with service users. This has been particularly important to the Council since the introduction of its customer contact centre, which has brought it into ever closer contact with members of the public.