Introduction

Our strategy will make sure we build the council’s reputation as a modern workplace in all that we do, including becoming part of accreditation schemes. The organisation will be designed in a way to promote modern practices and our health and wellbeing offer will respond to current and emerging needs.

Organisational design

We will be driven by what people do rather than where they do it from, however we will make sure that whatever the workplace, whether in a building, home, community hub or other environment, the 'workplace' allows for objectives to be delivered in the most effective way.

In becoming a more agile organisation, the council needs to be both stable (resilient, reliable, and efficient) and dynamic (fast, nimble, and adaptive), designing structures, governance arrangements, and processes with a strong backbone. At the same time we need to create looser, more dynamic elements that can be adapted quickly to new challenges and opportunities.

The organisation will be designed in a way to promote modern practices, using clear design principles.

Health and wellbeing

Our health and wellbeing offer will help prevent stress and create positive working environments where individuals and our organisation can thrive. Good health and wellbeing will be a core enabler of employee engagement and organisational performance.

The wellbeing of all our staff needs to be at the forefront of any future decisions. The council, working with the University of Hull and partner local authorities across the Humber, funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, has undertaken research into staff experiences of this new way of working which has informed this strategy.

The research showed that flexibility, choice and trust are clear motivators which align with healthy organisations.

Again we will apply the principles of good work:

• allows for work–life balance
• is physically and mentally healthy
• provides a supportive environment with constructive relationships.

Mental health

As an employer, we have made an ongoing commitment to:

• provide non-judgmental and proactive support to staff experiencing mental health problems
• not make assumptions about a person with a mental health condition and their ability to work
• be positive and enabling towards all employees and job applicants with a mental health condition
• support line managers in managing mental health in the workplace
• ensure we are fair in the recruitment of new staff in accordance with the Equality Act (2010)
• make it clear that people who have experienced mental health issues will not be discriminated against, and that disclosure of a mental health problem will enable both the employee and employer to assess and provide the right level of support or adjustments.

External support

We have a responsibility for promoting health and wellbeing externally to local businesses through our Working Well initiative. It makes it easier for us to do this if we lead by example.

Employer schemes

We have signed up to a number of employer schemes to show our commitment to creating a supportive, open culture for our workforce. These schemes we’ve joined are:

• Mindful Employer
• Age-friendly Employer Pledge
• Disability Confident employer
• White Ribbon promise.