November 2023 Review of the member induction programme
2. Sessions are either mandatory or optional and available in different formats and lengths with some including external speakers with different areas of expertise, including the Local Government Association. Sessions can be attended in real time or watched-back via video at the member’s convenience, materials can be downloaded and over time, the member induction programme has built a library of videos and materials for future reference.
3. The member induction programme focuses on the distinct roles of member and officer, with Executive members setting policy and officers involved in the day-to-day delivery of policy and statutory services, together with the distinct roles of the different statutory officers.
4. The member induction programme is promoted on the council website, a new member portal on the intranet and via modgov.
5. Members can register interest via a link from modgov to MyLo. In addition, all newly elected members received a welcome pack which included the member induction programme. In September, members were sent a reminder of the remaining sessions.
6. The member induction programme is available to officers G12 or above (the Leading Together cohort) to build shared understanding of expectations. Heads of Service are able to view recorded sessions via MyLo, the council’s online training platform to share and discuss in team meetings.
7. Additional training sessions for both officers and members will be introduced to help further embed the Council Plan vision and priorities. This includes a focus on Human Rights and Equalities.
8. There are still a few sessions to rearrange including Access and Ward and Parish Councils. The member induction programme will be reviewed in December to consider whether there are opportunities to improve or introduce new sessions.
Online
9. The number of members who watched different online sessions is shown below to demonstrate the value of having sessions available to watch at a convenient time:
|
Member induction sessions (elected members only) |
Number of members who watched online at their convenience |
|
Elected Members - Anti-Social Behaviour |
1 |
|
Elected Members - Being a ward councillor – council support |
5 |
|
Elected Members - Climate Change development programme |
1 |
|
Elected Members - Code of Conduct |
10 |
|
Elected Members - Induction Day One - Welcome to the Council |
3 |
|
Elected Members - Introduction to Scrutiny |
3 |
|
Elected Members - Joint Standards Committee |
1 |
|
Elected Members - Licensing and Regulatory Committee Induction |
9 |
|
Elected Members - Making the most of meetings |
7 |
|
Elected Members - Planning Committee |
9 |
|
Elected Members - Public Health |
6 |
|
Elected Members - Risks, protections and policies |
6 |
|
Elected Members - The budget and commercial awareness |
5 |
|
Elected Members - Work of the Audit and Governance committee |
3 |
|
Grand Total |
69 |
Attendance
10. Attendance is recorded for each session. This is either via a registration in live sessions, Teams attendance logs or for members watching on video at a later date, attendance is automatically recorded.
11. In some instances, members have not been able to access MyLo to register attendance or view the videos via MyLo (and instead had the videos sent direct to them) and their attendance has been added manually.
12. The below shows registered attendance by Group. Nine elected members have not attended any of the sessions. All sessions have had at least one attendee (the below also includes attendance registered by watching the video at a more convenient time). Attendance by officers is not shown.
Lessons learned
Day one Induction: with the building and IT induction following the day one induction, many members didn’t have access to register attendance causing delays. A different schedule which breaks the larger group into smaller groups and takes them through a rolling-schedule of IT, Building and interactive day one induction which would also help to build relationships from the outset.
Access: collecting information needs about access should be made at the count (or before) to help ensure the first sessions are welcoming and inclusive. By waiting to collate access needs, there wasn’t time to then incorporate into the first couple of sessions.
Accessing MyLo: assumptions were made about how members would understand how to access the training on MyLo. A step by step guide should be provided with the Welcome Pack to help.
MS Teams: three sessions were held to support members learn more about MS Teams, however these were nearly a month in and as a result, it would be more helpful to have these nearer the start of members time with the council.
Changing the programme: Some sessions have been cancelled or postponed at short notice due to what looks like no registered attendance. Members have expressed concern as are keen to view the session at their convenience. Officers will endeavour to continue with the programme regardless of registered attendance.
Communicating updates: Members remained interested in the sessions and shared frustrations about not knowing which external speakers or extra sessions were taking place. A summary reminder of the remaining programme was circulated to all members in September.
Mandatory vs. optional: There was some confusion about what was mandatory (as set out in the Constitution, for example Planning) and what was mandatory because we would have liked members to be more aware of their roles and responsibilities. Next time we arrange a full member induction programme, making this clear from the outset would be helpful.
Too time intensive: When arranging the programme during the pre-election period it seemed reasonable, however, after the election it was clear that the programme was too time intensive. We quickly responded to feedback and moved sessions to later in the year and should bear this in mind next time arrange a full induction programme.