Herts County Council staff have given a big vote of no confidence to the county council, according to a survey published this week. Only a third of staff responded, though the benchmark figure is half. This figure is up on last year.

Less than a third of those who responded think the council manages change effectively and another third thought the council set a good example. This is down 10% on last year. There was also a worsening in the situation regarding bullying and harassment: only half of staff felt they could report these incidences and only a quarter felt that these incidences were effectively dealt with by the council.

Cllr Chris White, Liberal Democrat Group Leader said: ‘This is seriously worrying. These are times that the council needs to make major changes and bring the staff along with it. There needs to be a radical rethink in how the council communicates with its staff and deals with their concerns. Otherwise the budget reductions needed to cope with the financial crisis inherited from the last government are going to be that much more difficult to deliver and front line services will be affected.’

Notes

Report to Policy and Resources Item 7 especially pages 4 and 5:
http://www.hertsdirect.org/yrccouncil/civic_calendar/polrescp/15853786/