Hello PPMA colleagues and friends,

I love this time of year – we’re entering into what we villagers called turning times, heralding a new season. Early morning walks with Ellie and Jenny (my two amazing chocolate Labs) over the last week have had me thinking about a few things. Firstly it’s apparently Labrador fruit foraging (and farting – sigh) time again; secondly, foraging may be the reason why the girls have developed yet another bout of selective deadness and thirdly, how on earth are we hurtling towards the end of yet another year?!

I’m not sure that I have a meaningful answer to any of the those three questions. However, crisp and peaceful early morning walks (well apart from the woofers) have me reflecting on what a year it has been. Policy wise it feels like the national debate about public services funding and the future of health and social care is really coming to a head. We’ve seen a shift in the pay cap which had seemed immovable for such a long time. Whilst that is welcome we still have a way to go in my view – both in terms of delivering fair increases across public sector, but also in thinking about how we can afford higher pay without further cutting into service delivery.

In health and social care, there certainly seems to be a collective strategic understanding and urgency at policy maker level. LG and NHS employer, provider and other organisations have gained traction both in terms of highlighting the urgency, but also making the case for an integrated and inclusive response. We’ve not quite had that level of integrated action and thought reflected in Government’s response. but there’s no question in my mind that the LGA #futureofasc green paper, together with the recognition that a longer term funding plan is critical take us substantial steps forward. There is a substantial way to go, but we at least seem to be heading in the same direction, which is a blessed relief.

We’ve also seen various Government committees publish reports on age discrimination, the ongoing challenges experienced by women in their careers and the status of gig economy workers. It’s clear that workforce related issues are on everyone’s agenda – and arguably that is a very good thing, provided of course well thought through policy and legislation follows. We all have the war stories on IR35 and it’s by no means clear that the legislation will be rolled out across the private sector yet. It will be interesting to see, particularly in advance of Brexit next year, what additional spotlight will be focused on workforce related matters. From a PPMA perspective we are committed to ensuring that we proactively and reactively respond on policy matters as they arise.

As well as taking a national position on policy, we’re also ensuring that we are in a position to influence policy and the development of our HR & OD colleagues over a much longer timeframe.  You’ll be hearing from us very shortly about our preferred proposals for restructuring PPMA. I’m very excited about these and hope that you will take time to consider the efforts that have gone into that work on your behalf.

I always fondly remember the dog days of summer (no pun intended) as the prelude to going back to school/college and university. The rhythm of public services is often the same for some of us – a relatively quiet summer which allows us to draw breath and then the mad hurtle towards the end of the year. This cycle is becoming very familiar to us too – Northern Summit is becoming a real milestone during the year and we’re really looking forward to that.

We’re also looking forward to publishing our new Let’s Talk Themes. I’ve talked about these before – but I’m really delighted to share with you that we’re making great progress. We’re using the work we are doing here to both update our website content – so each of our themes will have a dedicated page – and downloadable descriptions of each themes that you can use to share with colleagues. They are essentially scoping statements that will help us define future thought leadership and content and research topics. You’ll see these soon and you will see in our new structure how we plan to move these forward. You will be a key part of that too – so please look out for them and let us know what you think.

Before we get into that mad end of year rush, I want to thank every single one of you for your ongoing support of PPMA and our broader public service workforce. I’ve said it time and time again before, but the work that all of you do is absolutely fundamental. Your contributions will often be invisible but I have no doubt that without them public services would be in a much more challenging place.

Until next time, keep well.

Best

Hello PPMA members and friends

Keeley Metcalfe is this our 2018 HR Rising Star runner up and in this post, she gives us an update on what has been happening since the competition.

“Thanks to the PPMA and the LGA I recently had the unique opportunity to share my business case with the UK’s Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo, in Westminster.

It was a great privilege to be invited to Westminster, kindly arranged by Suzanne Hudson from the LGA, but presenting the case was the easiest part; it’s now implementing elements of the project that is requiring some hard work, determination and creativity.

As a participant in the PPMA’s Rising Star competition I wrote a business case based on a project that proposes new approaches to attract and recruit staff to work in the care sector, a sector which is extremely difficult to recruit to nationally. Once the case gained recognition from the PPMA I was supported by my employer, North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) to implement elements as a pilot project.

In the last month I have started to build networks with partners who can make this become a reality, explaining the project and the benefits to their organisation, whilst also keeping it realistic.  There’s also the important factor of practicalities to consider; ensuring safeguarding requirements are met, time logistics and locations. The most difficult part is to think creatively and not to become fixed on the original format of the business case, to ‘make it happen’ is requiring me to look at it from different perspectives and let it evolve.

Taking part in the 2 day PPMA Rising Star event was a fantastic learning experience and the PPMA and LGA have set up some hot irons in the fire for me, but what I am learning most is that it’s down to me to seize these chances to ignite the flame and bring the project to reality.”

Keeley Metcalfe

PPMA Rising Star Runner Up, 2018

Hello PPMA members and friends

Leatham Green leads our excellent HR Rising Star and the new The One to Watch programmes. The finals were held recently in Leeds and Leatham tells us more about the event.

“We are now into our sixth year of PPMA’s award winning HR Rising Star initiative and 2108 has seen a major refresh with the introduction of a new sponsor, judging panel, event structure, location, and coaching team – so there is much to share with you!

While we have brought much change this year, the one thing that has remained constant is the inspiration which the event creates for everyone who gets involved. For me, this is such a great occasion to be part of – having the opportunity to connect with a community of talented young professionals is such a privilege watching every participant put their heart and soul into the experience. I am in no doubt that the future of HR and OD in public service is in fantastic hands and the professionals I have met deserve to have the spotlight illuminate their talents and passion for what they do and aspire to achieve.

There is something about HR Rising Stars that seems to attract snow as yet again the snow was falling when I arrived in to Leeds City – something we have become accustomed to as the snow has fallen at each event over the past 5 years! It was great for me to be back in Leeds – I attended University there in 1984 however recognised nothing of the City at all – but it was still as vibrant and welcoming as ever. I was delighted to be joined this year by the 2017 Peer into the Future winner, Sonia Grewal, Swindon Borough Council. It was fantastic to be able to co-host the event with Sonia – another first for 2018!

A huge thanks to Gemma Taskas, Deputy Chief Officer HR and her colleagues from Leeds City Council for supporting us so well. These events take so much organising and coordinating and the team made sure everything worked perfectly. We will be moving the event around the country each year, so if you would be wiling to host the event please do get in touch – alongside the hard work it is also great fun!

With the new location and venue came a new sponsor. For the past 5 years we have worked in partnership with Nick Heckscher and his colleagues at ManpowerGroup who will now be working with us on our Apprentice of the Year event. This year we have partnered with EY and one of their senior Directors Marcus Haddrell, joined us on the judging panel. The other judges for 2018 were Caroline Anderson, HR and OD Director, The Land Registry; Suzanne Hudson, Senior Workforce Advisor, LGA; and our Rising Star from 2016 Ashleigh Richards, Bristol City Council

To add to the mix, this year it was decided to have two spotlights to the event – our traditional HR Rising Star and a new feature called ‘The One to Watch’ – this was targeting HR professionals at the very start of their careers. The two groups of participants worked alongside each other on all of the activities with the exception of the ‘business case’ which was delivered by our Rising Stars only. This proved to be a great addition to the event and is something that we intend to continue with in future years.

Our official line up for 2018 was:

HR Rising Star
Dorothy Coleman: oneSource
Jessica Dolphin: Leeds City Council
Aruj Haider: Westminster City Council
Charlotte Hill: oneSource
Keeley Metcalfe: North Yorkshire County Council
Lisa Rathbone: Swindon Borough Council
Katie Rixon: Hertfordshire County Council
Loran Simpson – Powys County Council

The One to Watch
Oliver Fletcher, Somerset County Council
Ross Shawe, Swindon Borough Council
Sue Podmore, Leeds City Council
Alison Backhouse, Manchester City Council
Eric Stephenson, Bristol City Council
Imogen Comely, Bristol City Council
Jade Donnan Lee, Manchester City Council
Laura Guilliatt, Serco/ Lincolnshire County Council
Matt Burrows, Serco/ Lincolnshire County Council

The event opened with a morning of personal development and coaching followed by two days of activities testing our delegates skills in areas including personal resilience, spontaneity, operating under pressure, team work, communication, confidence and creativity. The performance of all delegates was outstanding and this made the judges task extremely difficult. The highlight was the slot where delegates shared their personal legacy statements which proved to be extremely powerful and moving. It highlighted that while we have a great deal of diversity in public service there are a number of common values that bind us together in wanting to make a difference to our local communities. We hope to share some of these stories in more detail over coming weeks.

After two tough, but rewarding days the judges made their deliberations and announced the following results:

HR Rising Star 2018
Lisa Rathbone, Swindon Borough Council
Runner- Up
Keeley Metcalfe, North Yorkshire County Council

The One to Watch 2018
Matt Burrows, Serco/ Lincolnshire County Council
Runner -Up
Oliver Fletcher, Somerset County Council
Highly Commended
Ross Shawe, Swindon Borough Council
Alison Backhouse, Manchester City Council

Caroline Anderson, one of our new judges for 2018 had this to say about her experience: “As a strong advocate of emerging talent, I was really pleased to be invited to participate in the judging/ coaching process. Being new to this event I wasn’t really sure what to expect but what a joy it turned out to be. Through a challenging and engaging programme of competition, assessment and development it took a group of mainly inexperienced HR practitioners (some at the very beginning of their careers) through a journey which saw them emerge as confident and competent professionals. They were able to hold the attention of an audience and their surroundings. It was both uplifting and validating of the profession/sector and left me feeling immensely proud and privileged to have been part of that journey.”

On behalf of our new sponsor EY, Marcus Haddrell reflects: “EY is a proud sponsor of PPMA and for me personally it was a great privilege to be part of the judging panel and witness the incredible talent on show and witness their remarkable journey of development over 2 days. I saw amazing passion for public service and innovative thinking by all participants and was left feeling we have a very bright future in public service with such talent in show. Rising Star winner Lisa Rathbone demonstrated amazing confidence, persuasive delivery and critical thinking throughout the event. Matt Burrows, our ‘One to Watch’ showed a depth of thought and willingness to learn that marks him out as an HR professional with great potential.”

We know that all of our 2018 stars have very bright futures ahead and we can’t wait to introduce our winners to you at our Annual Conference in April.

Thank you to everyone for making this year’s event so memorable and a huge success and if you have anyone you think deserves the opportunity to shine watch out for the launch of the 2019 event later this year.”

Leatham Green, PPMA HR Rising Star and The One To Watch Programme Lead and Founder, Mindful HR

Dear PPMA colleagues and friends.

It’s a belated New Year from me and all of us at PPMA.  We’ve all been incredibly busy here in January already and it sadly feels like Christmas and the New Year was an awfully long time ago.  I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends.  My husband Kevin and I spent a few days over the holidays in beautiful Gloucester.  It was a wonderful opportunity to relax and reflect on what we have been doing since last April.

Time passes so quickly, but I feel very strongly that we have made some real progress with our Agenda and I’m looking forward to the rest of my term.  Since you last heard from me, I have visited colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland (our SPDS colleagues) and down in the South West, where our Regional Chair Julie Biggs and her colleagues put on a fantastic event focused on Wellbeing.

I also had the opportunity to talk at the HPMA conference in Leeds in November.  We’ve made some really positive and sustainable progress in building our relationships with other groups this year and it’s a constant inspiration to me to see the passion, commitment and energy of like-minded professionals up close.  I increasingly worry about our ability to keep abreast of change so it’s always refreshing to be with highly committed colleagues.

There is a key area though where I’m not sure that we are keeping up.  And that is the critical issue of our own professional development.  We heard from one of our Sponsors, Osborne Thomas at our October Northern Forum about research they had done with the LGA.  This showed that HR and OD professionals just aren’t focusing on their own development.  No I know we are busy BUT it’s critical we keep up with our own CPD.

I’m really pleased to say that Rising Stars and Apprentice of the Year 2018 programmes are underway.  Leatham Green is leading on this and I know he’s excited about entrants so far, but it’s critical we all continue to push these very important programmes.  Given the research I just mentioned, we can’t be satisfied until we have an overwhelming response to these programmes.

Turning my eye to this next few months, we’re obviously focusing on this years awards and of course Annual Conference in April.  Karen will be updating you more on this over the next few weeks, but don’t forget conference booking has been open for several months.  We’ve been using our social media channels heavily.

Talk of social media, this is one area that our new PPMA Business Admin and Marketing Support Officer will be working with us and TenHorizon on.  We failed to find a snappy title for our new full time role, but we absolutely succeeded in finding the right person for the role.  My final note for this blog is to introduce you to Grace Davies.  Grace has been with us since the beginning of January and she has already made herself a critical part of our team.  Grace has put together a short film below – go and make a cuppa and then listen to what she has to say.

Until next time and with very best wishes

It’s been just over four years since Public Health transferred to local government and the LGA have recently published a video podcast that look’s at how that’s changed in councils and also how the profession is developing. Hosted by Luann Donald, Senior Workforce Adviser at the LGA, the podcast includes interviews with Jonathan McShane, Councillor at Hackney Council and Liz McQue from Northwest Employers, who talk about the work they’ve been doing this area. Phil Bundy, Senior Employment Law Adviser at the LGA, was part of the original team looking at the transfer of staff from the NHS into local government way back in 2013 and he gives us an update on the current situation.

Dear PPMA colleagues and friends

As you know our President, Caroline Nugent and PPMA Policy Board members have been working hard on our new branding and approach to marketing the great work PPMA does. As part of that work, we have decided that we want to make more use of our ‘Let’s talk, people’ strapline. We really like it and think it helps us develop some common branding.

We’re finalising our research programme and events calendar for the year and you will start to see these being branded with our new themes. They are quite broad, align with our key business plan objectives and priorities. So, here they are…….

• Let’s Talk: Leadership
• Let’s Talk: Transformation
• Let’s Talk: Developing our organisations
• Let’s Talk: Future Workforce
• Let’s Talk: Digital
• Let’s Talk: Wellbeing
• Let’s Talk: Evidence
• Let’s Talk: PPMA Global

You’ll notice that we’ve run a number of events recently with two of our Platinum sponsors under the Let’s Talk: Digital theme. Jobsgopublic and Matrix SCM have offered our members and colleagues from other public services their own perspective on this red hot issue. And of course our joint research with EduServ is absolutely focused on the digital agenda and we’ve a Webinar event coming up with them this week.

We think that using these themes gives us a bit of additional clarity and structure in terms of organising our offering to you. It also means that we have the flexibility to examine a number of issues within a theme. This is important because, as we know, it’s not always easy – or desirable – to fit our work into neat boxes and definitions. So for example, the issue of pay and reward will continue to capture our attention as HR professionals. We might choose to look at this under our Let’s Talk: Future Workforce theme, or indeed Let’s Talk: Developing our organisations.

We’ll be updating the website shortly to explain a bit more about each theme. Please do let us know what you think, we read all of your emails and comments and we’ll respond as quickly as we can.

Next week, Caroline will be launching a new series of blog posts on Let’s Talk: Leadership and VP Karen Grave, sets the scene for us.

“Both Caroline and I were delighted to attend the launch of the Women in Public Service project in London on July 24th. This critical project is led by Stacey-Rebecca Karlsson at The Guardian, who as you probably know, is a great friend to the PPMA and she is also a significant role model in the media world. Like many of us – male and female, Stacey has been perplexed by the findings of the recent Fawcett report and Caroline will have plenty to say on this next week.

We often think about the scarcity of women in senior leadership positions in terms of diversity. As HR professionals, we are absolutely duty bound to implement government legislation, but I think that we would all privately acknowledge that there are times that government policy doesn’t always deliver what it’s best intentions tried to do. I have started to wonder whether the best way of thinking about this is to think through the lens of leadership instead. And of course, by doing the right thing on the ground and not getting distracted by complex initiatives!

That view was reinforced by an inspiring introduction to the Women in Public Service project by Jo Miller, SOLACE President and Chief Executive of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. Jo’s view – and I think she is dead right – is that in the most basic analysis, women make up half the population. Focusing on gender balance then increases the likelihood that the decisions we make for our citizens will be better. I loved this and I think the focus on the outcomes we deliver for our citizens is the goal that we must not lose sight of.

Jo, through her utterly authentic approach to leadership – i.e., she’s really honest –has taken some flak for her dedication to developing women in leadership. The legitimate questions about representation of all groups – religious, ethnic, sexual orientation are, of course, important and protected by law. But, as we all know women do not have the monopoly on being gay, straight, white, black, brown, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and so on. Jo’s onto something I think by framing this as an issue of service delivery and I hope this might be an effective way of ensuring we address the Fawcett findings.

In addition to Jo, we had input from Stacey, Caroline, Terry McDougall (SOLACE in Business), Deborah Cadman (newly announced Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority) and Selena Lansley (Head of Workforce, LGA). It was a fantastic, thought provoking evening and I am looking forward to seeing what comes out of this work.

I’m delighted to say that Caroline will be using our Let’s Talk: Leadership theme to introduce a series of blogs and events on Fawcett and the Women in Public Services project. Tune in next week for her inaugural blog on one of her key presidential priorities”.

Our post this week is a ‘Workforce News’ video podcast from our colleagues at the LGA and it features an interview with our President Sue Evans, who talks about the Apprenticeship Levy and it’s likely implications for councils. Phil Bundy, Senior Employment Law Advisor also talks about the legal aspects and impacts of the Levy.

To kick things off, Sarah Messenger who is the outgoing Head of Workforce at the LGA, reflects on her time in the role and the work that she has been involved with.  It’s a must watch!

As you will all know, we work very closely with Sarah Messenger and her workforce team at the LGA and recently Karen Grave one of our Vice President’s joined Sarah and Luann Donald in their latest video newsletter ‘Workforce News’. They discussed the challenges around recruitment in the public sector and what the 21st Century Public Servant will look like. The film also includes case studies from South Hams District Council around value -based recruitment and initiatives in the East of England to recruit and retain planners. It’s a must watch for all HR professionals!