Agenda item

3.1       Consideration was given to a report by the LHC Group Director, which provided Members with an overview of the organisation's performance.

3.2       The Joint Committee was informed that, due to the slow pace of new build social housing programmes, LHC was downgrading its growth targets.

3.3       Client feedback showed that client satisfaction had dipped below 90% as resources were stretched regionally. New and imminent appointments were expected to address this. Ratings for appointed companies were holding at 80%. A project group to identify and implement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) had been formed.

3.4       Costs continued to be managed well, which had resulted in a growth in net surplus.

3.5       Regarding dignity and respect amongst LHC staff, two complaints had been received in the past six months; and it was confirmed that LHC was working with the London Borough of Hillingdon's HR department to reduce this to zero. An interim HR Manager was in place through secondment from LB Hillingdon, and recruitment for a permanent LHC HR Manager was now underway.

3.6       Approximately two thirds of staff had received some form of training, with more planned. The target of 100% of staff receiving training would be achieved by the end of March 2019.

3.7       Interest from clients continued to be generated. By the end of the year it was expected that LHC would have generated over 1000 new leads for LHC frameworks, from over 300 clients.

3.8       Two important frameworks relating to fire safety had launched in the past year, with six further frameworks to be launched in the next six months.

3.9      IT systems continued to be developed. Yammer had been installed as the main platform for staff communication, which was working well. Sysaid was due to be launched, which would help track performance.

3.10    Staff continued to grow, with two ex-employees returning to LHC after an absence of several years. Regional teams were maintaining focus on sustaining team cohesion and performance, and to aid this, staff met as a group three times each year. In September, the first Staff Wellbeing Conference was held, and a project group had been formed to design and implement the LHC Workplace Wellbeing Charter. The Charter aimed to help LHC to achieve Health Workplace ‘Excellence’ accreditation within three years, in accordance with the guidance of Public Health England.

3.11    Appointed Community Benefit Agencies continued to work with local authority officers on how to invest funds in community benefit schemes.

3.12    There was no change to the Risk Register since the previous meeting.

3.13    Committee Members sought clarity on how LHC provided training and development to its staff. It was confirmed that Line Managers met with staff on a regular basis to provide an appraisal of staff competence and performance to objectives. At this stage, training needs and opportunities were identified. An allocation of £1,000 was set aside for staff training towards further career progression. If training required investment over £1,000, then staff were required to sign a post-training agreement which mandated that they would repay training costs, should they leave LHC within a set time.

3.14    In response to a request made at the previous meeting, the Group Director confirmed that he had not yet spoken to LB Hillingdon’s procurement team. It was agreed that the Group Director would take this as an action to be completed ahead of the next meeting.

3.15    The Committee felt that the Group’s aim of achieving zero grievances was unhelpful, as it was felt that staff could be deterred from raising issues. In response, it was confirmed that, while the Group’s preference was for issues to be dealt with at an early, informal stage, staff were aware that LB Hillingdon was available to confidentially discuss issues and provide guidance on whether those issues warranted instigation of a formal grievance process. Line Managers were trained and were expected to regularly hold open discussions with staff, and issues were ordinarily dealt with through the regular appraisal and performance management process. The Health and Happiness surveys also monitored staff feedback, which senior management reviewed. It was agreed that the Group’s target of zero grievances, and the grievance process, would be discussed with LB Hillingdon in more detail.

3.16    Members requested that a full HR report be brought to a future meeting. The Group Director advised that a permanent LHC HR Manager would be appointed in the first quarter of 2020, and a full report could then follow at the June meeting.

3.17    Members sought further information on how LHC was addressing climate change through its frameworks. It was confirmed that technical experts at LHC engaged with the industry on the latest developments, which were then built into frameworks based on client need (which could vary regionally). Measures built into frameworks included electric vehicle charging points, electric heaters, and the like.

3.18    Members requested detail on the PAS 2035 standard for improvements to dwellings. The Group Director advised that further information could be circulated following the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the information contained in the report be noted.