Learning and development
We invest in our people through training and development. This helps harness the full potential of employees, meets their need for personal development and contributes towards job satisfaction – crucial work requirements in our view.
We have been awarded ‘Investors in People’ status which means we have developed an effective and comprehensive training and development programme:
• Professional and technical training
It’s essential that employees keep up to date with changes and developments in their field of expertise. Through our Performance and Development Review (PDR) process, development needs are identified and organised.
• Management development
Our corporate strategy includes a requirement to provide training to all levels of management. We have designed a suite of specific work based programmes like ‘Recruitment & Selection’ or ‘Communication for Managers’, and also support/run a multi level corporate programme certified through the Institute of Leadership and Management called “The Stafford Manager”.
• Generic training
There is always a range of generic skills and knowledge not specific to any specialist area such as IT packages, telephone techniques, customer service or time management. We’ve developed a thorough programme of these skills and activities, which employees in need of this training, can attend throughout the year.
• Qualifications
Our ‘Post Entry Training Scheme’ operates to support employees who are looking to undertake further education that complements the work of their service team.
• Induction
We also run a supplementary induction module that gives a great introduction to local government, the role of Councillors, how the decision-making process works and the structure of our organisation.
We also believe that development is a continuing process for every employee at every level of the organisation, and without development of our staff, we would not be able to provide the excellent services the Council demands.