ESS People Strategy 2024-26

1.1

This Strategy draws together, for the first time, our wider range of people related plans, policies and initiatives under three key pillars, as set out below and in section 1:

• attracting and keeping the right people
• developing and nurturing our people
• enabling great performance and delivery

1.2

We believe it is fundamental that all aspects of our related activities prioritise ‘diversity, equality and inclusion’ and ‘wellbeing’ in everything we do, to positively shape our organisational culture, as set out in section 2.

1.3

To achieve this, we will both invest in the success of this People Strategy and its related action plan, and ensure that we establish a positive organisational culture. We feel it is important to ensure our culture is developed organically, enabled and supported by senior staff and the Board, with best practice and wellbeing championed from the top down. On this basis we have opted to reflect holistically on what culture means to ESS as our People Strategy moves forward, as set out in section 3.

1.4

An action plan gathering together all our ambitions related to these three sections is attached at annex 1. Progress against this plan will be reviewed in March each year and updates provided in ESS’ publicly available Annual Report.

1.5

We are confident our People Strategy places us in a strong position to meet our ambitions. The development of this document sets out the opportunities ESS can deliver as an organisation, alongside recognising and setting out the role for individuals themselves as part of this planning.

2.1

Before this People Strategy overview was created, a range of policies and documents were developed in ESS’ early years. This included the development of our Equality and Diversity Policy, equalities mainstreaming report and associated action plans.

2.2

All of these plans were developed as ESS’ core team grew and the organisation established its first Strategic Plan, which included a section on our values and principles.

2.3

In order to draw together these existing plans and objectives in a simple and effective way, this People Strategy has been co-created across our teams. We believe this is the key to delivering our ambitious aims successfully. Through the work of the People Strategy working group, with support from our human resources advisors AAB People, three key pillars of work have been developed that will help focus all our people related ambitions.

2.4

Alongside these pillars, additional bridging activities were incorporated into our wider set of actions, alongside a recommended approach to developing our organisational culture development and reporting. All our people related planning has now been pulled together in one cross-referenced action plan set out at annex 1.

2.5

Our existing work and action planning has been equality impact assessed, with the summary reports made publicly available.[1] No specific negative effects were identified following the introduction of these policies. Our relevant Unions have also been kept up-to-date on our work and our Board Equalities Champion updated as our planning progresses.

2.6

An overview map of this background activity is set out below.

Our people related activity

[1] Equality and Diversity Policy impact assessment

3.1

As set out above, three key pillars have been established to bring together our people related work.

Pillar one: to attract and keep the best people

• we recognise our future success depends upon attracting people with the right skills, experiences and mindset. Seeking to attract and keep people with potential and the relevant experience, from a range of sectors and all walks of life, is a priority for our organisation

Pillar two: to develop and nurture our people

• as part of ESS’ journey to become a learning organisation, we seek to create the conditions for effective personal development and growth through experience on the job and through developing effective relationships, as well as through formal coaching and training. Recognising the challenges faced by our team in delivering ‘the day job’, we wish to develop an approach to learning that allows people to prioritise their professional skills development and career aspirations, while also meeting their overall performance goals

Pillar three: to enable great performance and delivery

• we recognise how motivating it is to work in a place where personal growth and development is encouraged, where ownership for choices and decisions is enabled and everyone is supported to be the best they can be. Our People Strategy seeks to achieve this within ESS by focusing our activities towards enabling great performance and delivery, tailored to individuals. We will draw on and develop the expertise of our people, being open to innovation and learning, and our willingness to change in order to continuously improve who we are, where we work, and the tools, technologies and systems we use

3.2

Our newly drawn together action plan cross-references against these pillars, demonstrating how we will achieve and measure the success of this work.

4.1

As ESS employees, we set the tone for all that we do. Different collaborative approaches have been utilised to develop this people related work including: the development of the Strategic Plan; People Strategy working group discussions; equalities planning; organisation pulse surveys; equality impact assessment outputs; full team day initiatives; alongside learning from the knowledge and evidence provided by our partner Developing our approach in this way enables a healthy and positive working environment for all and ensures our planning is developed by our teams, for our teams.

4.2

Diversity, equality, inclusion and wellbeing are central to ESS’ future success. We firmly believe that everyone is unique and should be respected for their differences. Our future success depends on celebrating a diverse mix of talented individuals.

4.3

We plan to make this a reality by:

• ensuring psychological safety – so individuals feel able to speak up, offer ideas and ask questions – to help colleagues thrive and grow together
• improving inclusivity – to leverage different skills and perspectives, improve decision-making, help ESS become more creative and innovative and better meet the needs of the public and stakeholders we serve
• building a diverse workforce – to keep attracting, retaining and growing talent from different backgrounds and with different characteristics

4.4

We will progress our ambitious aims in this area and monitor progress via our robust and comprehensive Equality and Diversity Policy and equalities mainstreaming report. All action planning set against this work is now incorporated into our action plan set out at annex 1.

5.1

We understand that culture is hard to define in any organisation. It is not a static object that can easily be measured, or a problem which can be addressed through a set procedure, but rather, a dynamic process to continually consider and adapt to.

5.2

Overall, we believe that how we do things across ESS matters. This includes through leadership, and the individual daily actions, behaviours, and interactions we have with others. These combine to shape not just our own experience, but also that of our stakeholders.

5.3

Providing the right working environment and a great people experience is critical to ESS’ success as it impacts our ability to recruit and keep talented people. This is why our planning pays attention to the concept of culture across the organisation, keeping it aligned with ESS’ purpose, values and future aspirations.

5.4

We aspire to achieve a high trust culture, where everyone: leads by example; shows respect for individuals and decisions made; and feels empowered and enabled to do our work, including demonstrating accountability and taking timely decisions. By taking steps to encourage and support these behaviours, we will attain the enabling culture that will ensure that ESS is a great place to work while we deliver on our strategic outcomes.

5.5

As set out previously, we feel it is important to ensure our organisational culture is developed organically, enabled and supported by senior staff and the Board, with best practice and wellbeing championed from the top down. On this basis we have opted to reflect holistically on what culture means to ESS as our People Strategy moves forward.

5.6

We will seek to explore the concept further, in conjunction with our existing values, and reflect on the progress of our People Strategy to help better understand the behaviours expected from us to establish a sustainable culture for our organisation.

5.7

This work will be carried out through full organisational workshops established in parallel to the development of ESS’ next Strategic Plan, which will be submitted to the Scottish Parliament by October 2025 for consideration. The outcome of this work will inform our new Strategic Plan and our People Strategy as it develops.

6.1

Our team-led working group, which enabled the creation of our People Strategy, will continue to meet on a quarterly basis. This group will review the progress the organisation is making across the strategic ambitions outlined. It will also support the further development of any specific actions which may be required to achieve our key objectives within each area.

6.2

Our People Strategy action plan will be reviewed twice a year by the Executive Team. This will ensure relevant feedback and data is considered and that any published changes to the People Strategy fully aligns with our overall Strategic Plan.

6.3

We will publicly report an overview of progress as part of our Annual Report and Accounts each year.

6.4

If you have any questions on this People Strategy, would like to volunteer to join the working group, or have suggestions for people related activity, please email HR.