For Fiona Whittaker, her years working as a senior HR professional in the private sector has proved to be an ideal background for the demands of transformational change in local government, with private sector experience in pharmaceuticals, energy, banking and transport. In 2017, she was attracted to a role at North Lanarkshire Council which was undergoing a period of change.
Whittaker recalls: ‘I'd been involved in lots of transformational change in the private sector and didn't think that my experience would be relevant when I joined local government eight years ago, but of course I soon found out it was, and it became the best decision I ever made.'
She describes herself as ‘thriving on large-scale organisational change and tackling complex workforce challenges in local government'.
Now North Lanarkshire's chief officer of people resources, she also became president of the HR directors body, the Society of Personnel and Development Scotland (SPDS) at its annual conference this week in St Andrews.
As vice-president she previously led the society's workforce planning portfolio group and has supported a drive to improve levels of strategic workforce planning across local government in Scotland in this role.
Whittaker cites joint work between SPDS and Solace Scotland over the last two years as key to the future role of the society to contribute to the challenges in local government ahead. ‘With so much change, HR chiefs are needed more than ever and we need to work together as key partners with other colleagues across local government,' she says.
Whittaker believes local government is a people business above all else, adding that ‘our staff are critical to the quality of the services we provide every day in our communities, and we need to ensure that we bring our workforce with us on the journey'.
Among the transformational challenges is the growth of AI in local government which she says is ‘definitely picking up pace'. She adds: ‘HR has to manage fears about what this means for staff and their roles but there is no doubt that AI offers a huge opportunity to improve our services.'
AI ‘is ramping up'
F or Sharon Faulkner, director of HR, digital enablement, IT and business support at Angus Council her past year as president of the Scottish HR society, SPDS, has seen her tackling issues from leadership, pay, workforce and skills to AI.
In her report to the society's annual general meeting last week as outgoing president she highlighted how shrinking budgets, increased scrutiny and technological change have been themes of the past year for Scottish HR heads.
As ever, skills shortages are a challenge especially in posts like care, technology and regulation. The workforce report with Solace last year led to the Local Government Workforce Board chaired by Dumfries and Galloway Council chief executive Dawn Roberts – ‘and the SPDS will be an integral part of this' says Faulkner, who has also been working on a national recruitment campaign with the help of the North East Region Employers' Organisation which developed the first pilot campaign.
The SPDS representatives have also been involved in an advisory capacity in pay negotiations with the unions. While a two-year deal has been agreed with SJC unions there are ongoing discussions with the teachers' unions who are balloting members about industrial action to reduce class contact time.
AI is increasingly high on the agenda, with its potential for making administrative savings but also generating concern about job losses. With her digital hat Sharon is acutely aware of the challenges of AI, adding: ‘AI is definitely ramping up and in my digital role I can see the benefits of AI, but I can also see the dangers if not used in the right way. AI may help in areas with skill shortages like planning or it might release staff to move into the hard to fill posts.'
Looking back on her year, Sharon also highlighted the work SPDS representatives are involved in across a wide range of portfolios including health and social care, workforce planning, health and wellbeing and employment legislation and equalities.
She praised members for ‘their dedication and commitment in progressing agendas across the sector and for the increased collaborative working with the Improvement Service, the NHS and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities '.
