HR COMMITTEE - 19 June 2025

Behaviours Framework

Purpose

For review and approval

Classification

External

Executive Summary

A priority action in the People Strategy is to develop a behaviours framework.

 

The framework has been developed following extensive research and consultation with different employee groups.

 

The behaviour framework has been designed to be versatile for use across our workforce and into the future and is a key part of our culture development under the ‘Strong Roots’ theme in the strategy.

Recommendation(s)

To approve the behaviours framework and approaches for launch and onward development.

Reasons for recommendation(s)

To support the positive sustainable culture development of our workforce, which is a key action in the People Strategy, delivery of the Corporate Plan and achieving a key milestone in the Transformation Strategy aligned to the People and Capabilities theme.

The framework also supports organisational readiness for change for local government reorganisation.

Ward(s)

All

Portfolio Holder(s)

Councillor Jill Cleary – Leader

Councillor Jeremy Heron – Finance and Corporate

 

Strategic Director(s)

Alan Bethune – Strategic Director for Corporate Resource and Transformation

 

Officer Contact

Kate Hardy

Organisational Development and Change Specialist

023 8028 5817

Kate.hardy@nfdc.gov.uk

 

Zoe Ormerod

Senior HR Advisor

02380285669

zoe.ormerod@nfdc.gov.uk

 

Introduction

1.           Our behaviours framework has been developed as a key action from the People Strategy action plan, under the theme of ‘strong roots’, underpinning our culture shift and journey to employer of choice.  It will also support us in creating successful outcomes through local government reorganisation and beyond.

2.           The behaviours framework will replace the previous ‘employee and management standards’.

Why have a framework?

3.           Before starting to build the behaviours framework, we established why having it was so important to us:

·           It highlights that how we go about our work, is as important as what we do.

·           It helps guide our decision making.

·           It ensures our people are treated fairly and consistently across all areas of the organisation, cutting through the hierarchy.

·           We can use it to identify behaviours which are not in line with our values.

·           It helps people work better together and results in better outcomes for people and performance.

·           It helps us to bring the best out of people and for people to get the most out of their working day.

·           It helps us to celebrate achievements, talk about aspirations and keep improving what we do.

·           It supports us in creating a culture where people learn and develop, are recognised and rewarded, work together, have a strong sense of belonging and feel heard. All the things we’re aiming for as an Employer of Choice.

Discovery Phase

4.           We felt it was firstly important to define what a behaviour was.  A behaviour is defined as:

·           How someone acts

·           A response to things that are happening

·           What a person does to make something happen, change or stay the same

·           A typical and repeated way of behaving.

5.           To inform the development of the framework, our discovery stage focussed on mapping other frameworks such as Chartered Institute of Housing, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, as well as reviewing other council and public sector frameworks to gather best practice, as well as ensure the behaviours expected across our professions were covered. 

6.           We developed a ‘long list’ of behaviour attributes and obtained feedback from our leadership team, apprentices, operational teams and staff groups such as the EDI and change champions networks to help define our final framework.

7.           The behaviours have been designed to be simple to understand and worded so that all roles within the council can apply them in how we work with internal colleagues across the organisation, as well as with our partners and community stakeholders.

8.           They were also designed to be fit for now as well as fit for the future with a modern, inclusive and supportive culture.

Design - Key features of the framework

9.           The framework document is shown in Appendix 1.  All the behaviours link to our values, seen on the left of the document.  Each of the behaviours are shown with an easy to identify icon, followed by an explanation of the behaviours we aim for. 

10.       To bring the behaviours to life, examples of what good looks like are given, shown in green.  We have also given examples of what we don’t expect to see.

11.       We used Learning at Work Week to test out the behaviours with our wider workforce, asking how they felt they lived or could live these values in their roles.  Feedback was positive, and some valuable examples were given.

Next Steps – Delivery

12.       Once approved, we will work towards a soft launch of our Behaviour Framework during July 2025.  There will be tailored communication for our different staff personas (groups of staff with similar characteristics), as well as some tools for helpful ways to start to bring the behaviours to life through team meetings and one-to-one conversations about how each team can and will live the behaviours.  We will also add the framework to our recruitment candidate pack.  Becky Rocha joined us in May as our Organisational Development Facilitator and is helping us prepare for the launch.  Our Engagement Officer will also be key in embedding our framework, when they join us during the summer.

13.       We’ll be building further ways to embed the framework, and these will be promoted between September – November 2025, including a detailed plan of how we recognise colleagues living our behaviours, through ‘shout outs’, stories around our behaviours, and a recognition event. We will also provide specific interview questions relating to the behaviours, review our performance review process and our employee procedures where appropriate to reflect our behaviours.  This will enable us to recognise and highlight successes and talk about aspirations, identify and build on behaviours that need development, and be able to use the framework to identify behaviours which are not aligned.

14.       We’ll also be running a Monthly Meet in October, which will focus on the Behaviours Framework.

15.       We will continuously review how the framework is being embedded and work to develop this further during 2026 as needed.

Responsibility

16.       Demonstrating our behaviours is the responsibility of all staff. 

17.       Managers are responsible for role modelling the behaviours and using the appropriate tools in the manager’s toolkit to promote, support and evaluate the behaviours exhibited within their teams, shouting out about exemplars and supporting those struggling to meet them at an early stage. 

18.       The OD and HR teams will be responsible for developing regular and engaging ongoing content around the behaviours targeting to our different staff personas, developing a behaviours toolkit, reviewing the performance review framework to fit with the behaviours, and developing and launching our recognition scheme.

Corporate plan priorities

19.       As a key action in the People Strategy, building our positive culture through the behaviours framework aligns to the ‘people and capabilities’ theme in the council’s transformation programme, helping us build towards being an employer of choice.  This in turn ensures we deliver the priorities in the corporate plan.

Options appraisal

20.       The behaviour framework was agreed as a deliverable in the people strategy. Options were explored on how the behaviours framework could be presented, and these options formed part of the consultation (see 21). 

Consultation undertaken

21.       We consulted with a range of staff groups, from the leadership team to EDI group, change champions and apprentices.  This took the framework on an iterative process from initial design to the final proposed design.

22.       Key themes of the consultation which informed the behaviours framework were;

·           the ‘descriptor’ given to each behaviour – a simple descriptor was favoured that was clear and understandable to all staff.

·           different levels of requirements for different roles – it was decided that one set of behaviours that could resonate across the whole workforce was more beneficial.

·           examples of behaviours we expect and do not expect to see – there was agreement that these were useful and helped with transparency and understanding by all.

23.       EMT were supportive of the framework and implementation plan, and how this will help shape our culture over the coming years.

Financial and resource implications

24.       All financial and resource implications were considered within the people strategy action plan and have already been accounted for in approval of   the overall strategy.

 

Legal implications

25.       There are no legal implications arising from this report.

Risk assessment

26.       There are no new risks arising from this report.

Environmental/ Climate and nature implications

27.       There are no environmental / climate and nature implications arising from this report.

Equalities implications

28.       A full Equality Impact Assessment has been completed for the proposed behaviours framework.  There are no equalities implications arising from this report. The behaviours framework is aimed to be inclusive to all groups of staff and promote positive behaviours and therefore inclusion.

Crime and disorder implications

29.       There are no crime and disorder implications arising from this report.

Data protection/ Information governance/ ICT implications

30.       There are no data protection/ information governance/ ICT implications arising from this report.

 

Appendices:

Appendix 1 – Behaviours Framework