New toolkit published to tackle local government staff retention crisis

ADEPT and Colas have joined forces to produce a new report that addresses the skills gap which is having a serious impact on how councils provide services.

In 2022 the annual LGA survey found that over four-fifths, which equates 83%, of councils were experiencing retention difficulties in at least one occupation.

To help address this, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) has published ‘Employee Retention – great practice guide’, which can be found in full here, in partnership with Colas, a UK Infrastructure Contractor. The guide has been launched at ADEPT’s autumn conference.

Work initially carried out by the Future Highways Research Group looking at the highways sector found that the number of unfilled vacancies and skills shortages were significant and causing considerable problems for councils. But what also emerged was a number of key measures that employees particularly valued that councils could adopt.

Building on this, ADEPT and Colas brought together key partners to examine the challenges across the place services more generally, and to identify great practice examples on how to improve staff retention at all levels. The 11 examples outlined in the guide include professional development, mentoring and support, offering a better work-life balance and training opportunities tailored to place.

‘There are so many reason why working in local government is a fantastic choice, but we often struggle to communicate those benefits,’ Anthony Payne, president of ADEPT said. ‘The guide is designed to provide local authorities with ideas not only on how to retain staff, but how to be the kind of employer where people are valued and choose to stay.’

Anthony added: ‘Aside from the long-term benefits of greater job security and well-structured pension plans, the careers we can offer can provide so much variety with the chance to develop across many different areas of interest. Our employees also have an unrivalled opportunity to make a difference to the places and communities where they live.’

Image: Joao Viegas

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