The number nobody has
Every council funds staff support. An employee assistance programme, occupational health, often an app. Staff can also go to their line manager or HR.
Provider reports show how many people made contact. They cannot show how many staff know the support is there, what stops the rest using it, or whether something outside work is making the job harder. The line manager and HR route has no usage report at all.
That gap matters when a contract comes up for renewal, and when members ask whether the money is well spent. Every scheme of this kind meets the same wall, however well it is run. The audit asks your staff directly.
What the report shows
- How many staff used each kind of support, named the way your staff know it.
- How many did not know it was there.
- With around a hundred replies, the main reason the rest held back.
- Whether people would know how to start if they needed it tomorrow.
- Whether people can raise a problem without it counting against them.
What it does not show
- Any person. Group figures only.
- Any department, site or team on its own.
- Anything at all below 30 replies.
Figures are for everybody asked, added together. They are broken down only by length of service, whether people manage anyone, and how they work. A breakdown appears only when every group in it has at least 30 replies.
The people least likely to use support are also the least likely to answer a survey. So every usage figure is the best case. The report says so on its front page.
How it runs
- You choose who is asked. The whole council, a directorate or one service. At least 200 staff.
- You send the invitation. I write it and two reminders. The council sends them from its own email. One link for everybody.
- Staff answer on their own phone. 24 questions, about five minutes. No names and nothing to type. Open for two weeks.
- You get the report. Within five working days of closing, plus half an hour with me to go through it.
I never receive a staff list or any staff email address. About three weeks from launch to report, depending on your sign-off process and how many staff reply.
England, Scotland and Wales
The audit is the same in all three nations. It measures the support you have, however it is bought: your own occupational health team, a shared service with a neighbouring council, or a contract through a framework.
England
County, district, unitary, metropolitan and London borough councils.
If your council is merging under reorganisation, the audit gives you a starting figure for each workforce before the new support contracts are set.
Scotland
All of Scotland's councils.
The report is written in plain English, so its figures can go straight into a committee paper for elected members.
Wales
All of Wales's principal councils.
Councils in Wales work under the Welsh Language Standards. Tell me at the start if the invitation and questions need to be offered in Welsh, and we agree how before anything goes out.
The free offer
- Five councils. First come, first served.
- No fee. The audit is normally from £3,450. For these five councils it is free.
- What I ask in return. Your honest feedback on the report.
- Your name stays yours. I would only use any findings outside the council with your written permission. The council stays anonymous unless you agree otherwise.
- No obligation. The audit stands on its own. You do not have to buy anything afterwards.
- Below 30 replies, no figures are issued.
Questions councils ask
Do you need our staff list or email addresses?
No. The council sends the invitation itself, from its own email, using one link for everybody. I never receive a staff list or any staff email address.
Can our data protection officer and the unions see the questions first?
Yes. Every question is sent to you before you agree to anything. Staff answer anonymously, and there is no comment box. You see group figures only.
We are a large council. Does that work?
Yes. You decide who is asked: the whole council, one directorate or one service. The only floor is at least 200 staff invited and 30 replies before any figures are issued.
Our support contract has just been renewed. Is there any point?
Yes. The audit sits alongside your current contracts and changes none of them. It gives you a starting figure, so you can see later whether anything moved.
Many of our staff do not sit at a desk. Can they take part?
Yes. They answer on their own phone. Share the link any way you already reach them, such as a team briefing or the intranet. The report can break the figures down by desk-based against shift or field work, when both groups have 30 replies.
Why is it free?
I am developing the 90-day programme that follows the audit, and I want real feedback from real councils. Five is the number I have set.
Ask for a free place
Tell me who you are and I will come back to you within one working day with the dates and the questions.
Thank you. I have it.
I will reply to within one working day.
Who I am
I am Jon Cull. I run PRC Workforce from Staffordshire.
I am a businessman, not an HR professional. I am not here to tell anyone how to do their job. Councils pay for support for their staff, and many staff never use it. The audit finds out how many, and why.
Contact
jon.cull@prcworkforce.com
+44 7493 087262
The audit measures how staff use the support on offer. It is not a clinical service. It does not diagnose anyone or screen for any condition.