Renfrewshire Council

On this page:

• What the Employee Engagement Forums are
• How the forums work
• What the forum representatives do
• What the forum chairpersons do
• What happens after a forum meeting
• How to contact your forum representative
  • Members of the Chief Executive Forum
  • Members of the Childrens Services Forum
  • Members of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure (EHI) Forum
  • Members of the Finance and Resources Forum
  • Members of the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (RHSCP) Forum

What the Employee Engagement Forums are

The Employee Engagement Forums are designed to encourage two-way open dialogue across the Council, where employees feel valued, included, and empowered to:

• affect decision-making and positive changes
• advocate for colleagues by sharing their views and ideas
• actively discuss and look for practical solutions to improve our workplace
• contribute to delivering quality public services for the people of Renfrewshire.

The forums are made up of representatives from all services and across all staff levels.

They do not replace our partnership with the trade unions.

There are currently five forums, representing each directorate:

• Chief Executive
• Children's Services
• Environmental, Housing and Infrastructure
• Finance and Resources
• Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (RHSCP)

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How the forums work

Each forum will meet four times per year. They will initially be chaired and run by a senior manager before handing over to an appointed chair. 

Each forum meeting is around two hours long, this may change if agreed by the forum. 

The agenda items for the forum meetings are discussed and agreed at the Workforce Planning Group meetings. 

The Workforce Planning Group improve the employee experience; support service redesigns; and promote equality, diversity, and inclusion at the Council. Their next meeting is on 4th March 2025.

The forums met for the first time in September 2024.

The first forum meetings covered:

• Mandatory training
• Business World / ERP updates including personal Information and equality data
• multi-factor authentication for staff on the Council ICT network
• electronic payslips
• service specific issues - led by forum members
• any other business.

The next Workforce Planning Group meetings are on:

• Wednesday 4 June 2025.
• Thursday 4th September 2025.
• Thursday 4th December 2025.

Therefore, the forum meetings will be scheduled to happen a few weeks before these dates, to enable feedback to be presented.

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What the forum representatives do

Each forum representative acts as a single point of contact for their service and gives feedback on forum activity to their service and colleagues. 

A forum representative will:

• discuss current topics or issues
• resolve problems 
• get answers to questions
• encourage fairness and inclusion
• connect colleagues to the aims of our Council Plan

Their responsibilities include:

• attending and actively participating in all forum meetings
• dedicating time to preparing for meetings, including reviewing agenda items and discussion material
• contributing to discussions with ideas, insights, and feedback
• collecting and bringing feedback from colleagues to make sure a range of viewpoints are represented
• acting as a communication channel between the forum and their service colleagues
• promoting the employee engagement forums to colleagues
• making sure minutes and actions are recorded.

Each service Senior Leadership Team will agree allocated time away from operational activities for forum representatives to fulfil their forum duties.

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What the forum chairpersons do

Each forum has a chairperson who is nominated by a Head of Service.

The chairperson is a manager from each service who is responsible for the running of their Employee Engagement Forum in the early stages. They are supported by the People and OD team to do this. 

The chairperson plays a key role in fostering an environment of open dialogue to make sure the forum's objectives are met. Their leadership is key in driving initiatives that enhance employee engagement and contribute to a positive workplace culture.

Their responsibilities include:

• preparing for meetings, including agenda planning and reviewing discussion materials
• agreeing and arranging meeting dates, times and venues
• liaising with the forum representatives to make sure meetings are co-ordinated and accessible
• setting the corporate agenda items as directed by the Workforce Planning Group
• encouraging open communication at the forum meeting so all members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns
• helping communicate decisions to forum representatives
• recording and save meeting minutes and actions centrally where everyone can access them
• promoting the Employee Engagement Forums to colleagues.

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What happens after a forum meeting

Each chairperson is invited to the quarterly Workforce Planning group, who meet four times a year, and are chaired by the Head of People & OD. 

At these meetings the chairpersons will:

• share the feedback from the forums
• agree next steps
• escalate things to the corporate management team, if appropriate
• relay decisions back to the forum representatives.

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How to contact your forum representative

You can contact your forum representative by email, phone or in person with your questions, comments or suggestions.

Members of the Chief Executive Forum

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Members of the Childrens Services Forum

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Members of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure (EHI) Forum

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Members of the Finance and Resources Forum

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Members of the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (RHSCP) Forum

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