Chief Executive Blog - September 2015
Colleagues
The annual employee conference has become a regular fixture on the council’s calendar and it is one that I look forward to very much because it gives me the opportunity to meet staff from across the council and exchange views on all manner of subjects.
Last week was no exception when I attended the first of the three conferences which are being held this year and which will present me with the opportunity of meeting even more people and listening to what they have to say.
I believe that one of the great benefits of the conference and the way in which it is structured is its informality, where staff at all different levels within the organisation can speak freely and openly and express their opinions without inhibition.
Resilience and how to ensure that the council comes through the challenging times ahead is the theme of this year’s conferences and I believe that all of us came away from last week’s event with food for thought in terms of how to make ourselves as individuals, the teams in which we work, the sections and departments of which we are part, and the council as a whole, as resilient as possible in the face of what lies ahead.
Only a couple of weeks earlier I saw resilience at work when I witnessed six disabled service personnel set off from Dufftown on a 1000-mile walk to raise awareness of the Walking With The Wounded charity. Among them was one serviceman who had part of his leg amputated after being shot in Afghanistan. Another had lost the sight in one eye as a result of a shrapnel wound. A third had suffered severe brain trauma and post-injury depression. Yet they were all keen not to let their appalling injuries prevent them from undertaking the gruelling 72-day trek the length of Britain. If that is not resilience, I don’t know what is.
The following day I was back on Speyside for the unveiling of a cairn in honour of service personnel from the Cabrach who lost their lives in World War One. The cairn was erected by the local community and guest of honour earlier at the event was the Duke of Rothesay, as the Prince of Wales is officially known in Scotland.
The humanitarian crisis stemming from Syria and now spreading across Europe continues to dominate the news agenda and tends to put most other issues we have to deal with in our daily lives into perspective. Moray Council has become one of the first local authorities to confirm that it stands ready to do what it can to help and will be working closely with the Scottish Government and COSLA as things develop.
Meanwhile, council business has seen me take part in a video conference with the chief executive of NHS Grampian and a high level meeting with Police Scotland, as well as regular meeting of COSLA leaders and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, while looking ahead we will be welcoming the national board of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to its first ever meeting in Elgin later this month.
I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage colleagues to submit nominations for this year’s STAR awards which give recognition to staff, either as individuals or teams, who have made an outstanding contribution to the work of the council over the past year. Like the staff conference, the awards ceremony has become an annual fixture and is an excellent way of expressing thanks and appreciation to staff for their efforts. Nominations should be submitted to HR by Friday, September 18.
Finally, I have completed my tour of Highland League football grounds by taking in the Keith v Fraserburgh game at Kynoch Park. Unfortunately I’m unlikely to be invited back after my visit coincided with a 2-1 defeat for the Maroons.