Corporate report

Corporate induction (agenda item 9)

Published 22 December 2023

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Paper 13/23

Forestry Commission corporate induction

1. Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to

1). Agree the Forestry Commission (FC) Corporate Induction silver and gold proposal.
2). Agree the approach to communication.
3). Brief the Executive Board on progress to date and the recommended delivery timeline.

2. Background

2.1 There is currently no FC wide Corporate Induction. This was highlighted at the recent Senior Manager meeting in May. Timing is excellent due to the launch of the FC Corporate Strategy which serves to anchor any organisation’s corporate induction programme.

2.2 There are numerous local induction programmes taking place across the business. For example, Forest Services (FS) and Forest Research (FR) have developed a bespoke induction in response to their exponential growth. There is a suite of induction materials on Roots and the Forest Research (FR) intranet. This includes checklists for new starters and line managers, videos welcoming staff to the organisation, e-learning modules and a wide range of recommended mandatory training that new starters undertake. Research has been undertaken to understand the induction programmes in the different areas of the business. These inductions focus on providing an opportunity for new starters to meet members of their Senior Management Teams and to share their strategic priorities. The FC wide Corporate Induction has been designed to be complimentary of these existing programmes.

2.3 Once the Corporate Induction is established, further research will be undertaken to understand what is happening at a local level to ensure there is a level of consistency and the whole induction programme dovetails together effectively. This paper will not go into the detail of these programmes but will focus on the proposed new FC Corporate Induction.

2.4 The benefits of an excellent induction are well understood. It will lead to more engaged, productive, and knowledgeable colleagues who are more likely to stay in an organisation where they feel valued.

3. FC Corporate Induction Proposal

3.1 A 3 staged proposal has been prepared for the Executive Board’s approval. There are 3 stages: bronze, silver and gold.

3.2 The bronze stage consists of filming and editing new welcome videos of the Chief Executives of the FC (including CEOs for Forestry England, FR and Director FS). It will also include reviewing and updating the current suite of induction checklists and materials. This work is already in progress. The bronze stage will be complete by the end of August 2023.

3.3 The silver stage consists of filming a short and engaging animation. This would cover what the different parts of the FC do and importantly how they work together. Suppliers have recommended an animation length of around 2-2.5 minutes and no longer than 3 minutes. Options have been prepared below for the Executive Board’s approval. 3.4 The gold stage comprises an online 2-2.5-hour induction to connect new starters across the FC. The objectives of the session would be to provide an opportunity for colleagues in different parts of the organisation to learn, connect, and feel valued. Further detail has been provided below for the Executive Board’s approval.

4. Silver stage: animation supplier options

4.1 There are three proposed supplier options with differing styles for the Executive Board’s review and approval. All quotes include subtitles to ensure accessibility. Quotes have been provided based on the maximum cost of a 3-minute animation. These quotes exclude VAT. Sketchups is not VAT registered so no VAT will be added.

Supplier	Quote	Example of work
Sketchups	£1,662	Unconscious Bias at Wiltshire Council.
Group of Seven	£4,000	They have demonstrated varying styles, including: University Hospital Bristol Strategy 42 Group Promotion
Skylark	£7,800	Skylark’s new lead animator was responsible for the Forestry England ranger in a bag video. The ranger in a bag animation.

4.2 The recommended supplier for the animation is Sketchup. It offers good value for money and works well for this purpose. An engaging voiceover will be essential. If this supplier is chosen, then the OD Director has confirmed that this can be paid from within the OD budget. If another more expensive supplier is chosen, then additional budget will be required.

4.3 A brief for the procurement process has already been prepared subject to the Executive Board’s approval. In line with procurement guidelines, if the value of the procurement is below £5,000 only one quote from a single supplier is required. Quotes between £5,000 to £50,000 require 3 quotes from different suppliers. The procurement process will take approximately 2 weeks and a supplier can then be appointed. Animation development has been planned to commence mid-July as outlined on the project delivery timeline in Appendix 1. The 3 suppliers have confirmed they can deliver in line with the timescale.

4.4 The script for the animation will need to be confirmed before development can commence. Communication leads from Forestry England, FS and FR are being engaged over the script production. The script will need to be approved by respective CEOs prior to the animation development.

5. Gold stage proposal

5.1 It is proposed that the online 2-2.5-hour induction would have 2 sections. The first would be an engagement activity in breakout rooms for new starters to get to know colleagues from different parts of the Forestry Commission. Colleagues would be mixed up to achieve this.

5.2 A great way to get colleagues talking is to work together on an activity. It is proposed that colleagues would have a discussion on an FC related activity such as selecting our next community woodland location. Four location options could be provided in the briefs. The briefs would talk about a range of factors including cost, location, Forests for Everyone, current research in the area by Forest Research and how guidance needs to be sought on our regulations as certain trees require felling. The purpose would be to get new starters talking and to demonstrate how we can all work together across the organisation.

5.3 The second part of the online induction would be a Q&A session with the FC Chief Executive and members of the Executive Board. Questions could be invited on topics such as the FC Strategy and FC Corporate Plan. Questions could be asked during the session, but all attendees would be invited to send in any questions in advance to ensure everyone feels included.

5.4 Detailed content of the online induction is under development. Agreement in principle is sought to continue to develop the approach along these lines.

5.5 Considering our current recruitment levels, it is proposed that the online inductions are held every 2 months. The frequency would be reviewed on an ongoing basis. There are currently 91 vacancies live across the FC. The inductions would be moved to quarterly when numbers allow. A working group has been established and development will commence in July 2023. As outlined on the project delivery timeline, it is proposed that a pilot takes place in September 2023 with the inductions commencing in October 2023.

5.6 All attendees will be canvassed for feedback using a net promoter score. Feedback will inform the continuous improvement of the FC Corporate Induction.

6. Resource implications

6.1 Corporate Induction administration can be managed by current resources in the OD Team. The online inductions will be facilitated by a member of the OD Team in the short term.

6.2 The Forestry England Technical Training Team are developing a business case for an additional trainer. This is in response to an influx of new training requests that cannot be satisfied with current resources, for behavioural and leadership training and other non-technical skills and knowledge. It is proposed that this new trainer will facilitate these online induction sessions.

7. Risk Assessment

7.1 Executive Board diary availability changes provide challenges to run the online inductions. This risk will be mitigated as multiple members of the Executive Board will be present at the online inductions for the Q&A session. The online inductions will be programmed 12 months in advance.

7.2 Recruitment numbers increase which would require further online inductions to be offered.

7.3 The project delivery timeline needs to shift if supplier or staff availability changes.

7.4 If the Forestry England business case for a new trainer is not successful, the facilitation will need to continue within the OD Team which puts pressure on the delivery of the people strategy deliverables.

8. Equality Impact Assessment

8.1 Steps have been taken to ensure that the approach to Corporate Induction is inclusive and raises awareness about the organisation’s approach to Diversity & Inclusion. For example, the videos will be accessible, the activity will link to ‘Forests for Everyone’, and the induction materials will raise awareness about our staff networks.

8.2 An equality impact assessment will be completed given the impact on people of the Corporate Induction.

9. Communications

The following communications are proposed.

1). News article on Roots and the FR intranet to share the detail of the new FC Corporate Induction. This will take place once the bronze and silver videos and animations are ready to launch and current induction materials are updated. This news article will also share the plans regarding the gold stage online inductions.

2). All line managers are emailed to remind them about the new Corporate Induction.

3). An email template from Richard Stanford is prepared to invite new starters to the online induction sessions.

4). Following a few sessions, feedback will be shared on Roots and the FR intranet to further promote the programme and to act as a reminder to staff and line managers.

10. Recommendations

1. Agree the Forestry Commission (FC) Corporate Induction silver and gold proposal.

2. Agree the approach to communication.

OD Manager, 7 June 2023