We have one overriding purpose – to improve people’s lives.
This might sound simple, but it brings together everything we do, from cleaning the streets to caring for our older people. It is the foundation for our strategy, and we will ensure that it drives our commitments, spending, and service delivery.
We have two core policies – tackling the climate and nature emergency and giving people a bigger say. These will shape everything we do.
To translate our purpose into commitments, we have identified three principles. We want to prepare for the future, deliver for residents and focus on prevention.
"We are outcomes-driven, working to provide the right services and solutions for our communities. Our culture is open, owns decisions, and is resilient. We trust each other to act in the best interest of residents, customers, and colleagues".
Our shared values guide our decisions, behaviours, and relationships at work, our interactions with our residents, our partners, and how we interact with you, a prospective employee.
For council staff
The core values shape every aspect of our working life and how we look to the future.
We are bold in our approach to create solutions and deliver. This value demonstrates that we create imaginative solutions to tackle problems. This is a positive take on having to adapt to changing circumstances. This is about the actions we take, being brave in our approach to improve people’s lives, and make hard choices that work for people.
We empower people to create efficient and sustainable solutions. Unlike Bold, which is about actions, this value focuses on people. It shows that we want to empower people, both staff and the people of Bath and North East Somerset. This value also embodies personal development, how we as a council train and support our staff, and that we empower our staff to challenge us. It is also about giving people the tools to come up with their own solutions.
We support each other, work together, build trusting relationships, and do our best for each other and the people of Bath & North East Somerset. It is about working with others and each other, including external partners. It is also about caring for each other, our residents and the council’s staff
We are transparent, take responsibility for our actions, and listen to understand and improve.This is about being accountable, open, and actively trying to improve. The underpinning behaviours are about how both the council and individuals, we are open to criticism and want to do better.
For first-hand comments on how this shapes our working culture, why not meet our people, and read more about their working experiences with us?
"The respect for staff has been the most noticeable difference between B&NES and previous employers. Senior management are accessible and staff at all levels are made to feel welcome and supported" - Rich, Planning Team Leader
For our communities
Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through public services such as social care, education, and transport provision. We collaborate closely with a wide range of partner agencies and organisations, such as the NHS and the Police, and pool our resources and expertise to deliver services efficiently and effectively. We are committed to transparency and fairness, and provide extensive documentation on how we operate and the strategies we follow. For further details, read about the council and democracy.
"The collaboration and innovation are really evident in the culture here, and there are so many people who are passionate about delivering the best possible outcome to the people of Bath and North East Somerset" - Becky, Adult Social Care
When we recruit;
Our staff are our most valuable resource, and our values play an important role in our recruitment processes. To ensure fairness across a wide range of departments and teams, a central panel assesses all jobs and sets the pay grades for the work involved. In the interests of equitable treatment, all job applications must be made using the standard form and we only accepts CVs when they are attached to an application form. Our interview panels all use the same values-based recruiting processes and scoring system for every candidate. We are committed to keeping you in the picture about the progress of your application at all stages. We recognise that the success of the recruitment process is reflected in the staff who stay with us long-term, so we support new starters with extensive induction and ongoing training.
"B&NES are flexible, trustworthy, team focused, accommodating and willing to listen." - Andrew, Career Progression Coach