Top brass at Aberdeen City Council need to be ‘visible, active and present’ if the north-east is to thrive economically, a leading business figure has warned.
Chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce Russell Borthwick says the city and surrounding Aberdeenshire are at a “key juncture”.
The P&J is today laying bare how often senior council officials head into the office.
A Freedom of Information probe has revealed the local authority’s chief executive Angela Scott only swipes in at Marischal College for half of the average working week.
Between April and October of last year, the collective Aberdeen City Council chief officers, directors and Mrs Scott averaged 3.6 days office attendance a week.
But 11 of them, including the chief executive who is based in Dundee, planning head David Dunne and interim legal chief Jenni Lawson, were below that mean.
So too was commercial boss Craig Innes – who spent many months of last year overseeing a stalemate in talks between the local authority and Aberdeen FC over plans for a new beachfront stadium.
Claims: Organisations ‘enabling or encouraging’ home working ‘ignore benefits’ of full offices
Business chief Mr Borthwick tells us: “Many lament that the city centre is not what it used to be.
“Yet lots of positive momentum has been created by masterplan projects, Our Union Street and by private businesses believing and investing in city centre premises – but there’s much more to do.
“Successful cities need people in them to live, to visit regularly for leisure activities and to work.
“Over the last few years, many big-name companies committed to the vision by taking new Grade A office space in the heart of the city.”
But, he adds, the Marischal College attendance records show there is more to be done to get workers back to the office.
“Many organisations continue to either passively enable or actively encourage staff to stay away,” Mr Borthwick bewails.
“They are ignoring the staff culture and development, productivity and economic benefits that would be realised by filling up empty offices every day.”
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‘Business is done better in person’ Aberdeen City Council chiefs told
During the pandemic, there was a 16-month period – nearly topping 500 days – when the council’s top official Mrs Scott dodged Marischal College.
That includes during the three-week August 2020 lockdown of Aberdeen, as coronavirus threatened the existence of businesses across the city.
Meanwhile, other senior Aberdeen City Council figures, including resources director Steve Whyte and customer services director Andy MacDonald, were in attendance nearly every day during the Granite City’s quarantine.
Mrs Scott finally made the 65-mile commute from her home in the City of Discovery back to her Broad Street office in August 2021. She visited on 10 days that month.
Council bosses need to be ‘visible, active and present’
Shortly after her return, the chamber of commerce had all staff return to the office, which Mr Borthwick claims laid the foundations for rewards being reaped now.
He tells The P&J: “I feel it is no coincidence that with the AGCC team coming back to the office en-masse in September 2021, that 2023 was by some distance the most successful period in our almost 150-year history.
“The chamber’s consistent position has been that business is done better and more effectively in person.
“We are now at a key juncture as we seek to capitalise on the many opportunities in front of us, delivering on our regional economic strategy ambitions and creating a strong and vibrant place for the people of the region for decades to come.
“If we are to succeed, we need the city’s leaders to be visible, active and present alongside their business partners.”
What do Aberdeen City Council chiefs say about their attendance?
In response to The P&J’s article on the presence of senior staff at Marischal College, a council spokeswoman said: “There are no set number of days for senior officials to be required to work from home or in Marischal College.
“Arrangements are managed with a focus on the needs of the role, the specific services and our communities.
“Flexible working has always been available to all council staff, where appropriate.”
She confirmed work-from-home guidance was being updated to “allow staff to work in the most suitable location and at the appropriate times to meet the needs of citizens at all times”.
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