hr biz plan

8/13/2019 HR Biz Plan

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Serv

05.05.10

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Human ResourcesBusiness Plan 2010/2011



1 Statement of Purpose

To enable the members, managers and staff of Portsmouth City Council to deliverquality services to the people of Portsmouth through the delivery of HR help &advice when needed, to achieve the right outcome in the right way.

2 Vision

We want:

Managers to be competent and confident in their management duties andresponsibilities

potential and existing staff to see PCC as a good employer

to be delivering services managers want in the way they want them



Service Business Plan 2010/11

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3 Review

The second review of the HR service into managing absence, disciplinary, grievance,dignity at work and performance management processes took place in 2009/2010 with thephased roll-in of managing absence due to complete by the end of March 2010 and theother processes to continue roll-in as and when issues arise. This review, together with theprevious review of recruitment, led to discussions about the role of managers and the roleof the HR service. Concern was raised that some managers have been relying on HR tooheavily to perform their people management duties and a report to Employment Committeeon 1st December 2009 resulted in agreement on the role of the HR service and the need forPCC to enable managers to manage.

Workforce Matters, the new people management strategy, sets out how we will deliverPortsmouth City Council's priorities, and the objectives which come from them, through ouremployees. HR, along with every other service, is responsible for developing this businessplan to support the delivery of the key actions of the Workforce Matters action plan.

The predictions for local government finances as a result of the recession indicate an

emphasis on supporting significant organisational change for all HR teams over the nexttwo to three years.

3.1 Environmental Audit

Results of the STEEP analysis of HR are as follows:

SOCIAL

Continuing issues

Reflecting the national demographic, we have an ageing workforce and need to establish

effective workforce planning.

The expectation of the younger generation, as well as for older workers and those withcaring responsibilities, is for more flexible working.

We have a role to play in increasing the skill levels of residents and staff to improve theiremployability.

We have an absolute responsibility to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.

New issues

The public perception of local government pay and pensions has become increasinglynegative.

With the Equality Act due to be effective from October 2010, it is imperative managersacross PCC as well as HR are aware of the staff groups and the need to involve andconsult with them on key policies and strategies.

The recent request by the Religion or Belief staff group for a quiet room should beconsidered by the Asset Management Board.

TECHNOLOGICAL

There is an increasing dependence upon e-based services e.g. e-recruitment and greateruse of the Oracle self-service capability should be explored. However, care should be takenthat e-based solutions are 'fit for purpose'.




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More flexible working patterns, facilitated by technological advances, will require a changeto the way managers manage the service delivered by staff working mobilely, from home orvaried PCC locations.

The need to retain fast access to current staff files and to retain former staff files for the 20year period will necessitate a medium term review of electronic storage.

ECONOMIC

The results of the recession have meant better and increased applications from thoseprivate sector areas hit by recession, but this has not been tested for HR staff.

The proposed 0% national pay award also reflects the economic position, together with thepredicted 'cliff edge' scenario regarding the future reduction in local government funding.

The outcome of the Local Pay Review may have an impact on staff turnover and ability torecruit as well as staff morale and the financial position of the council.

The removal of the "LPR salary protection" with effect from March 2011 may have aparticular impact on staff turnover around that date.

ENVIRONMENTAL

The fabric of the city (Northern Quarter) including Civic Offices, is looking increasingly run-down and is not attractive to potential recruits.

The severe winter weather replaced the fears of the 'swine' flu pandemic and led to thedevelopment of staffing guidance for business continuity purposes.

POLITICAL

The Hampshire Senate are progressing a project regarding shared services including HRwhich Portsmouth City Council is not currently engaged with.

There is a clear role for HR in the drive for efficiency savings and Head of HR is a memberof the newly reconfigured Efficiency Board.

The potential for changes brought about by a new government and/or administration arenot yet clear but indications are that there will be a reduction in budgets leading toreductions in staffing levels. This will have an impact on all the HR teams supporting thevarious aspects of managing change.

The Trade Unions are currently supporting a high number of grievances and EmploymentTribunals as a result of the Local Pay Review.

The SWOT analysis is on the following page.




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Results of the SWOT analysis of HR reveals:

Strengths

Willingness of HR to embrace and adapt to changethemselves whilst supporting service managers

through changes to their services.

There are complementary strengths in the HRManagement Team which works well together in theHR structure.

The professionalism of all HR teams and the respectgiven to them by the majority of service managers.

Awareness of new issues/legal changes so that thenecessary steps can be taken in time.

"Can do" attitude, confronting problems and finding

solutions.

Ability to rebalance and adjust working protocols toabsorb reduction in HR Management Team and toreorganise HR teams to maintain high qualityservices.

Weaknesses

No capacity for delivery of new ideas/"nice to haves"

with the loss of 1/6th

HR jobs in last 2 years.

Having taken on too much responsibility frommanagers for some aspects of people managemente.g. absence and performance.

Opportunities

Shared HR services with other local LAs and SMEs,but need to ensure there is benefit to PCC.

HR re-positioning as an 'enabler' should strengthenprofessional standing.

HR Reviews and structural change enabling HR tobetter meet needs of managers.

Occupational Health Service to impact on long-termsickness absence and well being.

HR reviews will instigate cultural change in peoplemanagement across all services.

HR expertise will be needed to deal with predicted

'cliff edge' issues.

Recognition of importance of workforce planning and'Workforce Matters' by Members, SDB and Heads ofService.

Threats

Continuously reducing budgets put pressure on HRstaff at the same time as increasing HR workloadfrom other affected staff.

The political view of HR as support service notorganisational development.

"Fire-fighting" other people's problems which couldhave been avoided had HR been approached foradvice/support earlier.




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3.2 Customer Needs Analysis

Further work will be undertaken in 2010/11 to establish what managers want the HRservice to deliver in more detail.

A review by District Audit into workforce management across the council found someimprovement and some critical work yet to be done (see Workforce Management Review,March 2010 and agreed action plan). The actions for HR have been integrated into thisbusiness plan.

The intervention approach used by HR in its reviews considers the service required bycustomers which is then used as the basis for re-design and on-going maintenance of thesystems and processes. HR is committed to this approach and the new ways of workingestablished.

Following the recruitment intervention in 2007/08 there is now feedback taken from everymanager and every successful applicant with regard to how well they thought the process

went and any improvements the individual could identify. These are considered asindividual pieces of feedback and then considered as part of an overall position to see ifthere are any trends from which potential changes to the processes or policies can beidentified.

The Diversity Staff Groups are becoming more established and HR will increasingly usetheir members in consultation regarding HR policies and processes. The on-going feedbackfrom the BME Group has been most helpful with regard to the recruitment process.

The work of the Schools HR team is determined by Service Level Agreements withindividual schools and a survey is undertaken annually to determine the team'sperformance and any required adjustments.

3.3 Equality Review

The Valuing Diversity survey has identified a number of issues that impact on theperception of PCC and its services. These have included several areas that can beaddressed by the HR service in particular covering recruitment.

In recent years less and less of the recruitment service has been designed to incorporateface to face contact. Whilst the core design will not change the recent relocation of thesection has allowed the re opening of the reception facility. This will allow personal callersand this feature will be advertised from April 2010 onwards. The telephone service will bedeveloped to ensure those who prefer to use that as their main means of communication

are supported. This action will address at least in part the concerns of preferred access.However 74% of respondents quoted they believed they would suffer discrimination, this isan area that demands attention.

A programme will be offered to the BME communities and offer support in terms of how toapply and practical interview practice. First steps have already been taken and the BMEstaff group is assisting in this regard. PRENO will also be used as a potential link torelevant communities.

It is hoped this will be developed as a core offering by September 2010

The direct links to the communities will allow HR recruitment staff to provide managers witheffective feedback on gaining confidence of the communities.




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A similar offering can be centred on our community centres and cooperation of job centreplus and economic regeneration unit will be gained to offer support to people at suchvenues.

Core targets are already in place elsewhere in this plan to ensure equal pay issues areaddressed and eradicated from within PCC if any are discovered.

The removal of qualifications and no further use of application forms makes the jobapplication process simpler. As the full detail of the positive action protocols are publishedthen managers will be given guidance on the effective use of such initiatives.

Contact will be made with Portsmouth Disability Forum to work with them on their members'perceived barriers to employment. A meeting has been arranged with Mencap to continuelooking at the employment opportunities for those with learning disabilities.

Introduction of Apprenticeships and the support of the Future Jobs Fund initiative willensure young people are offered a range of ways to work within the city council.The operation of the temp agency by PCC has attracted a number of workers from the

diversity groups covered by the survey and indeed 108 temp agency staff have obtainedpermanent work with PCC in the last four years.

HR has a number of methods of obtaining feedback from those who are its customers. Theinitiatives mentioned here will open up regular involvement and feedback routes to thosewithin the city not currently our customers but who aspire to work within PCC.

3.4 Performance Assessment Audit

The Local Pay Review had a huge impact on the resources and morale of the LPR team inparticular and also the operational HR teams. It is important to acknowledge the overallsuccess of this project (albeit with some difficult outcomes for staff), learn from mistakes

and to move on from this to deliver our new objectives.

The Audit Commission's review of Workforce Management in December 2009 (see reportMarch 2010) remained critical of workforce planning and performance management acrossPortsmouth City Council but recognised the policies set by HR to support workforcemanagement are robust and improving in most areas. Where the recommendations relateto the HR service they are included in the objectives in this Business Plan.

The Employment Committee ratified the work of the HR service based on a report to the 1st December 2009 meeting and the implications of this are seen in Workforce Matters andobjectives in the Business Plan 2010/11.

Progress on the key objectives from 2009/10 Business Plan includes:

1 Implementation of Local Pay Review – achieved on time and on budget. New pay &allowances package put into salaries wef 1.11.09, backdated to 1.4.09.

2 Difficulties in engaging Members and managers in establishing workforce planningacross the council are now being overcome and progress made following the CMBsession before Christmas 2009, with greater emphasis in the business planningprocess and meetings with each DMT.

3 Good progress against the Learning Works action plan in the development ofPortsmouth City Council as a learning organisation. MLE "live" in February 2010. TheMember Development induction programme to operate from May 2010 and allocation ofa budget will help deliver Members' requirements in terms of development.




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4 Good progress made in reducing sickness absence from 11.3 days to 9.9 days byJanuary 2010 due to the Occupational Health team's intervention in long-term sicknessabsence. If the trend continues, the target of 9.2 by 2010 may be reached. The impactof the new Managing Absence process on short-term sickness absence will bereviewed in 2010/11.

Little progress on re-invigorating the Well-Being agenda was made in 2009/10 but SDBendorsement was gained in 2009 and will remain an objective for 2010/11.

5 Increasing diversity in PCC staffing will remain an objective for 2010/11.

6 Good support was given to organisational reviews by HR and this was recognised bythe Audit Review. It was disappointing that Joint Waste Management Partnership didnot materialise and the progress of the Customer Access Strategy is held up by buildingdiscussions, however neither of these delays were caused or influenced by HR. In bothcases HR was ready and able to meet the high level of support now expected in theManagement of Change.

7 Reviews of HR complete and new direction for HR service emerging.

Within recruitment the primary measure used is total "end to end" time of every recruitment.Over time an upper control limit evolves and each recruitment that exceeds that isexamined in detail to assess the reason. This information is used to identify if any trendsare emerging regarding system performance that may require management action.Supporting this is our feedback mechanism from managers and applicants which alsoprovides information on emerging trends.

The importance of meeting with recruiting managers and recruitment staff looking for waysto meet customer demands have led to a position where teaser ads are standard and theuse of Twitter and radio ads commonplace.

Appropriate measures will be put in place as part of the current HR intervention coveringthe HR Policies.

The measures contained in the Developing a Learning Organisation Action Plans will bemonitored to assess progress.

Part of the HR service has a service level agreement with the schools in Portsmouth,currently this agreement covers 94% of schools in the city and the School Centred InitialTeacher Training provision. As part of the agreement evaluations on the HR Service areundertaken and published annually to schools. The feedback forms the basis forimprovements to the service each year.

The other areas of Operational HR evaluate the service provision by discussion withService Managers.

The planned employee opinion survey will inform HR and the wider city council of issuesimportant to staff and implications for the future development of policies and strategies.

3.5 Projects

The draft Customer Access Strategy will be available in May 2010 and this may result inadditional HR resources being required.

Projects which are instigated by the Efficiency Board may also require additional HRresources.




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Operational service reviews sometimes require additional HR support. Other services'business plans will be assessed to ensure the HR resource has been considered for futurereviews/projects and the resource Estimation tool completed.

ICT

Discussions will begin in 2010 to consider the development of the Oracle HR system inconjunction with ICT & the Finance Oracle Team.

Discussions are also being held with our IT Business Partner regarding

a microsite for recruitment

maintenance of MLE

the introduction of electronic filing, particularly personal files




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4 Service Objectives, Targets and Strategies

Objective 1Establishing new ways of working in HR

Reason for objective:The reviews of the HR service over the last two years has prompted a wider discussion of how theHR service should be supporting Members, Managers and staff in people management issuesaffecting front-line service delivery of priorities. HR staff need to understand what changes may beneeded in the way the service works.

Target:To develop the understanding of all HR staff regarding the current and future servicerequired from HR by Members, Managers and staff.

Lead Officers:HRMT

Assessment of Target:The clear understanding of all HR staff as to how they need to deliver the HR service is critical toHR being 'fit for purpose' in the short, medium and long-term.

Outline Strategy to achieve target: Annual 'AwayDays' for all HR staff to be resumed to ensure understanding of the new ways ofworking and how the HR teams work together. HR Managers to consolidate understanding inPDRs and supervision meetings.

Annual Target: An all HR staff 'AwayDay' to be held early in the 2010/11 financial year to discuss the recent

reviews of the HR service and the impact on future HR service delivery.

Target:To establish clear measures that will provide evidence of the HR service delivery and ofrelated people management performance across individual services.

Lead Officers:HRMT

Assessment of Target:The HR service needs measures which reflect the work of the HR staff as distinct from the overallpeople management performance of the Council, but the monitoring of people managementperformance across services should also be maintained.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Similar measures to those introduced in recruitment need to be established in the other HR teams.These measures will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure HR service delivery is meetingthe requirements of Members and staff and that managers are meeting their people managementduties.

Annual Target:Measures to be agreed in all HR teams in April 2010 and monitored by HRMT. Serviceperformance to be included in corporate performance management process.




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Target:To develop the understanding of managers regarding the respective roles of themselvesand the HR service in people management issues.

Lead Officers:HRMT

Assessment of Target:This will be an ongoing requirement as managers interact with the HR service on their peoplemanagement issues. It is included in the action plan following the review of workforcemanagement by the Audit Commission in December 2009.

Outline Strategy to achieve target: As managers contact HR regarding their people management issues, HR staff will explain how wecan support them.

The new leadership and management development programme will underpin the role of the

manager and the support available from HR.

The demand placed on the HR teams to be measured and evaluated as to whether a 'value'demand and used as a baseline from which to work.

Annual Targets: An increase in 'value' demand to be established from the newly set baseline.

50% of newly appointed managers seek leadership and management development within 6months of appointment.




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Objective 2To develop and implement corporate workforce planning

Reasons for objective:The council needs to understand its current and future workforce needs to be able to delivereffective and efficient services in the short, medium and long-term. Whilst workforce planning isimproving in services, a robust corporate workforce plan is required to maximise effectiveness.Corporate Workforce Planning underpins the 'Workforce Matters' strategy. Contribution tocorporate priorities "improve efficiency & encourage involvement" and "raise standards in English &Maths".

Target:To deliver relevant, accurate, consistent and timely data from Oracle about the existingworkforce to services.

Lead Officer:Stephen Todd

Assessment of Target:Baseline data from Oracle has started to be sent to services on a quarterly basis from January2010.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Services will be consulted to determine whether the baseline data covers their requirements orwhether more/different data is required and at what intervals.

Annual Target:

Baseline data to be sent in April, September, December 2010 and March 2011.

Target:To establish additional information to services from the Managed Learning Environment(MLE) and Skills Audits with support to managers on how to ut ilise it for the development oftheir staff.

Lead Officer:Jan Paterson

Assessment of Target:MLE went "live" in February 2010 and, with the results of the Skills Audit in ......, should providerelevant data on staff skills to managers for the first time.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Managers will have access to staff development information through MLE and from the Skills Audit.Managers and staff may need support and advice in how to utilise this new resource andrecognising the commitment to access the equivalent of 5 days (pro rata) learning & developmenttime.

Annual Target:To establish a measurement process to identify the use of MLE in the development of staff's skillsand abilities?

Communication with managers and staff in the use of MLE.




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Target:To establish workforce planning in the 'People Plans' services and develop for everyorganisational change/service re-organisation.

Lead Officer:Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:People Plans detailing how organisational change/service re-organisation will be managed havebecome embedded in the change process. These now need to be expanded to include moredetailed workforce planning.

Outline Strategy to achieve target: A framework 'workforce plan' to be developed to provide managers and HR staff with guidance onwhat needs to be included in 'People Plans'.

Annual Target: A workforce plan section to be included in each People Plan in connection with organisationalchange/service reviews in 2010/11.

Target:To develop a corporate workforce plan which will be updated on an annual basis, or asnecessary.

Lead Officers:Kay White/Jan Paterson

Assessment of Target:Managers are being supported by HR in the development of the workforce planning element oftheir 2010/11 Business Plans which will form the basis of the corporate workforce plan 2010/11.Workforce Matters (people management strategy) has not been agreed in time to influence2010/11 service business plans but the workforce planning element will be updated.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:The 2010/11 service business plans will be reviewed against the Workforce Matters strategy andamended where necessary to ensure the aims, objectives and actions are consistent with SMARTobjectives and containing a sufficient range of workforce data. The service business plans willthen be incorporated into a corporate workforce plan which will be updated on an annual basis, or

as necessary when other relevant strategies are agreed e.g. Customer Access Strategy, EqualitiesStrategy.

Annual Target:2010 Corporate Workforce Plan to be developed by June 2010.




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Objective 3To develop and implement the necessary policies/processes to support the development ofthe workforce.

Reasons for objective:Developing the workforce to meet the future service delivery needs of the council is a key theme ofWorkforce Matters. With the challenges which face us over the short, medium and long-term theskills and attributes of the workforce are critical.

Target:To review the Personal Development Review (PDR) process with managers and introduce arevised process which delivers their requirements to effectively manage performance andidentify and meet training needs.

Lead Officer:Jan Paterson/Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:Whilst there is some evidence of good work in some services there is a need to meet the demandsof all services. Strategic Directors have identified PDRs as an underpinning requirement ofWorkforce Matters.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Managers will be consulted to determine the reasons for resistance to the current process andamendments made where necessary. Compliance with the PDR process will become part of thecorporate performance management measures. Strategy Directors and Heads of Service will needto ensure PDRs are implemented throughout services.

Annual Target:Revised process in place by December 2010 to ensure a full year's performance measure can bein place for 2011/12.

Target:To introduce a succession planning process which may include defined career paths whereappropriate.

Lead Officer:Jan Paterson/Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:Succession Planning has previously been on an ad hoc basis in the council and managers requireadvice and a framework within which to work to introduce succession planning. Using examplesfrom both public and private sector a framework process will be possible. The implementation ofMLE will give managers access to the information they require for the development of their staff.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Research into public and private sector use of succession planning. Establishment of the needs ofmanagers regarding the use of defined career paths for succession planning purposes in some/allareas. Communication to staff and managers how to use MLE to provide a clear pathway forpeople to progress and help with succession planning.

Annual Target: An agreed succession planning process by December 2010.




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Target:To develop and deliver a leadership and management development programme for existingand new managers to enable managers to effectively manage staff.


Assessment of Target:The new leadership and management development programme will need to be based on needsanalysis, followed by the development of additional courses/programmes or amendment of existingones. Decisions will be required to prioritise the corporate budget spend or additional funding bemade available. Decision also required on any mandatory leadership and management courses fornew and/or existing managers.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Consultation with CMB on 1st April 2010 as part of Workforce Matters consultationConsultation with Third Tier Management Forum in Summer 2010

Development of leadership and management opportunities with the City Leadership Group andother local partners.

Annual Target:New leadership and management programme in place by April 2010Demand based on individual need in place by October 2010 (PDR deadline)Mentoring programme based on experienced managers, introduced by March 2011.

Target:To embed the 'Values & Behaviours' and Portsmouth Princ iples in HR processes to

underpin their practice in staff behaviour.


Assessment of Target:This is a longer-term programme of cultural change across the whole authority including Membersand Staff. "Buy-in" will need to be achieved over a number of years and assessment of progresswill have to be established.

Outline Strategy to achieve target: A Member led programme is being developed and will commence in May 2010

Pilot Staff workshops to be held in May/June 2010 using ambassadors from across the authority Assessed through observed behaviours and employee opinion surveys.

Annual Target:20% staff having attended workshops by December 201040% staff having attended workshops by April 2011




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Target:To improve the understanding of staff regarding the democratic process, the role ofMembers and the impact of the political dimension on decision-making.


Assessment of Target:The success of this target may depend upon the timelines of information being cascaded to staff.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Review of content of Working for Portsmouth to ensure understanding of political dimension isrobust.

Review of new Member Induction process and delivery of new Member Development programme.

Annual Target:Delivery of revised Working for Portsmouth programme in May 2010

New Member Induction process delivered in May 2010 following local elections.Use of Buddies fully established by March 2011.




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Objective 4Rewarding the workforce.

Reasons for objective:The first phase of the Local Pay Review has been implemented and the second phase – a RewardStrategy is now required to ensure we can attract and retain a motivated and skilled workforce.

Target:The development and implementation of an agreed Reward Strategy.


Assessment of Target:PCC has historically been a low paying authority and the financial predictions indicate that this is

unlikely to change, so innovative and non-monetary rewards must be relied upon to attract andretain staff.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Gain an understanding of the impact of various non-monetary rewards to be included in PCC's"remuneration package". Annual review of market sensitive increments. Promotion of PCC's "TotalReward Package".

Annual Target:Implementation of agreed Reward Strategy by September 2010.First annual review of MSIs to be completed by 30th June 2010.

Target:To conclude the first phase of the Local Pay Review by 31st March 2011

Lead Officer:Stephen Todd/Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:The LPR appeals against job grading will be completed by 30th April 2010. There are100+grievance hearings – all stage 1, which will be heard by January 2010 and then will go to stage 2

and stage 3.Grievances on changes to sleeping-in payments will be completed by .....LPR Equal Pay claims at Employment Tribunal will progress in line with the ET timetable.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:The LPR grievance hearings are being scheduled for one day per week, three grievance hearingsper day from 1st May 2010. Equal Pay claims will require legal support and will be determined bythe Employment Tribunal timescale and process.

Annual Target: All grievance hearings to have been completed by 31st March 2011.




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Objective 5 A healthy workforce.

Reasons for objective:Whilst there is evidence of a reduction in sickness absence through the management of long-termabsence in particular, a pro-active health programme would be beneficial to maintain the health ofstaff.

Target:The establishment of a 'Healthy Workforce' Strategy and delivery of tangible actions toimprove the well-being of staff.


Assessment of Target:The factors which affect health at work are wide-ranging and care must be taken to ensure arealistic strategy is developed which can be delivered. The resignation of one of the seniorOccupational Health Nurses may have an impact.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Healthy Workforce Strategy Group formed in late 2009 which will develop and monitor a realisticWell-being Strategy.Review of focus of Occupational Health service in 2010/11 leading to changes in service delivery. Assessment of Business Case for use of FirstCare absence management tool.

Annual Target:

An agreed Healthy Workforce Strategy by 30th

June 2010. Achievement of Work & Health Well-being Hallmark by December 2010.Know your numbers event in September 2010.Increase in management fast-track referrals for musculo-skeletal and stress disorders.Development of HR staff Well-being group

Target: A review of the Health & Safety act iv ity to support the Healthy Workforce Strategy

Lead Officer:

Stephen Todd

Assessment of Target:The health & safety unit is highly regarded but the recruitment of a new health & safety manager isa good opportunity to assess the need for and to deliver improvements in service delivery.

Outline Strategy to achieve target: A 'systems thinking' type review of health & safety can be started when the new Health & Safetymanager begins in April 2010, and any new way of working begun by January 2011.

Annual Target:New measures to be put in place to measure health & safety delivery.




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Objective 6 A diverse workforce.

Reasons for objective:To increase our ability to recruit and retain staff from disadvantaged groups within our community.To enhance the life chances of those residents in the lowest economic groups and those withdisabilities or with other diversity related issues that could affect their employability. To contributeto the corporate priority "Improve efficiency and encourage involvement".

Target:Effective policies for staff serving on various community groups.


Assessment of Target:This target is to support the improvement of staff understanding of the needs of our diversecommunities.

It is an underpinning activity, the measurement of the improvement in understanding will be withinfront line service activity.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:To review council policy on attendance at Neighbourhood Forums, becoming governors of schoolsand members of community groups.

Annual Target:Reviewed policies in place by 30th September 2010.

Target:To increase participation by PCC using consul tation and feedback from BME groups,Portsmouth Disability Forum and other disability support groups.


Assessment of Target:The target is to assess the improvement of staff group involvement in policy development whichbegan with the BME Group in 2009.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:To consult staff groups on new policies and processes to ensure they have a positive impact (or atleast no negative impact) on staff from diverse groups.

To ensure links from each of the staff group sites to the people management policies.

Annual Target:Ensure all new people management policies are reviewed before implementation by BME,Disabled LGTB, religion/faith and other minority staff groups by March 2011To ensure this consultation is adopted as standard element of policy development by March 2011.




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Target:To offer Looked After Children opportunities for long term work experience, school basedexperience and access to apprenticeships.


Assessment of Target:LAC remain a difficult group to engage with a higher proportion of NEETS and lower educationlevels. This initiative may help these young people view PCC more positively.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Close partnership work with Social Care to identify relevant placements and potential apprentices.

Annual Target:5 school based work experience and 5 longer term placements filled by looked after children by

March 20111 Apprentice place filled by a looked after child by March 20115 Apprentice places created by March 2011.




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Objective 7To support managers and staff in organisational change/service reviews.

Reasons for objective:The annual budget process has meant that HR is experienced in supporting managers and staff inservice reviews but the economic position and potential change in government may require greatersupport and experience of the 2010/11 budget process has highlighted some necessaryimprovements in the process.

Target:Staff are supported and the best outcomes for services and staff are achieved when servicereviews result in redundant posts.

Lead Officers:Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:Redeployment has improved following the review of the recruitment process and worked well in theIT Review. Members of the Employment Committee require a higher emphasis on learning &development opportunities as part of the process and this needs to be established quickly.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Review of redeployment policy together with the role of the HR Officers, Recruitment Officers andLearning & Development Officers in the process.

Annual Target:Revised redeployment process to be understood and rolled out by June 2010.

Target:Staff to be appropr iately informed and supported during the annual budget process

Lead Officer:Jacqueline Coonie

Assessment of Target:The current budget process does not allow HR staff to appropriately advise managers on theimpact of their budget proposals, nor to undertake the required consultation with Trade Unions. Achange in the communication of the budget process is required.

Outline Strategy to achieve target:Discussions to be undertaken with HFS and service managers on the possible changes to beimplemented in readiness for the 2011/12 budget process.

Annual Target:New consultation arrangements in place by September 2010.




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5 Resources and Capacity

5.1 Finance & Efficiency& 5.2 96% of the HR budget is staffing costs and therefore strict vacancy management has to be

followed. Staff duties and objectives will be continuously monitored to ensure delivery of therequired service and efficiencies will be sought continuously. The requirement for furtherbudget cuts is critical as all HR teams will be required to support service reductions acrossPortsmouth City Council.

The efficiency savings (or budget cuts) included in the 2010/11 budget will be achieved byfurther reductions in staffing through natural wastage, redundancy and a new SLA withSchools for health and safety resources.

The internal Temporary Staff Agency continues to bring in income from contracts withFareham, Gosport and Havant. Discussions are taking place with the University ofPortsmouth regarding the supply of temporary staff to them.

5.3 Value for Money

HR is committed to using the HR Intervention approach to demonstrate that HR is providingvalue for money services as required by Portsmouth City Council. The measures which HRhave introduced will ensure that we continuously review our service in the light of feedbackfrom managers and clear evidence.

Benchmarks with other HR functions will not deliver effective measures, however,information has been purchased and will be considered during 2010/11.

5.4 Human Resources (Workforce Planning)

Workforce profi le (August 2009)

HeadcountHeadcount FTE

116 96.47

Gender

Female % Male %

99.00 85.34% 17.00 14.66%

Age

<18 % 19-24 % 25-50 % 51+ %

0 0.0% 6 5.2% 89 76.7% 21 18.1%

Ethnicity

Non BME % BME % Undisclosed %

100 86.2% 3 2.6% 13 11.2%

Turnover

Leavers Apr08-Aug09 %

18 15.5%




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Current learning & development needs

Following the systems thinking review of the service there has been a structural changewithin the service reflecting the new way of working. The current challenge is to fullyenable the people working in the new roles to understand those roles completely andtherefore operate in the new ways. It has been discussed that there needs to be clarity onthe skill sets required for the different levels within the new structure which will help this.

The operations team have noticed a gap around making decisions based on the law ratherthan on policy and thus we have instigated a training session to ensure that the right peopleget an employment law update on a regular basis to ensure that they are aware of the mostrecent developments.

Within the central/employee relations team it has been recognised that there would besome benefit to providing some negotiation training. The Health and safety team who havea new manager and will need continued access to the legal updates. Occupational Healthhave also recently undergone a staff change with the departure of one OH Nurse and thustheir operations need to be reviewed against the organisational requirements.

Within recruitment it was identified that there is a skills gap between recruitment officer andrecruitment coordinator which should be assessed to understand the impact of this &propose any action required to address it. An area that has been discussed is about more formal job shadowing and or job rotationwithin the department areas to ensure that we are equipping our own staff with the skills &knowledge to work across the service.

Service and/or Corporate projects/init iatives planned within the next financial year(or duration of the business plan)

No service projects are planned within HR, although we will play a key part within other

services plans.

We are keeping abreast of the changes to the Government’s Vetting and Barring Scheme(VBS) from July 2010 where all new employees and volunteers, and those moving jobs whowant to work with children or vulnerable adults frequently or intensively will be able toregister with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The ISA was created to helpprevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults. They work inpartnership with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to help ensure that there is ‘no knownreason’ why individuals who work or wish to work or volunteer with children or vulnerableadults shouldn’t do so.

From November 2010, all new employees and volunteers who want to work with children

and vulnerable adults frequently or intensively in a wide variety of settings must be ISA-registered before they can start work. From then it will be illegal to employ people who arenot ISA-registered.

From Apri l 2011 people who are already working in regulated activity may apply for ISA-registration. This will happen in phases up to July 2015 and employers will tell people whenthey should join.

Employers, local authorities, professional regulators and other bodies have a duty to referto the ISA, information about individuals working with children or vulnerable adults wherethey consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm.

These changes need to be incorporated in our way of working to ensure compliance at thehighest level with these new measures and an additional 0.5wte is required to support theassociated administration.




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Efficiency and Budget Savings

During May 2010 there is a scheduled review of the recent system thinking review whichwill allow continued progression against this area of efficiency & budget savings.

Succession Planning

In addition to the job rotation and or job shadowing proposed under the first area we knowthat we need to use the appraisal process to look at possible options around successionplans for HR. In this way we hope to be able to ensure that we have the knowledge, skills& ability within the team to be confident around key/unique posts within the service.

A professional development programme is assessed annually to allow appropriate staff toundertake professional HR/learning & development qualifications. Within Operational Teamonly one member of staff does not hold PQ Diploma in HR. Within Health & Safety – theHealth & Safety Officer Officers are qualified and their development will centre aroundCIPD. In the Central Team and Recruitment. Learning & Development day releaseopportunities have been approved to support further professional qualifications.

Workforce Diversity

The HR workforce is representative of the demographics of PCC: the community it serves.Where the roles are customer facing recruitment will continue to deliver the right person inthe right job at the right time.

Recruitment is working with the staff diversity groups to widen our recruitment from thevarious communities council-wide.

Recruitment and Retention

The posts that have been difficult to recruit to are Assistant Heads of HR and interimspecialist staff. There has been no recent requirement to recruit in these areas and themarket will have to be re-tested. Recruitment is working with the staff diversity groups towiden our recruitment from the various communities council-wide.

Absence Management

Absence in HR is in the lower quartile and each absence is followed up and managed at anindividual level.

Working Practices

An area that would make significant impact for HR would be around electronic filing &mobile working. Both of these will be researched over the next year.

Learning and Development

For the operational & central teams a workplace investigations course has been plannedwith Butterworths/Lexis Nexis. Additionally Employment law updates are being scheduledto ensure knowledge is kept up-to-date. A whole service Awayday will also be scheduled forsummer 2010.

Values and Behaviours

HR will continue to play a key partner role with Customer Services to look at the values &behaviours work with Councillor Buggy. Additionally through the workforce strategy HR willcontinue to be there to deliver the change for services as required and embrace thePortsmouth Principles.




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5.5 Assets

The relocation of recruitment, learning & development to Floor 1 and HR teams to twolocations on Floor 3 & 4 will result in more effective working but further improvements canonly be made if the HR service could be located all together.




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6 Other Key Corporate Issues

6.1 Section 17 requirements to consider Community Safety

The service contributes to Section 17 of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act in the followingways:

supports staff who are victims of crime

ensures that our staff vetting procedures are sufficient to protect clients/public fromvictimisation/abuse

monitors racial/sexual harassment in the workplace and ensures access to supportservices

has policies on violence in the workplace and the use of drugs and alcohol

provides personal safety guidance/training for all staff including those working out-ofhours and/or in dangerous situations

integrates crime reduction issues into recruitment procedures

6.2 Sustainabili ty & Climate ChangeThe service contributes to the authority's sustainability and climate change policies and

targets in the following ways: ensuring that the relevant HR policies are in place and fit for purpose to enable all

services to meet the authority's requirements

As a service we will:

Review how our staff travel to work and where appropriate utilise flexible workingpolicies

Review how our staff travel for work and investigate alternative, equally efficientalternatives, ensuring that car travel is only undertaken where other options areinappropriate.

Ensure staff are switching off electrical equipment when not in use.

Only printing where necessary and using MDF printers unless there areconfidentiality issues. When using other printers we will print double sided.

Ensure all staff have flat screen monitors.

6.3 Equality and DiversityEquality Impact Assessments will be undertaken in line with the new EIA guidance.

6.4 Duty to InvolveThe BME Staff Group are contacting their own communities to consider taking upRecruitment's offer to run workshops on applying for PCC posts and recruitment andselection generally as the offer to all named communities has not elicited any involvement.The other Staff Groups will be approached for similar advice.

The resident survey will be used when viable.The results of the employee opinion survey in June 2010 will be evaluated and appropriateaction taken.SDB, CMB and Third Tier will be used to gauge demand as our customers.

6.5 SafeguardingHuman Resources is the lead agency for safeguarding issues surrounding the employmentof staff, with responsibility for checking information and data associated with recruitmentand selection and appraisal, leading on the vetting and barring requirement under TheSafeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, and undertaking relevant checks.

Working with Children, Education and Young People's Services to ensure the safeguardingelement is incorporated into staff induction, training.




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The Operational Head of HR also has the role of Local Authority Designated Officer whichis a strategic role within the framework of "Working Together" which requires all Unitary andCounty Authorities to have a role to advise, oversee and report on allegations managementfor the whole of the Children's workforce in the City of Portsmouth in liaison with the Policeand Children's Social Care.

HR has the lead role in the dissemination of information regarding 'safer recruitment'activity and information around CRB and ISA for PCC workforce taking account of the 10strands for effective safeguarding within the Portsmouth Safeguarding Compact.




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7 Risk Management, Counter Fraud and Business Continuity

7.1 Risk ManagementThe Risk Register for the HR service is in Appendix 1.

7.2 Counter FraudThis questionnaire has been completed and forwarded to Internal Audit.

7.3 Business ContinuityThe adverse weather conditions in January 2010 tested the HR Business Continuity Planand the general HR advice given to all staff was updated. The HR Business Continuity Planwill be reviewed again in June 2010.



Risk Register

R i s k N u m

b e r

Risk

Description

Outcome(s) of

Risk

Linked toObjective

Number

R i s k O w n e r

P r o b a b i l

i t y

I m p a c t

N e t R i s k

S c o r e

Control Measures

Red = Uncontrolled

Amber = Partial lyControlled

Green = Contro lled

C o n t r o l

O w n e r

P r o b a b i l

i t y

1 Changes to HRpolicies causingconfusion

Reduction inpeoplemanagement.

1 KW Med Med Communication ofchange at eachrequest for supportfrom Managers.Inclusion inmanagementlearning &developmentprogramme.

Green

JC

2 Services unableto provide infoon workforceneeds

Inability to planhow to resourcefor the future

2 KW Med High L&D meetings withDMTs to support

Workforce PlanningGreen

JP

3 Sickness Absence notreduced

Continuedimpact ofabsence on theefficiency ofservices

5 KW Med Med Roll-in of newmanaging absence

process Amber

ST

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You can get this PortsmouthCity Council information inlarge print, Braille, audio or inanother language by calling9282 2251.

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

hr biz plan

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