Equality and Diversity issues in C3i and Central Communications Command

Report: 4
Date: 27 March 2009
By: T/ Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report aims to inform members:

• of the role being played by Central Communications Command in supporting the MPS Citizen Focus Agenda and the Policing Pledge
• about how CCC is engaging with the community it serves
• of initiatives within CCC to engage with and support a diverse workforce
• of key challenges and successes in relation to equality and diversity.

A. Recommendation

Members are invited to take note of the contents of the report.

B. Supporting information

1. The C3i programme ended in November 2007. The primary objectives of the programme were to:

• improve call handling and the ease with which the public can contact the MPS
• improve MPS response to incidents
• release police officers for front line duties
• improve public satisfaction.

2. The C3i Programme delivered the centralisation of all MPS BOCU control rooms, Information Room at New Scotland Yard and the three telephone operator centres (TOCs). Approximately 1500 staff were transferred into the three new contact centres to form Central Communications Command. Transition began in November 2004 and was completed in January 2008 when the last of the TOCs closed. The transition was complex and represented a period of significant change for both the means of service delivery and the staff involved.

3. Throughout the duration of the Programme, community engagement was managed through local BOCU Commanders. This included presentations/briefings/engagement to PCCGs and other key external groups conducted by C3i Programme staff as required by the local Borough in response to the local community needs.

4. The programme also had full involvement and engagement with the MPA at C3i Strategy Group meetings and the MPA C3i Oversight Group.

The Citizen Focus Agenda and CCC

5. CCC is the largest emergency contact centre in the world. It handles approximately 10 million public contacts a year that include emergency and non-emergency telephony, fax and e-mail contact. The OCU is therefore the primary point of contact for the majority of citizens in London. Calls are answered in First Contact (FC). FC has a critical role to play in ensuring that the public can contact the MPS quickly and its core responsibilities are to ensure that calls are handled professionally and that the most appropriate police response is identified and delivered.

6. Throughout the three years of transition, public satisfaction for ease of contacting the police (SPI 1a) has risen consistently to the point where it now stands at 90.7%.

9. The new Policing Pledge requires CCC to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds 90% of the time. In January 2009 CCC exceeded this target by 5.4%. The target for non-emergency calls is to answer 90% of calls within 30 seconds. In January 2009 CCC exceeded this target by 7.8%.

10. Although the duration of the initial contact is limited (average length of a 999 call is 108 seconds), CCC clearly understands the importance of the role its call handlers play in the initial contact and handling of the call from the victim perspective. Customer satisfaction as measured by an SMS text call back process developed by the OCU has consistently identified that more than 90% of 999 callers who take part in the surveys are satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided.

11. To support the implementation of the Policing Pledge, the OCU is developing an appointment system whereby CCC call handlers will have the ability to make an appointment for a caller without having to refer the caller to another number. This will further significantly improve the service provided to victims and witnesses.

12. CCC makes good use of Language Line to ensure the availability of interpreters at this initial point of contact and training in the Language Line service is delivered to all staff, in addition to which the OCU makes use of the language skills of its staff for practical scenario testing of the service during training.

13. In January 2009, 1494 calls were handled using the interpreting service. The Polish community is the most frequent user of this service and the OCU has worked with Polish community leaders in West London to better understand the specific needs of this community. The OCU won the European Emergency Number Association Award for Best 112 Emergency Initiative 2008 for its use of Language Line.

14. CCC has worked with independent disability leads to increase awareness among staff of issues such as speech impairment and has produced a DVD for its staff on speech impairment. The DVD was shown to all staff in facilitated discussion groups and is an example of ways in which the OCU aims to continuously improve the service to all sections of the community.

15. For the deaf or hard of hearing CCC subscribes to the Typetalk service.

16. Call handlers also have access to a text phone that can be used for out going calls to text phone users for callers who do not want to use the Typetalk service.

17. CCC is involved in national discussions with other emergency services and technical providers to establish an emergency SMS for the deaf, and those with hearing or speech impairment. The mobile service providers are currently scoping a trial which will assess the technical feasibility of providing a service to mobile handsets which have been registered for the facility.

18. The service will provide an alternative option for those who routinely use SMS and either do not use a text relay service or in circumstances where it is not available.

19. CCC will be a trial site for this initiative that is expected to commence in August 2009.

Community Engagement

20. The three centres are each led by a Superintendent who is responsible for engagement with their local community. They deliver this in partnership with the BOCU commanders on the basis that the public are concerned about the end-to-end service and not just the initial contact.

21. A CCC Community Consultative Forum (CCF), which was established in 2007 and comprised a wide membership from established Independent Advisory Groups, has contributed to the development of call handling quality standards that apply to all CCC call handlers. The standards form the basis for a supervisory performance framework within the OCU. Call handling staff benefit from both ‘real-time’ and post call feedback on their performance providing a regime of qualitative based customer handling assessment that is unique across the MPS.

22. The CCF has now been superseded by centre based Consultative Groups where the focus is on the service being delivered to the local population. The groups have been used to review and inform local operations in support of diverse communities such as Streatham's Stay Safe Operation for the local elderly community.

23. Each centre is also actively engaged with a variety of local groups on a range of initiatives. These include:

• Schools projects – visits to and from schools
• Development of a National Curriculum package in respect of contacting the police and 999 abuse
• Attendance at Police Community Consultative Group meetings
• Borough specific open days attended by local MPs, Councillors, Community/Faith leaders.
• Attendance at meetings/events with Churches and Youth groups and partnership.

Demographic profile of CCC staff

24. The OCU has a staffing target of 2010, that is comprised of police staff and police officers of varying ranks and grades. The OCU has 60% female staff and 25% BME staff. 85 % of staff are aged 49 or under.

25. 1% of staff are recorded as disabled.

26. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of staff by their sexual orientation however the OCU has a number of LGBT liaison Officers and is working with staff to establish an electronic LGBT forum.

27. The majority of staff (80.9%) have not stated their religion. Of those that have stated their religion the majority are Christian, Church of England or Roman Catholic.

28. There are 267 part time staff and more than 400 staff currently have a flexible working pattern. A job share forum has been established to facilitate flexible working. The complexity of managing so many different working patterns is highly significant. This is due in particular to operating in an environment where there needs to be an almost exact match of people to demand if the MPS is to achieve the call handling targets.

29. A new workforce management system is due to be implemented in April/May 2009 which we anticipate will help match-staffing levels to demand.

30. The OCU is aware that while the overall representation of BME staff is good at 25%, the proportion of BME staff at supervisory level is too low at just 18%. The OCU has also identified that 40% of all discipline cases relate to BME staff and work is required to understand the reasons for this.

31. There were 17 Fairness at Work (FAW) cases in the last 12 months. Complaints from BME staff accounted for 41% of these cases.

32. CCC is working with the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) to develop an Equality and Diversity Action Plan that will include a focus on these apparent inconsistencies.

33. At the height of transition sickness averaged 20 days per person. This has reduced to just over 12 days per person. Absence rates in commercial and public contact centres vary depending on the nature of the work, the operating hours and whether sick leave is paid or unpaid. The majority of contact centres plan for an average of two weeks sick leave per person.

Learning and development

34. All new recruits receive, as part of the foundation course, a module on equality and diversity. This module (150mins) duration is trainer led with group discussion and participation included in this blended learning.

35. The NCALT programme for diversity and equality launched in Feb 09 is mandatory for all CCC staff.

36. The OCU is working with DCFD to develop a training module for call handlers in respect of LGBT awareness from a victim/caller perspective. This is a new initiative and is a partnership between CCC, its LGBT liaison officers, DCFD and the MPS Gay Police Association.

37. From May 2009 all staff will receive 4 hours personal development each month in addition to any mandatory or computer based training.

38. There is a structured career path. Staff join at band F telephonist or band E communications officer and there is progression within the OCU to band C Duty Officer. There are also a number of lateral development opportunities such as Pan London despatching and coaching.

Engagement with trade unions and staff associations

39. The OCU has a bi-weekly meeting with the trade union and Police Federation and the OCU commander meets with both groups on a six weekly basis. There is a formal partnership agreement between the OCU and the staff associations. The OCU also engages with these groups on subject specific issues such as shift patterns, breaks, projects, local policy and process changes.

40. The OCU has given two of its trade union representatives 100% facility time in recognition of its commitment to effective employee relations. During transition this was also extended to include the Police Federation representative.

Staff engagement

41. In addition to this formal consultation, the OCU recognises that not all staff belong to a staff association. It is therefore essential to ensure that as wide a range of people as possible have the opportunity to take part in the consultation process and are able to express their views. Examples of this type of consultation include:

• Weekly internet forum where staff can ask the SMT questions or express opinions – these are responded to within one week by a member of the Leadership Team
• Staff surveys – there have been two annual surveys, local ‘pulse check’ surveys and a Leadership Academy Survey
• Team briefings- regular Leadership Team attendance at the daily briefings
• Change Champions- champions appointed at team level to participate in change projects
• Staff working groups – e.g. Shift pattern Working Group.

42. The OCU is working with the Leadership Academy on a leadership and development programme known as Aspire+ that has been designed to engage and involve all staff in the development of improvements to working practices and the quality of leadership and supervision. The programme is well established with local steering groups chaired by staff that are actively engaged in initiatives such as supervisor training and development, the introduction of 360% feedback across the OCU and centre based team building.

43. A comparison of the 2006 and 2008 staff surveys indicate increasing levels of satisfaction among staff in all but two areas. The most significant improvements are the percentage of staff who believe they are performing a worthwhile role – up 52% to 85% and the percentage of staff who consider CCC to be a good employer which has improved by 24 % to 70%. People were least satisfied in the areas of training and development and staffing levels.

Equality impact assessment

44. There is a lack of specific data available to enable effective monitoring of caller satisfaction by diversity strand and the OCU currently relies therefore on the MPS public Satisfaction survey and its local SMS survey. The primary focus for the call handler is to quickly obtain sufficient information from the caller to grade the call and pass to despatch. Call handling times would be significantly extended if callers were asked to provide diversity profile information. In the case of a distressed or anxious caller it may not be appropriate to extend the call to obtain such information.

45. The OCU applies MPS corporate policy and MPS standard operating procedures in relation to its service. These are subject to EIA by the respective policy units. Internally the OCU completes EIAs for local initiatives or changes. The most recent EIA that was completed in respect of a proposed change to the current staff break schedule is attached at Appendix 1.

Continuous improvement

46. The delivery of the right outcome for the citizen depends on improved working with partners and across business groups to understand citizen expectation and the diverse needs of the community and to manage and respond to the demand in the most effective way.

47. For more than two years the OCU has been collecting and responding to feedback from 999 callers via an SMS text system to contribute to the improvement of the service. The OCU has also established a Critical Incident Review Group to enable the OCU and the wider MPS to improve the response to critical incidents. The OCU has committed to achieving Investors in Excellence status by 2010 and has also successfully achieved ISO 9001 accreditation.

 Business resilience

48. The C3i Project Team developed a high level Business Continuity Plan, which ensures the resilience of CCC during any technology, facility or people failure. The plan provides a number of tactical options, which can be implemented to ensure that service delivery is protected in both the First Contact and Despatch environments.

49. The Business Continuity Manager (BCM) is responsible for identifying areas of risk, managing pre-planned business continuity incidents, embedding the business continuity culture across the OCU and testing and exercising the business continuity plans.

50. CCC has the largest proportion of police staff performing a mission critical function in the MPS and the inception of centralised Contact Centres has created an environment where Trade Unions have a large concentrated membership. Industrial action is a threat for the organisation and the impact that this would have on CCC Operations is high.

51. The OCU invests heavily in its relationship with the trade unions. The effectiveness of the relationship is evidenced by the introduction of recent changes such as reductions to the length of breaks and changes to shift patterns to reflect peak demand. It is important to note that despite this investment and the effective relationship that exists, the OCU was twice on the brink of industrial action in 2008 over a national pay dispute and further work is being done to protect resilience in the event of industrial action.

C. Legal implications

1. There are no legal implications associated with this report.>

D. Race and equality impact

1. From 2004 – 2008 the focus for the OCU Leadership Team was ensuring the safe and successful migration of services and people into CCC and to improve the service to the public in terms of speed and quality of initial contact. The OCU is focusing its energy and attention on its people and on improving the experience of the people its serves.

2. There has been significant organisational learning from the transition of staff and services into the new centres. CCC has worked with HR Directorate to inform the transition plans for the Transforming HR programme.

3. The key impacts of the C3i transition on staff were:

• Increased journey times
• Change of shift pattern
• Personal upheaval
• New ways of working
• Changes to team and line management structure

4. A number of measures were introduced to minimize the impact on staff. These included flexible working and personal rosters, incentive payments, on site occupational health advisors and team building.

5. It has been suggested that the move to a centralised service may have resulted in the loss of local knowledge. Emergency calls and the majority of non-emergency calls have always been handled centrally therefore there has been no apparent negative impact on the community. The despatch function is geographically based and staff work permanently on borough based pods so that the relationship with the borough and local knowledge is maintained. In addition the dispatchers work in tandem with the Integrated Borough Operations Office (IBO) to ensure that local intelligence is also passed to units attending the scene. This coupled with the data systems available has improved the information available to CCC staff.

6. Bringing service delivery into the three contact centres has improved access to the MPS via telephony in that approximately 20% more calls are received within the CCC environment compared with the previous arrangement.

7. The OCU has established Community Consultative Forums at each centre and is proactively engaging with the local community in a variety of ways.

8. The OCU makes extensive use of language line to improve the service it provides to those who speak little or no English.

9. The OCU is proactively engaged in working at a national level to improve the service for the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired.

10. The OCU has a diverse workforce and makes effective use of flexible working to improve work/life balance for its staff.

11. The OCU is in the process of establishing local diversity groups that will be in place by July 2009 in conjunction with DCFD.

12. There are no negative impacts associated with the centralisation of the service however there are a number of challenges going forward.

Challenges

13 The challenges for the OCU include:

• Improving the proportion of under represented groups at Band D and above
• Understanding the apparent dis-proportionality in respect of BME staff and the discipline process
• The ability of supervisors to understand and manage diversity
• Maintaining the trust and confidence of all staff
• The ability of the OCU to fully understand and respond to the diverse needs of the community
• The ability to balance the needs of people with the need to provide a lean and cost effective contact centre

14. The primary means of responding to these issues will be through the Aspire + programme and the work that the OCU is developing with the Leadership Academy and DCFD to develop and improve the skills of first line managers.

E. Financial implications

 There are no financial implications associated with this report

F. Background papers

• “Terms of reference, establishment of sub committees and memberships, and the appointment of Chairmen and vice Chairmen.” Paper to Communities, Equalities and People Committee 6 November 2008

G. Contact details

Report author(s): Trish Lincoln, Central Communications Command, MPS

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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