Transforming HR (THR) status report

Report: 4
Date: 30 April 2009
By: Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The purpose of the Transforming HR (THR) Programme is to provide a more efficient HR service. It will realise total savings of £68.39m over the seven year life of the Programme for reinvestment in line with corporate priorities. Go-live is scheduled for December 2009, by which time the Programme will have delivered a new HR organisation, new service delivery processes and a new technology solution. It is a major business change initiative and this report summarises noteworthy achievements so far, and gives a high level view of the key features of the Programme over the remainder of 2009/10.

A. Recommendations

That Members note the report.

B. Supporting information

1. Transforming HR (THR) is a key MPS modernisation programme that will introduce a more efficient and modern delivery model for the HR function, a more strategic HR capability, and will ultimately - by 2012/13 deliver £15m per annum savings for reinvestment into front line policing services. The rollout of the THR Programme is scheduled for completion by December 2009. The MPS is being supported to deliver THR by a number of implementation partners, including Steria (assistance with overall solution design and implementation) and Capgemini, the MPS’ IT infrastructure provider.

2. The THR Programme will deliver a new HR organisation, new service delivery processes, a new technology solution, and is underpinned by a wide-ranging and innovative business change initiative. Whilst the technological and logistical challenges are significant the people change issues are significant too.

A new HR organisation

3. Day to day HR services will be delivered by a Service Centre based at Empress State Building. A 24/7 capability will provide improved access for operational staff, and field-based teams will offer face to face customer support. Strategy, policy and oversight will be driven both centrally, from a highly skilled and expert Strategic Centre, and from the business, through PeoplePartners. The latter comprises Business Partners, who are aligned at Business Group level to develop and implement HR interventions, initiatives and projects in support of business goals and priorities, and Strategic HR Advisors, who perform an equivalent role at B/OCU level. The proportion of HR resource devoted to strategic activity is planned to increase from 10% to just under 30% as a result of THR. The repositioning of transactional activity to PeopleSupport truly enables the quality of assistance for local SMTs to significantly increase.

4. Key achievements to date include:

• Design of new PeopleServices target operating model;
• Preparation and approval of programme business case;
• Achievement, with Steria, of the first three of the Programme’s nine payment milestones;
• Design of new organisation structure and headcount;
• Completion of all internal selection activity. As a result of this, around 130 individuals at pay band D and E level (equates to 104 full time equivalent staff) will be displaced from the HR function. An exit and redeployment strategy, developed in consultation with the trade unions and staff support associations, is being enacted to actively support affected staff to secure alternative posts within the MPS. However, it is expected that some individuals will leave the organisation. The attrition rate thus far is running at 16%.
• •All 11 Business Partners have been deployed in advance of the main go-live date to support the effective management of business change and the transition process and the Strategic Human Resource Advisor network is being established using a mix of MPS and external appointees.

5. Work continues to finalise the detailed design of PeopleServices, the name given to the future HR organisation, such as:

• Developing Service Level Agreements between PeopleServices and the wider MPS business;
• Designing frameworks for governance, performance management and quality, as well as the continuous improvement capability that will support the sustained delivery of future efficiency and headcount savings beyond go-live;
• Planning for and preparing for the THR transition, e.g. the transfer of live cases, accommodation build and decommissioning etc.

New service delivery processes

6. All HR business processes are being redesigned to improve efficiency and provide faster, more responsive customer service. PeoplePages, a completely redesigned HR intranet with new, easy to use content, will make HR information more easily accessible to customers whenever is convenient for them.

7. Key achievements to date include:

• Approximately 400 process maps have been created to describe the new operating processes. High priority processes have been subjected to an especially in depth review using the Six Sigma methodology.
• PeoplePages, the new HR intranet, will be launched within the next few days with a fresh new design and improved content. This will be further enhanced with information about the new ways of working ready for go-live.

8. Work continues on:

• Ensuring the data held in MetHR, the corporate HR information system, is of sufficient quality to support the new ways of working and will not undermine customers’ confidence in the HR service.
• Specifying and developing the management information reports needed by HR’s customers, as well as by those managing the HR function. High quality information, readily accessible when needed will support effective evidence-based decision making.
• Producing revised Standard Operating Procedures, Managers’ Guidance and Work Instructions for HR staff to support the new processes and ways of working. 

New technology solution

9. This enables and underpins the new delivery model. It is based on an upgraded and significantly extended version of the existing Oracle E-business Suite and incorporates Documentum, the recently selected corporate standard Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) product. The new technology will offer expanded self-service functionality to staff and managers so they can initiate progress and complete a significant number of day to day HR people management activities online at their convenience.

10. Key achievements to date include:

• An upgrade to Oracle v12 has been completed in Steria’s development environment in Hemel Hempstead, and work has begun on developing other elements of functionality such as case management, intelligent call routing, document management and scanning.
• The upgrade to Oracle v12 has been successfully migrated to the MPS’ Application Test Environment, which has been procured, and built by Capgemini.
• Work has commenced on the migration to the ATE of the initial cut of the full THR technical solution.
• The first two iterations of Conference Room Pilots (CRPs) have been completed, with the third and final iteration now underway. CRP is a recommended step in Oracle’s design and build methodology (AIM), whereby users and functional consultants collaborate closely together to build a prototype of the technical solution to meet user requirements.
• Work is underway on the procurement of the remaining environments (pre-production, live, training and disaster recovery) that are required to test and implement the THR technical solution.

11. Work continues on:

• Completing the design and build of the technical solution, with the third and final iteration of CRPs scheduled to complete in May.
• Completing the procurement and build of the remaining technical environments required to test and implement the THR technical solution.
• Migrating cleansed data into the new technology solution from the legacy systems which it will replace.
• Developing and implementing measures to ensure that the data is cleansed to a standard that meets the need for go-live. 

Business change

12. This includes a wide range of communications and engagement activity aimed at both preparing the business community for the new service to be provided, and at the HR community that is directly affected by the change. A comprehensive programme of training will also be provided, including face to face and practical training for HR staff, as well as computer-based training for all line managers and staff in the MPS.

13. Key achievements to date include:

• A sustained programme of activity to engage HR staff, particularly the devolved HR community. This has included staff meetings, workshops, open days, the development of a DVD to help staff understand the work of the HR Advisory Centre, THR intranet site, emails, communications cascaded through managers, and the development of the Career Support Framework to support individuals throughout the selection process.
• he first Change Readiness Survey, conducted in autumn 2008, provides a baseline for assessing the impact of future change activities aimed at the wider MPS business. The key findings were that, when benchmarked against organisations in comparable circumstances, the MPS is broadly where it should be, and is in fact slightly ahead of the curve with its most senior staff, who have been the focus for much of the change effort thus far, e.g. visits to B/OCU SMTs, borough commanders’ newsletter, attendance at borough commanders’ meetings etc.
• Mobilisation of a 94-strong network of local THR change managers covering all B/OCUs and business groups across the MPS. These individuals work closely with the Business Partners and deliver key communications messages as well as co-ordinating practical change readiness activities at a local level through Local Change Plans. Their work is supported by Programme-led activities such as Met Get-Togethers and Live Forum events, and the provision of a comprehensive Communication Toolkit.
• THR has commenced the rollout of the Business Partner development programme – all business partners are in place.

14. Work continues on:

• Communication and engagement activities will intensify in the coming months as the MPS approaches go-live, for example roadshows, videoconference events, poster campaigns and the use of corporate communications channels such as The Job.
• Preparing locally for the transition to the new delivery model. The content of Local Change Plans will become more detailed as the Programme’s transition plans develop, and the progress made locally will be carefully tracked and managed.
• Conducting detailed individual training needs assessments for HR staff, and preparing training collateral covering the use of the new technology solution as well as new ways of working.
• Preparing computer-based training collateral for use by staff and line managers across the MPS.
•  Keep warm activities for selected SHRAs awaiting appointment.

Testing

15. The Test Strategy and Master Test Plan have been completed and approved. The limited testing that could be undertaken in respect of the upgrade to version 12.6 has been successfully completed. The concerns that existed prior to the commencement of the contract about the length of time available within the plan for testing remain. In order to provide reassurance and following the introduction of the third CRP iteration, which impacted testing timetables, a review of testing was commissioned from a third a party, Mission, who were already engaged in the DoI on work to provide recommendations for a corporate testing strategy. Their report suggested that the situation was manageable but would require a change in the standard DoI approach to testing and greater use of ‘expert’ testers. At the time of writing this report, the DoI is working with THR to implement the recommendations of that report recognising that the testing programme heavily influences the mode and timing of THR go-live.

Service Continuity

16. The purpose of the THR Service Continuity Strategy has been to maintain levels of HR service delivery to the business, whilst allowing the number of permanent staff working in the HR function to reduce through natural wastage as far as possible. This will allow the Programme to realise planned savings from headcount reduction in a timely manner and minimise the incidence of redeployment and redundancy. Local HR units have been relieved of some more high volume tasks (recruitment & selection, and the administration of Special Priority Payments and Performance Development Reviews), which are now being undertaken by central HR. Non-HR work previously undertaken within HR units has been transitioned early to the business. Business groups have brigaded some HR units together to improve resilience as staff numbers decline. Temporary agency staff and fixed term contract staff have also been engaged in areas of high priority where resilience has been particularly challenged. Service continuity is managed by Business Partnerships, through close collaboration between HR and the business, and is overseen by the THR User Group and Strategy Group. A key focus at present is aligning service continuity arrangements with planning for the THR transition, to ensure abstractions for user testing, local transition preparation, and the training and deployment of HR staff into their new roles are managed smoothly, with minimum impact on the delivery of day to day HR services to the business.

17. A high level summary of the THR Programme’s implementation plan going forward is included at Appendix 1.

Programme Governance

In recognition of the size, complexity and risk of the THR Programme, especially robust governance arrangements have been established, incorporating implementation partner staff as well as relevant personnel from the MPA, HR, DoI and Resources Directorate. The detail of these has been previously reported to the Authority, but to summarise:

• The THR Strategy Group, chaired by the Director of Human Resources as Senior Responsible Officer, meets monthly to review programme progress, exceptions, receive reports on communications activity and service continuity, review Programme finances and to approve key programme deliverables. Authority Member and officers sit on the Strategy Group, together with three members of Management Board and key programme personnel.
• THR Delivery Board meets monthly to oversee the day to day delivery of the Programme and hold programme personnel to account.
• All programme partners work to a single programme plan, to which they are contractually committed, with a shared risk register, programme log and other relevant programme control tools in place at programme level.
• An experienced and independent Programme Conscience is in place to advise the SRO on key programme issues;
• A highly experienced Programme Manager has been appointed from outside the MPS to bring further rigour and discipline to the Programme;
• A contracts manager has been put in place as part of a comprehensive programme management team to oversee the portfolio of THR contracts and ensure supplier relationships work effectively;
• The THR Programme team includes a number of staff in key positions who have experience of large programmes including the Met Modernisation Programme, C3i and a number of MPS IT programmes;
• Management of the Programme is drawn together by a Programme Management Office (PMO) whose staff includes programme managers with commercial and MPS experience;
• Suppliers’ performance is tightly controlled within the programme governance framework, through the THR Supplier Group and Senior Supplier representation on other bodies within the governance structure. This provides a framework within which inter-supplier challenges and disputes can be resolved, and within which supplier accountability is managed;
• The supplier performance in respect of the IT elements of the delivery is also subject to rigorous scrutiny through the DoI programme methodology (the DoI lifecycle).

C. Race and equality impact

1.The Programme has completed an Equality Impact Assessment, the main findings of which were:>

• The initial assessment confirmed that the greatest impact will be experienced by members of HR staff currently working on the North East and South East outer London boroughs. At the time of the initial assessment, these HR communities were mostly female (approximately 80% of HR employees based on all the Outer London OCUs are female).
• A proportion of the HR community has caring responsibility, work part time and need to work at a different location, facing barriers to travelling relating to these responsibilities. For example, individuals with caring responsibility may not have access to local support as a contingency if they are unable to return home at the planned time and therefore may not want to risk the delays of the transport system.
• A proportion of older staff may have medical conditions and as a result face a barrier to relocation if they have a long journey to work.
• WhiWhilst ESB, where most HR staff will be based, may not be ‘local’ to all of the staff in the MPS, it has good accessibility and modern facilities for staff with disabilities and other needs, many of which are not available in many other MPS buildings. These include firewall lifts, PEEP system for evacuation, hearing loops, prayer facilities adjacent to main building and catering that accommodates a wide variety of different dietary needs, including vegetarian and Halal products.
• The Programme will improve equality of opportunities mainly by designing a career structure for HR with clear definition of roles and responsibility, promoting better development opportunities. It will promote equality of opportunity within the wider business by providing HR expertise as appropriate to enhance the quality of decision making with regard to people management issues. i>
• Additional data gathering is being undertaken to establish more detail about the status of HR employees such as working pattern, disability, and carers’ issues. This includes the Disability Impact Assessment. Consultation with the affected groups is planned as part of the Programme and through working in partnership with the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD).

2.THR is going ahead and is seeking to mitigate adverse impact and provide support to staff affected. The Programme has and will continue to engage the trade unions, police staff associations and the DCFD. Further work on the Equalities Impact Assessment has recently been completed and the Programme has involved HR’s Diversity Advisor.

D. Financial implications

1. 1. The business case for the THR Programme runs over a period of seven years, commencing 2006/07. Over that period, the Programme will generate total revenue savings of £68.39m. At the Full Authority meeting of 24 April 2008, the MPA approved a budget for the THR Programme, which included total capital and revenue costs of £38.80m. An additional tolerance of 10% was agreed against unforeseen cost pressures, giving a total permissible spend of £42.68m.
2. THR is currently forecasting total Programme expenditure of £42.34m, £0.34m within the MPA-approved limit. Decisions on testing (see para B15 above) have the potential to reduce the £0.34m margin, whilst remaining within the approved expenditure limit. Savings are forecast to be in line with those planned in the business case, although an issue has been identified with the recovery by HR of income for the costs associated with HR posts directly related to the delivery of externally funded services by the MPS. In corporate terms these costs, of c. £2.00m per year, are fully recovered, but it is currently proving difficult to agree accounting practices that renders visible the full extent of the saving enabled by the THR Programme. Table 1 below gives details of profiled costs and savings over the life of the Programme’s business case to period ending November 2014.

Table 1: Consolidated revenue and capital budget to spend comparison based on forecasts

3. The finances of the THR Programme are reported to THR Delivery Board and THR Strategy Group on a monthly basis, showing spend to date, forecast expenditure and available funding, and a verbal briefing is provided to the MPA Treasurer in advance of Strategy Group each month.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Avril Cooper, Head of Programme Management Office, Transforming HR Programme, MPS

For more information contact:

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

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