Mini-review of Human Resources and its contribution towards diversity

Report: 07
Date: 3 April 2008
By: Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The following report seeks to outline how HR is developing diversity and equality of opportunity within the MPS. The report highlights the developing relationship between HR and the Directorate of Citizen Focus & Diversity, and how many work streams relating to organisational change have become embedded within HR service delivery.

A. Recommendations

That Members note the progress highlighted within the report.

B. Supporting information

Highlights

1. The Together programme has provided the corporate environment to develop MPS organisational culture to nurture diversity, citizen focus and community engagement.

2. A programme of community engagement is being developed within HR to gain access to hard to reach communities, complementing the achievements of the Pathfinder project.

3. The Leadership Academy’s LA Local programme has been piloted at borough command level to help reinforce key values within behaviour, as well as highlight the importance of partnerships and community engagement.

4. The HR Directorate has developed many HR products and services, including promoting difference, talent management and training delivery. There has been a review of police promotion processes.

5. The HR Directorate has developed a relationship with the Directorate of Diversity & Citizen Focus (DCFD) to utilise the specialist knowledge within HR’s products and services.

6. The diversity of the MPS continues to broaden and expand, with black and minority ethnic (BME) now accounting for almost 8.5% of police officers. Nearly half of the entire UK’s BME police officers work for the MPS. Female police officers account for over 21% of MPS police strength.

7. The expansion of the extended policing family and safer neighbourhood teams since 2005 have provided further opportunities for local communities to participate within policing and community safety, and have been particularly welcomed by BME communities, which account for over 30% of Police Community Support Officers and Special constables, exceeding the BME economically active population of 26%.

8. The Career Management Unit has developed a positive action strategy to address imbalances within the organisation. The Recruitment Directorate has developed a partnership with colleges, London Employers’ Coalition and Jobcentre Plus to develop pre-employment courses for potential applicants whose first language is not English, to complement the access courses currently available.

9. The equality impact assessment process has been incorporated within the development of policies and business processes (e.g. development of training provision takes into account the needs of disabled groups or those who work flexibly).

Diversity success

10. The following section seeks to highlight many of the diversity successes and how HR adds value towards diversity and equality of opportunity. There is specific reference to employment, training, community engagement and performance.

Employment

11. The beginning of 2008 sees the MPS continue to make progress on our recent successes in this area. Since 2000 and the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, the BME diversity in the MPS has increased from 3.9% to over 8.2%; in terms of national police strength the MPS accounts for 44% of BME police officers in the UK. There has also been a significant increase in the proportion of female police officers in the MPS, which has increased from 16% in 2000 to 21.2% in 2008.

12. The recruitment of BME police officers has generally improved annually. In 99/00 at the time of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, only 6.8% of police recruits were BME; whereas in 07/08 this has increased to nearly 21%, falling slightly short of the economically active population of 26%.

13. BME representation amongst new police recruits is likely to reach nearly 21% by end March 08. During the last nine years from a total of 15,735 new police recruits, approximately 2,094 recruits were from BME communities.

14. The recruitment of female police officers has also shown an increase over time; for instance during intakes in the last three years females have accounted for 35.1%, 37.5% and 39.1%, respectively.

15. The extended policing family (e.g. PSCO and specials) have proven popular roles for BME groups. Within the MPS BME groups account for over 30% of the personnel undertaking these roles, which significantly exceeds the BME economically active population in London of 26%. The PCSO role has proven a particularly good starting point for people interested in policing but undecided about whether or not to become a police officer, with over 40% (n = 252) of PCSO turnover during the current year attributed to police officer recruitment; of these new ex-PCSO police recruits 23% (n = 59) were BME.

16. The marketing and advertising undertaken by the MPS has been a success in communicating the MPS recruitment message to diverse communities. During the last 12 months the MPS has won eight, including the Pink Paper’s 1st Employer of the Year, RAD Best Online Marketing Campaign, PPMA Best Recruitment Campaign for the PCSO ‘Make a Visible Difference’, CIPD Diversity for the Language Intromet and RAD award for the Specials’ recruitment microsite. The width of awards is indicative of the focused approach to marketing and how the MPS has developed a broad platform upon which to promote diversity from the perspective of recruitment.

17. The assessment centre data provides a useful source of information regarding the religious/faith strand of diversity. It is a particularly good measure as the data collection is standardised through the use of a registration form, which is completed by all participants on attendance. In this way, the assessment centre data represents a census of the assessment centre participants.

18. A snapshot of police and PCSO assessment centre data covering the period July to October 07 highlights some interesting differences between the two groups of applicants who would have responded to marketing campaigns during the same period of time. Firstly, the ‘prefer not to say’ group is significantly greater amongst police than PCSO applicants. Secondly, the proportion of Muslims applying in the PCSO group was over twice the size of the police group and 25% greater than the London Muslim population. Thirdly, the proportion of Sikh applicants was nearly the same size across police and PCSO applicants, as well as the Sikh London population. Finally, Jewish representation amongst the two groups of applicants was much lower than the London Jewish population.

19. Data would suggest that Muslims are more attracted to the PCSO role. This is noteworthy since the PCSO workforce currently has greater diversity than the police officer role. Consequently, there has been a shift in marketing focus towards encouraging serving PCSOs to consider the police officer role.

Initiatives to deliver diversity

20. The aim of this section is to provide members with information regarding the progress of work to support, promote and deliver diversity, with particular reference to the Together programme (including community engagement) and the Leadership Academy.

Together programme

21. The ‘Together’ programme is concerned with developing an organisational culture within the MPS through the integration and reinforcement of key values within daily work. A process of proactive community engagement underpins the programme to ensure that the policing services are focused upon the needs of citizens, communities and partners.

22. Through a process of consultation, the MPS identified the following four key values as being critical to the delivery of a police service within London:

• We are proud to deliver quality policing; there is no greater priority.
• We will build trust by listening and responding.
• We will respect and support each other and work as a team.
• We will learn from experience and find ways to be even better.

23. These values cut across the entire organisation, providing impetus for business improvement within fields such as diversity, leadership and people management. A range of behaviours, which nurture and reinforce the desired outcomes, underpins each value. These values have resulted in the delivery of a citizen focused/community engaged approach to policing and reassessment of the concept of leadership.

24. An early measurement of the impact of Together is the results of the staff survey ‘Your Views Count’ the most recent data:

• At least 75% agree that they and their team live the MPS values in their day to day work, particularly taking pride in delivering quality policing
• The majority agrees that their line manager values their contribution (75%), provides opportunities for face-to-face discussion (75%) and empowers them to do their job (67%)
• In the free text section, the 'best thing about working for the Met' was clearly identified as good teamwork / colleagues
• Being provided with regular and constructive feedback on performance from line managers received more moderate agreement (58%). This area is being directly targeted by the introduction of values based feedback as a core component of Leadership Academy products at all levels

Leadership Academy

25. The Leadership Academy has identified five key impact levels of leadership ranging from those on the first rung of supervision up to management board. Leadership development programmes are provided appropriate to the impact level and have been designed in partnership with the Diversity and Citizen focus directorates. The values and behaviours are at the core of the programmes. At team leader level the programme objectives reflect Morris Inquiry recommendations around managing difference.

LA Local

26. The LA Local represents a major milestone with the provision of Leadership Academy products and services at a local level. LA Local has three key aims:

• To provide MPS officers and staff in leadership roles with the skills and tools of effective leadership;
• To engage officers and staff at the local level in helping make the MPS a more Values consistent workplace;
• To ensure that the connection between operational activity and the Values is clear to all staff.

27. LA local is based on a number of key areas that the Leadership Academy has identified as being essential to the achievement of the above key aims.

28. The leadership style of the Senior Team is a significant aspect of what shapes the performance of a borough/operational command unit (BOCU). The starting point of LA Local is to work with the Senior Team, focussing on their leadership style and effectiveness as a team. Specific Interventions at this level include critical incident training, team development, individual coaching and Values Based 360° feedback.

29. Officers and staff are asked key questions about 'what matters' - both for BOCU performance and the type of changes that would make the BOCU a better place to work. A key part of making this happen centres around the setting up of a Steering Group made up of volunteers fairly chosen from across all levels of the BOCU. The Steering Group then communicate with the BOCU on these two key areas.

30. Communication is at the heart of LA local. If the MPS is to be a more Values consistent workplace it is important that communication across the BOCU is enabled and supported. This is done in a number of ways: (a) Working with the SMT and representatives from the local community to identify what the key messages are for the BOCU; (b) working with the Steering Group who can share these communication messages and feedback the types of changes that may make a difference to performance and the workplace; and (c) conducting a BOCU wide survey which asks officers and staff to indicate their views on where the BOCU is currently, both in leadership and communication and in making the BOCU a better place to work.

31. Based on the feedback from both the Steering Group and the BOCU survey, the Leadership Academy then works in partnership with the Steering Group to identify specific actions that may make a difference to BOCU performance and in helping to make the BOCU a more positive work environment. These are locally owned and supported by the SMT/Steering Group for implementation.

32. Leadership Academy staff provide localised interventions to officers and staff in leadership roles (Team Leaders). This would also include local community involvement and is based on a three-day module focussing on leadership, coaching skills and people management. In addition, officers/staff at specific leadership impact levels will be offered Coaching.

33. LA Local is currently being piloted in five settings - Hackney, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, Greenwich and Central Communications Command (CCC) – and likely to be rolled out across other MPS borough operational command units in 2008. The emphasis of LA Local is upon good leadership and partnerships to build MPS values into daily life, for engaging within diverse communities and improving service quality.

Pathfinder project

34. The work of the DCFD’s Communities Together Strategic Engagement Team (CTSET) draws upon the concept of citizen focus and community engagement to gain an understanding of emerging, often invisible or hard to reach, communities within London. The CTSET has developed close working relationships with local safer neighbourhood teams and senior management teams. CTSET regularly produces borough profiles drawing upon socio-economic data as a source of information/intelligence for local managers. CTSET works with local police where knowledge gaps become evident (e.g. the Latin American workshops were a result of the recent incident in Stockwell). Furthermore, the MPS is working in partnership with academic institutions, such as University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) to develop a better understanding of the issues effecting communities and is developing the Pathfinder model to facilitate this process.

35. The aims of the Pathfinder pilot are to help support citizen focus and engagement activity by fostering better mutual understanding between the selected communities, police and other stakeholders. The Pathfinder approach focuses upon increasing an understanding within both the police and Pathfinder communities of the issues, needs and priorities facing both groups in relation to safety, crime and policing. It is anticipated that the increased awareness will contribute towards increased safety of a range of communities, prevention of serious and enhanced community cohesion/integration.

36. During the first phase of the pilot, UCLAN has focused upon the following five boroughs: Redbridge (Pakistani), Ealing (Somali), Haringey (Kurdish, Turkish), Newham (Sri Lankan, Tamil) and Tower Hamlets (Bangladeshi); these boroughs/communities were identified as being high risk/low engagement during an earlier strategic assessment. Local community organisations were appointed during the pilot to consult and raise awareness of key issues deep within their communities, reaching beyond traditional community leaders.

37. In September 2007, the Phase 1 consultation findings have been completed for the following groups: Da’watul Islam/Darul Ummah, Building Relations with Communities Everywhere (BRACE), League of British Muslims, and Somali Youth Union. The results from Phase 1 have provided a focus for the remainder of the pilot. The Recruitment Directorate, which has overall responsibility for people-resourcing within the MPS, is working in partnership with the Pathfinder pilot to identify barriers to recruitment and selection; by gaining an understanding of the issues the Recruitment Directorate seeks to build upon its existing programme of community engagement to improve service delivery to Pathfinder and other emerging communities.

Community engagement and recruitment

38. The Recruitment Directorate has initiated a programme, which draws upon the Pathfinder model for community engagement to help facilitate access to priority groups. Initial workshops have already been run with Somali, Polish, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Turkish groups, as well as a funding bid to commission the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) to extend the pathfinder model to these five communities across four boroughs (i.e. Newham, Tower Hamlets, Haringey and Lambeth), culminating in bespoke recruitment campaigns. The community engagement pilot was discussed at the HR Oversight Group on 17 March 08.

39. As part of the initial scoping work for the community engagement pilot, a series of focus groups were held for members from the five communities. The focus groups have highlighted many really interesting issues, many of which are common whilst many others are unique to particular groups. The evaluation of the focus groups is a separate report and will be available to members at a later date. However, the focus groups revealed willingness for communities to positively interact with the police as a way to develop trust and confidence. The groups also highlighted how the lack of trust and confidence prevented a wider interest in pursuing a career within the police service. The findings from the focus groups will be used to inform our marketing approach and re-assess support provision.

40. Initial consultations with stakeholders, including representatives from the five communities, Independent Advisory Groups, Greater London Authority and Borough Commanders, have proven very positive about the proposed method of community engagement.

41. The HR community engagement project comprises the following stages:

• Project initiation, scoping and development of requirement (October 07 to February 08)
• Agree contract with UCLAN and develop pilot evaluation criteria (end March 08)
• Implement UCLAN pilot activities (March to July 08)
• Bespoke recruitment events (July 08)
• Evaluation of UCLAN pilot (August to September 08)
• Develop community engagement programme plan, including benefits realisation plan and full business case (October to December 08)
• Agree programme plan and secure funding (January 09)

42. The community engagement pilot will be supported by other ongoing activities to improve the applicant experience, increase the odds of passing the selection process and reducing the number of applications needed to meet recruitment targets.

Access Courses

43. These are courses run by several Further Education (FE) colleges in partnership with the MPS at several locations in London and are designed to provide potential applicants with an opportunity to develop key skills (e.g. maths and English) to help improve their chances of competing successfully in the police selection process. Participants are also provided with specialist advice and guidance on interview and assessment centre techniques, as well as a degree of mentoring by MPS personnel.

44. Currently, courses are available at colleges in Tower Hamlets, Hounslow, Southwark, Brent and Havering. These courses are particularly popular with BME groups with 53% of participants enrolling from BME groups out of a total of 396 participants. In terms of police applications, the course has generated 245 applicants, which generated 61 (25%) recruits. The data shows evidence of differences in performance between BME/white and British/white other groups (i.e. pass rates 18% BME, 8% white other and 41% white British).

45. A comparison between the success rates of those who have undertaken the access course by comparison to typical success rates shows that for some groups there is little difference between pass rates (e.g. Pakistani and white female) but for others, notably the Indian group, the pass rate has increased significantly.

Pre-Employment Courses

46. The MPS has recently brokered a partnership between London Employers’ Coalition, Hackney Community College and Jobcentre Plus to pilot a pre-employment course for people whose first language is not English; the course is aimed at non-warranted posts, such as PCSO, designated detention officers, etc. There is an expectation that successful participants will gain an insight into policing within the non-warranted posts before applying to become police officers. The course, which is at the pilot stage, has been designed to cover key competency areas and to develop these qualities within the participants. The pilot is due to finish at the end June 08 with a view of being rolled out in August 08. The course is also free to the MPS, drawing upon existing funding streams available through the Jobcentre Plus and college.

Touch Points

47. Improving the applicant experience and reducing the application requirement provide another focus for development work. Within this strand, the aim is to reduce the proportion of people who dropout of the application process. Currently, approximately 75% of people enquiring do not submit an application, similarly, a significant number approximately 20% to 30% do not attend the assessment centre. Preliminary research is currently being undertaken to, firstly, measure the effect of early contact by MPS personnel shortly after a recruitment event upon return rates; secondly, by way of telephone survey, to gain an insight into the why applicants (a) made an enquiry but did not apply and (b) dropped out of the process by failing to attend the assessment centre. In terms of the touch points initial feedback from those contacted (n = 80) has been very positive with participants welcoming the telephone call and offer of further advice. It is envisaged that based upon the outcome of the research, a series of touch points be introduced whereby recruitment staff provide proactive engagement with applicants.

Promoting difference

48. The Promoting Difference Programme commenced in January 2008; it is a range of development and support options open to all those from under represented groups with a specific focus on those seeking promotion or selection for specialist roles. It has been developed in partnership with the Staff Support Associations. The programme has achieved the following:

• Positive Action Leadership Programme – One course per month arranged by Career Management Unit (CMU) starting 20 January 2008; 144 places available throughout 2008. It will be subject to a high level and long term evaluation by the CMU. The first three programmes have produced a 100% satisfaction rate with one BME officer stating that ‘all BME officers should attend this programme’.
• All those taking part in elements of Promoting Difference are offered the opportunity to set up action learning sets. This ensures that the learning continues; these will be facilitated by the CMU.
• Springboard development programme for non-managerial women started January 2008 for 35 women; progress of participants will be tracked.
• The CMU have worked in partnership with the Safer London Foundation who will identify and train mentors from under represented groups within the business community to mentor a group of 20 police officers (at Sergeant/ Inspector level). It’s aimed at those who have the potential for promotion. Mentees and Mentors to be identified and trained by June 2008.
• In March 2008, the NPIA Leadership Development Programme for senior women will take place in house so that those with family or other commitments can attend (16 places, aimed at Chief Inspector /Band C level).
• The CMU have produced an intranet site called ‘my career’, it includes a guide to planning careers within the MPS, guidance on filling in forms/ performing at interview, etc.
• The CMU are holding a workshop on 29th April with the Disabled Staff Association to examine real and perceived barriers to progression or development and to explore solutions.
• The CMU is working on projects as required by the staff associations: with the Association of Muslim Police to create a workshop based on application forms and interviews and with the Gay Police Association on setting up a mentoring scheme.
• The CMU have met with ‘train to gain’ to secure funding for those from under represented groups to complete level 2 and 3 National Vocational Qualifications
• 2009 marks the 10 year anniversary of the Macpherson report; HMIC use the Breaking Through Action Plan to assess progress, a gap analysis and a plan for 2008/9 together with a strategy for diversity in progression has been produced by the CMU for submission to HR Board

Recruitment

49. Currently, Recruitment has 19 members of staff involved with delivering equality and diversity, including community engagement, support and events. HR Board has recently approved the bid of £175k to commission The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) to extend the pathfinder community engagement project. A detailed report was considered by the MPA HR Oversight Group on 17 March 08.

Promotion and Progression

50. The Career Management Unit, in partnership with staff support associations, has reviewed the context and delivery for promotion and progression. The promotion review has examined a number of documents (especially those which were likely to add value in relation to diversity impact) including the HMIC Breaking Through Action Plan, the recent draft HMIC Equalities inspection findings. This has resulted in a revised strategy, which is being considered by HR Board. The report highlights the importance of investment and rationalisation to ensure that the benefits of the programme are delivered.

Talent management

51. It has been recognised that the MPS needs to do more to manage and grow talent within the organisation, particularly amongst under-represented groups, specifically BME and female officers.

52. The new MPS talent framework includes a programme (Equip to Achieve) to develop the brightest and best BME officers to level the playing field and ensure that there is a more representative pipeline of talent across the organisation. The Equip to Achieve programme will target BME Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors. The overarching objective is to develop effective leaders and managers from minority groups, currently under-represented in the leadership and management levels of the MPS. Under the talent management strategy, the Equip to Achieve programme will be one of the places we look for potential candidates to apply for the talent pool and, ultimately, move onto the work-based assessment pathway for promotion to Superintendent.

53. Officers on the programme will benefit from intensive two-day development sessions based around core personal development and leadership modules; 1-2-1 coaching; mentoring; feedback and learning events. The programme will be explicitly linked to the MPS talent pool, with each Equip to Achieve participant mentored by a high potential officer to enable them to develop more understanding of what it takes to be successful as a member of the talent pool. The programme will also be accredited, with each participant expected to complete a Certificate in Leadership Development.

54. It is anticipated that by 2012, the Equip to Achieve programme will have effectively doubled the number of BME Superintendents within the MPS; projections based on natural growth without the Achieve programme indicate there will be approximately nine BME Superintendents in the MPS by 2012, however if the Achieve programme is taken into consideration the number of BME superintendents is likely to increase to approximately 20.

55. The MPS talent management framework sets out the programme for the career development of police officers and police staff to fill key operational and strategic roles. The framework document clearly highlights the need for investment in order to realise the benefits of the programme, and quantifies the staff resource requirement in the new THR operating environment. The Career Management Unit currently has one Band C engaged in developing and managing the positive action Equip to Achieve programme, as part of the broader talent management framework (1 x Band C). Current budget allocated to initiate the Equip to Achieve programme is £40,000. This will fund the programme design, marketing and support the development of 12 BME officers through a structured 12-month programme. Upon evaluation of the trial, an invitation to tender will be processed through Procurement to enable full rollout across the MPS. A business case has been submitted to the Director of HR and Deputy Director, which outlines the staffing requirements to support the new talent management function, with the Equip to Achieve programme and other positive action initiatives at the core of this.

Promoting difference

56. Consultation meetings held by the CMU have shown that there is considerable anger and cynicism within staff support associations in relation to progression

• All positive action intervention should be owned by HR Directorate so that career management/ development and promotions sit in one part of the organisation (currently elements sit within DCFD);
• Adequate resources are required;
• Careful marketing is essential, as BME officers have said that they do not want to be seen as being inferior or requiring ‘extra development’; similarly there will be resentment from the white male workforce;
• Are the managers adequately trained in relation to managing diversity, particularly practical knowledge for managing a diverse workforce (e.g. cross cultural issues)? The BPA and a recent HMIC draft report have cited that local managers acting as a filter for promotion is an ‘impediment to BME progression’;
• The above ‘promoting difference’ work is not factored in to the THR model. One band B, one band D and an analyst is required for the maintenance and development of the programme.

57. The key equality and diversity issues associated with promotion processes and talent management are currently under review. The review has identified that:

• More can be done in relation to the proactive management of the careers of members of under represented groups. Historically the organisation has relied upon staff associations to cascade career development opportunities to their members. This approach has resulted in a somewhat eclectic response leading to development opportunities failing to meet the intended audience. The review will (resources permitting) suggest that the organisation takes a more centrally co-ordinated role in the career management of under represented staff.
• Further work needs to be undertaken to positively market the opportunities afforded by engaging in positive action initiatives for progression and selection into specialist roles (including the fact that positive action does not replace fair and open selection processes). Many MPS staff have either little or no understanding of what positive action is.
• Within the MPS the PDR is seen as a key tool in relation to the line manager’s responsibility to document their assessment of a candidate’s suitability for promotion. It is however recognised that there is national concern that staff being filtered by line managers at local BCU level is perceived as an impediment to under represented group progression.
• The MPS is working to encourage and select more members from under represented groups to become trained as assessors.

58. The Career Management Unit is developing a positive action strategy for both promotion processes and talent management, which (resource permitting) is considering;

• The Introduction and development of the role of both central and localised diversity champions,
• Developing a police promotion/selection diversity action plan,
• Developing further specialist training in positive action,
• Developing the use of and responding to staff surveys,
• Re-examining the relationship with key internal and external partners,
• Ensuring compliance with employment monitoring duties,
• Re-considering the practice associated with temporary promotion, and
• Identifying and collecting data for analysis to make evidence based inferences in relation to progression and selection.

59. Although indicative targets could be set for the progression of under represented groups in the short, medium and long term. Such targets may prove challenging due to the competitive nature of selection and progression.

60. The positive action initiatives suggested above will ensure that under represented groups arrive at the point of assessment on a level playing field however there is no appetite within the organisation for any form of either positive discrimination or affirmative action.

61. The success of the promoting difference project has been delivered by two dedicated members of staff (with part support from an administrative post). Most of the above has been delivered at nil cost, however the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate have provided £10,000 for the Springboard programme and for the Leadership Development Programme for Senior Women. The CMU has forged links with the Safer London Foundation who will recruit and train external mentors. They will also train internal mentors from Staff Support Associations for no additional cost. A full costed plan has been produced by the CMU to allow them to deliver the Promoting Difference Programme and to fulfil diversity recommendations within the police promotions review during 2008/9; the full amount is £32,350.

Diversity of HR Staff

62. The following section focuses upon the diversity of the workforce delivering HR in the MPS. The analysis examines the distribution of the ascribed characteristics of gender, ethnicity and age across roles and directorates, and seeks to highlight areas of possible imbalance. Due to data confidentiality considerations, the analysis has been limited to age, ethnicity and gender. Moreover, due to the relatively low number of personnel within HR, several categories (e.g. ethnicity) have been collapsed for the purposes of analysis and to avoid identifying individuals.

63. From the latest Workforce Data Report (end of February 2008) there are 2,033 members of staff working within Human Resources including Logistical Services, comprising 419 police officers and 1,614 police staff.

Gender

64. As a business group, there is an even split between female and male staff in Human Resources. Females make up 58% of police staff strength within HR. Within the HR police group, female officers account for 27% of police officers, which is noteworthy because it is greater than the overall MPS female police strength of 21%.

65. Across the Human Resources Business Group female staff make up more than 50% of employees. The only exception to this occurs in HR3 (The Directorate of Training and Development), where female staff account of 31% of total strength. Further analysis reveals that this figure is as a result of the higher numbers of male to female police officers in this area (28% female and 72% male), although this figure is still above the current MPS total female strength of c.21%. Gender strengths for police staff in Training and Development are more evenly spread (41% female and 59% male).

66. The HR Directorate provides significant career opportunities for female police staff with 28% females holding senior/middle management positions, slightly exceeding the proportion of males within the same type of roles (i.e. 26%). Within the HR administrative category females are over-represented (i.e. 70% female and 30% male); however, within the police staff first supervisor category there is nearly an even split (i.e. 53% female and 47% male).

Ethnicity

67. C.30% of the Directorate’s total strength originates from a BME background. In terms of ethnicity and roles, workforce data shows that 60% of the HR police staff workforce is employed within administrative/supervisory grades, whilst 27% have senior/middle management roles. Within the BME/white staff workforce, BME staff are over-represented within administrative/supervisory grades where 77% of BME staff, by contrast to 55% of white staff, fall within this grade category; 45% of white police staff fall within the senior/middle management and specialist/technical grades compared to 23% from the BME groups. Consequently, although there is good BME representation overall, BME groups are generally concentrated within the entry level, administrative and supervisory grades, with relatively few within senior/middle management positions.

68. In terms of police officers within HR, a similar analysis shows that 86% of the police officers actively assigned to HR are constables or sergeants. The remaining 15% fall within the senior/middle management ranks, which includes inspectors.

Age

69. The average age of the HR workforce is 43 years. The mean police staff workforce is 42 years (range 20 to 68), whilst the police workforce is 43 years (range 26 to 58). Approximately 45% of the HR workforce is aged between 40 and 49 years. Approximately 66% of the HR workforce is aged 40 or more. Three percent of the HR workforce is aged 60 years or more. The workforces within the directorates of Training/Development and Learning Management are the oldest with three quarters of staff aged 40 or more.

Diversity data and MetHR Self-service

70. A range of fields covering the six strands of diversity is available through self-service on MetHR. During spring 2007, a census week was arranged for all MPS staff to populate the diversity fields. The census was a limited success and highlighted the need for further sustained activity by the organisation to encourage staff to complete the questionnaire.

71. HR Board have approved a programme of work aimed at improving uptake that will include a review of monitoring processes, increasing the prominence of the self-service confidential diversity screen facility and raising awareness of the benefits that such monitoring may bring.

Training

72. The Director of Training and Development presented a paper to the EODB on 6 December 2007, which highlighted the steps that have been taken to develop the organisational culture to embed diversity and equality within the workplace (e.g. community engagement modules within IPLDP), as well as the opportunities that exist to level the playing field (e.g. Springboard development programme for women). However, the report highlighted several issues that are being addressed to improve training provision, including access to e-learning, building capacity for community engagement in light of high levels in recruitment and ensuring training meets the needs of a flexible working workforce.

Role of Race and diversity competency and Diversity Learning Development Branch and training

73. The Diversity Learning and Development Branch (DLDB) has responsibility for the implementation of the PRDLDP, which has a range of requirements including that all members of the MPS (and extended police family) be assessed against National Occupational Standard (NOS) AA1 “Promote equality and value diversity”. DLDB has worked with key MPS stakeholders to include the Race and Diversity (R&D) national occupational standard to replace the Respect for Race and Diversity competency within the PDR process incrementally over the next 2-3 years.

74. The new standard will enable a higher standard of assessment to be performed around issues of R&D. The new standard will also reflect the R&D national standard that is used for student constables (IPLDP), ‘professionalising’ investigative practice (PIP) and work-based assessment for promotion (formerly TOWBAR). Consequently, DLDB will be in a position to better identify areas for development through the PDR process.

75. The DLDB are running workshops around assessing R&D against NOSs for those supervisors initially affected by this change to the PDR, and it is our intention to support this activity as the changes to the PDR rollout to all staff.

76. The DLDB maintains a database of approximately 200 community contributors who hold a range of diversity perspectives. These perspectives are utilized during the training of police recruits, PCSOs and DDOs to provide an element of realism.

77. As part of the response to the MPA Stop and Search Scrutiny Report, the DLDB is working with the IPLDP team to incorporate community focused Stop and Search Key Encounter Workshops into local IPLDP sites. The pilot activity was particularly effective and engaged local youth workers through Connexions to provide access to hard to hear young people, and young people who were collecting evidence as part of their citizenship award studies.

Police promotion

78. The recent Diversity Monitoring report provides information about police officer and police staff promotion during 06/07. The report highlights that during the police constable to sergeant processes the pass rates for BME/white officers were nearly identical at approximately 53%; however, data relating to the 07/08 process reveals a decrease in the BME pass rate (i.e. 37% BME compared to 51% white). The female/male pass rates for the same processes have remained relatively constant at approximately 50%.

79. During the constable to detective constable selection processes during 06/07, there was evidence of a significant disparity between the pass rates of BME/white constables (i.e. combined pass rates 38% BME and 59% white), with white constables over twice more likely to be selected than BME peers. However, this disparity is no longer evident during the processes in May and October 07. In terms of gender, during 06/07 the female constables had a higher pass rate than the male constables (i.e. 60% female and 53% male), with females having slightly better odds of passing than their male peers. This trend looks set to continue during 07/08.

80. The sergeant to inspector process for 2007 revealed that during part 3 white sergeants were over two times more likely to pass than their BME peers. However, the odds shortened to 1.7 during TOWBAR. An analysis of gender shows that female sergeants were 1.5 times more likely than their male peers to pass part 3 and TOWBAR.

81. The inspector to chief inspector process in 06/07 highlighted that white inspectors were twice more likely than their BME peers to pass the process. During the same process, the data revealed that male inspectors had slightly better odds of passing than female peers. This result is interesting considering the better performance by female officers during the sergeant to inspector process.

82. The processes for chief inspector ranks and above attracted few BME candidates, as the proportion of the eligible pool of candidates (Inspector and above) that they fill is quite small. The same is true for females, and the small numbers involved distort the results. Nevertheless, the females had considerably better odds of passing than male peers during the chief inspector to superintendent process, with females nearly six times more likely than males to pass.

83. The reasonable adjustment facility has been adopted during police promotion processes; for example, during the chief inspector to superintendent process in 2006 there was one reasonable adjustment from a total of 163 applications, and during 2007 the number increased to two out of 75 applications.

Police staff promotion

84. The data available for police staff promotions is less comprehensive than for the police processes. Generally, during 05/06 and 06/07 BME accounted for 25% and 22%, respectively, of those promoted. This is very promising considering the BME police staff strength is approximately 23%. In terms of gender, during both years, females accounted for 63% of the promotions, which slightly exceeds the female staff strength of 59%.

85. Although the overall trend for BME promotions appears positive, the good level of BME representation is confined to the supervisory/administrative pay bands, with BME accounting for only 15% of band C and 10% of bands A/B promotions. These trends appear to have remained constant during the last two years. The gender data shows a more even distribution across the grades during the last two years.

Race and National Learning Requirement

86. The Diversity Learning and Development Branch (DLDB) and Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) have integrated the new Race and Diversity National Learning Requirement (RDNLR) within police foundation training. Under the new requirement, which covers all six strands of diversity, specific R&D. DLDB is also providing direct support, development and guidance resources for IPLDP trainers to help deliver the new requirement. The new requirement will be included within the six-week training programme for PCSO recruits.

87. As part of the response to the MPA Stop and Search Scrutiny Report, DLDB is working with the IPLDP team to incorporate community focused Stop and Search Key Encounter Workshops into local IPLDP sites (see above). Our pilot activity was particularly effective engaging local youth workers through Connexions to provide access to hard to hear young people, and young people who were collecting evidence as part of their citizenship award studies

88. The DLDB provides support and guidance around R&D and Citizen Focus to the design and development of Leadership Academy products, and is planning to start work on how to integrate the requirements of the PRDLDP into all LA products.

89. The DLDB supports the delivery of LA local through advice and guidance around R&D and Citizen Focus; for instance, by developing R&D interventions around issues identified through the values diagnostic process. The DLDB helps to Facilitate community stakeholder groups as part of LA local process and supporting LA trainers in the delivery of R&D issues within identified learning interventions.

Retention

90. Two full time retention researchers manage and deliver the MPS exit process. They receive structured information either in person, via telephone or by questionnaire from all those who leave the MPS prematurely. All information is subject to detailed analysis in terms of the 6 strands of diversity. No adverse impact has been revealed during financial year 2007/8. Police wastage rates continue to be lower for BME officers (3.57% compared to total police wastage of 5.43% at the end of January 2008). One BME constable taking part in the Springboard programme stated that she had decided to resign but the Springboard experience has changed her mind and already caused her to make significant changes in the workplace.

Partnership engagement

91. The following section seeks to highlight areas where HR has actively engaged with other areas within the MPS, particularly DCFD and community engagement.

Police staff discipline

92. The HR Directorate work across all business groups to promote and deliver positive outcomes in the area of equality and fairness. The HR Directorate, in the area of Police Staff Discipline, have commissioned a study to better understand reasons why disproportionality in relation to race and ethnicity is a feature within some aspects of police staff discipline. This commissioned work has commenced with colleagues from the Diversity and Citizens Focus Directorate. It is anticipated that findings and recommendations from the study will assist in the development of further specific work-streams aimed at improving equality. The CMU is currently developing a communication strategy to identify and strengthen both formal and informal relationships with partners and stakeholders

Diversity Learning and Development Branch

93. As noted earlier, the Diversity Learning and Development Branch (DLDB) works in partnership with the IPLDP to introduce the new R&D requirement during police foundation training. A similar element is also planned for the PCSO foundation course. The DLDB has established a working relationship with LA Local and the Leadership Academy. The DLDB maintains a database of approximately 200 community assessors who make an active contribution towards the R&D element within police and PCSO training.

S.A.M.U.R.A.I (Staff Associations Meeting up Regularly and Interacting)

94. Whilst Minority staff have served in the MPS for many years and whilst the statutory organisations such as the Trade Unions, Police Federation, Superintendent's Association and ACPO, meet the needs generally of the Service, they do not necessarily have the expertise and knowledge in meeting the specific individual needs of minority groups and assisting us with recruitment and relationships. For example, provision of prayer facilities and equipment for staff and prisoners, adaptation of uniform, cultural needs and awareness, etc. The contribution of the Staff Support Associations is acknowledged here and we very much welcome their input.

95. To meet some of these needs, Staff Support Associations were formed. The Catholic Police Guild, Black Police Association and Christian Police Associations were some of the first.

96. Despite the different needs of individual Associations, most experienced similar issues when negotiating with the Service, so the Staff Support Associations established an "umbrella" group of their respective Chairs, now known as S.A.M.U.R.A.I. Today there are now 17 Staff Support Associations within the MPS.

97. The collective SAMURAI meet on a four-monthly basis with The Director of Human Resources. The meeting is consultative, where Staff Support Associations are given opportunity to comment on proposed initiatives and prospective policy changes. Recent topics that have been discussed by the group include The Recruitment Community Engagement Strategy and the new DPS Misconduct Procedures. The ‘Together Programme’ is included as a standing agenda item where Staff Association representatives have the opportunity to question members of the Together SMT on progress.

Other links

8. The DCFD has a multi-dimensional relationship with a wide range of HR services, including the following:

• All strands receive EIA’s from HR and give feedback on the impact around their specialist areas.
• Members of SMT and Strand Leads give presentations to Police Staff Induction Days and Police Recruits at Hendon.
• Disability Strand offer advice on reasonable adjustments etc. to HR managers.
• Mentoring for LGBT staff.
• Offer advice on communication within monitoring strategy.
• Engage with Pride and Jobs Fair.
• Stonewall work place equality index.
• Age awareness campaigns and newsletters.
• Bullying & harassment posters.
• Linking with HR around Equality Schemes.
• Links with Staff Associations
• Disability Strand work with HR around disability related seminars and awareness raising.
• Faith Strand has worked closely with recruitment and the Faith based Staff Associations on the following annual events run by the GLA in Trafalgar Square: Vaisakhi, Diwali and EID. With the Staff Associations, for example the Strand supported The Metropolitan Police Hindu Association last year when they hosted the launch of the Diwali working group at Simpson Hall, Hendon. The Hindu Staff Association and Faith Strand welcomed the visitors on behalf of the MPS.
• DCFD has had significant engagement with HR CMU in terms of positive action initiatives and in supporting the "Promoting Difference" Programme.
• The HR Strategic Director (Employee Relations and Well-being) sits on Diversity Board and Equalities Scheme Programme Board.
• Closer links being developed in terms of Equalities Scheme Governance and monitoring - main link T/Assistant Director Practice Support Team.
• One off pieces of work; HR input into Gender Action Panel (HR Strategic Director – Employee Relations and Well-being) and consultation on formation of Diversity Practitioner's Solutions forum (formerly Gender Group).
• Consulted with HR Strategic Director (Employee Relations and Well-being) in terms of values and expectations of new recruits into the organization and in support of Vetting Board regarding diversity monitoring and career break vetting policy.

Equality Impact Assessments

99. The Employee Relations Unit of HR Services is responsible for the co-ordination of all HR policies and standard operating procedures (managers’ guidance) and accordingly an established framework has been put in place for the development and review/revision of policies and standard operating procedures. Under the framework when developing or reviewing/revising a policy and its associated standard operating procedures both an Equality Impact Assessment and a Policy Workbook are opened at the beginning of the process and they are used to inform the consultation process that is subsequently undertaken.

100. The consultation process seeks the views of a variety of key stakeholders and groups, for example the Trade Unions, Staff Support Associations, HR Managers, Business Managers, Police Federation, Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate and Legal Services. The consultation process particularly seeks views in respect of the six strands of diversity currently monitored by the MPS (age, disability, faith/belief, gender, LGBT and race) to ensure that the policies and standard operating procedures do not adversely impact on any of the strands. In cases where any adverse impact is identified, steps are taken to alleviate the impact. Upon completion of the development or review/revision process all actions taken are clearly annotated in the Equality Impact Assessment, which is then subject to a quality control mechanism and subsequently published on the MPS Publication Scheme and available for inspection by the public.

101. Transforming HR will bring about significant changes in the makeup of the HR function and accordingly it was considered that there needed to be a policy with supporting standard operating procedures to cover members of police staff who would be displaced as a result. The policy and standard operating procedures were formulated within the terms of the established framework and provide for positive action in respect of those members of police staff who are displaced as a result of organisational change, not only in respect of Transforming HR but any other organisational change, whether large or small that may be necessary.

102. A copy of the text of the Equality Impact Assessment for the Organisation Change Policy and standard operating procedures is attached for information at Appendix 1. The EIA for the Transforming HR programme can be found at Appendix 2.

103. The recent strategic review of the police promotion infrastructure was undertaken in partnership with staff associations, whose views have been incorporated into the final report and recommendations. The process used to develop training courses within the MPS also incorporates a process of equality impact assessment; in this way, the course designers take into account the potential needs of participants.

Abbreviations

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic

BOCU

Borough Operational Command Unit

BPA

Black Police Association

BRACE

Building Relations with Communities Everywhere

CCC

Central Communications Command

CMU

Career Management Unit

DCFD

Diversity & Citizen Focus

DLDB

Diversity Learning & Development Branch

FE

Further Education

HMIC

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

HR

Human Resources

IPLDP

Police Learning & Development Programme

LA

Leadership Academy

LGBT

Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender

NOSs

National Occupational Standards

NPIA

National Policing Improvement Agency

PCSO

Police Community Support Officers

PDR

Performance Development Review

R&D

Race and Diversity

SMT

Senior Management Team

UCLAN

University of Central Lancashire

C. Race and equality impact

The equality impact of this report has been highlighted throughout the main body of the report.

D. Financial implications

The financial implications of this report are highlighted through the main body of the report.

E. Background papers

Appendix 1 Equality impact assessment for organisational change
Appendix 2 Equality impact assessment for Transforming HR

References
MPS Talent Management Strategy (2008)
MPS Police Promotions Policy Development (2008)
How the MPS will deliver equality through training (2007)
MPS Diversity Monitoring Report 2007/08 (2008)

F. Contact details

Report author: Duncan Arnold – Head of Recruitment Programmes, Planning and Information, MPS

For more information contact:

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

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