HR Communication with Local HR Managers And Staff

Report: 6
Date: 16 September 2004
By: Commissioner

Summary

As requested by this Committee at its meeting on 22 July 2004, this report outlines the HR Live Forum and HR Managers’ meetings processes used by central HR Directorate to communicate with MPS staff in general and with locally based HR managers and units.

A. Recommendation

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

1. This report provides information about two principal communications processes utilised by central HR Directorate to communicate with all MPS staff and with locally-based HR managers and units. The report also briefly outlines the relationship between central HR and local HR managers and staff which is pertinent to these communication processes.

HR Live Forum

2. The HR Live Forum has been operating since April 2002 and was designed to provide an opportunity for two-way communication between the Human Resources Senior Management Team (HR Board), led by Bernard Hogan-Howe, Assistant Commissioner Human Resources, and all MPS staff regarding human resource issues. The aim was to have something similar to internet-based chat-rooms where questions could be answered as they were posed.

3. The Forum is run fortnightly on the MPS intranet, for one hour. During this time, all staff across the MPS are encouraged to post questions. Both the questions and answers are posted on the intranet for general viewing as soon as questions are answered. Any repeated questions are referred to previous answers and a ‘frequently asked questions’ section has more recently been introduced. It is expected that once a question has been posed it will be available online with an answer within twenty minutes.

4. To run the Forum requires the HR Board with supporting staff to meet together in order that questions can be dealt with by the appropriate senior manager and that cross-cutting questions can be discussed to provide a composite answer.

5. On occasions, the Forum is ‘themed’ so that time is dedicated to questions relating to a particular topic (for example, Police Reform) and specialist staff from that topic area can be in attendance to assist with answering the questions. However, questions on any human resource subject matter are always taken, whether the session is themed or not.

6. Any questions that cannot be answered immediately are forwarded to the relevant HR team. In such cases, the individual who has posed the question is advised by email who will be in contact with them and when. Once the question has been answered to the satisfaction of all concerned, it will then be published online.

7. Past Forum sessions are archived on the Human Resources intranet site for reference. All staff are notified of future HR Forum dates and times via the home page of the MPS intranet site.

8. The effectiveness Forum is evaluated regularly and it is a very popular tool for staff to provide feedback as to the service HR provides and the function and policies in general. The ‘theming’ of individual Forums has often come as a direct response to feedback. The number of questions asked at each session has been steadily increasing. This is in part due to the increased speed of the technology since its inception. Currently 60 to 70 questions are received for each session.

9. The main issues raised on the Forum have been:

• Childcare
• Compulsory Transfer
• Free Rail Travel
• Key Home Buy Scheme
• Ospre police promotion examinations
• Police Officer Pay
• Police Staff Pay
• Promotion
• Special Priority Payments
• Workforce Planning

10. Frequently asked questions surrounding these issues are easily accessible in their own dedicated section within the Forum intranet pages.

11. Themed HR Forums have included:

• Empress State Building – new location for many staff
• Health and Safety
• Disability
• Competency Framework.
• Flexible Working
• Police Reform

12. The HR Forum is the most popular form of regular communication delivered by HR. It is appreciated by MPS staff and has been adopted by other Directorates within the MPS because of its success.

13. Since the HR Forum began in 2002, the MPS intranet software, Nexus, has been upgraded which has significantly diminished the number of technical faults that have occurred. This has been essential in maintaining the integrity of the ‘live’ Forum.

14. Lessons learnt in operating the Forum include the need to hold the Forum at various times of the day and on a variety of days of the week to be sensitive to the flexible working needs of all staff

Meetings with HR Managers

15. Meetings are held every two months between ACHR/Director of HR and all local HR Managers. The purpose is to ensure there is sufficient and timely communication between central Human Resources and locally based HR Managers, the sharing of common issues and for networking amongst the HR managers. The HR Managers are split into two groups on separate days to allow discussion and some flexibility in attendance.

16. The meetings have the following structure:

• Directors deliver updates and new information on current issues within each of the Human Resources Directorates – People Development, Recruitment, Services, Training and Development, Pay and Benefits and Strategy.
• One or two items for presentation or more substantive discussion
• Any new legislation to affect the HR function
• Sharing of best practice
• Open Forum - HR Managers are encouraged to ask questions and raise concerns

17. Attendees receive a copy of the meeting format with space allowed for note taking under each topic. Questions raised that are unable to be answered are logged and responded to as soon as possible. Action logs are maintained.

18. Issues raised regularly within these meetings include:

• Local Police Officer/Police Staff strength
• Recruitment/Retention
• Special Priority Payments
• MetHR Usage and upgrades – Corporate HR database
• Implementation of policy changes

19. Trends are indicative of current events and have included:

• Shortage of Police Sergeants
• Freedom of Information Act and what this means for local units
• Migration of information from legacy systems to MetHR
• Move of central HR function to Empress State Building, Earls Court

20. The regularity of these meetings ensure that all issues and trends are of relevance to those in attendance and can be addressed within the meeting.

21. Originally, these meetings took place every month. The recent move to meeting every two months has been supported by both central and local HR attendees. Attendance was at times lower than expected and it was felt that meeting every two months was sufficient for the pace of business and ensured the value provided by this meeting.

22. Approximately twelve months ago a survey revealed that all attendees felt the meetings are of value and would like them to continue. It is worthy to note that concerns around the level of communication between central and local HR have diminished due to the continuance of this meeting.

23. The meeting will continue to be held at varying times of the day and week in order to accommodate the flexible working requirements of attendees.

Structure of HR in OCUs and the relationship to the central HR Directorate

24. Every OCU in the MPS is covered by a specialist HR Manager, who is supported by a small HR team. The size of the HR Unit is determined by the local OCU itself and its requirements. Some boroughs have Senior HR Managers where the HR requirement is particularly heavy. The recently introduced Borough Business Managers, where in place, are responsible for the local HR arrangements.

25. HR Managers and their staff fall within the OCU resource base managed by the OCU Commander and are not part of HR Directorate. However, the Director of HR remains the head of profession for all HR staff and the HR Directorate continues to provide the professional direction for all HR activity.

26. Thus effective communication between central HR Directorate and local HR Managers is a vital ingredient to supporting effective operational policing, for ensuring corporate HR standards are understood and maintained and for supporting good HR practice generally. All staff are encouraged to provide feedback as to the suitability and design of all HR communication via a generic HR communication email address. Informal methods of providing feedback such as over the phone, and in person, are also encouraged.

Internal HR communication

27. In addition to the two principal communications processes utilised by central HR Directorate to communicate with the service at large as described above, there are a number of specific communication methods employed for communicating with staff and managers within HR Directorate itself. These are:

• Team Briefing – tiered delivery of HR management news to all staff by individual’s line managers, with an opportunity for 360 degree feedback. At each level, team briefings are delivered in person wherever possible.
• Quarterly Staff Briefing – delivery of latest HR information by ACHR or Director of HR to a large audience of HR staff. This is held at various locations across the MPS and includes a question/answer session.
• Informal lunches – groups of staff are invited to a lunch hosted monthly by the HR SMT in order to build relationships, hear about issues first hand and address concerns and queries.
• HR Policy Board – staff are invited to attend the monthly HR Policy Board in order to see how the discussion and approval process occurs, and to provide input with regard to policies discussed.
• Honeycomb newsletter – a monthly internal newsletter giving a range of less formal and social information.

Modernising the HR function and Empress State Building

28. In line with the continuous need to provide as modern a HR function for the MPS as possible, HR is looking at ways of improving service delivery through utilising technology and streamlining. Part of this modernisation is ensuring that office space for HR is fit for purpose and that it can manage the increasing technological functions that HR requires. The move of HR to the Empress State Building will allow for open, visible HR practice, with an increase in information flow between central units, which in turn will improve the overall service delivered to local HR staff, line managers and individuals. This will be achieved through the open plan layout and the fact that HR (apart from Training and Recruitment) will be located in one place. It also allows for further modernisation in the way the HR function is provided across the MPS.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The HR Forum and HR Managers Meetings have addressed a variety of equality and diversity issues, with a particular emphasis more recently on flexible working issues. As the HR Live Forum is online, it can be accessed from all locations and the information stored can be accessed at any time. Presentation notes from HR Managers meetings are available to any members who are unable to attend.

2. There are no other equality or diversity implications with regard to these two communications tools.

D. Financial implications

1. There are no financial implications arising from this report.

2. The financial aspects of the move to the Empress State Building are fully covered in other MPA fora.

3. Any financial implications of future technological developments in the delivery of HR activities will be the subject of separate reports as appropriate.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Felicity Ross, HR Communication, MPS

For more information contact:

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

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