MetHR overview

Report: 9
Date: 20 January 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report is produced in response to a request from the MPA for information about MetHR. It covers:

• An overview of the MetHR system.
• How MetHR is being developed
• How Community Race Relations (CRR) training is recorded on MetHR
• How MetHR users are trained

A. Recommendation

That members note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

1. MetHR is the corporate human resources database application containing personnel details relating to all Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) police officer and police staff applicants, employees and ex-employees. It was implemented incrementally within the MPS between April 2002 and November 2003. The system provides a complete HR record of every employee in one database, from the point of first contact with a recruitment advisor to after they leave the organisation

2. The benefit of holding data on one central database is that management information is now standardised and accessible throughout the organisation. The reports are created centrally and can be run by either corporate or local users, thus saving time and effort gathering information from local units. Without the introduction of MetHR our reporting requirements for such areas as the Race Relations (Amendment) Act would have been extremely cumbersome, if not impossible. Samples of the reports available are detailed in Appendix 1. Standard security profiles within the system restrict users to access only the data they need to perform their role.

3. The Director of HR is the data owner for all HR related data within the organisation and has responsibility for system governance. This includes responsibility for the system, the business processes that support the system and data in its collective form. The responsibility for ensuring the individual records are updated in an accurate and timely fashion rests with individual Borough Commanders and Heads of Units. Data accuracy and completeness remains an issue for the credibility and effectiveness of MetHR as local units do not appear to have sufficient resources or give it a high enough priority. To address this issue, the responsibility for data maintenance is now set out in the MetHR Compliance Strategy, which has been endorsed by the Deputy Commissioner and circulated to all Assistant Commissioners, Heads of Business Units, Borough Commanders and Heads of Units. Data sampling and compliance with the strategy is undertaken as part of the duties of the HR Evaluation Unit.

4. MetHR is currently being further developed to move from a pure people-based system to one that holds the individual records against their position within the organisational hierarchy. The benefit of this enhancement will be the ability to undertake more comprehensive and accurate workforce planning. In addition to holding the organisational structure the current enhancements project will deliver self-service, on-line Personal Development Reviews (PDR), training requests and Police Reform payments. Self-service is a tool that allows individuals to access and update certain parts of their own HR record and enables other elements of the enhancement project to be realised. The new functionality and associated reporting ability will be implemented between March 2005 and April 2006, with Police Reform Payments being implemented between November 2005 and January 2007.

5. The current enhancement project deals with nine new areas of functionality, namely:

• Positions – populating the system with the organisational structure that is able to exist independently to the current incumbent.
• Competency Framework – the integration of the National Competency Framework roles and behaviours into the system.
• PDRs – the integration of an online appraisal into the system that can receive and report information to the individual’s core record.
• Employee Self Service – the ability to allow an individual to view and update certain parts of their own HR record, thus reducing some of the burden on local HR units to maintain basic data.
• Line Manager Access – the ability to allow a line manager to view the employment, absence and training history of their staff in order that they can more proactively manage their development.
• Training Requests – the introduction of applying for training online in order the MPS can capture the required management information to satisfy our requirements under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.
• Reform Payments – the capturing of all individuals and posts that are in receipt of Competency Related Threshold or Special Priority Payments.
• Photographic Images – the integration of the security pass photographs with the associated HR record.
• Workforce Planning – consultancy advise on how best to develop the ‘positions’ in order that the MPS can make best use of the data.

6. Currently MetHR does not link to our outsourced payroll systems, however, there are plans to create dynamic links between the systems to coincide with the new contract in April 2006. The electronic flow of data between the systems may provide substantial cash savings as well as improving data quality by linking the accuracy and timeliness of data directly to changes in pay.

7. All training courses attended, since the implementation of MetHR, are recorded on the system against the individual attendees personnel record. The individual’s local Human Resource Unit enters details of courses attended by existing staff.

8. Historically Community and Race Relations (CRR) training has been recorded on MPS systems using a variety of course descriptions. Additionally, during the data migration process some course data failed to meet the standard required to be transferred onto MetHR. For completeness, this data is due to be migrated onto the system in February 2005. Consequently, retrieval of CRR training information from the system is not a straightforward process. However, by using a combination of course codes, management information on CRR training can be extracted from MetHR. This will become more complete once the additional information has been added in February 2005.

9. The Information Technology Training School delivers training for MetHR. Currently, courses are run from classrooms in Regency Street in Central London and the Peel Centre complex in North-West London. There are currently over 1,200 MetHR users, all of whom have received training on how to use the system according to their need. Courses are run regularly and there is no training backlog. As MetHR training is function-based, not all users are required to attend all of the available courses. The deciding factors for the type of training provided are whether the user is updating or viewing the system and whether access is required to the whole system or one functional area, e.g. training or recruitment. Details of the training courses available are shown at Appendix 2.

C. Equality and diversity implications

1. MetHR is used extensively to evaluate the MPS’ effectiveness in addressing issues surrounding race and equality through recording of associated information and the production of management information reports. Currently MetHR holds details of age, gender, ethnicity, disability and faith or belief, all of which are accessible through management information reports. Additional functionality to be provided within the planned enhancements will assist the MPS in complying with our statutory requirements under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

D. Financial implications

Costs associated with the delivery of the functional enhancements have already been approved within MPS budgets. There are no financial implications for the MPA from this report.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Mohammed Modan and Tony Horsley, MetHR

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: Sample of pre-configured MetHR reports

• Absence reports (various)
• Absence due to injury on duty
• Injury by body part
• Outstanding return to work interviews
• Recuperative duties
• Restricted duties
• New starters/rejoinders/transfers into the MPS
• Employees by qualification
• Flexible working
• Employees on extension of service
• Eyesight tests due
• Hearing and fitness tests due
• Forthcoming retirements
• Armed Force’s Reserve
• ‘Keep in touch’ scheme
• Vetting level and status
• Early retirement eligibility
• Employees on fixed term contracts
• Pay amendment
• Leavers
• Annual firearms
• Probationary reports due
• Wastage (headcount)
• Wastage by leaving reason
• MPS driving points
• Injuries/assaults/dangerous occurrence/occupational disease
• Part-time workers
• Contact list
• Outstanding medical certificates
• Length of service
• Ethnicity and Religion
• Disability
• Shift disturbance allowance
• Transfers/ secondment and attachments
• 22 year service
• Selection/promotion analysis
• PDR results by ethnicity
• Current competency details
• Competencies due to expire
• Assignment history
• Business interests
• Self-certification withdrawal
• Police staff discipline/inefficiency
• Strength and distribution (various)
• Training history
• Mandatory training
• Training attendance
• Training non-attendance
• Mandatory competence
• Change of name
• Ospre (various)
• Recruitment tracking (Various)
• Special leave/career break
• Maternity leave
• Change of hours
• Temporary promotions

Appendix 2

‘View Only’ course

Users who will not be updating records are sent on a one-day ‘View Only’ course. They are taught how to access MetHR, how to navigate around the system and how management information can be produced.

‘Core Update’ course

Users who will be updating MetHR with basic details, for example personal information and sickness data will receive ‘Core Update’ training. This is delivered as a full-time course over five consecutive days or, for part-time staff, over six days for about four hours per day. In addition to the content of the ‘View Only’ course, users are taught how to create, update, correct and delete records.

‘Local Training Administration’ course

Local users at Human Resource Units who will be updating MetHR with training details only attend a one-day ‘Local Training Administration’ course. This saves them from having to attend the full five-day ‘Core Update’ course. In addition to elements of the ‘View Only’ course, they are taught how to create, correct and delete training information.

‘Oracle Training Administration’ course

Training providers who will be updating MetHR with details of met-wide training information attend a three-day ‘Oracle Training Administration’ course. Users are taught how to operate the advanced corporate training management features of MetHR.

‘Local Recruitment’ course

This is a new one-day course for users who have already attended the ‘core update’ course. Users are taught how to use MetHR to manage local recruitment i.e. select and employ staff not recruited through a centrally managed, corporate exercise. The training focuses on creating applicant records, recording progress and converting successful candidates into employee records.

Additionally, the following new training courses are planned for April 2005:

• Report Manager 2 days
• Refresher 2 days

The ‘Report Manager’ course will allow users to maximise the potential of MetHR reports. The ‘Refresher’ course is for users who have already attended ‘Core Update’ training but require some revision.

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