Agenda item

The HR&OD Service Manager gave a presentation on each section of her 2007/08 service plan.

Section 1 – Setting the scene: the context and drivers of the service were outlined. The service had been reviewed by the whole team, which had found that external drivers were dominant and self awareness was high.

Section 2 – Where are we now?: methods of meeting customer expectations were outlined, and feedback had been identified as generally positive.  Key achievements and comparisons to other authorities were also identified. Benchmarking had showed that the council’s service came at a 40% lower cost per employee than the benchmarking club average, and yet service requirements were high.

Section 3 – Where do we need to be?: the completed SWOT and PESTLE analyses were included in the plan.

Section 4 – How do we get there?: an action plan with several objectives for the service was included in the plan. This had been streamlined since the previous gateway review and related to core human resources services. In relation to equalities, the service had the highest number of critical policies to be assessed. Further work was required on consultation and achievement of the equalities level 3 standard.

Section 5 – Gershon & Efficiency: savings had been identified in the plan and related mainly to reduced sickness absences. Estimates had been made for efficiencies with online recruitment.

Section 6 – Financial Summary: the financial summary reflected a zero-based approach but was yet to be completed.  

Section 7 – Risk: three areas of risk were identified in the plan. 

Conclusions:

Having reviewed the 2007/08 service plan for Human Resources and Corporate Employee Services against the Gateway Review 2 checklist (plus an additional question: where can savings be made?), the Engagement DSP found that:

1.      All budget figures for the current year and future years had been identified in the service plan, although not yet allocated.  

2.      All staffing resources had been identified and costed in the service plan.

3.      All other relevant costs had been identified and included in the service plan.

4.      There was clear quantification of how the service contributed towards the council priorities.

5.      Any relevant inflationary increases had been absorbed but not yet evidenced. 

6.      The balanced score card was complete and evidenced.

7.      There were currently no income streams to identify. 

8.      Gershon efficiency savings had been identified and evidenced.

9.      Risks had been identified and actions for mitigation applied.

10.Major deviations to the current budget had been identified.

11.Equality costs had been identified.

12.Section 4 of the service plan had been adequately completed and resources costs identified.

13.The SWOT analysis had been completed.

14.The PESTLE analysis had been completed.

15.The financial summary had not been completed.

16.No major procurement proposals for the next three years had been identified.

17.Service staff had been consulted on compilation of the service plan. 

18.There were currently no capital projects identified for the next 3-5 years.

19.Opportunities for savings should be achieved through online recruitment.