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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT
Argyll and Bute Council Process for Change Programme
Full Business Case and Implementation Plan
Version 5.0
Author: Morag Brown
October 2009
Agenda Item 3bPage 9
Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
2
CCoonntteennttss
Introduction 3
1. Executive summary 4
2. The Strategic Case
2.1 Alignment with Key Strategies and Initiatives 6
2.2 Enabling Council Projects and Strategies 7
3. Workstyle Definitions 8
4. The Project Deliverables 15
5. The Main Benefits 25
6. The Main Risks 27
7. Business Case 28
8. Implementation Plan 33
9. Recommendations 43
Appendices
Appendix 1 ICT Report
Appendix 2 HR Report
Appendix 2A - Use of Space Policy
Appendix 2B - Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures
Part 1 Home, Mobile and Flexible Working
Appendix 2C - Job Roles, Year 1, Oban
Appendix 3 Property Report
Appendix 4 Day In The Life Of Survey Report
Appendix 5 Solution Design Workshop Report
Appendix 6 Risk Log
Appendix 7 Finance Report
Appendix 7A - Sensitivity Analysis
Appendix 7B - Cost Descriptions
Appendix 8 Equalities Impact Assessment
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
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WWoorrkkffoorrccee DDeeppllooyymmeenntt aanndd AArrggyyllll aanndd BBuuttee CCoouunncciill
Within the next five years we will be working differently from how we do today. We are transforming Argyll and Bute Council to one where work is what you do, not a place you go. Attracting and retaining skilled staff, reducing the costs of doing business, improving customer service and taking the lead in environmental issues are the key elements driving this change. The “old” way of getting the job done, in one place of work, will be replaced by more flexible and responsive methods. In particular, more of our staff will be working from outside the traditional office. Argyll and Bute Council has called this project Workforce Deployment, and we already operate this way, in varying degrees across some of our Services. However, there is now a need to introduce a formal arrangement.
We are still “going to work” today but times are changing. For many, work is still 9-to-5, Monday to Friday routine, but these work patterns are changing. We are living in a 24 hour society with far more in the way of flexible working arrangements required to meet its demands. Work will not be a place people go to, it will be something they do, wherever they are, any place, anytime.
Work won’t be a single location anymore. Increasingly, people are working on the move, at home and out in the community. Remote working technologies have made this possible, and prove that you don’t need to be in an office to communicate anymore.
Work will be tasks to be accomplished. People will be working when they need to as opposed to where they were traditionally supposed to. Flexible working will become the norm, rather than the exception. Many Argyll and Bute Council offices will offer touch down areas with wireless connections offering the ability to access files, respond to e-mails and make telephone calls. Management skills will shift from today’s input-driven approach to a focus on output and achievement, with a better integration between work and personal lives. But with this change it is important that managers become expert at remote team working, motivation and communication. We need to give employees the responsibility to organise their own work. Younger people are particularly looking for these principles, and will choose to work with an organisation whose management style reflects this.
We need to do all of this in a fair and equitable way, We will create staff policies in order that both managers and employees will know what is expected of them. We will transform our offices to provide the accommodation required and our ICT technology will support all of this. We have defined our new workstyles – flexible, mobile and home working.
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1.1 The initial business case for Workforce Deployment, produced during the Shared Services Diagnostic Project in September 2008 established the initial case for change and the need for further investigation.
1.2 On 2 October 2008 approval was given by the Council to carry out high level design for seven “top” opportunity themes. The programme was rebranded as Process for Change and managed by the Council’s Business Improvement Team. The outline business case produced for Workforce Deployment further refined the costs and benefits for Argyll and Bute Council whilst reviewing the benefits emerging from mobile and flexible working in other Local Authorities and organisations and those findings were used to validate the financial assumptions for Argyll and Bute Council.
1.3 On 15 April 2009 approval was given by the Executive to progress the Workforce Deployment theme to a detailed design stage and the production of a full business case and implementation plan.
1.4 The full business case projects savings of £1,461,633 NPV over 5 years through the implementation of mobile, flexible and home working across the Council. The gross benefits are £5,160,872 and the total costs are £3,352,605.
1.5 The main benefits from flexible working come from efficiency from staff adopting the new workstyles. It is recognised that it takes some time before an employee becomes fully used to a new workstyle. We have assumed that after 3 months of adopting a new workstyle, they achieve 25% of their future maximum efficiency gain. After 12 months, they achieve 80% of their efficiency target and by the end of the second year of working in the new style; they have achieved the maximum possible efficiency gain.
1.6 Not all of these efficiency gains can be realised as cashable savings. This is due in part because people may be working more than the standard 35/37 hour week and the efficiency gain may simply enable them to get closer to their contracted working hours. Other efficiencies may be difficult to realise because we still need parts of people. For these reasons, we have assumed that only 60% of the efficiency gains are realisable. This has been based on a review of the job roles in the first roll out for the Oban area. These assumptions will be refined for other locations during roll out. The total efficiency gains equate to savings of 66.2 FTE after 5 years, the efficiency gains for Oban equate to 9.9 FTE. It has been assumed that these savings will be calculated through natural turnover and a reduction in overtime, no provision has been made for redundancies.
1.7 The project deliverables were identified in the Project Initiation Document for Workforce Deployment approved by the HR Board on 12 June 2009. These being Job Role Matching and Evaluation exercise, Review of the Business Case including a productivity benefit assessment, Review of ICT, Review of Property, Review of HR and a detailed design and implementation plan.
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1.8 The deliverables within these key workstreams are attached in the appendices to this report these being:- ICT Report, HR Report, Property Report, Day In The life Of Survey Report, Solution Design Workshop Report and the Financial Report.
1.9 There are compelling drivers to change the way we work, ranging from environmental issues to the need to find solutions to tight financial pressures affecting our capacity to provide customer centered services. Workforce Deployment can contribute towards the change in a positive way, realizing many benefits for the Council, customers and employees.
1.10 The benefits of Workforce Deployment as outlined in this business case will not be easy to implement as they require a change in management style and culture. The benefits will only be realized if the necessary time and effort are made available. Workforce Deployment will also contribute towards the success of other corporate initiatives; however there are some areas where competition for scarce resource may cause conflict. Implementing Workforce Deployment will involve an initial resource investment which is estimated to be outweighed by cash and non-cash efficiency savings.
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2.1 Alignment with Key Strategies and Initiatives
2.1.1 Workforce deployment ties in with a framework of many other business strategies within the organisation. Some of these strategies are the main drivers for the adoption of new workstyles and some of these strategies such as ICT, HR and property enable the realisation of the project at this time.
2.1.2 Development of the Workforce Deployment project has assisted the Council in meeting the Scottish Government’s national outcome number 15: “Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people’s needs.” It also fits closely with the Organisation Development Strategic Objective of “improving, innovative, proactive and successful”
2.1.3 On 22 January 2009 the Council approved the Improvement Plan. Process for Change is a key action within this, IP08.
2.1.4 In 2008, the Council joined the Carbon Trust sponsored Local Authority Carbon Management Plan. The Council has set an initial target of a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of 2014-15, and has an initial 3 year programme which has identified carbon savings of 10%. The workforce deployment project will assist in this by reducing :–
• Business and commuting mileage by providing “touch down” facilities in locally based offices
• Business mileage by enabling audio and video conferencing to be carried out from PCs, reducing the requirement to travel to meetings
• The amount of office equipment and furniture by sharing workspaces and meeting rooms
• The amount of energy used to heat and light underutilised office space and storage areas
2.1.5 The Council Executive approved on 15 April 2009 the Process for Change high level design report which recommended that the Property high level design report recommendations be approved. The Property theme will be taken forward as an integral part of existing programmes operating outwith the Process for Change programme but informed in particular by the workforce deployment theme.
2.2 Enabling Council Projects and Strategies
The implementation of the Workforce deployment project would not be able to be taken forward without the successful delivery of a number of existing Council projects and strategies.
2.2.1 within ICT:
• The completion of the broadband pathfinder has provided us with enough bandwidth to offer an increased number of facilities and services over the web.
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• The implementation of the VOIP phone programme will assist in providing the communications to support mobile and flexible workstyles.
• The introduction of Microsoft’s unified collaborative technologies will enhance the way we communicate and offer the ability to audio and video conference direct form our PC
• The review of the AUP policy will review our requirements for data security, mobile phone and PC use.
• Disk encryption for laptops and mobile devices will protect our data when not connected to the Council’s network.
2.2.2 within HR:
• The review of the PDR process to more SMART outcome focused measures
• The creation of policies to support the adoption of flexible, mobile and home working
• Workforce networking through forums, blogs and message rooms will help to maintain relationships between colleagues working more remotely. It will also offer the ability to cascade information and provide an informal support network.
2.2.3 within Property:
• The Helensburgh Office Rationalisation Project
• Office rationalisation in our other major centres
• The creation of Customer Service Points in all major centres, as detailed in the Customer Management Detailed Design Report
2.2.4 within the Council:
• The development of the Councils intranet site as a valuable means of communicating with our employees as detailed in the Customer Management Detailed Design report
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3.1 During the high level design stage 4 workstyle definitions were identified and adopted – these being fixed, flexible, mobile, and home.
3.2 A Fixed Worker has a permanently allocated work station / office at a given location. Typically they work in the same place most days and have a fixed desktop computer and dedicated telephone line. Whilst their work station / office is permanently allocated to them, visitor’s can use it if it is available but their desk is not bookable and is expected to be returned to the Fixed Worker on request. Fixed Workers offices are usually located adjacent to a team zone. Fixed Workers are included within the scope of the project as they are often provided with the same on-line tools, for example web conferencing tools, as agile workers and as such a moderate productivity gain has been assumed.
3.3 A Flexible Worker can work at any Council location that provides shareable work stations. Typically they have a laptop computer and a mobile telephone.
FIXEDFIXEDFLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE
HOMEHOME
q Works fulltime at single place of employment (i.e.
spends more than 90% of time in the office or
establishment) q Has a Desk and PC workstation allocated specifically
to them q Requires access to corporate systems to perform
role q No mobile requirement – e.g. to work from home/
out of the office q Fixed telephone extension, post point
q Requires access to corporate systems to perform
role in the office q Requires limited access to corporate systems to
perform role in the field (e.g. mail, calendar) q No requirement to have a fixed desk in a specific
office q Assigned a building as their ‘ base location ’ – post
point
q Office based for more 50% of their time,
q Requirement to work in multiple council offices,
q Occasionally works at home or remotely (1 or 2
days a week)
q Works fulltime at home (i.e. spends more than
90% of time at home) q Has a desk and PC workstation allocated specifically
to them q Requires access to corporate systems to perform
role q No mobile requirement – e.g. to work in the field q Fixed telephone extension, post point
MOBILEMOBILE
q Requires access to corporate systems to perform
role in the office q Requires full access to corporate systems and
business applications to perform role in the field (e.g.
mail, calendar, case work) q No requirement to have a fixed desk in a specific
office q Assigned a building as their ‘base location ’ – post
point
q Office based for less than 50% of their time,
q Requirement to work in multiple council offices,
q Predominately works remotely or out of the office
(e.g. 3 days a week)
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They can also ‘log on’ to a desktop telephone and have their incoming calls routed to them. A Flexible Worker does not have a permanently allocated desk – they use desks in drop-in centres or book shareable desks in advance. Desks cannot be booked for more than a few days at a time. Flexible Workers can work at a variety of Council locations, from home, client premises or ‘on the move’ from locations that provide wireless connections to the Internet.
3.4 A Mobile Worker is similar to a Flexible Worker but they spend a significant amount of their week ‘in the field’ or ‘on the move’. They may have a laptop computer or tablet or PDA type of device. They can work at any Council location that provides shareable work stations. They can also ‘log on’ to a desktop telephone and have their incoming calls routed to them. A Mobile Worker does not have a permanently allocated desk – they use desks in drop-in centres or book shareable desks in advance. Mobile Workers can work at a variety of Council locations, from home, client premises or ‘on the move’ from locations that provide wireless connections to the Internet.
3.5 A Home Worker is able to work permanently from home but may choose to work occasionally from a Council office. Home Workers typically have a desktop computer and a desktop telephone. They work remotely from their colleagues and managers. Home Workers do not have workstation in Council premises but can use a drop-in centre desk or book a shareable desk.
3.6 During the detailed design stage, after consultation with the Heads of Service it became apparent that there was a growing awareness of the benefits of flexible working. From these meetings a corporate approach to the adoption of flexible work styles across all the Council Services was developed. The Heads of Service suggested an approach whereby all staff could operate in a flexible manner and supported an approach whereby staff no longer required a fixed desk to work from, the exception being senior officers or staff whose job role involved a requirement for privacy. It was agreed that even with the most “fixed” of the Councils job roles, there was rarely the occasion whereby all staff were at their desks at the same time, staff could be on annual leave, flexi leave, absent due to ill health, or in a meeting. It was agreed that staff in those types of job roles which typically included finance, administrative and clerical staff could operate from a reduced number of desks, for example a 90% occupancy level. It was also acknowledged that these staff would benefit from working in close proximity with their colleagues, within a team zone. Other job roles were then identified as being suitable to adopt 75% and 60 % occupancy levels, depending on the requirements of the job.
3.7 Table 1 below breaks flexible working into 3 categories based on time spent at a desk, occupancy level, and requirement for staff to work from a team zone, with the support of colleagues working in the same Service around them, or in a general touch down area where staff from all Services may sit. The general touch down area would suit individuals who are part of small dispersed team or whose job roles are very specialist. The general touch down area will also be available to staff visiting from other locations who may wish to catch up on e-mails for a few hours. It is envisaged that for the team zones and general touch down areas there will be a re-organisation of desks to create a more pleasant working environment, break out areas will be added to allow for a quick get together and catch ups with colleagues and a variety
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of different sized meeting rooms fully equipped will also be available. All of which will be managed through an on-line booking system. In order to operate a hot desking system a clear desk policy will be required as detailed in the HR Report appendix 2 – Use of Space Policy.
3.8 Table 1 below gives an indication of the equipment available to support these new workstyles in relation to office furniture and ICT equipment.
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
Table 1 - Flexible Workstyles
FLEXIBLE WORKSTYLE
90% Occupancy
11 persons : 10 desks
75% Occupancy
13.5 persons : 10 desks
60% Occupancy
16.5 persons : 10 desks
Team Zone
• Pooled printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Desktop PC
• Team Storage
• Pooled Printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Laptop
• Wireless network access
• Mobile phone
• Team Storage
• Business Broadband at home
• Pooled printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Laptop / Tablet
• Wireless network access
• Mobile phone / PDA
• Team Storage
• Business Broadband at home (if required)
• Mobile printers (if required)
• Personal Security Measures (if required)
Supports mobile workstyle
Touch Down General
• Pooled printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Desktop PC
• Access to Personal Storage
• Pooled printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Laptop / Tablet
• Wireless network access
• Mobile phone / PDA
• Access to Personal Storage
• Business Broadband at home
• Pooled printer
• Meeting Rooms
• Informal meeting spaces
• Booking Facility
• Clear Desk Policy
• Laptop / Tablet
• Wireless network access
• Mobile phone / PDA
• Access to Personal Storage
• Business Broadband at home (if required)
• Mobile printers (if required)
• Personal Security Measures (if required)
Supports mobile workstyle
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
3.9 In considering the costs and resources associated with implementing the project a phased approach was recommended as this best made use of Council resources, made allowance for the interdependencies with existing Council projects within both ICT and property and also allowed the opportunity for any quick wins to be maximised. The phased approach also enables communications and training to be targeted and co-ordinated and benefits to be identified, tracked and realised more easily. It was agreed that the project phasing should be rolled out by location with Oban being considered in year 1. This would then move forward with Dunoon, Lochgilphead, Campbeltown, Rothesay and Helensburgh, these being the principle locations of Council offices. The Helensburgh phase should be considered in the latter part of the project as the timescales for the office rationalisation project and new build are interdependent on the Workforce Deployment project.
3.10 In 2007 the Council established the office rationalisation programme. Following the successful completion of the Burnett Building in Campbeltown in 2008, the focus has been on the procurement of one office/civic facility in the centre of Helensburgh. The Council approved the OBC to take this project in March 2009 which is due to complete in the summer of 2013, with the migration of staff to new office accommodation at the former Clyde Street School site. From the outset of the office rationalisation programme, it was evident that in affordability terms, it was unlikely that significant (if any) annual revenue savings could be achieved, unless the scale of accommodation requirements for staff could be reduced. The Workforce Deployment Theme therefore provides the enabling vehicle to maximise the property benefits which can be realised from the Council’s office rationalisation programme.
3.11 Table 2 – Project Phasing, shows the proposed programme of “Simple” office
moves generated by the Workforce Deployment business case. These Simple moves will free up office space and should allow the Council, on an opportunistic basis, to vacate some existing properties and to derive an associated property and utility revenue saving. The Workforce Deployment business case enables the size of the Council’s accommodation requirement to be reduced but it does not examine the most cost effective long term method of providing this requirement. The Council’s office rationalisation programme will undertake this analysis and will identify which is the most suitable and cost effective solution for the Council’s future accommodation needs in each of its main centres; as recognised within the Process for Change “Property” High Level Design Report approved by the Council in March 2009.
3.12 Facility Services has re-phased the office rationalisation programme to fully integrate with the Workforce Deployment programme as shown within Table 2, and will progress using the standards, specification and assumptions established in the development of the Workforce Deployment business case. Property savings will be included within the full 30 year property option appraisal business cases for each location.
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Table 2 – Project Phasing – Workforce Deployment & Office Rationalisation
Action Year One
2010/11
Year Two
2011/12
Year Three
2012/13
Year Four
2013/14
Year Five
2014/2015
Undertake
“Simple” Office Moves
Oban Dunoon
then Lochgilphead
Complete Lochgilphead
then
Campbeltown
Complete Helensburgh Offices (Clyde Street School Site) & Simple office move for Rothesay
Undertake 30 Year Life Property Options Appraisal & Rationalisation OBC
Complete Oban Property OBC
Complete Dunoon Property OBC
Complete Lochgilphead Property OBC
Complete Campbeltown & Rothesay Property OBCs
Consider Property OBC within Capital Budget Process
Oban Property OBC for Council consideration within Capital Budget for 2011/12 onwards
Dunoon Property OBC for Council consideration within Capital Budget for 2012/13 onwards
Submit Lochgilphead Property OBC for Council consideration within Capital Budget for 2013/14 onwards
Submit Campbeltown & Rothesay Property OBC for Council consideration within Capital Budget for 2014/15 onwards
Implementation of Council decision on Property OBC recommendation
Oban Dunoon Lochgilphead Campbeltown & Rothesay
3.13 The shift to a corporate approach for the adoption of the new workstyles has resulted in an increase in the number of FTE’s being considered within the scope of the project. From the information supplied by the Heads of Service during the detailed design phase there are now 1320 staff considered to be impacted by the project across all Council services. This can be broken down by location to:
Table 3 – staff in scope
Location Number of employees
Lochgilphead 481
Helensburgh 178
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Location Number of employees
Oban 188
Rothesay 71
Dunoon 249
Campbeltown 153
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44 TThhee PPrroojjeecctt DDeelliivveerraabblleess.
On reviewing the business case produced during high level design an integrated approach to the detailed design phase was approved with key workstreams looking at the enablers from ICT, HR (including training) and Property. The reports from these workstreams are presented in full in the appendix to this business case.
Appendix 1 ICT Report
Appendix 2 HR Report
Appendix 3 Property Report
In addition a survey was carried out with all staff in scope to look at the potential for productivity gains with the adoption of new workstyles. This survey was called the “Day In The Life Of” (DILO) Survey and was carried out over a two week period in July 2009. Finally a series of workshops were carried out to look at a Solutions Design for Workforce Deployment and capture key benefits, risks and issues directly from staff. Both of these reports are presented in full in the appendix.
Appendix 4 DILO Report
Appendix 5 Solution Design Report
During the high level design phase a set of project outcome statements were produced to scope the project and define the outputs. These statements form part of the benefits realisation methodology, as it is in the realisation of these statements that the project will deliver the benefits identified. Table 4 below lists these outcomes and identifies whether they are in scope during the detailed design phase and where referenced within the report.
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
Table 4 – project outcomes
Ref No Project outcome Included within scope during detailed design
Evidenced from Report
WD/ 1 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that the opportunity for flexible working and home working attracted them to work for A&BC
Yes Benefit gains from reduced staff turnover are included within the business case – appendix 7
WD/ 2 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that when they started a family, they would have had to leave the Council under the previous arrangements. They were delighted that the introduction of flexible and home working had made it possible for them to continue employment with the Council.
Yes Agile Work options Policy Part 1 – HR Report appendix 2
WD/ 3 I speak to a member of staff with a disability. They tell me that the introduction of home working had made it possible for him to gain employment with the Council.
Yes Work style definitions
Equalities Impact Assessment – appendix 8
WD /4 I speak to a member of staff by telephone. They tell me that he lives outside of Argyll and Bute. They are able to do their job effectively from home.
Yes Supported by recommendations within ICT report and HR report. Costs included within financial report
WD /5 I speak to a manager who tells me that staff are less likely to phone in sick since the introduction of flexible and home working.
Yes Benefit gains from reduced absenteeism are included within the business case – appendix 7
WD /6 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that they spend less time commuting to and from the office. Not only does this improve the staff member's work life balance, but it also reduces our overall carbon footprint.
Yes Reference to Council Carbon Management Plan within full business case and implementation plan
WD /7 I speak to a member of staff who works outside the traditional No The scope of the project looked at the benefits
Pa
ge 2
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
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Ref No Project outcome Included within scope during detailed design
Evidenced from Report
9 to 5 working arrangements. Not only does this suit their lifestyle, it enhances the service provided by the council and helps with extending the opening hours for council services.
associated with adopting new workstyles not working flexible hours.
WD /8 I speak to a manager who tells me that staff can now go from one client/customer visit to the next without returning to base in-between. They could access full information on each client's/customer's case remotely.
Yes Reference mobile technologies, ICT report - appendix 1
WD /9 I speak to a client/customer who tells me that the council officer was able to supply full information about their case during the visit. The officer did not need to return to base to get information. They did not have a paper case file but accessed the information via their mobile device.
Yes Reference mobile technologies, ICT report - appendix 1
WD /12 I speak to a manager who tells me that they no longer need so many desks since flexible and home working were introduced. .
Yes Property Opportunity Assessment report – appendix 3
WD /13 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that they can go to any council office and be confident of finding a workspace with full network access.
Yes ICT report - appendix 1
Property Opportunity Assessment report – appendix 3
WD /14 I can access any drive or application that I am authorised to access from any location
Yes ICT report - appendix 1
WD /15 I speak to an office cleaner who now tells me that desks can now be cleaned because, since the introduction of desk sharing, the desks are cleared at the end of the working day.
Yes A Clear Desk policy has been produced during detailed design – HR Report Appendix 2 – Use of Space Policy
WD /16 I speak to a member of staff who tells me they no longer have a permanent desk. They can use any available desk in the
Yes Property Opportunity Assessment report – appendix 3
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Ref No Project outcome Included within scope during detailed design
Evidenced from Report
team area.
WD /17 I visit an office and see that as well as the desks for staff who are based in that office, there are "touchdown" areas with workspaces for visiting staff. There are docking stations connected to the network and print facilities.
Yes ICT report - appendix 1
Property Opportunity Assessment report – appendix 3
WD /18 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that since the new ways of working were introduced, they are happier in their work and feel more independent and empowered to carry out work tasks. They also tell me that they get all the support they need and discuss work related issues with their manager more frequently than they used to.
Yes HR Report – Training – appendix 2
WD /19 I speak to a manager who tells that since the introduction of mobile, flexible and home working they now make regular contact with staff members in a more structured way to discuss work in progress, agree priorities and set objectives. This contact is in the form of team meetings, one on one meetings, phone calls, web conferences etc.
Yes HR Report – Training – appendix 2
WD /20 I speak to a manager who tells me that since the introduction of mobile, flexible and home working, they have had to adopt a more proactive management style. They tell me that he sees this as very positive.
Yes HR Report – Training – appendix 2
WD /21 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that they now receive work instructions on a mobile device. This saves time in making phone calls and travelling to and from the office. They tell me that some of their electronic instructions come straight from the CSC and some direct from the back office.
Yes ICT Report – appendix 1
WD /22 I visit a member of staff who works at home. They have a Yes ICT Report – appendix 1
Pa
ge 2
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
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Ref No Project outcome Included within scope during detailed design
Evidenced from Report
dedicated work station, complete with full access to the Council's network and a printer. They can get other peripherals if they need them.
WD /23 I speak to a member of staff who tells me that they make more use of certain skills since the introduction of mobile, flexible and home working. These include personal organisation, time management and some new IT skills. They tell me that they feel more productive than when working in the traditional ways.
Yes HR Report – appendix 2
WD /24 I speak to a manager who tells me that staff are able to spend more time on productive work. The staff take more responsibility for their work and time management.
Yes HR Report – appendix 2
WD /25 I visit a council office and witness an environment free of paper work and clutter. A staff member tells me that this is a nice environment to work in.
Yes HR Report appendix 2 – Use of Space Policy
WD /26 I meet an HR professional who shows me a copy of the Council's Flexible and Home Working Policy.
Yes HR Report – appendix 2
WD /27 A member of staff working from home shows me a copy of the risk assessment carried out prior to commencing work.
Yes HR Report – appendix 2
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
4.1 ICT Report – full report appendix 1
4.1.1 The ICT workstream examined ICT considerations and enabling ICT solutions that will support the implementation of the Workforce Deployment Theme. It has also identified and corroborated the costs and assumptions in the financial report appendix 7 and cost descriptions appendix 7B.
4.1.2 The ICT report recommends a consistent approach to desktop support and a standard build across all departments to ensure a consistent and reliable service is available across all desktops. This helps with security, audit requirements and software licensing and ensures the highest possible levels of support to all end users. Within the context of the workforce deployment theme it will also help with project implementation, control of costs and identification and delivery of benefits.
4.1.3 With the adoption of new workstyles where movement and flexibility is key the PC, laptop and telephony services are seen as the central service elements holding everything else together. When a user moves from one town to another, chooses to work in one of several available offices, accesses a PC they have never used before and may never use again and logs on to any one of several available desk phones, it is absolutely crucial that the systems are presented consistently, operate consistently and offer the highest possible user experience at all times. When these key facilities are also shared across all departments and services, where a desk and associated equipment might be used by a Planner one day and a Social Worker the next, questions arise over the Council’s ability to deliver and support such an integrated IT environment using the current distributed support arrangements. Consideration must therefore be given to options for a revised integrated desktop support service managed consistently across the organisation. The revised service should be tasked to deliver a consistently high experience for end users and to ensure the desktop presentation meets the requirements of the new working styles.
4.2 HR Report – full report appendix 2
4.2.1 The HR workstream examined the HR considerations that require to be addressed to support the implementation of the Workforce Deployment Theme across the Council. It addresses managerial, cultural, training and ICT requirements to support the new workstyles and sets out policies for “Use of Space” and “Agile Work Options”
4.2.2 The HR-related issues highlighted arising from the recent Mobile and Home working pilot within Building Standards and Environmental Health were also investigated, as far as possible.
4.2.3 Considerations such as the process by which staff apply for a new work style, contractual considerations and allowances, tax and national insurance implications, legal considerations, health and safety requirements and training are also included within the report
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4.2.4 The report details a blended learning approach to training to support implementation and the use of the new ICT systems, the costs for which are contained within the business case. Training for employees should include:
o Training on new technology o Health and Safety Training e.g. risk assessments, fire safety, safe
working practices and safe operation of equipment required in the course of the job
o Communication and time management skills o Council policies and procedures - accident and absence reporting,
data protection and information security, Guidelines – Conduct of Employees etc
o Departmental procedures
4.2.5 A draft Use of Space Policy has been developed to support the adoption of flexible working and the considerations of other employees, this includes the clear desk policy required to support hot desking.
4.2.6 The Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures (Part 1 - Home, Mobile and Flexible Working) has been written to support both the Workforce Deployment theme and any existing staff member requesting to transfer to a new workstyle as part of their statutory entitlement.
4.3 Property Report – full report appendix 3
4.3.1 The Property workstream examined the Council’s current property portfolio to identify opportunities that implementing the Workforce Deployment project could create. The Property Opportunity Assessment carried out a
o Space Utilisation Study o Provided Business Case Data o Calculated First Year Property Savings o Produced Property Utilisation Lists
4.3.2 Table 5 indicates the net usable area required for each workstation, this was based on usable space which was taken as the net internal floor area for each defined working area less an allowance for circulation. The workplace regulations identify the minimum volume per member of staff of 11m3 with a maximum ceiling height of 3.0m. This equates to a minimum area of 3.66 m2.
In any relocation of staff it would be prudent to allocate a net usable area of 6m2 per work station; this is corroborated by areas calculated within existing Council offices.
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Table 5 – flexible working occupancy standards
Occupancy
Standard
100% (10 people
for every 10
workstations)
90% (10 people
for every 9
workstations)
75% (10 people
for every 7.5
workstations)
60% (10 people
for every 6
workstations)
Net Usable
Area from
Property
Report
6 square meters 6 square meters 6 square meters 6 square meters
Job Roles Examples include
3rd
tier managers
requiring an office
or job roles that
employees with
special privacy
needs.
Examples include
administrators,
clerical staff and
financial officers.
Examples include
planning
technicians,
lawyers,
designers
Examples include
property officers,
environmental
officers, engineers
and social workers
4.3.3 For every 60 staff adopting a new workstyles BT consultancy has recommended that provision is made for access to 2 x 4 person meeting rooms and 1 x 8-10 person meeting room. This target is seen as aspirational and for the purposes of the property report it has been assumed that meeting space is based on current requirements, with the nature of the business driving the demand for meeting room numbers and size. As part of the Customer Management Detailed Design phase an analysis of Council meeting rooms was carried out. An average use of the Council’s meeting rooms was carried out through a detailed analysis of meeting rooms in Manse Brae, Lochgilphead and Argyll House, Dunoon. At present most of the existing Council meeting rooms are under utilised, with the meeting room in Manse Brae being used more often. It has also been noted that there is additional meeting space available to the Council from its Community Planning Partners, within schools and leisure facilities.
4.3.4 In order to encourage adoption of the new workstyles it has been recommended that the work area is transformed to create a new environment. This can be done by redecorating, new carpets, new desk arrangements, touch down zones and providing break out zones, creating a work environment which augments and supports the changing culture and encourages full use of the space, otherwise there is a real risk of reverting to “old” work patterns.
4.4 DILO Survey Report – full report appendix 4
4.4.1 The DILO Survey was carried out to provide an independent assessment and
understanding of current working practices within the Council. The study
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required participants to record online how they spend their time each day,
over five working days, against a number of different activity categories (e.g.
travel, customer meetings, internal meetings, administration, training etc).
4.4.2 The data gathered enabled an understanding how a move towards new work
styles will better meet the needs of individuals, the Council, and ultimately its
customers. It provided a view of potential process and property improvements
and insight into how the end customer experience may be improved through
new work styles within the Council.
4.4.3 In order to provide an insight and to inform the business case all 1767
employees with access to the Council’s IT network, received an invitation to
take part in a web based survey conducted over a 10 day period in July 2009.
Of this number, 516 were targeted based on their previous identification
during the high level design phase and were deemed to have the greatest
potential to benefit from new work styles. The survey asked staff to allocate
time spent on a number of key activities during their working day, these being
travel, contact with customers, colleagues and other agencies, administration
and training. In addition, information on commuting to work was captured.
4.4.4 From the survey the average time spent travelling during daily working hours
across all departments was 22 minutes. The study indicated that some
Departments (Operational Services, Development Services and Community
Services) and some specific job roles involved large amounts of travel. Some
of this travel time could potentially be saved by using audio/web/video
conferencing in lieu of face-to-face internal meetings which currently take an
average 83 minutes per day. This would reduce travel costs for the Council
and reduce carbon emissions.
4.4.5 The average time spent commuting to and from work was 48 minutes a day
across all Departments. This time could be better spent if employees were
given the opportunity to work from home or from an office closer to home. It
has been shown from work carried out by other organisations that a reduction
in commuting time increases productivity levels and improves the work/life
balance of employees.
4.4.6 The average time spent per day communicating with external customers /
service users is 56 minutes, around 14% of a 7 hour working day. The
adoption of new work styles should lead to an increase in time spent on
customer facing activity thereby improving the overall standard of customer
service.
4.5 Solution Design Report – full report appendix 5
4.5.1 The Solution Design workshops were designed to identify the number of
people who could potentially work in new ways. The workshops were a key
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activity in engaging and communicating with staff across the Council to allow
them to contribute to the design of the project and the business case.
4.5.2 In July and August 2009 7 Solution Design Workshops took place in which 85
staff participated. The primary objective is to validate the initial set of
requirements for the implementation of the project. The sessions also sought
to identify any individual requirements that each Service may have with the
proposed design and incorporate them into the overall implementation plan.
In addition the workshops validated the job role matching exercise undertaken
during high level design and assessed the appetite for adoption. Workshops
took place in Lochgilphead (3), Oban, Dunoon, Helensburgh and
Campbeltown. Staff from across all Services were individually selected to
attend. If the invitee could not attend they were actively encouraged to
nominate a colleague in their place. The workshops were facilitated by both
Council employees and the BT consultancy team. From the level of interest
and enthusiastic debate at the Solution Design Workshops it is clear that
many employees view the workforce deployment project as a potential and
significant benefit to them. The overwhelming majority of staff attending
rated themselves as being capable of working in a more flexible fashion and
stated a desire to ‘for some of the time’. It is clear from the DILO survey
analysis that a significant amount of day to day work can be done remotely
from any location providing there is access to the Council network, systems
and data records. Many employees felt that there is a cultural challenge in
the adoption of new workstyles and that both executive level and middle
management need to take a leadership role to successfully implement the
project Council wide.
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55.. MMaaiinn BBeenneeffiittss
There benefits and advantages for the Council, its employees and customers in implementing the workforce deployment project are:
5.1. The adoption of new workstyles drive efficiency – flexible working increases
efficiency. It frees up unproductive time such as travelling to meetings. It
makes systems, knowledge and data available from any location making it
easier and quicker to respond to requests for information from colleagues.
5.2. Office space reduction – The adoption of flexible workstyles can significantly
reduce the requirement for office space through the adoption of new working
practices. Workforce Deployment can potentially release significant office
space allowing the Council to consider the possibility of rationalising
properties and reducing its overall property costs.
5.3. Reduced absenteeism - Many other organisations in both the public and
commercial sectors have found that the adoption of new work styles and
working practices reduce absenteeism. They have discovered that flexible
and home working staff experience improved well being and reduced
absenteeism. Any reduction in absenteeism will also have the effect of less
stress on colleagues who cover for absence, less money to pay for
replacement employees and increased efficiency in providing services.
5.4. An empowered workforce – The adoption of new work styles can be daunting
for some staff, especially those who may be remote from colleagues for more
than a few days. However, if successful it can also provide a feeling of self
sufficiency and empowerment if it is combined with a move from ‘input
performance measures’ to ‘outcome performance measures’. Middle
managers could initially feel uncomfortable with the idea of not seeing their
employees every day. Objective based management techniques sit alongside
the adoption of new work styles and if combined with the implementation of
SMART outcome based measures at the team and individual level where
possible and can result in staff having an increased satisfaction with their job
resulting in enhanced motivation and productivity, better customer service
delivery and the ability to recruit and retain experienced trained and qualified
staff.
5.5. Operational Resilience - Flexible working on a large scale introduces many
opportunities for working in a different way and delivering operational benefits.
The ability to work from home or from any location means that the Council can
quickly adapt to unusual situations more effectively building upon current
arrangements the Council has in place to cope with adverse situations.
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5.6. Workforce Sustainability - There is strong evidence from European wide surveys that flexible working arrangements are attractive to potential employees. It can be an effective tool for recruitment and retention especially for employees with special needs such as home care arrangements. Also, it can be used as a way of providing highly flexible working hours to combat, for example, peaks in Customer Service Centre work load.
5.7. Environmental Benefits – The associated reduction in travel through the adoption of more flexible workstyles will reduce the amount of carbon emitted and the amount of fuel used. The potential reduction in the number of Council offices could also further reduce lighting and heating costs. There will also be a reduction in paper, print consumables, office equipment and furniture, and therefore a reduction in carbon emissions through manufacturing and delivery.
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66.. MMaaiinn RRiisskkss
6.1 Risk management is an integral part of the project management of Workforce Deployment, the following major risks have been identified during the detailed design phase and during implementation there will be a further requirement to closely monitor them and take any corrective action.
6.2 Transformation and successful integrated service delivery are not easy, there are a number of challenges. Critical success factors associated with this project includes strong leadership, accountability, a can-do culture, effective communication, good project management, ability to demonstrate value and a customer-centred approach. All of these will help to ensure that risks are managed and the project successfully delivered.
6.3 Appendix 6 details the risks identified during the detailed design phase which will also require monitoring and management throughout implementation.
6.4 The main risks associated with the implementation of Workforce Deployment are associated with the delivery of the project and the associated enabling projects on time so as to allow the project benefits to be realised. The implementation plan for year 1 details these projects and it is important that these plans are revisited prior to implementation and closely monitored throughout to mitigate against these risks.
6.5 The risks associated with the difficulties of realising the benefits of the project are also highlighted. During the detailed design phase the Council’s Business Improvement Team also developed a Benefits Realisation Methodology. This methodology has been tested and will be used to identify and track the benefits from the workforce deployment project during implementation and beyond this into business as usual. It is important to note that even with the existence of a benefits realisation methodology in order to realise the benefits of this project there will be a requirement to drive the project corporately by senior management.
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77.. BBuussiinneessss CCaassee - full report appendix 7
77..11.. The financial summary based on 1,320 employees adopting a new workstyle is shown in table 6 below. It is BT’s experience that a Return on Investment (RoI) in excess of 15% is considered acceptable by government agencies; the Council’s Return on Investment is 54% over 5 years.
Table 6: Financial Summary
Summary Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Total
Gross Benefit £57,765 £402,055 £1,126,555 £1,643,092 £1,931,405 £5,160,872
Total Costs £743,295 £710,121 £711,858 £706,518 £480,813 £3,352,605
Net Benefit -£685,530 -£308,066 £414,697 £936,574 £1,450,593 £1,808,268
RoI -92.23% -43.38% 58.26% 132.56% 301.70% 53.94%
NPV £1,461,633
7.2. The business case has identified 7 areas that provide cashable benefits in addition to the strategic benefits described in section 5 above. Chart 1 below illustrates that the majority of cashable benefit results from increased efficiency gains as employees transfer from being fixed workers to one of the new work styles.
88% of the gross benefit is produced by increased efficiency gains, 6% from reduced absenteeism, 4% from property closure and 2% from reduced recruitment costs.
Chart 1 – Cashable Benefits
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7.3 There are many factors that will impact the amount of efficiency gain the Council can deliver through the adoption of new workstyles. These include the effective deployment of technology, property changes and the degree of commitment from operational line management and staff to adopt new ways of working. It is essential that throughout implementation change management and benefits realisation must be managed using appropriate approaches.
7.4 The benefits to the Council will be in two forms: cashable (hard) benefits that can be directly translated into either reduced costs or increased revenue to the Council, and strategic (soft) benefits that improve the Council’s overall performance, position, skills, knowledge or general capability.
7.5 The efficiency targets for staff adopting new workstyles are shown in Table 7 below
Table 7: Efficiency Targets
Efficiency Target %
Fixed Workers 3%
Home Workers 20%
Mobile Workers 15%
Flexible Worker @ 90% Occupancy 5%
Flexible Worker @ 75% Occupancy 10%
Flexible Worker @ 60% Occupancy 15%
Note 1: For all employees new to agile working we have assumed they will achieve one third of the target efficiency in their 1
st year of adoption – this applies for all workers adopting a new work style
irrespective of which year they start.
Note 2: For the second year of adoption onwards we have assumed that 100% of the efficiency target is achievable.
Note3: The Council recognizes that there are significant operational, cultural and employee issues associated with efficiency gains. For these reasons the efficiency targets were reduced as shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Realizable Targets
Efficiency Target
Fixed Workers Home Workers Mobile Workers Flexible Worker @ 90% Occupancy
Flexible Worker @ 75% Occupancy
Flexible Worker @ 60% Occupancy
Y1 (20%)
0.60% 4.00% 3.00% 1.00% 2.00% 3.00%
Y2 (60%)
1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
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Y3 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Y4 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Y5 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Note 4: Each work style has a 5 year efficiency target. For planning purposes, the projected CASHABLE Efficiency Gains at the end of the 5 years is calculated at 60% of the potential. For example, a Home Worker has a 5 year efficiency target of 20%. This business case is indicating that 60% (i.e. 12% efficiency increase) is cashable and contained in the benefits calculation.
Table 9: Realizable Efficiency Targets in Minutes per 7.00 Hour Day
Efficiency Target
Fixed Workers Home Workers Mobile Workers Flexible Worker @ 90% Occupancy
Flexible Worker @ 75% Occupancy
Flexible Worker @ 60% Occupancy
Y1
2.52 16.8 12.6 4.2 8.4 12.6
Y2 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y3 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y4 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y5 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
7.6 Table 10 below breaks down the efficiency savings into FTE savings over the 5 years for each location
Table 10 – Efficiencies - FTE savings (Year on Year)
Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Oban 0.4 0.5 9.4 9.4 9.4
Dunoon 0.0 1.5 11.3 11.3 11.3
Lochgilphead 0.0 1.5 13.3 22.8 22.8
Campbeltown 0.0 0.0 1.2 7.3 7.3
Rothesay 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 3.4
Helensburgh 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 8.4
0.4 3.5 35.2 52.7 62.6
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Absenteeism
Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Oban 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Dunoon 0.0 0.2 0.7 0.7 0.7
Lochgilphead 0.0 0.2 0.9 1.3 1.3
Campbletown 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.4
Rothesay 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2
Helensburgh 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.5
Totals 0.2 0.9 2.2 3.2 3.6
Grand Totals 0.6 4.4 37.4 55.9 66.2
7.7 The savings projected as part of this business case can be attributed to staff and property. As each stage of the project is implemented it will be possible to identify prior to the implementation phase the projected savings attributed to staff and property for that stage of the project. This includes the amount of saving and also the timing of savings. Staff and service can be identified. Based on the match of staff and service and the forecast amount and timing of savings a profile of savings for each service for each stage of the project can be created. This savings profile will be used to identify the budget to be removed from each service. Actual levels of savings will be monitored to ensure assumptions around projected savings are being achieved and to adjust the savings profile if higher levels of savings become apparent. The onus will be on Services to at least achieve the minimum savings on which the business case is based.
Step 1 – Analyse savings between staff and property.
Step 2 – Analyse staff and property savings (step 1) down to individual staff members and properties.
Step 3 – Analyse individual staff and property savings (step 2) over the timescale they are realised.
Step 4 – Match individual staff and properties (Step 3) to the services that hold their budgets.
Step 5 – Create profile of savings based on individual staff and properties (step 2), amount of savings and timing of savings (step 3) and services (step 4).
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Step 6 – Remove savings from budgets based on savings profile from step 5.
Step 7 – Monitor actual levels of savings achieved.
Step 8 - Update future savings profiles to reflect any increase in savings being achieved.
7.8 The costs calculated are summarised in table 11 below
Table 11: Costs
Description Cost
Business Broadband - Cost 9 £1,235,305
Client Programme Staff - Cost 25 £588,156
Workstation Changes - Cost 7 £483,914
Infrastructure & Applications - Cost 23 £223,169
Laptop Computers - Cost 2 £189,689
Printers - Cost 15 £184,052
Authentication Tokens - Cost 27 £103,791
Wireless Network Installations - Cost 11 £100,100
External Specialist Staff - Cost 26 £65,000
Audio Conferencing Service - Cost 19 £52,638
Fixed Line or IP Telephony at Home - Cost 17 £34,841
Laptop Encryption - Cost 3 £33,711
Tablet Computers- Cost 4 £28,444
Fast Business Broadband - Cost 28 £23,543
Furniture Packs - Cost 12 £3,873
Employee Utility Bills - Cost 13 £2,380
£3,352,605
7.9 The top 8 costs represent 93% of the overall estimated costs: 66% of costs are for technology, 20% for people and 14% for property
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7.10 In the Workforce Deployment outline business case costs were stated as £1,124,379. The significant increase in costs between the design phases are due in the most part to the numbers of staff increasing form 474 to 1320, as detailed in para 3.13 p13. A more detailed analysis of all costs was also undertaken during the production of the full business case.
7.11 It should be noted that many of the costs are variable depending on the level of adoption of Council employees for the new work styles. Any changes to the level of adoption or any changes to the assumption used to determine estimates will have a significant impact on the overall costs.
88.. IImmpplleemmeennttaattiioonn PPllaann
8.1 The key principles in the successful delivery of a major transformation project like Workforce Deployment are:
• Empowered and timeous decision-making
• Visible commitment, authority and communication
• Relevant skills and experience – particularly in introducing change and coordinating projects
• Active risk management
8.2 A high level project milestone plan has been produced to show the project phasing, key activities, resource requirements and dependencies over the 5 years life cycle of the project.
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
Project Milestone Plan
TRANCHES AS IS
Tranche 1
Tranche 2
Tranche 3
Tranche 4
Tranche 5
Contingency Year 5 - contingency
Ref Project Owner Outcomes Status
WD0 Programme Set-up xxxxx
Programme defined, inc Projects Portfolio and Dependencies ♦
Business case baselined ♦
Programme authorised ♦
WD1 WD Enablement xxxxx
Project set-up ♦
Workstyles Defined, Refined ♦
Business changes in place ♦
Application Process ready ♦
Training in place ♦
Alpha test successful ♦
Pathfinder successful - Oban users transitioned ♦
Ready for Roll-out ♦
WD2 WD Roll-out 1 - OBAN xxxxx
188 users transitioned ♦
WD3 WD Roll-out 2 - DUNOON xxxxx
249 users transitioned ♦
WD4
WD Roll-out 3 -
LOCHGILPHEAD xxxxx
481 users transitioned ♦
WD5
WD Roll-out 4 -
CAMPBELTOWN & ROTHESEA
xxxxx 224 users transitioned ♦
WD6
WD Roll-out 5 -
HELENSBURGH xxxxx
178 users transitioned ♦
WD7 Benefits Baselining xxxxx
Benefits identified ♦
Benefits profiled ♦
Measurement process established ♦
Benefits baselined ♦
WD8 WD Benefits Reviews xxxxx
Benefits Realisation Plan in place ♦
Training ready ♦
Staff trained for benefits measurement and reporting ♦
Benefits measurement and reporting ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
WD9
WD Objective-based
Management - Dependencies xxxxx
Assessment ♦
Implementation approach ♦
Training in place ♦
Rolled out, ready for each WD phasing ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
WD10 WD HR Dependencies xxxxx
No other items - See Workforce Deployment Phase 1 plan for HR deliverables.
Y E A R 2 Y E A R 3 Y E A R 4 Y E A R 5
224 transitioned - CAMPBELTOWN & ROTHESEA
178 transitioned - HELENSBURGH
tranche 1
Descriptions
188 users transitioned - OBAN - and Enablement complete
249 transitioned - DUNOON
481 transitioned - LOCHGILPHEAD
Y E A R 1
Pa
ge 4
2
Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Full Business Case
WD11 WD ICT Dependencies xxxxx
Video Conferencing Enhancement ♦
Booking System ♦
Extend access to info sharing systems to all corporate users (Oct 11) ♦
Malware precautions in place for PDA's and Smartphones ♦
VOIP & WIRELESS
VOIP & Wireless ready in relevant buildings - OBAN ♦
VOIP & Wireless ready in relevant buildings - DUNOON ♦
VOIP & Wireless ready in relevant buildings - LOCHGILPHEAD ♦
VOIP & Wireless ready in relevant buildings - CAMPBELTOWN & ROTHESEA ♦
VOIP & Wireless ready in relevant buildings - HELENSBURGH ♦
Necessary application virtualisation in place (inc Citrix or Terminal Server; eForms; VPN as necessary)
Application Virtualisation - OBAN ♦
Application Virtualisation - DUNOON ♦
Application Virtualisation - LOCHGILPHEAD ♦
Application Virtualisation - CAMPBELTOWN & ROTHESEA ♦
Application Virtualisation - HELENSBURGH ♦
High-Capacity Internet Access ready for each area from Year 2 onwards
High Capacity Internet Access - OBAN (not required)
High Capacity Internet Access - DUNOON (not required)
High Capacity Internet Access - LOCHGILPHEAD ♦
High Capacity Internet Access - CAMPBELTOWN & ROTHESEA ♦
High Capacity Internet Access - HELENSBURGH ♦
Fleet Management System - assumed not required for Workforce Deployment
Data Centre Consolidation (2012) - assumed not required for Workforce Deployment
WD12 WD PROPERTY Dependencies xxxxx
Oban - office & workspace arrangements ready to support Agile Working ♦
Dunoon - office & workspace arrangements ready to support Agile Working ♦
Lochgilphead - office & workspace arrangements ready to support Agile Working ♦
Campbeltown & Rothesea - office & workspace arrangements ready to support Agile Working ♦
Helensburgh - office & workspace arrangements ready to support Agile Working ♦
WD13 WD BPR Dependencies xxxxx
ICT/Finance - ♦
Benefits Legislative Team Review ♦
Payroll self-service review ♦
Payroll Sickness Handling review ♦
Revenues & Benefits NOSLA review ♦
Children & Families ♦
Children Affected By Disability, Early Years, and Trauma Recovery ♦
Some processes in Social Work ♦
Adult Services ♦
Review of Older People's Services ♦
Review of Learning Disability Services ♦
Mental Health redesign ♦
Reconfirm with Managers/depts re new plans and potential impacts - including ♦
Strategic Finance - unlikely impacts at time of Detailed Design ♦
Planning Services - unlikely impacts at time of Detailed Design ♦
Community Regeneration - unlikely impacts at time of Detailed Design ♦
Carbon Management Plan ♦
Government's Asset Management Strategy ♦
Travel Plan ♦
WD14 Communications xxxxx
Launch event ♦
Updates to key stakeholders ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
WD15 Governance
CM/WD Interdependencies Meetings ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Milestone Review points - projects ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Quality Reviews ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
SMT Fortnightly updates ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Org Dev PPG - Monthly updates ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Council Budget Meeting = Feb 2010 ♦
Business Case/Programme Reviews ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
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8.3 Table 12 below provides a high level description of the key activities for each role envisaged within the Workforce Deployment project during the implementation phase.
Role Resource Key Responsibilities and Activities
Programme
Senior Responsible Owner (SRO)
Jane Fowler,
Head of Improvement and HR
§ To be accountable for successful delivery of the programme – the driving force behind the programme
o Successful achievement of desired outcomes o Realisation of expected benefits
§ Is empowered to direct and lead the programme overall, to take decisions and resolve escalated issues
§ To own the vision for the programme § To secure the investment § To be the programme champion, actively promoting it within the organisation
and managing communications with key stakeholders § To manage key strategic risks § To manage and support the Programme Manager
Project Sponsor
Douglas Hendry,
Director of Community services
§ To be accountable for successful delivery of the project – o Successful achievement of desired outcomes o Realisation of expected benefits
§ Chairing Board meetings § Ensuring Project Board meets its remit § Providing progress reports to Council, Executive, SMOG and SMT § - Internal and external promotion of project § - Liaison with Programme SRO/Manager and Project Manager
Project Board HR Board § To provide the Project mandate and investment decision § To provide visible leadership and commitment to the Project § To endorse and support the Senior Responsible Owner on an ongoing basis § Attendance at board meetings as scheduled; § Agreement on project managers responsibilities and objectives; § Agreement of project plan, project PID’s and ongoing update of plans;
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Role Resource Key Responsibilities and Activities
§ Acceptance of all project products; § Provision of all resources and facilities required by the project; § Agreement of milestone achievements; § Review of scope.
Project Manager
Agnes Fleming
Business Improvement Officer
§ Overall Management and first point of contact. § To operationally manage the project, delivering to the business case,
coordinating and final delivery of all project products § To actively manage risks and issues § Ongoing project planning and management § Reporting progress to SRO and project board as appropriate § To represent the project to the Council management forums § To tactically and operationally co-ordinate the project with other Council
initiatives, including management of interdependencies § To manage resources and budget § To manage the provision and quality of all resources, sub-projects and
services delivered § To define the governance framework, including management of benefits,
stakeholders, risks and issues, resources, quality, planning and control. § To carry out regular reviews of the Business Case and Workforce
Deployment project, to ensure their continued alignment
Represenative from each Service
Lead TBA
Per service
§ To define the scale and scope of benefit to be realised across the Council § To be responsible for measuring and tracking benefits § To manage benefits realisation § To monitor project outcomes and ensure these are appropriate to achieve
desired benefits § To work with business areas in the change transition, maintaining ‘business
as usual’
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Role Resource Key Responsibilities and Activities
HR Support TBA § To provide HR support and advice to the project § To coordinate and report on all HR sub-projects § To represent the project on all HR issues § To coordinate the project with the Council’s HR policies, stratagems and
plans § Develop and Implement Outcome based measures § Health & Safety § To input into the training programme to support the project
Legal Support TBA § To provide support and advice to the project § Review and provide guidance on any amendments to Council’s terms of
employment or statutory obligations
ICT Support TBA § To provide ICT support and advice to the project § To co-ordinate, deliver and report on all ICT sub-projects § To represent the project on all ICT related workforce deployment issues § To co-ordinate the project with the Councils ICT policies, stratagems and
plans
Property Support
TBA § To provide property support and advise the project § To co-ordinate, deliver and report on all property sub-projects § To represent the project on all Property related workforce deployment issues § To co-ordinate the project with the Council’s project policies, stratagems and
plans
Communications Support
TBA § To provide Communications support and advise to the project § Develop and implement Communications plan § Deliver communications to all stakeholders as appropriate.
Procurement Support
TBA § To provide Procurement support and advise to the project § Set up and manage the Council’s supply chain for the Workforce
Deployment project
PMO Support Project Admin § To provide a dedicated administration support to the project § To provide active support in the tracking and analysing of risks and issues § To assist the Project Manager in budget control and status reporting
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Role Resource Key Responsibilities and Activities
Sustainability Support
TBA § To provide sustainability support and advice to the project § To co-ordinate and report on all Sustainability sub-projects § To represent the project on all property related workforce deployment issues § To co-ordinate the project with the Council’s sustainability policies,
stratagems and plans
Project Management Support (Assistant Project Manager)
TBA § To manage project resources, projects and budget as defined projects within
the Project § Management of specified project(s) and first point of contact for those § To develop and deliver to the project plan § To actively manage risks and issues § Ongoing project planning and management § Reporting progress to Project Manager § To manage the provision and quality of all resources, sub-projects and
services
Finance Support
TBA § To provide financial support and advise the project § To monitor and report on financial spend, including budget v actual
accounting § To monitor cash benefits realised against plan
8.4 The implementation plan detailing all the activities and resources to be carried out during year 1 (2010-11) is shown on the the next 2 pages. The preparation time shown is 9 months which includes time to resource and mobilise the project team, manage communications, manage enabler projects, baseline business case and confirm adoption profiles. Office moves within the Oban properties will commence in month 10
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8.5 The Project Manager will develop the Implementation Plan for each town using the standards and methodology developed within this Business Case. The Implementation Plan must identify specific requirements, actions and outcomes on a departmental and service basis to ensure that there is clarity of purpose and commitment to deliver the Implementation Plan. The Implementation Plan for each town will be approved by the HR Board. The Project Manager will develop a performance reporting structure within the Implementation Plan which meets the HR Board’s requirements for robust project governance and delivery.
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99.. RReeccoommmmeennddaattiioonnss
The Council is asked to approve the following recommendations in respect of the detailed design phase of the Process for Change, Workforce Deployment theme.
9.1 To approve the detailed design report, full business case and implementation plan for Workforce Deployment as a basis for proceeding to implementation
9.2 To approve that the Council’s Business Improvement Team continues to lead the project through implementation
9.3 To approve that the Head of Improvement and HR takes over as programme Senior Responsible Officer from the Head of ICT and Financial Services.
9.4 The governance arrangements as detailed in the Project Initiation Document continue in place throughout implementation with the HR Board continuing as the Project Board and the Director of Community Services continuing as project sponsor.
9.5 The approval of the Agile Work Options Policy part 1 and the Use of Space Policy as detailed in Appendix 2 – HR Report, as the basis of discussions with the Trade Unions.
9.6 That the Council adopts a corporate ICT desktop build and support service managed consistently across the organisation as detailed in Appendix 1 – ICT Report.
9.7 The approval of the training approach to support staff adopting new workstyles as detailed in Appendix 2 – HR Report.
9.8 That the Council approves the re-location of staff within Kilbowie House, Oban during 2010/2011 and the subsequent sale of Kilbowie House.
9.9 That the Council approves the Property Standards detailed in Appendix 3.
9.10 That the Council continues to consult with the Trade Unions during implementation.
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – ICT Report
Page 1
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT
Argyll and Bute Council Process for Change
Appendix 1 - ICT Report
Authors: Gerry Wilson, Gavin Boyd
October 2009
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Distribution:
Title Workforce Deployment - ICT Report
Author
Owner (Responsible for Approval of Issued Versions)
Name Role
Gavin Boyd ICT Applications Manager, Argyll and Bute Council
Review Panel
Name Role / Company Review requirement
Change History
Issue Date Author/ Editor Details of Change
V0.1 09/07/2009 BT Original template provided by BT.
V0.2 20/07/2009 Gavin Boyd First pass completion of report.
V0.3 24/07/2009 Keith Turnbull Initial review comments.
V0.4 10/08/2009 Keith Turnbull Updated document after workshop.
V0.5 19/08/200 G.Boyd/G.Wilson Update on version circulated by
C.Turnbull 17/08/2009
V0.6 02/10/2009 G WIlson Update with figures from property
workshop and review by HOS of
Oban and Dunoon occupancy
rates.
V0.7 5/10/2009 G Wilson Updated using revised breakdown
of 1320 participants.
V0.8 9/10/09 M Brown Amendments following HR board
V0.9 25/10/09 G Wilson Updated following changes to
business case
V1.0 18/11/09 G Wilson Updated following changes
highlighted in T. Millar review
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1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................4
2 APPROACH..........................................................................................................5
2.1 Principles ................................................................................................ 5
2.2 A layered architecture ............................................................................. 5
2.3 Assumptions and input metrics ............................................................... 6 2.3.1 Existing IT users...................................................................................... 6 2.3.2 Workstyles.............................................................................................. 7
3 KEY FINDINGS.....................................................................................................7
4 THICK CLIENTS .................................................................................................14
5 BASIC APPLICATIONS......................................................................................16
6 DEVICES.............................................................................................................19
7 CONNECTIVITY SERVICES...............................................................................21
8 SECURITY ..........................................................................................................24
9 VIRTUALISATION SERVERS ............................................................................25
10 COMMON BUSINESS TOOLS...........................................................................26
11 LINE OF BUSINESS APPLICATIONS ...............................................................28
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1 Introduction Argyll & Bute Council is developing a business case for the implementation of new work-styles across the Council. The project is called the Argyll & Bute Council, Process for Change, Workforce Deployment Theme. The transformation envisaged impacts the Council’s ICT strategy, infrastructure and operations. This paper, based on a Council Work Style ICT Review, is one of several specialist reports that inform the overall business case. The purpose of this paper is to describe the enabling ICT solutions that will support the proposed Workforce Deployment Theme. This report includes an ICT Solution Overview setting out the layers of technology enablers; a review of existing technology capability in the Council for each of those layers, noting what extra would be needed, if anything, to support workstyles.
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2 Approach
2.1 Principles Our approach to the ICT Review was based on a number of important principles that we have found valuable in other similar studies. These are...
Principle
Use a proven and comprehensive reference model to identify the types of technology required based on the business requirements.
Identify initiatives which are necessary for the modernisation of a department and are essential enablers for work styles.
Conform as far as possible to the Council’s IT service and technology principles and enterprise architecture framework.
Use and build upon existing technologies deployed in the Council.
Perform a sensitivity analysis to identify the most significant costs for further investigation
2.2 A layered architecture The technology required to enable and support Workforce Deployment is modelled as a layered architecture as follows:
Thick clients: software that runs directly on the PC (rather than in a browser) and communicates with a server-based application. Basic applications: these tools keep everything working and provide the software infrastructure for the business tools and line of business applications to work. This category also includes basic productivity software. Devices: personal computing, digital assistants, phone devices and other hardware provided to the users. Connectivity services: networks and communications to link the devices to the central servers and services. Security: authentication and authorisation services, providing access to those who need it, and protecting against unauthorised access. Virtualised Servers: these are central servers which run applications, middle ware, sub-systems and operating systems. They deliver a consistent user experience regardless of the devices at the user end.
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Common Business Tools: these are programs that help perform a business function, and which are used by (or available to) everyone in the organisation. Line of Business Applications: these are programs which are specialised to support the work of the various departments within the Council. A reference model for the types of technology components commonly found in each layer and required to support Work Style Transformation is presented below. This forms the structure for this report. The structure has been modified and annotated to reflect the environment at Argyll & Bute Council.
Workstyle application
Remote access
server
Single sign on/
authentication
service
FirewallsBroadband and router
at home
High capacity internet
access
Private fixed LAN/
WAN
Private Wifi
Public Wifi
GPRS/3G
Web conferencing
service
Audio conferencing
service
Corporate telephony
infrastructure
Mobile voice service
Virtual business
numbers
PCs and printers at
home
Flexidesk kit and
shared printers
Laptops and
netbooks
PDAs
Authentication tokens
Desk phones
Mobile phones
Roving profiles
Updatable standard
software builds
Malware precautions
Online backup
Hard disk encryption
Remote network
access client
software
Application
virtualisation client
Corporate directory
Online self-service
help
Discussion forum for
inter-user self-help
Corporate directory in
mobile phone
Whereabouts
visibility
Electronic diary
Click to call
Presence information
Instant messaging
Corporate social
networking
Shared folders
Document
management
Wiki, blogs etc
Intranet content
management
Licensing
Social care
Estates
Personnel
ePayments
Intranet
Case management
CRM
Revs and bens
Housing
Building control
Land charges &
planning
Financials
Education admin
GIS
Libraries
management
Timesheet
Public protection
Expenses
Support
Remote access for IT
support
Application
virtualisation servers
Forms server
Line of
business
applications
Common
business
tools
Basic
applications
Devices Connectivity
services
Security Virtualisation
servers
Browser
Endpoint security
Office suite
Email client
Virtual desktop
integration
Token server
Asset management
Highways
Leisure centres
Thick clients
Social care
Each layer of the architecture is analysed in subsequent major sections of this document.
2.3 Assumptions and input metrics
2.3.1 Existing IT users
Existing PCs 1455 Existing laptops 360 And therefore:
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Total workstation users: 1815
2.3.2 Workstyles
Four defined work-styles have been used throughout the business and technical analyses.
FIXEDFIXEDFLEXIBLEFLEXIBLE
HOMEHOME
qWorks fulltime at single place of employment (i.e.
spends more than 90% of time in the office or
establishment)
qHas a Desk and PC workstation allocated specifically
to them
qRequires access to corporate systems to perform
role
qNo mobile requirement – e.g. to work from home/
out of the office
qFixed telephone extension, post point
qRequires access to corporate systems to perform
role in the office
qRequires limited access to corporate systems to
perform role in the field (e.g. mail, calendar)
qNo requirement to have a fixed desk in a specific
office
qAssigned a building as their ‘base location’ – post
point
qOffice based for more 50% of their time,
qRequirement to works in multiple council offices,
qOccasionally works at home or remotely (1 or 2
days a week)
qWorks fulltime at home (i.e. spends more than
90% of time at home)
qHas a Desk and PC workstation allocated specifically
to them
qRequires access to corporate systems to perform
role
qNo mobile requirement – e.g. to work in the field
qFixed telephone extension, post point
MOBILEMOBILE
qRequires access to corporate systems to perform
role in the office
qRequires full access to corporate systems and
business applications to perform role in the field (e.g.
mail, calendar, case work)
qNo requirement to have a fixed desk in a specific
office
qAssigned a building as their ‘base location’ – post
point
qOffice based for less than 50% of their time,
qRequirement to works in multiple council offices,
qPredominately works remotely or out of the office
(e.g. 3 days a week)
Some of the current non-IT users may be part of the potential for mobile working, and for efficiencies in their working and travel patterns. Often this would involve a significant rework of the processes and business systems used in that area as well as the provision of mobile devices. These ‘mobilisation’ projects would be driven through the lines of business, and justified in their own right and therefore neither the costs nor the benefits will be included in this business case. However the standard infrastructure proposed here will make the implementation of such mobilisation projects much easier.
3 Key Findings
3.1 Current IT Infrastructure
Recent investment in broadband infrastructure has ensured the council has the platform
to deliver major bandwidth intensive projects. The new IP network has allowed the
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council to develop plans for major new services and systems such as Voice over IP,
Unified Communications, Consolidated and Virtualised Applications, Voice and Video
Conferencing, GIS, GLOW and the distributed contact centre. Many of these projects are
already delivering improvements for council services but several are in the process of
implementation and rely on the completion of the Pathfinder Network in December 2009
before full benefits can be realised.
In the context of current work-styles the infrastructure has been planned around the
containment of applications and systems within the secure network and is based on
delivering services to fixed desktops and phones, hard wired to single network points.
Facilities exist to support limited access to systems from outside the network and limited
wireless access within. The network is well placed to cope with many of the changes
proposed under workforce deployment but additional systems and investments are
required to accommodate the flexibility and movement offered by the introduction of the
new work-styles. The recent review by Heads of Service increased the number of
employees included in the flexible work-style and presents a number of challenges to
ensure the infrastructure remains as secure as it should be, whilst adapting the
necessary changes to support the flexibility of working from various locations – inside
and outside the existing network. In short, with almost 80% of all participating
employees working within the flexible work-style, the network and the services it carries
need to become less physical and more virtual, relying more on secure, wireless and
virtual technologies to extend reach and services to employee homes, touchdown and
team zones as well as existing hard wired desk locations.
3.2 Infrastructure Challenges
Heads of Service have reviewed the proposed work-style arrangements for staff working
in Oban and Dunoon and placed each post in one of the four work styles. They then
identified a total of 1320 employees across the Council who could adopt agile work styles
over a 5 year period and allocated employees as follows:
Fixed Workers: 5% or 66 staff
Home Workers: 1% or 7 staff
Mobile Workers: 15% or 191 staff
Flexible Workers: 80% or 1056 staff
Flexible workers were allocated into one of three workstation occupancy rates (60%,
75%, and 90%). Definitions for the three rates are available in section 3 of the
Workforce Deployment full business case. Under the HOS proposals, only those identified
as Fixed Workers will work from their own fixed desk using their own desktop PC and
VOIP phone. All Flexible Workers will work from a shared location when in the office -
from shared desks in touchdown or team zones using a shared PC and phone or, from
other shared desks using the laptop and software based phone they will carry to enable
full flexibility. The model suggests those in the lower two rates (60% and 75%) will be
supplied with their own laptop but the Council has assumed 50% of flexible workers
already have a laptop and are part of a departmental PC replacement program. Based on
this information and the numbers available from section 3 of BT’s Workforce Deployment
Financial Report, the following conclusions have been made in relation to the percentage
of the 1056 flexible workers likely to fall within each occupancy rate :
60% occupancy: 22% or 232 employees
75% occupancy: 37% or 391 employees
90% occupancy: 41% or 433 employees
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which subsequently allows for the following observations in respect of the 1320
employees;
• Over 60% (814) of all users fall in to the lower two occupancy rates or are
mobile users (232 + 391 + 191) and require a laptop or tablet PC with
wireless access, mobile phone and broadband at home. Assume only 50%
of the 75% occupancy rate will need business broadband and revised total
619.
• Although 360 laptops are in use across the Council, further analysis is
required to determine whether those users are included in the lower two
occupancy rates. For business case purposes it has been assumed that
40% of all mobile users (191 x 40%= 76) plus 50% of all flexible workers
in the lower two occupancy rates (623 x 50%=312) will require new
laptops (Total=388). Laptops may need to be removed from some users
and assigned to those in the lower two rates.
• Similarly, 1100 mobile phones are in use across the Council and further
analysis is required to determine how many of those users are included in
the lower occupancy rates.
• Only 5% (66 employees) require a fixed desktop PC while 41% of flexible
workers (433) require access to a shared desktop PC in a team/touchdown
zone.
• Wireless network coverage is required to cover all touchdown and team
zones used by those with a laptop or tablet from the lower occupancy
rates. If these zones are occupied to capacity they will provide desks for:
60% of 232 users (139) and 75% of 391 users (293). Total 432 users.
• 433 employees (all in 90% occupancy) will work in a shared desk/shared
PC environment where they can occupy a different desk on any day. They
require a consistent presentation of their desktop environment from any
PC in any allocated touchdown/team zone.
• Email, departmental applications, unified communications and
collaborative technologies may be required for all users from all locations
across the network.
• Security software, malware protection and disk encryption will be required
on all mobile/laptop devices.
• Employees at sites outside the six main towns (Oban, Dunoon,
Lochgilphead, Campbeltown, Rothesay and Helensburgh) have not been
included in this project.
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3.3 Current Infrastructure Projects
ICT staff currently manage a substantial work program of enhancement and
improvement. Two projects in particular are already included in this program but have
direct relevance and are key contributors to a successful workforce deployment:
Voice Over IP (VOIP)
The Council has a CISCO Call Manager VOIP deployment underway with capital and
revenue funding in place to provide VOIP to 1400 users by March 2011. Agreement has
recently been reached to accelerate this project to deliver VOIP to 1700 users by April
2010 (better value procurement has increased the purchasing capability of the original
funding). VOIP is recognised as a core fundamental element of a flexible workstyle and
unlike traditional hard wired telephony where the phone rings on a desk or diverts to pre
determined locations, users retain a standard extension number which can follow them
across the network to any working location. The system offers a logon facility to allow
simple pin based access to any extension number and therefore any user to be connected
to any phone. In addition the system can provide complete portability via software based
desktop telephony where the phone is accessed through an on-screen phone template
and a USB headset. Current funded plans to reach 1700 users by March 2010 do not
include full reach to all of the Council’s smaller offices and not all of the 1320
participating employees and their associated properties were included in the revised VOIP
plan. In Oban and Dunoon 144 staff across 11 sites are based in offices not scheduled for
VOIP in the original plans. An additional allocation has therefore been included in the
business case to ensure 100% VOIP coverage across the network with rollout occurring
prior to the rollout of the workforce deployment project.
Unified Communications
Work has started on the implementation of a new Unified Communications service which
will enable a variety of new communication options across the network. Based on
Microsoft Office Communicator and telephony links to the CISCO VOIP system, the
service will provide other essential elements in support of the new flexible workstyles;
• desktop based video/web conferencing,
• collaboration via desktop and document sharing,
• audio conferencing,
• integration with fixed and mobile devices,
• software based telephones
The system will allow Council teams to work collectively on documents, spreadsheets and
presentations from any remote location as if they were sitting side by side in the same
room. At the heart of the UC system is a new concept called “Presence” where users can
see whether a person is available, in a meeting, on a call or out on the road and
determine the best way to communicate with them. The service is designed to operate
across the entire corporate network with all of the above facilities also available over
fixed home and mobile broadband network connections. The system therefore ensures
these new methods of communication will be available for those working away from the
office. ICT and Financial Services are working with both Microsoft and Cisco and the main
installation is due to complete through October. The system will link directly to the new
Voice over IP telephone system and will allow the Council to take best advantage of the
new Pathfinder Broadband network via an integrated communications suite.
3.4 Current Infrastructure and PC Support Arrangements
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Core systems including corporate telephony, data networking, security, email &
collaboration, storage, internet, remote access, software licensing, database
management, and mobile phones are all managed centrally by the ICT service. In
addition procurement contracts are in place to ensure end user devices (PCs, laptops,
PDAs, tablets, software and printers) are all bought centrally. ICT and Financial Services
have also developed a standard desktop build to ensure a consistent and reliable service
is available across all desktops. This helps with security, audit requirements and software
licensing and ensures the highest possible levels of support to all end users. Previous
recommendations to provide a central desktop support service have been considered by
the Council but a decentralised approach still exists with front-line departments
employing their own teams to look after the PC estate.
As a result, there is an inconsistent approach to desktop support and the standard build
is not deployed across all departments.
Under new arrangements proposed for agile working where movement and flexibility is
supported by a consistently high end user experience, the PC, laptop and telephony
services are seen as the central service elements holding everything else together. When
a user moves from one town to another, chooses to work in one of several available
offices, accesses a PC they have never used before and may never use again, and logs
on to any one of several available desk phones, it is absolutely crucial that the systems
are presented consistently, operate consistently and offer the highest possible user
experience at all times. When these key facilities are also shared across all departments
and services, where a desk and associated equipment might be used by a Planner one
day and a Social Worker the next, questions arise over the Council’s ability to deliver and
support such an integrated IT environment using the current distributed support
arrangements. Consideration must therefore be given to a revised integrated desktop
support service managed consistently across the organisation. The revised service should
be tasked to deliver a consistently high experience for end users and to ensure the
desktop presentation meets the requirements of the new working styles.
3.5 Technology Layer Summary
Full details covering all layers are listed in section 4 of this report but the following
highlights those areas where additional services/devices/technology is required:
Thick Clients
The Council currently uses Microsoft Terminal Server to deliver a thin client solution for
key thick client based systems. There are no plans to replace this system in the short
term but the service will be enhanced with the introduction of the virtual desktop
technology in the Virtualisation layer proposals below. The small number of thick clients
used across the IKEN legal and NDR systems will be deployed using the new Citrix
XENDesktop virtual desktop suite.
Basic Applications
Malware precautions are required for Smartphone/PDA mobile devices as well as laptops.
The Council’s Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft includes protection for PCs and laptops
via MS Forefront. PDA protect is required for all Smartphones and PDAs
A new CISCO ASA VPN service will support 814 remote users. Secure access can be
granted via a remote access token for each user.
The Council purchased BeCrypt disk encryption software for the current 360 laptop PCs.
Additional software required for the extra 388 laptop and 19 tablet users.
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Devices
The number of laptop users will increase by 388. Additional laptops will be required by
40% of mobile workers (76) plus 50% of Flexible workers in the 60% or 75% occupancy
rates (312) Total (388). Laptops should be purchased with on-board wireless connectivity
and integrated video cameras where possible
The number of tablet PC users will be estimated at 10% of mobile workers - 19 staff.
Shared printers will be required in team/touchdown zones with existing printers
redeployed.
Printers will be included for those working from home, all mobile workers and all flexible
workers in the 60% occupancy rate (7 + 191 + 232). Total 430
The revised VOIP rollout includes delivery of 1700 devices across the entire network but
this includes significant delivery to many sites not included within Workforce Deployment
scope (island sites and other sites out with the main 6 towns). An additional 134 desk or
soft phones will be required to meet the VOIP requirements of all participating sites
within the six towns. This figure includes devices for the 6 home based workers.
Connectivity Services
Business broadband services are essential for anyone working from home (full time or
part time). Significant security risks exist when allowing access over a standard home
broadband service. Council policy is to deploy business broadband. The Council has
estimated the service should be provided to all mobile workers (191) plus all flexible
workers in the 60% and half of all those in the 75% occupancy rates (232 and 195
respectively). Total 619 flexible and home workers will require business broadband.
An additional 10MB High speed corporate internet access is required for every 100
concurrent home/flexible/mobile workers.
Additional wireless coverage will be required for those working in the 60% and 75%
occupancy rates. An access point will be required for every 6.5 users with controllers
required for every 100 users to cope with the increase in flexible workers working from
shared desk areas. Coverage will be required for the 432 desks required to cover the
lower two occupancy rates. Approximately 67 access points and 5 access controllers will
be required at strategic points across the network.
Security
Secure access tokens may be required to work alongside the ASA VPN service. Council
currently uses RSA tokens but 619 tokens needed.
Virtualisation
Some 433 users will access a shared desktop. Citrix XenDesktop should be deployed to
ensure the systems are presented consistently, operate consistently and offer the highest
possible user experience for all departments. 400 concurrent licences should be made
available.
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Common Business Tools
Significant changes are underway to upgrade the Exchange email system, introduce
collaborative business tools, and upgrade the council’s web and intranet sites. In addition
the entire user base will standardise on Office 2007 and a view will be taken on the new
Windows 7 operating system some time after product launch. As such, many of the
common business tools required to introduce the new workstyles are already in place or
on the horizon. One significant missing link is the much needed hot desk and room
booking system. Electronic calendars in Exchange will not meet this requirement and a
full application deployment is required across all properties. A survey of the marketplace
has revealed a number of third party packages which can be deployed alongside MS
Exchange. One of those operating in combination with the existing MS Exchange system
could provide the necessary capability to determine the availability of staff, rooms and
hot desks and make appointments and bookings. A corporate Electronic Document
Records Management System is not considered imperative at this stage. There may
however be a requirement in the future for targeted electronic document management
systems and these will be looked at on a case by case basis. If the requirement is
identified the initial costs will be funded from the ICT capital programme.
Line of Business Applications
The Council currently runs a commercial package which provides content management
capabilities for both the external website and the intranet. The Customer Management
project is likely to conclude that the current content management system (Alterian)
should be replaced through a procurement. The Council is about to conclude a contract
for deployment of a commercial package as a replacement for its ageing ‘Roads Costing’
system. The Council is currently out to tender for a Fleet Management system - again
this would be a commercial package hosted locally. Some ‘agile working’ staff are
identified as being in the ‘mobile’ workstyle category - from the ‘mobile’ workstyle
category some staff may need to access to specialised applications via a PDA whilst
onsite. To provide this capability it may be necessary to purchase further specialised
software from the suppliers of the relevant ‘line of business’ applications.
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4 Thick clients Thick clients: software that runs directly on the PC (rather than in a browser) and communicates with a server-based application. Applications that use a very significant download into the browser environment should also be considered in this section. It is important to understand any thick client applications that might be used by flexible, mobile and home workers in order to assess
• The impact on network bandwidth
• Whether the latency of working remotely provides acceptable application response times
• To what extent a virtualisation solution should be deployed
Key Items What exists What is planned What is needed Cost comment
Planning system The Planning System is currently available via Windows Terminal Server.
No plans No Plans No Costs
Performance Management - Development Client only
General Users: access for read and update purposes is via browser with small Java load to client PC. Development Client Users: thick client application only for changes to system setup – could be 30 to 40 occasional ‘developers’,
No plans Nothing additional required – client is slow to start initially but bandwidth not a major problem during use
No costs
WDM Roads Project Planning
This system is currently available though Windows Terminal Server.
No plans Migrate this system from TS to Citrix in accordance with Council strategy for application virtualisation.
Application Virtualisation platform and costs to be determined. . There are 140 users of the WDM Roads system via TS.
Leisure Management System – System Administration Client only
General Users: System mostly used by staff based in Leisure Centres System Administration Client Users: Thick Client via Windows Terminal Server used by 2 or 3 staff only
No plans Assume retention of TS for this small number of staff – could look to move to Citrix later
No costs
Anite/Northgate Non-Domestic Rates system (NDR)
Thick client used at one site only over LAN. No plans Possible Citrix candidate but assumed not in scope at current time.
No cost
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Northgate Benefits Northgate Benefits system is currently delivered via Windows Terminal Server.
A new browser version is planned to be deployed in FY0910 which will remove the need for TS.
Nothing additional required No cost
Legal Case Management System (IKEN)
Thick client for all users but only used over LAN at one site.
No plans Candidate for Citrix if remote access is required.
Desktop Virtualisation platform with costs of £200 per user (included in Desktop Virtualisation costs). There may be 10 remote users of the IKEN system.
Northgate Licensing System is being introduced at the moment and has a thick client but no TS use is planned as all users access this application through LAN at one site
No further plans Candidate for Citrix if remote access is required.
Desktop Virtualisation platform with costs of £200 per user (included in Desktop Virtualisation costs). There may be 7 remote users of the Licensing system.
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5 Basic applications Basic applications: these tools keep everything working and provide the software infrastructure for the business tools and line of business applications to work. This category also includes basic productivity software.
Item What exists What is planned What is needed Cost comment
Updatable standard software builds
All network PCs are subject to critical and security updates via MS WUS
MS System Centre (specifically SCCM) will provide a mechanism for managing the software build and updates of devices outside Council offices, ideally without having to return devices to base (bandwidth dependent).
Nothing additional No additional costs
Software mall Nothing at present - there are two possible definitions of software mall: a) a mechanism for users to gain temporary access to an application via a terminal server type solution and b) an end-user tool for downloading and installing software on a client.
Assessing introduction of Citrix XenApp technology (Dazzle is the client application for ‘shopping’ for applications) which will replace Windows Terminal Server (as per definition a)). A self-service portal is available as part of Microsoft’s System Centre Service Manager product (in beta).
For a), see thick client and virtualisation sections. For b), no requirement for this technology – software can be deployed through central control.
No additional costs.
Software deployment to smartphones/PDAs
No standard solution. No plans at present. MS System Centre Mobile Device Manager 2008 could be considered but would require standardisation of smartphone/PDA OS (see below).
Nothing additional No additional costs.
Malware precautions All PCs use Pestpatrol for malware precautions.
Introduction of Forefront is scheduled to complete in FY0910. There is currently no Forefront Client for Windows Mobile/Windows Phone.
While desktop/laptop device precautions will be in place, smartphone/PDA device precautions need to be applied consistently across the estate – PDA Protect is the preferred solution.
400 devices currently in use but not all capable of running Malware protection . Approximately £45 for additional devices plus £8 per annum thereafter for support.
Hard disk encryption Devices requiring encryption have a managed BECrypt solution.
As mentioned previously BECrypt PDA Protect to be introduced for
Additional licenses to ensure coverage for all agile workers including
Approximately £55 for 407 devices plus £8
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smartphone/PDA devices as well which includes disk encryption for this type of device.
homeworkers over the existing 360 device licences.
per annum thereafter.
Endpoint security CA Integrated Threat Management is installed on all PCs, Group policies manage operating system firewall rules. Windows Firewall is also enabled on PC devices.
Deployment of Centennial DeviceWall to control USB threats.
No plans for additional security although consideration may be given to smartphone/PDA devices (see above).
No additional costs.
Remote access for IT support
Windows Remote Desktop is used to provide remote access for IT support.
For each worker moving to an agile workstyle, there are a number of steps that need to be followed i.e.
a. Identify actual users; b. Contact department IT staff; c. Agree alternative; d. Migrate
– this needs to be reflected in the Managers Guide for Homeworking however this area is covered by other work in this Workstream.
Additional time required to resolve issues with remote users.
Remote network access client software
The Council currently has a Perle Remote Access Server (RAS) server providing 8 ports basic rate ISDN dial-up access and a Cisco ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance) solution implementing VPN tunnels over broadband to the Cisco VPN client.
The Perle Remote Access Server (RAS) is to be removed in 2010 after which either the Cisco ASA in house VPN or managed C&W VPN service will be used.
Assuming the in-house solution is adopted for the purposes of this report, we need to determine the VPN and authentication infrastructure costs required to get to the required capacity.
Costs required for infrastructure– £50 per user for 619 additional user capacity.
Application virtualisation client
Currently Windows Terminal Server is used to provide this capability.
Resolve printing issues – Uniprint Nothing additional although the small number of remaining thick clients may be covered by the desktop virtualisation program if required
No additional costs
Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7 is deployed and patched using Windows Update Services and is currently the standard browser.
IE 8 will be rolled out once it has been tested.
Nothing additional although some consideration needs given to browsers and versions on smartphone/PDA devices (Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0 and 6.1).
No additional costs.
Online self-service help Service Desk Self Service module currently in development – this is a thin client application.
Service Desk Self Service module made available to all users.
Nothing additional. No additional costs.
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Office suite Microsoft Office 2003/2007 Migration to Office 2007. Nothing additional planned - any new PC devices for agile working will be built with Office 2007 to avoid remote install.
No additional costs.
Email client Microsoft Outlook 2003/2007. Outlook Web Access is also implemented.
Migration to Outlook 2007.
Nothing additional planned although it might be worth re-inforcing the policy on .pst files being held on network drives so that they are backed up.
No additional costs.
Online backup Client level backup not required all data is stored on server shares.
This is a Council policy therefore no change is planned.
Again, worth re-iterating this policy for agile workers to ensure their data is backed up.
No additional costs.
Roaming profiles This is not implemented by the Council at present.
Not planned. Not required but would only require configuration changes on existing infrastructure if needed.
No additional costs.
Telephone configuration Telephony configuration is performed against Siemens iSDX via modem access by administrators and on the Cisco Call Manager via browser, again by administrators.
The Council plan to move to an all VoIP telephone infrastructure.
No user configuration required. No additional costs.
Audit client Software to perform client device audits. Continued use of this solution for new client devices.
Additional licences for those who need more than 1 PC or laptop or any additional PCs or laptops.
No additional costs.
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6 Devices Devices: personal computing, digital assistants, phone devices and other hardware provided to the users. The spreadsheet model articulates the proportions of the various workstyles who will require each type of device, and the proportion of that cost that should be attributed to the programme.
Item What exists What is planned What is needed Cost comment
PCs at home There are only a very limited number of standard desktop PCs in employees or elected members homes (around 10 or less).
Nothing planned outside this Workstream.
Assume no desktops exist for costing purposes. Council has a policy of 4 year refresh for desktop PCs.
No additional costs
Laptops and netbooks There are currently around 360 laptops of various ages used by elected members and employees.
Nothing planned outside this Workstream.
Assume a 3 year refresh policy for laptops.
Cost for 388 laptops – consider whether a proportion need additional monitor/keyboard. Assume no docking stations.
Tablet PCs There are currently around 20 tablets in use in the Council.
Nothing planned outside this Workstream.
Assume no more than 100 laptop users will required tablet variants.
Cost for 19 tablet devices at £900 each
Printers in drop-in areas All Council offices have printers available to users signed into the network.
Nothing planned outside this Workstream.
Additional shared printers required for drop-in areas. Could these be a combination of new and existing devices?
£161 per device but none required. Redeploy existing.
Printers at home Elected members have printers. These should be replaced by new multi-function devices (MFD) – print/scan/possibly fax.
Needed for 100% of Home Workers; 100% of Mobile Workers; 100% of “60% Occupancy” Flexible Workers
Cost of £80 per device plus on-going costs for 430 users
Smart phones/Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)
A wide variety of devices – these are purchased by departments from a Vodafone list of devices and tariffs rather than sourced through the IT department.
In future, the Council wish to standardise on the Windows Mobile (renamed Windows Phone for version 7) to ensure security and ease maintenance.
Nothing additional – refresh to standard to be driven as devices are replaced. It is anticipated that anyone electing to become an agile worker will already have a mobile phone.
No additional costs
Mobile phones There are 1100 mobile phones with approximately 100 with e-mail access – see above.
See above. See above. See above.
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Desk phones There are 1700 extensions in 24 offices plus more in other offices.
The use of Cisco IP Communicator is planned as a softphone implementation.
‘Desk phones’ are required for home workstyle users and these will be fulfilled by softphones (headset plug-in to PC rather than separate handset). See note below about call/contact centre working from home.
Cost for 134 desk or soft phones.
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7 Connectivity services Connectivity services: networks and communications to link the devices to the central servers and services. The spreadsheet model articulates the proportions of the various workstyles who will require each type of connectivity service, and the proportion of that cost that should be attributed to the programme.
Item What exists What is planned What is needed Cost comment
Broadband and router at home
BT or Demon broadband up to 8MB with a Cisco 857 router
Nothing different The solution is acceptable and therefore needs to be provided by the Council for workstyles with a home working element.
Costs to be included for an estimated 619 new broadband users.
Telephone service at home
Analogue handset on broadband line Use of Cisco IP Communicator and softphone headset.
Nothing is needed for standard users. However users with a heavy or critical phone requirement e.g. call/contact centre workers may require quality of service (QoS) on their network connection to ensure calls are not dropped or degraded. There are products utilising ADSL technology that have lower or zero contention and can therefore offer QoS (IP Clear ADSL Plus and IP Clear ADSL Premium respectively) and these could be considered for this type of worker although these services attract a higher cost.
Additional costs for 7 CCM device licences and Quality of Service enabled network connections from home.
Fixed Line Telephony at home
Not currently offered Standard telephone and line for users with poor mobile reception
Estimate the following numbers will require this service: 100% of Home Workers; 10% of Mobile Workers; 10% of “60% Occupancy and 75% Occupancy” Flexible Workers
88 telephone lines required
High capacity internet access
45MB connection of Lochgilphead for Corporate use 100MB connection at Helensburgh for schools use There is also a 10MB connection as part of the Cable and Wireless VPN service trial.
Assuming use of in-house service for this report, an estimate of 100KB of internet access into the Council per concurrent user is made. This assumes that the user will be generating limited user traffic when
In additional, it is necessary to configure fall-back to alternate connection on link failure.
A concurrent user value of 100 dictates an additional 10MB of internet capacity is required (plus fallback). £2k per
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making an IP call. A 10MB pipe will therefore support 100 concurrent users.
10MB installation and £8193 per 10MB per annum
Private fixed LAN/WAN
The Council Local and Wide Area Networks are currently sized appropriately for the Council’s requirements.
On-going upgrade activities as required.
After full discussion, introduction of agile working practices is not anticipated to require any further investment in the Council WAN or LAN.
No additional costs.
Private wifi Private (Council) wireless networks are available in few offices.
Substantial change is planned to ensure at least 50% coverage in all offices..
Additional wireless access point will be required for shared desk areas
Approx new 67 access points and 5 associated controllers will provide coverage for 432 desks in touchdown/team zones
Offering public wifi This is not currently offered. There are no plans to offer this. Nothing additional. No additional costs.
Using public wifi Not currently permitted ‘officially’. Need to change two-factor authentication approach to support this securely – see below.
May need to provide user accounts/on-going costs if this is to be used.
No additional costs at this time.
GPRS/3G There is limited 3G availability outside Helensburgh and limited GPRS availability outside town limits. Users using various phones to sync with Exchange server using push or pull technology.
Nothing additional planned. Monitoring usage to identify users suitable for fixed rate tariff.
No additional costs.
Audio conferencing services
These are currently available on the existing iSDX and Call Manager telephony platform.
Plan is to fully implement audio conferencing service on Cisco Call Manager.
Removal off iSDX Integration with Exchange
No additional costs.
Web conferencing services
Web conferencing services allow participants to view and/or interact with presentations and other application alongside audio conferencing. .
The Council have implemented Microsoft Live Meeting.
A hosted web conferencing service is available for interim use. Microsoft have provided a service for approximately £9 per meeting host licence per month
No additional costs
Corporate telephony infrastructure
The Council has an infrastructure of Siemens iSDX (8 switches) which are be replaced by a Cisco Call Manager solution.
The plan is to remove all iSDX switches by 2011 and all handsets will be VoIP devices.
The new infrastructure will have sufficient capacity for IPT use at home however some additional licences may
See above.
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be required.
Mobile voice service Vodafone mobile phones Cisco mobility for extensions
Nothing additional planned. Nothing additional anticipated. No additional costs.
Virtual business numbers
Users can divert extension to mobile as required
See above. See above. See above.
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8 Security Security: authentication and authorisation services, providing access to those who need it, and protecting against unauthorised access.
Item What exists What is needed Cost comment
Firewalls Nokia IP560 (Lochgilphead and Helensburgh) The current firewall provision is expected to have capacity to support this Workstream.
No additional costs.
Token server The Council current has a Windows server with RSA running and a Cisco ASA server.
For this report, we assume that two factor authentication needs to be implemented in a different way i.e. two factor authentication is required at the network perimeter by username/password and by a secondary method such as SecureID token or Swivel PINsafe. Again, assume token based authentication for this report.
Time needs to be allocated to investigate and reconfigure the existing mechanisms. Cost for any new infrastructure required.
Authentication tokens Currently there are Securid and Cisco tokens in use. Tokens are required to support two factor authentication for all agile workstyles.
Cost per token of £30 for 619 users.
Identity management Nothing beyond Active Directory. Nothing additional required. No additional costs.
Single sign on/authentication service
Microsoft Active Directory is used for authentication but single sign-on is not implemented. In the past, auditors have driven the requirement for explicit sign on to applications.
A single sign-on project may have a business case in its own right but such as solution is not mandatory here.
No additional costs.
Security of data as it traverses the network
Data on WAN, LAN and VPN is assumed to be secure. Nothing additional. No additional costs.
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9 Virtualisation servers Virtualised Servers: these are central servers which run applications, middle ware, sub-systems and operating systems. They deliver a consistent user experience regardless of the devices at the user end.
Item What exists What is needed Cost comment
Application virtualisation servers
Currently some corporate applications are delivered via Windows Terminal Server.
No pans to migrate from Terminal Server No additional costs.
Virtual desktop infrastructure
No VDI in Council at present. For certain types of user it may be appropriate to deliver the entire desktop virtually as opposed to individual applications. 433 shared desktops may require 400 concurrent licences for Citrix XENDesktop
400 licences and associated server hardware.
Forms server Forms server technology supports offline working when mobile users are out of network coverage,
Offline working may be required for certain applications but this will be done on an application by application basis rather than as a standard Council-wide technology approach.
No additional costs.
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10 Common business tools Common Business Tools: these are programs that help perform a business function, and which are used by (or available to) everyone in the organisation.
Item What exists What is needed Cost comment
Email E-mail is provided by Microsoft Exchange. Nothing additional is required. No additional costs required.
Corporate directory Corporate directory is provided through intranet and from Active Directory.
Some work is required to active directory to get this working completely.
Work underway to refresh the Active Directory but no additional costs required
Email, contact list, diary on mobile device
ActiveSync technology is used to provide this functionality.
This is all in place and working effectively. No additional costs required.
Corporate directory in mobile phone
There is an existing electronic list which could be used here.
Resolve as part of corporate directory work. (See above).
No additional costs required.
Electronic diary Outlook calendar Push pull is available through ActiveSync – nothing additional required.
No additional costs required.
Hot desk and room booking system
Video conference rooms are managed centrally using Exchange calendars and service desk system
A packaged ’add-on’ to MS Exchange which allows Staff, room & hot desk availability & booking. One solution to be identified which meets both Workforce Deployment & Customer Mgt. needs
Approx £21k one-off and £3k p.a ongoing.
Instant messaging Nothing at present but there is a plan to implement Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) and Office Communicatore by FY0910.
Nothing additional – this project is already in progress.
No additional costs required.
Presence information Not at present but included in above project. See above. See above.
Click to call Not at present but included in above project. See above. See above.
Whereabouts visibility See above. See above. See above.
Corporate social networking
Nothing required over and above the OCS/Communicator solution.
See above. See above.
Intranet content management
The intranet content management system - Alterian (previously Mediasurface) is the same as website content mgt sys (section 11). The current system is under review by Customer Mgt
Nothing additional required here. No additional costs.
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project
Shared folders Microsoft Sharepoint is used to host shared folders as well as standard use of network drives.
Nothing additional required. No additional costs.
Document management No general Council-wide document management system.
This is not seen as a pre-requiste for agile working but will be looked at on a cost by cost basis for individual systems.
No additional costs.
Wiki, blogs, forums etc A trial blog has been created for the Chief Executive built on a Twiki platform.
Use of the Twiki platform could be extended to support wider use of this technology however nothing additional required here.
No additional costs.
Workstyles support application
Nothing at present beyond some Word documentation and basic processes.
Assume no technology purchase specifically for this purpose - existing material can be presented via currently licensed technology.
No additional costs.
Discussion forum for inter-user self-help
This could be implemented on the Twiki platform. See above. No additional costs.
Search Basic search capability currently available. Revised solution to be implemented as part of CMS project.
No additional costs.
Flexi-time system The current flexi-time system is Crown ‘My Options’. There is a PC interface for this system that will allow agile workers to manage their clocks. Its possible that additional configuration will be required here but no costs estimated.
No additional costs.
Expenses Although these are currently done by Excel spreadsheet and this manual process will still work from agile workers, there is an option to use ‘self-service’ module of Northgate Resourcelink Payroll/HR system.
This is a thin-client and therefore requires not additional work.
No additional costs.
Performance Management QPR This is a thin-client and therefore requires not additional work.
No additional costs.
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11 Line of business applications Line of Business Applications: these are programs which are specialised to support the work of the various departments within the Council. It is important to understand the main line of business applications that might be used by flexible, mobile and home workers in order to assess
• The impact on network bandwidth
• Whether the latency of working remotely provides acceptable application response times
• To what extent a virtualisation solution should be deployed
In the short time available for this report it was not possible to do a complete survey of line of business applications in use across the council, so focus may be given to applications used by key communities considered likely to be early adopters of workstyles. The checklist below is mainly to help identify applications with specific or unusual requirements when it comes to workstyles.
Item What exists What is planned What is needed Cost comment
Social work OLM CareFirst ( incl CareAssess ) ‘Care Mobile’ module ?
ePayments Link to external ePayments service ( Capita )
Nothing more
CRM Lagan Major upgrade likely to be undertaken to move to new version.
Revs and Bens Northgate Council Tax & Bens
eBenefits Mobile going live by end Sept 09
Nothing more
Non Domestic Rates System
Northgate (previously Anite)
Housing Academy - ICT support system for housing association ( ACHA )
(n/a) Housing stock managed by housing association ( their staff not in Workforce Deployment )
Transportation Vehicle tracking system (Cybit - Fleetstar) Project underway to procure a Fleet Mgt system - go-live June 2010
Roads Maintenance Planning
WDM
Financials Oracle Financials General Ledger & Payables plus Discoverer Reporting tool , Civica Debtors System, Civica Cash Receipting, Northgate Resourcelink Payroll ( & HR )
Data transfer interface to be established between Payroll and Flexi Time System (see section 10) – to reduce duplicate manual data entry to these systems
Personnel Northgate Resourcelink HR ( & Payroll ) See above
Vacancy Mgt System EURO RSCG Riley Use of this may cease – Council would use Scottish recruitment portal system instead
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Licensing None yet Intention to deploy Northgate ( previously Anite ) sys
Estates No specialised system
Building control IDOX Uniform module
Development services IDOX Uniform module
Asset management No specialised system
Environmental services
IDOX Uniform module
Cleaning and Catering No specialised system
Education admin SEEMIS ‘Click & Go’
GIS ESRI Arcview & Localview
Corporate Address Gazetteer (CAG)
IDOX Uniform
Libraries management Civica ‘Spydus’
Leisure centres XN Leisure ( previously Torex)
Card management Payne Security (loca) & link to Scottish card mgt sys
2 users for both - suggest not a priority
IT support Frontrange IT help desk system
Public protection IDOX Uniform module
Burials ClearSkies
Legal Case Management
IKEN
Website Content Mgt Alterian ( previously Mediasurface ) Customer Mgt. project likely to conclude that a new packaged solution is required to replace current Alterian/Mediasurface system
nothing additional required as this is dealt with by Customer Management Project
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – HR Report
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT Argyll and Bute Council
Process for Change
Appendix 2 - HR, Training, ICT Unified Communications, Information Security, Use of Space Policy and Agile Work Options Policy Part 1
Authors: Judy Orr, Lisa Bond, Agnes Fleming
October 2009
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Contents
PAGE NO
1. Introduction 3
2. Recommendations 3
3. Background 3
4. HR Considerations for Agile Working 5
4.1 Agile Working Considerations 6
4.2 Delivering efficiencies from agile working 6
4.3 Contractual Considerations and Allowances for home and mobile workers 7
4.4 Health and Safety Implications 8
4.5 Communications 9
5. Training 10
5.1 Overview 10
5.2 Numbers to be training 11
5.3 Modes of delivery 11
5.4 Superusers or Mentors 11
5.5 High level training needs analysis 12
5.6 Training Costs 12
6. Unified Communications 13 7. Information Security 14 8. Use of Space Policy 14
Appendix A Use of Space Policy 15 Appendix B Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures
Part 1 Home, Mobile and Flexible Working 20
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1. Introduction
1.1. This report examines the HR considerations that require to be addressed as part of the Workforce Deployment theme of Process for Change. It addresses managerial, cultural, training and ICT requirements to support the new workstyles and sets out new policies for “Use of Space” and “Agile Work Options”
1.2. Flexible and Mobile working have already been piloted in Development Services and Corporate Services. The HR-related issues highlighted by the Pilot together with some of the concerns raised by employees at the recently held Solution Design Workshops have been incorporated, as far as possible, into this report.
1.3. HR Business Partners have been consulted on the matters highlighted and guidance
has been sought, where appropriate, from Legal Services, ICT and Financial Services, Planning and Health and Safety. In addition, Strategic HR and Business Improvement have reviewed several other Councils’ policies including those involved in project NOMAD.
2. Recommendations
2.1. Implement the training recommendations set out at section 7 with associated total
cost of £107,500.
2.2. Approve the “Use of Space” policy attached at Appendix A.
2.3. Approve the “Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures attached at Appendix B.
3. Background
3.1. Four work styles have been identified as part Workforce Deployment. They are
Fixed, Flexible, Mobile and Home working. Fixed workers are those who need a dedicated office such as directors, heads of service, third tier managers and other managers who deal with confidential matters.
3.2. Flexible workers have been broken down into 3 sub categories as follows:
Flexible worker category Number
90% occupancy 434
75% occupancy 391
60% occupancy 232
Total 1,057
3.3. The 90% occupancy flexible workers work from a Team Zone. They will always
operate from a desk within that Team Zone except when they are away at a meeting (which is fairly infrequent) or on holiday or off sick. Each desk in that Team Zone will have a desktop PC loaded with the software required for those team members, and there will be a central filing area.
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3.4. The 75% flexible workers are out and about at meetings or occasionally working from home on average one day per week. 60% flexible workers are out and about on average two days per week. Both of these categories have their own laptop PC. They are all enabled to connect to the Council’s network from home and business broadband is installed at their home to support this. They will also have a Council provided mobile phone if they haven’t got one already as over 1100 staff members already do. When they are in the office, they operate either from a Team Zone area or a Drop-In zone area using wireless networks.
3.5. Mobile workers, like flexible workers, can work from a variety of locations including
any Council office, home, or client’s premises. They spend a significant amount of their week “on the move”. They have GPRS connection to Council systems whilst out and about, and have Council provided broadband connection from home. This means that they don’t have to visit a Council office or base on a daily basis. Some 10% of mobile workers are provided with a tablet PC which enables them to record data whilst on site with their clients.
3.6. Home workers have a contract to work from home on a permanent basis but may occasionally visit their Team Zone in a Council office in order to keep in touch. They are provided with some furniture, a desktop computer and a telephone at home and a fast broadband connection.
3.7. All home, flexible, mobile and fixed workers will be provided with the common IT tools for keeping in touch with team members irrespective of where they are located. These include desktop based video/web conferencing, collaboration via desktop and document sharing and audio conferencing. This is referred to as Unified Communications. At the heart of this a concept of “Presence” where users can see at a glance whether a colleague is available for contact, or is in a meeting, on a call, or on the road and can see the best way to contact them – reducing wasted time spent on telephone tag. When someone is in the office they will be able always to keep the same telephone number irrespective on which desk they are sitting at – they just log on to their telephone using VOIP facilities.
3.8. The new workstyles free up office space. This allows more areas to be set aside for meetings with clients and colleagues – both formal interview rooms and less formal collaboration areas. Overall, despite these new meeting areas, the total floor space requirement is reduced. This means that it may be possible to reduce the number of buildings which the council occupies. For the Oban area, the intention is to move out of Kilbowie House. As a result, all staff members currently located at Kilbowie House can expect to be relocated to other premises in Oban. It is to be expected that similar changes will happen in other locations. Overall, the business case allows for costs associated with 382 desk moves – some 30% of all mobile and flexible staff. It is assumed that 90% of desk moves are fairly simple ones that cost on average £1,200, but 10% are more complex with costs of £2,700.
3.9. In addition to freeing up office space, the main benefit from the new workstyles is in
increased efficiency of staff. The efficiency targets for each category of staff are set out below:
Workstyle category Efficiency Target
Fixed 3%
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Home worker 20%
Mobile worker 15%
Flexible 90% occupancy 5%
Flexible 75% occupancy 10%
Flexible 60% occupancy 15%
3.10. These efficiency targets have been derived from the DILO survey and the Solutions Design workshops. However, to become realisable, they effectively mean that staff savings must be made. They will only be realised if managers set outcome based targets for performance, and re-organise their services so that workloads reflect the improved efficiency levels. In time, this means not replacing staff when vacancies arise.
3.11. The Council’s PDR paperwork is currently being reviewed to incorporate a greater emphasis on SMART targets for all employees. These changes should assist line managers to put emphasis on task orientated working (getting defined jobs done) as opposed to measuring presenteeism.
3.12. However, this paper predominately focuses on the HR issues that may arise from the adoption of the flexible, mobile and home working work styles and the need to realise the anticipated efficiencies.
4. HR Considerations for Agile Working
From the HR perspective, agile working has a number of benefits. These include attracting a wider range of candidates, improved productivity, reduced absence, reduced staff turnover, increased employee commitment, and a better work-life balance for employees. By cutting commuting time and reducing stress, agile working can be a means of harmonising work and family commitments. However, agile working also raises a number of challenges including ensuring that good communications are maintained between managers and their team, and ensuring that work is delivered as efficiently as possible. It is good practice for new jobholders, particularly new recruits to the Council and especially those who are in their first job, to spend some time in the office environment in order to familiarise themselves with the organisation and with colleagues, before working remotely. New policies are required which address the following issues:
• How do you decide whether an employee can work in an agile manner, and how soon should the arrangement start?
• What happens if the employee’s circumstances change?
• What are the Contractual considerations and allowances?
• Tax and National Insurance Implications
• Legal considerations
• Health and Safety implications
• Links to other Council Policies and Procedures
Attachment B “Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures (Part 1 - Home, Mobile and Flexible Working)” has been drafted to address these issues. Trade unions and the Employee Equality Forum have still to be consulted on this. Part 2 of
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the Policy will focus on requests from employees who wish to change when they can work and will be developed later.
4.1 Agile Working Considerations
The majority of all posts will be designated as flexible workers, mobile workers or home workers. There will be some flexibility for employees to request a particular category of flexible working (e.g. home working) but in the main, the category will be pre-determined by the job role. An application form and process for dealing with requests from employees for agile working has still to be developed. It may be desirable to require employees to work flexibly from day one of their appointment. It is, however, good practice for new job holders and in particular new recruits to the council and especially those who are in their first job to spend some time in the office environment in order to familiarise themselves with the organisation and with colleagues, before working remotely to a smaller or greater degree. All employees should go through an induction process for their new job to enable them to acclimatise to their new role and working environment. The length and nature of this depends upon the complexity of the job, and the background of the new employee. As part of the induction, employees should gain an understanding of the Council’s HR policies and procedures (including any Health and Safety requirements) as well as an overview of the organisation’s strategy and goals, and how their role fits into these. Remote access to the Council’s Intranet, Public Folders and Learn-In- Bytes courses could assist with some of this however there may be other elements of the Induction Programme which may be better suited to face-to-face contact where possible. This could include a strategy for integrating the employee into not just their immediate team, but also introducing the employee to any other contacts (internal and external to the Council) with whom the employee may have regular contact. Where employees work flexibly, this can be more challenging. Employees most suited to greater degrees of agile working are typically self-motivated, capable of working without direct supervision, and able to cope with reduced social contact.
For home workers, a change of circumstances could mean that this work style is no longer practical. For example, if the employee moves home there could be difficulties getting broadband access at their new location, or a change of family circumstances could mean that there is no longer sufficient space to work from home. A notice period has been built into the Policy whereby employees are required to give three months notice if they wish to amend the agile working arrangement in order to give time to make alternative arrangements.
4.2 Delivering efficiencies from agile working
1.1 There will be significant challenges in delivering the projected levels of efficiencies set out at paragraph 3.9. The business case assumes that only 60% of these efficiencies are realisable. Also, it recognises that it takes time for people to become proficient in the new style of working. We have assumed that after 3 months of adopting a new workstyle, they achieve 25% of their future maximum efficiency gain. After 12 months, they achieve 80% of their efficiency target and by the end of the second year of working in the new work style, they have achieved the maximum possible efficiency gain. In order to realise any efficiency gains, staff numbers have to be reduced. By year 5, the business case assumes annual benefits of £1,931,405 At an average annual salary of £28,000, this equates to saving 66.2 FTE which is 6% of the staff within the original
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scope. As savings will arise in small percentages of time in individual job roles, they need to be aggregated together to allow posts to be reduced. This can only be done through reconfiguring job roles. If job roles are not reconfigured, then there is very little chance that savings can be realised unless there are at least 15 FTE doing the same role. Most teams are not this size.
Managers will need considerable assistance from HR Business Partners to help them reconfigure job roles – new job descriptions will need to be drawn up and new job evaluations carried out. There is a long lead time to achieving this successfully. Ideally there should be consultation with all staff affected - staff should be actively engaged in influencing how services are reconfigured most efficiently.
In addition, relevant outcome based targets need to be set for all job roles. It is important to concentrate only on those elements of activity that directly result in the achievement of those targets, and not be distracted by bureaucratic procedures. This requires an element of business process re-engineering, and a strong emphasis on Lean thinking. Staff need to be empowered to question why they do certain activities and allowed to stop doing them if they are unproductive.
Managers will have to manage in a completely different style to traditional methods. They will have to concentrate on reviewing the achievement of targets and not measuring inputs or perceived “busy” levels. They will have to “trust” staff – no longer supervising them directly but reviewing their performance more remotely. Training for all aspects of job roles may need to become more formalised as it becomes harder to learn on the job from your colleagues beside you – as they simply aren’t beside you in the same way. Learning needs to be shared and files in easily accessible repositories – using Sharepoint and/or the Council Intranet. There needs to be a recognition that using these resources in not an optional extra – it is a necessity to learn and maintain essential skills. All members of staff have to contribute to these resources – information has to be regarded as a corporate resource – not as a power base.
4.3 Contractual Considerations and Allowances for Home and Mobile Workers
There are a number of contractual issues that need to be decided - one of the most important being whether the employee is issued with a contract variation, or a new contract. Following the implementation of Single Status, a number of Local Government Employees have retained contractual rights relating to pay frequency and Essential Car User Allowance. This is on the basis that they do not get a new contract. Pay protection for employees who are still red-circled will cease in February 2011 or sooner if they receive a new contract. Provided the actual work remains the same, the Policy has been drafted on the basis of a variation to an existing contract as this is more beneficial to the employee. However, the Council’s legal advisers are required to provide a definitive answer in this regard. In the event that they recommend that a new contract is issued, the Policy will be amended. The Statement of Particulars must by law, state the employee’s place of work. The Council’s current practice is to state this as a town, rather than an actual building, and to use this as the base from which employees can claim business mileage and/or travel time. Employees are required to deduct their home to work mileage from any claims for business mileage which they make, and should also deduct their travel time from home to work as well when claiming flexi time/overtime. If the employee’s place of work is their home then they may be able to claim for attendance at team meetings, training etc
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in addition to what would ordinarily be classed as business mileage. It is recommended that the Council allocates employees to an administrative base from which they can claim time and travel allowances. This base would be the office from which that particular group of employees would ordinarily work. The Conditions of Service contain provisions for reimbursing for four years, the excess travelling expenses of those employees whose place of work is changed at the Council’s request. There are certain conditions attached to this, but where office rationalisation is being considered as a consequence of workforce deployment, it would be advisable to check the employees’ contracts of employment to see if these allowances would apply.
It is recommended that the Council pays a £2 tax free per week allowance to cover the heating and lighting costs of employees who work permanently from home. This would only be paid to those employees with a contractual entitlement to work from home. Though a small amount, this would be paid on a pro-rata basis to part-time employees in line with the current arrangements for paying telephone allowance. In the event that a permanent home worker is not able to work from home for any reason e.g. equipment failure, loss of broadband access etc, then they would be expected to work from another office (normally their administrative base) until this is resolved.
It is recommended that the Council provides office furniture and equipment for Homeworkers which will ensure that it is fit for purpose, and meets Health and Safety requirements. Private use of the Council’s ICT systems and equipment is not permitted except in specific authorised circumstances. Council owned equipment kept at home should be covered by the Council’s Insurance Policy. Employees are also advised to contact their own insurance provider to ensure that their insurance cover is not invalidated by the new arrangements. The employee will also need to satisfy themselves that their tenancy and mortgage arrangements allow them to work from home, and that there are no planning restrictions on their property. There may be tax implications for homeworkers depending on their individual circumstances and they would be encouraged to discuss these with a relevant expert.
4.4 Health and Safety Implications
The Policy contains a risk assessment form and a display screen equipment form which the employee is expected to complete and submit to their manager prior to commencing a home working arrangement on a permanent or more than occasional basis. This should be completed by all home workers, all mobile workers, and all flexible workers. Departmental Health and Safety sections are responsible for following up any necessary actions prior to implementation of the new work style. Employees should be trained in the use of risk assessments, and in the safe use of any equipment provided. The Council has a duty to ensure that any equipment provided is checked regularly and kept in a condition that does not cause harm to the worker, or to others. The Council will need to arrange PAT testing of equipment and this could require the
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employee to bring their equipment to an office to be tested, or the PAT engineer will need to travel to the employee’s home. The Council needs to ensure that employees comply with the Working Time Directive. For some employees who work from home, there can be a tendency for the boundaries between home and work life to become blurred, and for staff to work longer hours than normal. The Time Recording System could be used for monitoring an employee’s hours.
There may be more lone workers as a result of the new work styles. If mobile workers, for example, can update information “in the field” then there may be less of a requirement for them to return to the office. This could mean that it takes longer for someone to notice if they are missing. The Council already has a Policy on Working Alone, and both employees and line managers need to ensure that this is adhered to. Within touch-down zones there may not be any permanent staff. Consideration will need to be given as to how fire safety arrangements are put in place. Shared work stations need to be user adjustable. Manual handling, particularly for mobile/flexible staff, should be minimised by using light-weight equipment, increased use of document management and use of trolleys for transporting files and equipment where necessary.
4.5 Communications
Communication between line managers and their employees is essential, particularly where employees are working flexibly so as to avoid a scenario of “out of sight, out of mind”. Organisations seek to keep in touch with agile workers using the following methods:
• Regular (sometimes daily) contact by telephone and/or e-mail
• Regular team meetings
• Teleconferencing
• Intranet chat rooms, discussion forums and blogs.
• Monthly one-to-one meetings with line managers either face to face or by telephone
• “Buddy” networks in which agile workers meet office-based colleagues to keep in touch
• Regular visits to the office, perhaps once or twice a week Employees should not experience a reduction in promotion prospects as a result of agile working. Additional effort needs to be made to keep in contact with the employee, as being out of the office could mean that they are less likely to be involved in important decisions, in knowing what training is available, or having access to the Council’s Vacancy List for example. If the plan to implement self-service for Resourcelink, the Council’s integrated HR and payroll system goes ahead, this would enable employees to request training courses, update their home address and bank details, access their payslips on-line, and submit their expenses electronically - all of which would assist agile workers.
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Employees should be aware of, and have easy access to Council-wide and departmental policies and procedures. These should be available on the Intranet. Particular policies and guidelines which agile workers need to be aware of include Guidelines - Conduct of Employees (in particular the sections on Use of Council Facilities, Confidentiality, Financial and Security Regulations and Contract Standing Orders, and Delegated Powers), ICT Acceptable Use Policy, the Council’s Regulations for the Control and Use of Computer Software and Computer Data, and Data Protection/Information Security protocols. Employees who are agile workers may wish to work at different times to those who are fixed. Contracted hours need to be agreed with line managers and reflect the requirements of the service. Presence will highlight when people are available to be contacted.
The Council’s PDR paperwork is currently being reviewed to incorporate a greater emphasis on SMART targets for all employees covered by PDR. These changes should assist line managers, who may be agile workers themselves, as they won’t see their employees as often and therefore their emphasis requires to be on task orientated working (getting defined jobs done) as opposed to presenteeism.
5. Training 5.1 Overview
A high degree of aptitude and skill in the execution of their tasks is required of agile workers. It might be more difficult for them to gain assistance from colleagues or guidance from supervisors, and they may require knowledge of a wider range of tasks that would normally be left to specialists in the office.
Training for employees should include:
• Training on new technology
• Health and Safety Training e.g. risk assessments, fire safety, safe working practices and safe operation of equipment required in the course of the job
• Communication and time management skills
• Council policies and procedures - accident and absence reporting, data protection and information security, Guidelines – Conduct of Employees etc
• Departmental procedures
Training for managers could include briefings on the application and implementation of agile working practices including management by objectives rather than presenteeism (i.e. target setting and monitoring and review of the employee’s performance), how to manage employees remotely including communication techniques and technologies, and important health and safety considerations. It is essential that managers of agile workers are given a good grounding in people management skills. Whilst the people management skills that managers need to manage teams under fixed working arrangements are the same as those required to manage agile working patterns, agile working tends to demand higher levels of some of these skills such as communication, leadership, teambuilding, decision-making and coaching.
5.2 Numbers to be trained
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The numbers to be trained in the new workstyles are set out in the table below by location:
Location No of People
Campbeltown 153
Dunoon 249
Helensburgh 178
Lochgilphead 481
Oban 188
Rothesay 71
Total 1320
5.3 Modes of Delivery
Analysis of similar Agile working implementations show that employees training needs may differ dependant on their preferred learning style and how steep a learning curve they have to transition to the new work style and culture change. It is necessary therefore to provide a learning solution to address this requirement. A blended learning solution encompasses multiple training modes of delivery and allows a learner certain flexibility to progress at a level comfortable to them. This would include:
• Written documents available online e.g. Work Instructions, Leaflets, Presentations, Written Procedures, Job Aids, FAQ’s
• Elearning (Learn-in Bytes), CD’s
• On the Job Training (OJT), Peer Mentoring
• Informal or Practical Workshops
• Face to Face/Classroom Training
5.4 Superusers or Mentors Superusers are employees identified by each Service area. They will receive in-depth training on new technologies and procedures being deployed and will then cascade the training to teams and individuals within their organisation. Superusers attend bespoke “train the trainer” classes to equip them with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to perform this function. Once trained, Superusers can deliver training, act as a focal point, conduct informal or practical workshops and conduct on the job training for new recruits within their Service area. It is critical that the Service areas select people with the right level of skills, confidence and motivation to take on the superuser role. The number of Superuser required per Service area needs to be agreed. Lessons learned during the new flexi system implementation highlighted that having a small, dedicated highly competent team for a defined length of time worked much better than having larger numbers of nervous superusers who lacked the necessary skills.
5.5 High Level Training Needs Analysis The table below identifies the potential training requirements for impacted employees and suggests potential modes of delivery:
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Training Requirement Documents Elearning OJT Workshop Classroom
ICT Unified Communications: How to use new ICT communication equipment effectively including: collaboration via desktop and document sharing, audio conferencing, integration with fixed and mobile devices, software based telephones and desktop based video/web conferencing
Changes to the PDR Process: Details on how the PDR process has been updated to take cognisance of agile working practices including management by objectives rather than presenteeism (i.e. target setting and monitoring and review of employee's performance
Health and Safety - Can include additional training or new documentation on risk assessments, fire safety, safe working practices and safe operation of equipment required in the course of the job
New departmental processes and procedures
Agile working induction training for employees
Agile working induction training for managers
Train the Trainer for Superusers
5.6 Training Costs
Rapid E-Learning software proves an authoring package that gives you everything you need to quickly create e-learning courses from PowerPoint allowing you to develop stunning interactive content, quizzes, assessments and surveys for one affordable price. Non-technical users will be able to create professional, interactive e-learning courses easily and quickly. The workflow is streamlined and intuitive because the tools have been designed from the ground up by e-learning experts. The software also provides the capability for content experts to get informational presentations published rapidly to e-learning without having to reformat any content. It is assumed that 2 x Rapid E-Learning licenses will be required at a cost of approx £2,400. An allowance has been made for 14 days consulting time to assist with using this tool. An allowance has also been made for train the trainer courses and for rolling out Elearning to all 1320 users in scope. The estimated costs are summarised in the table below:
Delivery Mode Details Costs Total Cost
Elearning
Consultant fees are approx £550 per day. 14 days
development time.
Approx £550 per day x 14
days development time £7,600
Articulate Rapid
E-Learning Studio
09
Rapid E-Learning software allowing Power-point
presentations to be converted to elearning
quickly
Estimate 2 licenses
required x approx £1200 £2,400
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Delivery Mode Details Costs Total Cost
Train the Trainer
Approx £500 per day for facilitator. Estimated 1 -
2 days training required per Superuser x approx 3
sessions. 3 days added for content development
Approx £500 per day for
facilitator x 2 day training
delivery x 3 sessions plus
£1500 content
development £7,500
Licenses
Licenses for elearning rights are either unlimited
or charged per user. Costs include hosting of
material and LMS (Learning Management System)
costs. It is recommended during negotiations to
build in unlimited license rights where possible to
avoid these costs. Note: this usually entail paying
higher development cost per course.
Note: Courses may have
multiple modules totalling
more than one hour.
Estimate £50 per user.
1350 users x 1 course, 100
users x 1 course, 350 users
x 1 course £90,000
Total Costs £107,500
6 Unified Communications ICT have begun the implementation of an exciting new service designed to enable a variety of new communication options across our network. Using technology developed by Microsoft and Cisco, the department is working towards the launch of a new Unified Communications (UC) service complete with;
• desktop based video/web conferencing,
• collaboration via desktop and document sharing,
• audio conferencing,
• integration with fixed and mobile devices,
• software based telephones
The system will allow Council teams to work collectively on documents, spreadsheets and presentations from any remote location as if they were sitting side by side in the same room.
At the heart of the UC system is a new concept called “Presence” where we can see whether a person is available, in a meeting, on a call or out on the road and determine the best way to communicate with them. The service is designed to operate across the entire corporate network with all of the above facilities also available over fixed home and mobile broadband network connections. The system therefore ensures these new methods of communication may also be available for those working away from the office and will form links to those flexible, mobile and home workers identified in the Workforce Deployment study.
ICT and Financial Services are working with both Microsoft, Cisco and their partners in preparing for an initial pilot due to rollout during the autumn months. A number of pre-installation tasks are underway with the main installation due to commence mid-September. The system links directly to the new Voice over IP telephone system and will allow the Council to take best advantage of the new Pathfinder Broadband network via an integrated communications suite.
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Studies show that Agile workers, especially home based and mobile workers who do not have a permanent desk in the office can sometimes feel lonely and isolated from their colleagues and the Council in general. Unified Communications will help to assist with this. Managers will also have to be alert to this risk and change their management style to make sure that they regularly set aside time for making contact with all their members of staff – not just those based in the same location. They may have to hold more formal team meetings and ensure that home workers also attend these on a regular basis. Team information should be stored on Sharepoint or on the Intranet to ensure it is easily accessible by all members of staff. Informal networking capabilities such as Blog pages, social network forums, etc. can also help to maintain good communications with more remote workers. 7 Information Security Where users are going to be working outside the office or from home on a semi-permanent basis, all risks must be reduced as far as is possible. The following policies must be strictly enforced:
• All mobile devices encrypted without exceptions using BeCrypt for all laptops and PDA protect for PDAs
• USB access to be restricted to a business need basis to approved devices which are encrypted
• Staff to be regularly reminded of their requirements to keep Council data confidential. ICT acceptable use policy to be signed on a regular basis – at least every 3 years.
• Paper and IT files only to be removed from Council offices where there is a business requirement for this
• Staff training will be required to highlight the new risks likely to be faced and changes in responsibility for access to systems
8. Use of Space Policy It is necessary to provide a set of guidelines or policy detailing expectations when employees are operating in new Team Zone or Touch Down Zone environments. These are set out at Appendix 1.
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Appendix A
Use Of Space Policy
Argyll and Bute Council September 2009
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Contents Section 1 Introduction Section 2 General 2.1 Privacy and Confidentiality 2.2 Dedicated Desks 2.3 Touchdown Desks 2.4 Clear Desk Policy Section 3 Health and Safety Section 4 Hygiene Section 5 Noise Section 6 Equipment
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1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this policy is to establish a culture of security and trust for all employees at Argyll
and Bute Council. An effective clean desk policy involving the participation and support of all Argyll and Bute employees can greatly protect documents that contain sensitive information about our clients, customers and other third parties. All employees should familiarise themselves with this policy. The Council aims to transform council buildings and provide a wide range and choice of work settings to match work style needs and preferences, reflecting the nature of modern office work. This includes providing places to work quietly, work in teams, relax and have a break, hold meetings or drop in. Employees are encouraged to use all the options and facilities provided and think of the whole building as a resource.
1.2 Some of these settings are familiar and some are new concepts, they will include formal and
informal areas. There will also be areas that you can pre book and areas that you can work in on an ad-hoc first-come, first-served basis – based on common sense and courtesy.
1.3 There will be a high degree of shared facilities, so you are asked to respect the needs of others.
Shared work settings and informal meeting areas should always be left as you find them, ready for the next occupant.
1.4 Managers should ensure they allow staff adequate time to sort out personal storage as they
transition into the flexible environment.
1.5 This policy applies to all employees (including home based, flexible and mobile workers), members, contractors, consultants, temporary staff and other workers at the Council.
1.6 The Council retains the right, in consultation with Trades Unions, to modify the policy at any time
and any such modification shall be notified to all existing users.
1.7 It is important that you read this policy carefully. If there is anything that you do not understand, it is your responsibility to ask your line manager to explain.
2 General 2.1 Privacy and Confidentiality
You must lock away any confidential papers and files when you are away from your desk. You should assume that all information on colleagues’ PC screens is private and/or confidential unless they invite you to view it. If you are displaying sensitive information on your screen and need to hide this from colleagues, it is quicker to minimise the window instead of closing it – this will also reduce reload time when you want to carry on working on it. Finally, if you are working with very sensitive material and need to leave your PC, you should always lock your computer or log out.
2.2 Dedicated Desks Desk sharing uses our desks/workstations more efficiently than allocating one desk per person. ICT advances mean that you can get access to the office tools you need without being tied to a specific workstation. It is not about simply giving up your desks but about allowing you to work more flexibly and enabling the Council to be more efficient.
2.3 Touchdown Desks Many Council buildings will have a number of desks where you may either use a desktop computer or bring your laptop to plug into a docking station. These desks also have phones where you may log in if you use the roaming telephone facility. Touchdown desks are a resource available on a first come first served basis to all Council staff. A proportion are bookable in advance through the Service desk reservation system (the resource booking system).
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2.4 Clear Desk Policy Argyll and Bute Council operates a clear desk policy. At the end of the business day, please remove all files and other articles from your desk and other surfaces. Place them in the team zone filing area or touchdown zone filing space as appropriate. Remember to secure your laptop if you are leaving it in the office overnight.
3 Health and Safety
Information will be placed at each desk, identifying a correct seating position. All desks and chairs are height adjustable. Employees must check the height of the seat, desk and PC/laptop, to ensure they are seated comfortably and safely. This type of assessment is part of the Display Screen Equipment regulations, which help to secure employee health and safety. If personalised equipment has been provided to an employee for health and safety reasons, storage will be provided wherever possible/practical for moveable equipment such as chairs, feet and wrist rests.
4 Hygiene 4.1 The environment needed for touchdown desks or sharing a desk is exactly the same as for
normal working, e.g. proper ventilation and a clean workplace. One of the most stressful situations arising out of different types of desk sharing is the cleanliness of the workstation that has been left by another employee. Where a workstation is used by several people there is an increased possibility of contamination and risk of passing on infections or viruses between staff. Staff are encourage to wash hands regularly and to leave desks as they would like to find them. Cleaners will ensure these areas are cleaned adequately for the next day.
5 Noise 5.1 Within a flexible working environment, employees must be aware of the impact of excessive
noise and uninvited interruptions on colleagues around the building. Therefore it is important that all building users have consideration for each other and attempt to keep unnecessary noise and interruptions to a minimum.
§ Personal mobile phones should be turned to silent or vibrate modes. § The volume on work mobiles should be turned down and a discreet ring tone used. § Sometimes when using a phone the voice is raised unintentionally either to be heard or if it is
difficult to hear those we are talking to. This may disrupt others and should be avoided. Although the offices are designed to ‘soak up’ noise the voice will carry, particularly if the person is standing up. If using a mobile phone it may be possible to avoid this by moving away from work areas and calling back.
5.1.1 If the PC being used is sound enabled, the sound is to be kept turned down. 5.1.2 Personal music equipment is not permitted. 5.1.3 Loud discussions around the workplace must be avoided. Employees should be careful not
to shout across others, as this can be disruptive. They should move to informal meeting areas whenever that is appropriate.
5.1.4 Meeting rooms should be booked for formal meetings and discussions. 6 Equipment 6.1 Employees should not interrupt the person sitting nearest to the printer, fax or other general use
facilities with questions relating to the equipment e.g. ‘How do you restock the paper?’ etc. Employees should ring the helpline number. These numbers are displayed next to office equipment.
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Any violation of the Use of Space Policy will be dealt with under the Council Disciplinary procedures.
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Appendix B
Strategic HR
Agile Work Options Policy and Procedures
Part 1
Home, Mobile and Flexible Working
DRAFT September 2009
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FOREWORD
As a rural local authority, Argyll and Bute Council is required to deliver services across a wide and diverse geographical area. Adoption of more agile working practices can help facilitate better service delivery by allowing more time to be spent on delivering services, using more efficient technologies to deliver these services and deliver cost benefits by reducing the overheads involved in service delivery. Increased options for agile working have been identified as a priority area in the Council’s Improvement Plan 2009 – 2010. The Improvement Plan maps out the processes and tools we will use as a Council on our
journey to becoming a more efficient, customer focused, forward thinking modern Council. It covers themes such as “Process for Change” (transforming key processes to deliver improved service and efficiency savings), as well as “People Management” (how we ensure that our employees are involved, and that we are making best use of their skills). The Policy also recognises that the Council can play a part in helping employees to achieve the right balance between their home life and work life, and that this can have benefits for both the organisation and the individual. It also recognises that different things are important for different people at different stages of their life. This Policy aims to provide something for everyone enabling them to enjoy and meet their personal and work commitments. If you would like this document in another language or format, or if you require the services of an interpreter, please contact us.
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Jane Fowler Head of Improvement and Strategic HR Argyll and Bute Council
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Policy Statement The following Policy applies to all employees of Argyll and Bute Council where their post has been identified as being suitable for home, mobile or flexible working. Argyll and Bute Council recognises the need to move to more modern ways of working, taking advantage of technological developments to introduce more flexibility to how work is organised and therefore, more responsive service delivery. This increased flexibility has the potential to provide greater opportunities to support those employees seeking to integrate their home and work life more successfully as well as delivering a more effective and efficient service to Council customers. The Policy will facilitate improved service delivery through more imaginative and innovative approaches to working arrangements as well as promoting environmental considerations. Potential benefits of agile working for both employees and the Council include:
Clear operational service requirements and business reasons will define the scope for employees to be considered for specific alternative working arrangements. However, it will be the nature of particular operational service areas that some agile work options are already in operation or would be difficult to apply. The Policy will operate on a voluntary basis with the employee making a request for alternative working arrangements. Where there is scope, management may invite individuals or particular groups of employees to submit requests for agile work options outlined in the Policy. The Policy sets out an initial approach to introducing more agile working arrangements within the Council. It will therefore be monitored on an ongoing basis and reviewed in light of operational experience.
For the Council For the employee
- Enhanced recruitment, retention and productivity and reduced costs as result of these. - Proven increase in employee satisfaction and morale at work. - Stimulates the “change management culture” - Helps support a learning culture. - Reduced sickness absence. - Workplace property costs reduced. - Accommodation and parking space pressures eased. - Reduced property maintenance and running costs - More flexible service provision. - Increased access to jobs to a broader range of potential employees.
- Reduced stress and improved quality of life. - Improved commitment to the organisation. - Feeling more valued and trusted. - Improved motivation. - A choice in how and when to use free time. - Potential reduction in travelling time and associated costs. - Greater choice about when and where you work. - Increased morale. - Ability to remain at work because a work/life balance has been achieved.
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Argyll and Bute Council will achieve this through: - Approaching requests with a focus on how services can be maintained or improved
through the specific work style requested, rather than focussing on the reason for the request.
- Identifying posts and individuals as being suitable for more agile working arrangements such as home or mobile working.
- Providing equipment and facilities to allow employees to work in more agile ways.
- Offering a range of alternative working arrangements, for a diverse workforce, that will be decided and managed at a local level, in a systematic way.
The following general principles will define the operation of this Policy:- - Posts will be identified as being suitable for agile ways of working, but a change to
this will be on a voluntary basis and dependent on the equipment and facilities at the disposal of the employee.
- Individuals should not be forced into working an arrangement by departments or management.
- Employees requesting to work in a more agile way do not have a contractual
entitlement to have their request approved. - All individual contract variations will be subject to review in light of changing
operational service needs when the continuation of the working arrangement is detrimental to service delivery. At such time, the Council will reserve the right, following individual consultation and reasonable notice, to end the existing arrangement and explore other alternative working arrangements.
- The manager and the employee will work jointly to reach an acceptable solution that
will be based on mutuality, co-operation and practicable compromise. - Some alternative working arrangements will result in the terms and conditions of the
contract of employment being adjusted accordingly. Such adjustments will be referenced to the norm of an equivalent full-time employee working the standard working week (e.g. pro-rata pay/annual leave).
- This Policy aims to provide a co-ordinated approach for individuals or groups of
employees seeking more flexibility to support their work and life responsibilities. - The scope to provide more agile working arrangements will depend on the type of
service delivery provided and the operational constraints of particular arrangements. - Where it is agreed that an employee may take part in agile working, his/her revised
terms and conditions should be based on the following principles: o No reduction in grade
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o No loss of status o No loss of career prospects
- The Time Recording System (TRS) will be used by line managers, where possible, to monitor working time.
- All requests will be considered on their own merit on a first come, first served basis
within each department. Service delivery will remain key to considering any request for agile working.
- Both parties must be aware of their duties and obligations prior to the
commencement of any change to working arrangements. Managers are expected to: - Consider current and foreseeable operational needs of the service and how different
working arrangements could affect these (positively and negatively); - Consider the potential impact on other employees, internal and external customers
and clients; - Continue to measure the performance and output of all employees to maintain
service standards. - Decide whether a request for alternative working arrangements can be supported,
taking into account such factors as the employee’s role and the operational needs of the service. The decision will only be based on clear business reasons even if the employee has provided a reason for their request.
Employees are expected to:
- Recognise and consider the likely impact on existing terms and conditions - Collaborate with their line manager during the change process. - Participate in the process. - Ensure that relevant health and safety measures are complied with.
The following policies and documents are to be read in conjunction with this Policy: - Guidelines - Conduct of Employees - ICT Acceptable Use Policy - Health and Safety Policy - Conditions of Service - Code of Disciplinary Procedures - Grievance and Disputes Procedure - Policy on Working Alone - Stress Reduction Policy - Managing Attendance Manual
The Council reserves the right to, from time to time, review and alter/end the Policy in light of experience and any changing circumstances.
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1. Agile Work Options Procedure The following procedure applies to all employees of Argyll and Bute Council where their post has been identified as being suitable for a change in working arrangements. 1.1. Working Styles
1.1.1. Four different work styles have been identified as part of the Workforce Deployment Theme of Process for Change. They are:
• Home workers. This work style is used for roles that can be performed permanently from a home location. Whilst the job can be done at home it is typical for home workers to occasionally work in Council offices.
• Mobile Workers. This work style is for ‘field’ based work. Typically work is done ‘on the move’ such as in a car, at an external location or from client’s premises. Mobile Workers would typically work from multiple Council offices, external locations and occasionally from home.
• Flexible Workers. This work style can be carried out in a variety of locations including multiple Council offices and at home. Typically a flexible worker would work occasionally from home and from one or two Council offices.
• Fixed Workers. The fixed work style is how most Council employees work at present. Attending a fixed work location and working a fixed work pattern.
New software may be provided to assist with communications across all work styles.
1.2. Contractual Terms
1.2.1. An employee will be issued with a contract variation (See Appendix 5) as necessary to reflect changes in the pattern of work, or the place where work is undertaken. This will also reflect any other contractual arrangements applicable to the specific work style option approved. An additional leaflet regarding working from home should be issued to employees with the contract variation. This is included in Appendix 4.
1.2.2. Annual leave and public holiday entitlements for employees working other than
on a full-time basis will be pro-rated to the full-time employee entitlement by reference to the number of normal hours of work and the pattern worked, over a relevant period and it may be appropriate to express and control the equivalent entitlement in hours and minutes.
1.2.3. Any hours worked in addition to the contractual working week must be authorised
and approved before the additional hours can be undertaken. For any authorised additional hours worked, the appropriate hourly rate will apply.
1.2.4. All Local Government Employees and Chief Officers will participate in the Flexible
Working Hours (Flexi-time) scheme other than in circumstances where an appropriate third tier manager or a Director deems participation will be
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detrimental to the provision of an effective service or impracticable in relation to the service provided.
1.2.5. All individual contracts will be subject to review in light of changing operational
service needs when the continuation of the working arrangement is detrimental to service delivery. At such time, the Council will reserve the right, following employee consultation and reasonable notice, to end the existing arrangement and explore other alternative working arrangements.
1.2.6. The Flexible Work Options Policy Framework will be applied in conjunction with
existing Council policies and procedures including the Council’s commitment to equality of opportunity and relevant Health and Safety procedures and standards.
1.2.7. An approved Flexible Work Option will apply to the post held and will cease if the
employee takes up a different post.
1.3. Working Time Regulations 1998
1.3.1. Employees should not work more than an average of 48 hours per week. The average is calculated over a 17 week ‘reference period’ i.e. the previous 17 weeks. An employee may agree with their employer to be excluded from this weekly maximum. In these cases the terms of the agreement must be recorded. (Further details are available from departmental HR sections)
1.3.2. Employees aged 18 or over are entitled to a rest period of not less than 11
consecutive hours in each 24 hour period. (A young person is entitled to 12 hours of consecutive rest)
1.3.3. Employees aged 18 or over are entitled to 24 consecutive rest hours each week,
48 hours for young workers. Over 14 days the rest period can be back to back to make one 48 hour rest break.
1.3.4. Employees aged 18 or over are entitled to 20 minutes break during the working
day if they work more than 6 consecutive hours, young workers are entitled to 30 minutes rest where their working day is longer than 4 ½ hours. The break should be taken during the working hours and not at the end of the working period. The Council requires all staff working a full day to take at least a 30 minute lunch.
1.4. Evaluation of the Policy
1.4.1. In order to evaluate the effectiveness and the use of the Flexible Work Options
Policy, monitoring is required. This can be achieved by collating: - Statistical information – Departmental HR sections monitoring and recording
applications, decisions and appeals under the Policy - Costing information – The administration, set up costs and reductions in other
costs being monitored by departments
- Qualitative information – The Policy being regularly reviewed taking into consideration the views and comments of Council employees.
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1.5 Advice on the Operation of the Policy
1.5.1 Third Tier managers should consult with Departmental HR Representatives prior to
applying the Policy Framework in any particular circumstance. Matters of interpretation and further advice can also be obtained from departmental HR sections. A checklist for managers is also provided in Appendix 6.
2. Agile Working
2.1. Definitions
2.1.1. Agile working refers to a variety of different approaches to working across the Council. These approaches are; home working, mobile working and flexible working.
2.1.2. All agile working arrangements will be tailored to individual circumstances and
key factors in setting up an arrangement will be the needs of the service and cost-effective expenditure. Not all jobs will be suitable for this type of working arrangement.
2.1.3. The employee will retain their existing employment status subject to any revised
terms and conditions that have been agreed. As employees of the Council the requirements of existing policies and procedures will continue to apply e.g. sickness absence reporting etc.
2.2. Personal Qualities
2.2.1. The success of agile working depends on the employee holding the right personal qualities and, through relevant performance monitoring, demonstrating the necessary skills. The following are some of the personal characteristics that are considered important for agile working, and in particular, home working:
- Self motivation, self reliance and discipline to work without direct supervision - The ability to complete work to scheduled deadlines - Initiative, flexibility and time management skills - The ability to communicate well by telephone and in writing - The ability to cope with reduced social contact and isolation - The ability to cope with the additional pressures of working in the home where
the demands of family life are difficult to ignore. - The ability to combine work and leisure life
2.3. Suitable Jobs
2.3.1. In assessing the suitability for a change in working arrangement, the manager (or other nominated officer) should have regard to the following criteria:
- The type of work activity and associated duties and responsibilities to ensure
that there are no adverse effects on the level and quality of service. Examples include consideration of the nature of work, level of expertise, requirement
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to/for supervision, access to necessary information, accessibility for others and the impact on other employees etc.
- Appropriate arrangements are in place to monitor performance i.e. measurable performance targets/outputs.
- Suitable equipment and facilities are available for safe and effective performance of work activity e.g. enabling technology, the employee’s home environment etc. Areas with poor access, inadequate heating and ventilation are not suitable.
- Communication and administrative arrangements are in place to support the arrangement.
2.4. Hours of Work
2.4.1. The determination of when the contractual hours of work will be carried out will be agreed between the manager and the employee and will depend on the nature of the work undertaken e.g. being available for contact etc. Any additional hours worked require to be authorised, in advance, by the manager.
2.4.2. During the agreed working times when the employee is undertaking work activity
at home, there will be contractual requirement to ensure that childcare is undertaken by another person.
2.5. Health and Safety
2.5.1. The Council and the employee both have a responsibility to ensure adequate health and safety measures for all agile working arrangements.
2.5.2. Health and Safety and DSE checks will be carried out initially by the employee
with the forms passed to the appropriate departmental health and safety representative. See Checklists in Appendix 1 for a Risk Assessment (including Health and Safety Checks) and Appendix 2 for DSE.
2.5.3. Employees will agree to complete health and safety self-assessments at least
annually or in the event of the working environment significantly changing. This will be to ensure the continued suitability of the work station and work area when working at home. In addition, the department will ensure that any equipment provided meets appropriate health and safety standards. Any issues that arise from the self assessment will be followed up by a departmental health and safety representative.
2.5.4. Employees have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate health and safety
measures are observed (e.g. alternating work activities when using display screen equipment, appropriate arrangements for the correct use of computer equipment, mobile phones and taking adequate breaks etc). There will also be a responsibility to report any health and safety matters promptly to their line manager (e.g. reporting injuries to themselves or others in the course of their official duties)
2.5.5. Measures should be agreed for individuals working alone to ensure that a team
member or manager is aware of their movements and whereabouts for safety reasons. For more information see the Council’s Policy on Working Alone
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2.5.6. Consideration has to be given to the suitability of the proposed location. The work site has to be adequate, both in practical working and in terms of health and safety legislation.
2.6. Systems, Equipment and Consumables
2.6.1. The Council, in consultation with the employee and based on the work activity, will be responsible for determining the equipment requirements (including consumables) for the employee undertaking an agile working arrangement. Any equipment supplied will remain the property of the Council or the Council’s providers.
2.6.2. Whilst in receipt of equipment, the employee will have a responsibility to only use
the equipment provided for the purposes of work, to take reasonable care and report any defects promptly to their manager (or other appropriate person).
2.6.3. Employees will be responsible for the cost of any private use of the ICT system(s)
although this should be limited to exceptional circumstances. In addition they are required to comply with the Guidelines - Conduct of Employees and the ICT Acceptable Use Policy in terms of information security.
2.6.4. The Council will provide and service any equipment considered necessary to the
performance of the employee’s duties. This will be subject to specific requirements, as determined by the manager, to ensure proper and safe use of the equipment supplied. An appropriate risk assessment should be conducted where necessary to determine the nature of the service or equipment provided.
2.6.5. Equipment provided by the Council will require a Portable Appliance Test (PAT)
annually. The Council or its nominated representative will require periodic access to the employee’s house for the purpose of inspection, servicing, repair and replacement of its equipment, on reasonable notice.
2.6.6. Electrical sockets and other parts of the homeworkers’ domestic electrical system
are their own responsibility.
2.6.7. If there is an issue with a hardware or communications failure, employees are expected to attend their designated office during work time to fulfil their duties as normal.
2.7. Insurance
2.7.1. The Council’s Employers Liability and Personal Accident insurance will cover employees working from home provided a risk assessment and DSE (Display Screen Equipment) assessment has been completed. Employees are advised that they should check their own insurance arrangements to ensure that their work arrangements do not invalidate these.
2.8. Legal Considerations
2.8.1. Working from home sometimes has implications for an employee’s mortgage or lease agreement, although in most cases there is no difficulty. Employees are required to advise their mortgage provider or landlord of this arrangement.
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Employees are also advised to check the implications for Council Tax liability with their Council Tax section to ensure this is not affected.
2.8.2. Planning permission is not usually required to work from home as this does not
normally affect the primary function of the building. Planning permission however is likely to be needed if the answer to any of the following questions is “yes”: - Is there a planning condition which was imposed on the original planning
permission for the home that could prevent working from home? - Will the home no longer be used mainly as a private residence? - Will the business result in a marked rise in traffic or people calling? - Will the business involve any activities unusual in a residential area? - Will your business disturb your neighbours at unreasonable hours or create
other forms of nuisance? Employees are responsible for checking if planning permission is required.
2.8.3. If any substantial work is required to be completed to the property prior to working from home, a Building Warrant may be required. It is up to the individual employee to determine if this is the case by contacting the relevant Building Standards Department.
2.9. Training
2.9.1. Employees undertaking or managing agile working arrangements will be provided with relevant training to ensure that the arrangements are not impeded by the lack of necessary knowledge or skills. This will be discussed as part of the arrangements to determine the suitability for agile working arrangements.
2.9.2. The Council will require employees to attend Council offices for team meetings,
training or other work related activities.
2.9.3. Agile workers will be treated in the same way as other employees in terms of equality of opportunity and employee communications (e.g. career opportunities, access to the vacancy list, training, receipt of employee newsletters etc).
2.10. Communication
2.10.1. It will be essential to ensure that regular contact is maintained with the manager and colleagues, as appropriate, and that good communication systems are established. Where it is agreed that an employee can work from home, they should leave any details of how they can be contacted at home. If there are no alternative arrangements, then the employee’s home telephone number may be used to contact them.
2.10.2. The Council will assess the employee’s communication and telephone needs and
will arrange to provide any necessary equipment or connections (including arrangements to reimburse the cost of business calls). The Service will meet the cost of installation of any ICT equipment and pay for basic line rental as appropriate.
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2.11. Information Security
2.11.1. Employees will be responsible for any hard copy information that they remove from Council premises. They will have to comply with local document library arrangements and not remove any information from Council premises for which prior permission has not been given.
2.11.2. It will only be possible to connect computer equipment provided by the Council to
the Council’s computer network or such other arrangements, as agreed
2.12. Termination of Arrangements
2.12.1. If employment is terminated either by the Council or the employee, an arrangement needs to be put in place prior to the employee’s last day to return all equipment, information and materials. Any information should be handled confidentially and returned securely to the Council prior to the termination of employment.
2.12.2. Any breach of the agreed agile working arrangement may lead to its termination
and other arrangements being applied. Disciplinary action may also be considered.
2.12.3. The Council will keep any agile working arrangements under review and with the
exception of any trial period (which will cease at the end of a specified period) will reserve the right to end the arrangement with reasonable notice and following consultation with the employee.
2.12.4. Where there is a change in the employee’s personal circumstances in respect of
the agile working arrangement, the employee will be required to advise their manager and this could trigger a review of the arrangement.
3. Home working
The following are specific to home working, and are in addition to the conditions outlined in Section 2 3.1. Home working refers to an arrangement where the employee’s Statement of
Particulars designates the employee’s home as their main place of work. Home workers may occasionally work from a shareable desk in a Council office.
3.2. The types of jobs that are most suitable for homeworking are those that are
information, advisory or guidance based, and can be clearly definable in output terms. The work must be able to be done with a limited need for face to face contact with colleagues or members of the public, or little direct supervision. Introducing home working should cause no adverse effects on the level of service.
3.3. Employees with a contractual right to work from home shall receive an allowance to
cover additional costs incurred as a result of working from home (i.e. heating, lighting and electricity). This annual allowance will be paid on an hour by hour pro-rata basis for part time employees.
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3.4. Employees will be designated an administrative base (usually the office that they
would work from if they were office based). Travel expenses and time will be measured from this administrative base, therefore expenses and time from the employee’s home to this base cannot be claimed. Relevant business journeys will be reimbursed, subject to agreement, and in line with relevant Council travel and subsistence arrangements.
3.5. As there is a need to balance work and home life, employees should inform their
friends and family about their home working arrangements to ensure that there will be minimal interruptions.
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Appendix 1 - Risk Assessment Checklist
To be completed by employee:
Name: Job Title:
Service: Department:
Home Address:
Date of Assessment:
Home Tel No.:
Address to which Risk Assessment applies:
The purpose of this assessment is to assist your manager in safeguarding your health and safety while you work at, or from, home. Please complete all sections of the form and return it to your Manager.
Occasional working at, or from, home may be approved as long as the following points are complied with.
Note: This list is not exhaustive but does cover all the common hazards found in the home.
Work Environment and Housekeeping
Yes No List Action Needed
Is there suitable space to work with a desk or table at a comfortable height and a suitable chair?
Is the work area a comfortable temperature, well lit with sufficient ventilation?
Is local or task lighting required? (e.g. desk lamp)
Is there a sufficient degree of privacy to allow concentration on work activities?
Has a workstation assessment been carried out (Appendix 2)?
Is the work area clear from obstructions and tripping hazards?
Are sufficient storage facilities available?
Are files and documents safely stored and kept to a minimum?
Is the work area kept tidy and free from obstructions including waste materials?
Safe use of equipment
Yes No List Action Needed
Is there access to adequate power outlets to allow safe routing of cables and prevent overloading of sockets?
Are all cables, leads and plugs in use in good repair and working properly?
Are all items of electrical equipment in good repair and working correctly?
Electrical equipment must be switched off when not in use
Use only proprietary cleaning solutions such as screen cleaning fluid etc.
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Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences
Yes No List Action Needed
Do you have access to Argyll and Bute Council’s accident reporting system?
Is there a fully stocked first aid kit available?
Is there a telephone or mobile phone available for use in an emergency?
Stress
Yes No List Action Needed
Do you experience stress which you feel has arisen as a result of your work pattern?
Have you discussed this with your manager?
Are you familiar with ways or techniques to alleviate or reduce work related stress?
Security, data protection and confidentiality
Yes No List Action Needed
Do you have permission to remove council documents from the office?
Have you read and understood the department procedures for document removal?
Is there secure storage for confidential information at home and in transit?
Do you have a system in place for returning or disposing of confidential waste?
Any other comments you have regarding health and safety concerns/issues relating to working from home please list here:
Signature of Employee: Date:
Signature of Manager: Date:
Thank you for completing this checklist Please return it to your manager as soon as possible
Additional Comments (Any issues requiring action)
Completed Form to be sent to Departmental Health and Safety Section with a copy to the Departmental HR Section
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Approved by Departmental Health and Safety:
Date:
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Appendix 2 - Checklist: Use of Display Equipment To be completed by employee after reading attached information and returned to Line Manager. If required the Line Manager will complete the “Action Required” column with any remedial action and the date it should be completed by.
Name:
Department:
Chair
Checked Details Action Required
Height of seat can be adjusted so that forearms are approximately horizontal
If no, a footrest is provided
Seat back can be adjusted for lumbar support
Seat back can tilt
Swivel mechanism provided
Chair is stable (min five star base)
Chair is provided with castors
Input Devices
Checked Details Action Required
Positioned at comfortable distance
Space in front of keyboard to rest arms during pauses in keying
Comfortable and easy to use
Worksurface
Checked Details Action Required
Matt surface to avoid glare
Sufficiently large to accommodate screen, keyboard, documents and peripherals
Sufficient space under desk for leg movement
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Monitor
Checked Details Action Required
Characters are clear and readable
You know how to adjust character size/style?
Screen is free from flicker or movement
Screen is free from glare/reflections
You can adjust brightness, contrast and background colour
Screen cleaning materials are provided
Positioned at comfortable viewing height
Swivel and tilt mechanism provided
Positioned directly in front when viewing
Comfortable viewing distance
Work involves copying from documents
If yes, document holder provided
Miscellaneous
Checked Details Action Required
Cable management provided
Where adaptor used, this is of the fused type
Any other problems
Employee’s Signature: Date:
Manager’s Signature: Date:
Completed Form to be sent to Departmental Health and Safety Section with a copy to Departmental HR Section
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Approved by Departmental Health and Safety:
Date:
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Information on using VDU’s
1. Seat back must be capable of tilting by up to 15º 2. Chair must provide good support in the lumbar area. Seat back rest should adjust in
height to facilitate this or other means of lumbar adjustment provided. The seat pan should be short enough to enable use of lumbar support
3. Seat height should be adjusted so that forearms are approximately horizontal with elbows approximately at desk height
4. There should be no excess pressure on underside of thighs or backs of knees. Seat pan must be short enough for user and provided with a waterfall front to avoid cutting into back of legs
5. If feet do not comfortably reach the floor with chair adjusted as above, a footrest must be used
6. There must be adequate space under desk to allow space for postural change. There must be no obstructions reducing the available space
7. Wrists should be in the neutral position (i.e. approximately horizontal not bent upwards, downwards or sideways).
8. Keyboard and mouse within comfortable reach to avoid overstretching. 9. Screen should be positioned with top of screen slightly below eye level and tilted
slightly back. It should be between 40 -75 cm distance from eyes. 10. There should be 10cm space in front of the keyboard to rest arms during pauses in
keying.
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Appendix 3 - Checklist: Use of Mobile Computing Equipment Poor posture and body positioning over long periods of time can put strain on our muscles and joints. The effects are usually cumulative (i.e. they build up over days, weeks, months or even years) and lead to problems such as repetitive strain injuries, sore necks and bad backs.
Issue Description/Solution
Issues using mobile equipment
Laptops are designed to provide excellent portability and mobility to the user. However, this leads to a number of problems. It is therefore important that when using computers we try to maintain a comfortable and correct posture to ensure we don't cause ourselves any harm. Place the laptop on a stable base such as a desk if possible. If using the laptop on your lap consider using a foot rest to elevate the laptop and be mindful of heat generation (particularly on older models). Take frequent breaks during use, in less ideal situations, breaks should be more frequent. If you find a laptop track pad difficult to use, obtain a mouse and use this instead.
Keyboard height versus screen height
As the keyboard and screen of a laptop are permanently connected you can normally have either one or the other in the ideal position leading to wrist problems, neck problems or both. Alternate the position of the laptop during use - a good height for your wrists then a good height for your eyes. When working with a laptop computer for a prolonged period it is advisable to use a docking station or separate keyboard and mouse to reduce the problem.
Glare On a laptop, because the screen is not separate from the keyboard it can be hard to position the screen to avoid glare. This can cause the user to strain their eyes in order to read the characters. In addition, laptop screens tend to be smaller than desktop monitors but display the same amount of information. On PDAs this can be worse due to the fact that they may be used outside in direct sunlight. When using equipment outdoors try not to use in direct sunlight. At other times use a separate larger desktop monitor.
Small keys Mobile computer equipment has smaller keys than a standard desktop computer keyboard. This can lead to work related upper limb disorders (commonly known as repetitive strain injury). Use of an external keyboard and mouse will reduce the risks associated with this.
Heat generation The base of a laptop, especially older models, can heat up during use. For safety reasons reduce the amount of time the computer is rested on your lap.
Transport and Carriage
Laptops are meant to be mobile and therefore be carried. This can create manual handling issues, especially if the user has many peripherals with them. The following should help reduce the risks of laptops on the move:
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- Only carry the peripherals you need and use a lightweight, sturdy non manufacturer branded carry bag or laptop case with handle and shoulder straps to reduce manual handling and security risks. - If you can, travel with a PDA or Blackberry device instead of a laptop (please note that due to key and screen size, prolonged use of a handheld device may cause eye strain, wrist and finger problems)
Use in the Office For some people, their laptop will be the only computer they use and it may sit on their desk for a large part of the working day. Laptops are designed for ease of portability, not comfort during prolonged use, where this is the case, many of the ergonomic issues can be resolved at least while in the normal place of work, by the purchase of a few items of equipment. An external keyboard and mouse can be plugged into a laptop allowing separation of the keyboard and monitor. The laptop can then be placed on a laptop stand to raise the screen to a desired height. Stands are available from most office stationary suppliers. Alternatively, a docking station can be acquired. The laptop can be plugged into the docking station, which is in turn plugged into the Council’s network, a keyboard, mouse, monitor or other devices considered necessary
A PDA or and Blackberry is only really suitable for quick reference and communication, they are not a substitute for a laptop or desktop computer.
Prolonged use Report any symptoms of discomfort that you feel is associated with the use of portable equipment to your line manager as soon as they arise. These can include pain, tingling or numbness in hands, wrists or forearms, neck and back pain, headaches, eyestrain or visual disturbances Use a docking station where possible for prolonged use.
For detailed visual guidance to posture and layout go to www.ergoergo.info or look at the Health and Safety section on the Council’s intranet.
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Appendix 4 – Working from Home Leaflet
Strategic HR
Working from Home
Employee Information Leaflet
Background Argyll and Bute Council is required to deliver services across a wide and diverse geographical area. Adoption of more agile working practices can help facilitate better service delivery by allowing more time to be spent on delivering services, using more efficient technologies to deliver these services and deliver cost benefits by reducing the overheads involved in service delivery.
Introduction There are a number of issues and responsibilities that need to be considered by employees before they start to work from home as highlighted by this leaflet.
ISSUES AND RESPONSIBILTIES
Communication and Contact Periods Where it is agreed that you can work from home it is essential to ensure that regular contact is maintained with your manager and colleagues. You should leave details of how you can be contacted at home. If there are no alternative arrangements, then your home telephone number may be used to contact you.
A period of time should be agreed between you and your manager when you can contact each other during the working day.
Childcare Working from home should not be a substitute for childcare arrangements. During the agreed working times, when undertaking work at home, there is a contractual requirement to ensure that childcare is undertaken by another person.
Change in Circumstances Where there is a change in your personal circumstances which could affect your working arrangements, you have a responsibility to advise your manager as arrangements may need to be reviewed.
Equipment Failure If there is an issue with hardware or communications failure which will adversely affect work activities, you will be expected to attend your designated office during work time to fulfil your duties as normal.
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Visitors The Council or its nominated representative (e.g. Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) engineer) will require periodic access to the employee’s house for the purpose of inspection, servicing, repair and replacement of its equipment, at reasonable notice.
Planning Planning permission is not usually required to work from home as this does not normally affect the primary function of the building. However, if the home is no longer being used mainly as a private residence, if there is a large increase in the number of visitors, if there are any activities that would be considered unusual in a residential area, or if any activities are likely to disturb neighbours, planning permission may be required. You should check that there are no planning restrictions imposed on your property that may restrict its use as a place of work.
Mortgage or Lease agreements Working from home can sometimes have implications for mortgage or lease agreements. In most cases there is no difficulty, but it is recommended that you advise your mortgage provider or landlord to confirm that there are no problems with this.
Council Tax You should check the implications for your Council Tax liability with the appropriate Council Tax section to ensure that your rate and type of Council Tax is not affected by working from home. Insurance The Council has appropriate insurance arrangements in place to cover employees working from home provided appropriate risk assessments and Display Screen Equipment Assessments have been carried out. You are advised to check your own insurance arrangements to ensure that working at home does not invalidate these.
Health and Safety When working from home, it is essential that you complete health and safety self-assessments at least annually or in the event of the working environment significantly changing. This will ensure the continued suitability of your workstation and the work area within your home.
Whilst working from home, you will have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate health and safety measures are observed. These include correct use of equipment and taking adequate breaks. You are also responsible for reporting all health and safety matters promptly to your line manager.
Use of IT equipment It will only be possible to connect computer equipment provided by the Council to the Council’s computer network. You will be responsible for the cost of any private use of the system(s) although this should be limited to exceptional circumstances. You should also comply with the ICT Acceptable Use Policy.
Confidentiality You are responsible for any data, both hard copy and electronic, that is removed from Council premises. Information should only be removed with prior permission, and following the appropriate departmental document management or library guidelines.
Return of Equipment and Data Upon leaving employment with the Council or changing jobs within the Council, you must return all equipment, data and Council/Department property. This will be arranged with your line manager. You must be available to allow collection to take place.
Expenses and Allowances An allowance will be paid to employees who have a contractual right to work from home to help cover heating and lighting costs.
Travel expenses will be paid from the administrative base. Travel from your home to the administrative base cannot be claimed, and all other travel claims should have this distance deducted.
The full Agile Work Options Policy can be found on the Council’s Intranet, Internet or from your departmental HR section. Advice and guidance on the policy is available by telephoning your departmental HR Section – telephone numbers are listed in the vacancy list or alternatively they can be contacted through the switchboard at Kilmory (telephone number 01546 602127).
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Appendix 5 - Contract Variation Argyll and Bute Council
Comhairle Earra Ghàidheal agus Bhòid
Service Head of Service: Name
Address Line 1
Address Line 2, Town, Postcode Tel: (Code) Number Fax: (Code) Number
www.argyll-bute.gov.uk If you are phoning or calling please ask for an Admin Assistant
Our Ref:
Date:
Name Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 Town Postcode Dear ,
CHANGE TO WORK LOCATION Post Number: Post Title: Having had the opportunity to review your application for agile working, I can confirm that your request to change your work location has been granted. I write to confirm that with effect from [DATE] your normal place of work will be your home. For administrative purposes your work location will be {town/island}. Any claims for expenses/travel time will be based on the administrative location. Additional requirements for working from home are included in the attached leaflet for your information. All other terms and conditions of your employment will remain the same. Please sign and return one copy of this letter to accept the changes detailed above. Yours sincerely, Name Position Signed: ________________________________ Date: ________________ Enc. Homeworking Leaflet
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Appendix 6 - Manager’s Checklist
When you are considering implementing agile working arrangements or have received a request from an employee, it is advised that you give due consideration to the following:
General
Checked Date
Consult the employee and jointly conduct a comparative exercise between current and proposed working arrangements to consider its feasibility.
Has the employee’s job role been identified for an alternative working arrangement?
Is the necessary equipment and accommodation available to support the changes in working arrangements?
Should you agree to the proposed working arrangements, what would be the impact on:
Checked Date
1. Delivery of the Service 2. Colleagues workload 3. Client / Customer group 4. Employee’s terms and conditions of employment (e.g. salary, annual leave / public holiday entitlement)
Communication
Checked Date
- Reporting mechanisms - Adequate communication channels to ensure important information is disseminated to employee - How to ensure the employee does not become isolated - Have regular contact times and mechanisms been agreed?
Working Relationship
Checked Date
- Agreed work outcomes
Supervision and General Management
Checked Date
- Complexity of work. Is it appropriate for the type of flexible working arrangement? - Supervision arrangements - Cost of implementing
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Health and Safety
Checked Date
- Ergonomic and Risk Assessment (Appendices 1 and 2) - Appropriate break times in accordance with Working Time Regulations - Accident reporting - The Council has in place appropriate insurance arrangements to cover home working. Ensure that the employee checks their own insurance arrangements to certify that working at home does not invalidate these.
Information Technology
Checked Date
- Access to a computer (does the employee have a suitable work area if undertaking home-working?) - Access to electronic files - Confidentiality of information
Written Confirmation of Working Arrangements
Should you agree that an employee could undertake a new working arrangement, you must confirm this in writing. The letter should detail all contractual changes and include a brief overview of the following (Appendix 5):
Checked Date
(1) The new working arrangements
(2) Outline mutual obligations of the Council and the employee
(3) A review date (suggested initial 6-month period)
(4) Remind the employee that, once any agreed review period has expired, the flexible working arrangement will be contractually binding and may not be unilaterally withdrawn from/by the employee. As with all contracts, working hours may be subject to review in light of changing operational service needs. At such times, the Council may, following employee consultation and agreement, end the existing arrangement and explore other alternative working arrangements.
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WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT
Argyll and Bute Council Process for Change
Appendix 3 - Property Opportunity Assessment
Author: Craig Houston
October 2009
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Contents
Page No
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 Scope 3
2.1. Space Utilisation Study 3
2.2. Provision of Business Case Data 5
2.3. Property Savings Opportunities 8
2.4. Property Utilisation Lists 11
Appendix A Report on Occupancy Study 12
Appendix B Detailed Analysis at Argyll House and Manse Brae Offices 14
Appendix C Meeting Room Usage Analysis at Argyll House and Manse Brae 15
Appendix D Annual OPEX Costs 17
Appendix E Feuhold/Leasehold Status, Lease Costs and Market Values 17
Appendix F Customer Service Point Layout 18
Appendix G Property Utilisation Lists 19
Appendix H Desk Layouts at Lorn House, Municipal Building and
Soroba Road Office 23
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1.0 Introduction
Argyll & Bute Council (the Council) is developing a detailed business case and implementation plan for the large scale adoption of new agile working practices. The programme is part of the Process for Change Programme and is called the Workforce Deployment Study.
It is anticipated that at approximately 1300 staff throughout the Council will adopt one of three new work styles defined as Flexible, Mobile and Home. It is likely that the majority of staff who adopt the new work styles will be based at the major centres of Helensburgh, Oban, Lochgilphead, Campbeltown, Rothesay and Dunoon but the scheme will be open all staff subject to operational policies and management approval.
The move from fixed work to agile workstyles will have significant impact on the Council’s property and office accommodation requirements. It opens up new property opportunities that need to investigated and considered as part of the Council’s overall property strategy.
This report provides the key deliverables from a Property Opportunities Assessment to support the Workforce Deployment Study.
2.0 Scope
There are several parts to the Property Opportunity Assessment
• Space Utilisation Study
• Provision of Business Case Data
• First Year Property Savings
• Property Utilisation Lists
2.1 Space Utilisation Study
Within the Space Utilisation Study information will be gathered to allow comment to be made on the following
• Desk Utilisation
• Workstation per Employee
• Workstation per Square Metre
• Use of Meeting Rooms
• Use of Shared Meeting Spaces
2.1.1 Desk Utilisation
In November 2008 the Council conducted a Desk Utilisation Study in Helensburgh (Blairvadach, 29 Lomond Street and 13 East King Street). The study involved a one day activity sampling pilot in each location which was carried out using direct observation. The results of this study are regarded as being representative of all Council properties and these show that the occupancy ranges varied from 40.72% to 58.50%. The details of the study can be found at Appendix A.
2.1.2 Workstation per Employee
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A detailed investigation of desk utilisation at Argyll House, Dunoon and Manse Brae, Lochgilphead was undertaken along with a more general investigation of staff lists throughout the Council. There are a very small number of officers who share the same workstation but this is less than 0.5% of the total staff number. In addition there is an assumption that officers who job-share have use of the same workstation. The detailed analysis at Argyll House and Manse Brae is shown in Appendix B.
From these investigations it can be concluded that the current situation is that each employee has their own workstation. This is on the assumption that officers who job-share have use of the same workstation.
2.1.3 Workstation per Square Metre
A detailed investigation of the area per workstation was undertaken at Argyll House, Dunoon and Manse Brae, Lochgilphead. This was based on usable space which was taken as the net internal floor area for each defined working area less an allowance for circulation. The detailed results are shown in appendix B and are summarised as follows
Argyll House, Dunoon
Minimum Area per Workstation 2.91m2
Maximum Area per Workstation 24.21m2
Average Area per Workstation 6.01m2
Manse Brae, Lochgilphead
Minimum Area per Workstation 3.20m2
Maximum Area per Workstation 19.20m2
Average Area per Workstation 6.62m2
The workplace regulations identify the minimum volume per member of staff of 11m3 with a maximum ceiling height of 3.0m. This equates to a minimum area of 3.66 m2. In any relocation of staff it would be prudent to allocate a net usable area of 6m2 per workstation based on Argyll House.
2.1.4 Use of Meeting Rooms
As part of the Customer Management theme of Process for Change data is being collected which will indicate the number of meeting rooms in buildings. In order to give an indication of the average use of meeting rooms a detailed analysis of the bookings was carried out at Argyll House, Dunoon and Manse Brae, Lochgilphead for the period 05 January 2009 to 04 September 2009. The results are based on bookings only i.e. there is no confirmation that the booking was actually used. The detailed results are shown in appendix C and are summarised as follows assuming rooms are available for 40hrs per week
Argyll House, Dunoon
Average Number of Bookings per week 4.51
Average Duration of Bookings 3.82hrs
Average Utilisation of Meeting Rooms 43.1%
Manse Brae, Lochgilphead
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Average Number of Bookings per week 7.05
Average Duration of Bookings 4.47hrs
Average Utilisation of Meeting Rooms 78.9%
2.1.5 Use of Shared Meeting Spaces
Within buildings there are various ad hoc arrangements for booking meeting rooms however there is no data available to allow any meaningful comment on the use of shared meeting spaces.
2.2 Provision of Business Case Data In order to assist with the production of the Business Case the following property data has been produced
• Annual OPEX Costs
• Feuhold/Leasehold Status
• Annual Cost of Lease (Leasehold Properties)
• Estimated Market Value (Feuhold Properties)
• Floor Area Usable Space
• Desk Rearrangement Costs
2.2.1 Annual OPEX Costs
The costs for the properties have been provided by the Finance Section and have been broken down into utility costs and facilities management costs. Some of the properties form part of a larger establishment and it is therefore difficult to extract costs for specific areas. The annual OPEX costs are shown in appendix D.
2.2.2 Feuhold/Leasehold Status
The ownership/lease status for the main buildings in the main towns has been provided by the Council’s Estates section. The majority of the buildings are within the Council’s ownership. The ownership/lease details associated with each of the properties is shown in appendix E
2.2.2.1 Annual Cost of Lease (Leasehold Properties)
Where a building is leased the Council’s Estates section has provided details of the rental costs, the lease termination date and any lease exit costs. This information is provided in appendix E.
2.2.2.2 Estimated Market Value (Feuhold Properties)
Where a building is owned by the Council the Estates section has provided details of its current market value. This information is provided in appendix E.
2.2.3 Floor Area Usable Space
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The amount of usable space in each building is not available for all buildings. In an attempt to estimate the usable space in buildings a ratio of usable space to total gross internal floor area will be established from a detailed analysis of Argyll House, Dunoon and Manse Brae, Lochgilphead.
Argyll House, Dunoon
The gross internal floor area, for each of the four floors, in Argyll House is as follows
Ground Floor 410 m2
First Floor 350 m2
Second Floor 350 m2
Third Floor 194 m2
This gives a total gross internal floor area of 1,304 m2
The usable floor area, for each of the four floors, in Argyll House is as follows
Ground Floor 171 m2
First Floor 156 m2
Second Floor 173 m2
Third Floor 94 m2
This gives a total usable floor area of 594 m2
Therefore, for Argyll House, the ratio of usable floor space to gross internal floor area is
594/1,304 = 45.6%
Manse Brae, Lochgilphead
The gross internal floor area, for each of the two floors, in Manse Brae is as follows
Ground Floor 585 m2
First Floor 586 m2
This gives a total gross internal floor area of 1,171 m2
The usable floor area, for each of the four floors, in Manse Brae is as follows
Ground Floor 241 m2
First Floor 354 m2
This gives a total usable floor area of 595 m2
Therefore, for Manse Brae, the ratio of usable floor space to gross internal floor area is
595/1,171 = 50.8%
It is worth noting that whilst Manse Brae is a more modern office than Argyll House the ratios are much the same. Therefore when dealing with other buildings where the amount of usable space is unknown, it should be taken as 50% of the gross internal floor area.
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2.2.4 Desk Rearrangement Costs
The cost of rearranging desks has been provided by the Council’s Property Services Maintenance Team and is generally based on actual costs based on recent moves/rearrangements. The costs are provided for simple, medium and complex rearrangements.
2.2.4.1 Simple Rearrangement Costs
The assumptions associated with a simple rearrangement are as follows
• Staff are moving between buildings
• Staff receive new furniture
• The area within the building where staff are moving to gets redecorated
• The costs of reconnecting to existing IT points is not included
• The costs of loss of service are not included
• The costs assume that staff are moving in to an already vacated office
The break down of costs is as follows
Cost Summary per Person for a Simple Move between Buildings
Moving Costs £93.26
Decoration Costs £750.54
Furniture Costs £350.00
Total £1,193.80
On this basis, the cost of a simple rearrangement of desks should be taken as £1,200 for staff moving between buildings and £1,100 for staff moving within the same building.
2.2.4.2 Medium Rearrangement Costs
The assumptions associated with a simple rearrangement are as follows
• Staff are moving between buildings
• Staff receive new furniture
• The area within the building where staff are moving to gets redecorated
• The costs of reconnecting to existing IT points is not included
• The costs of loss of service are not included
• The costs assume that staff are moving in to an already vacated office
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The break down of costs is as follows
Cost Summary per Person for a Medium Move between Buildings
Moving Costs £93.26
Building & Electrical Costs £1,480.68
Decoration Costs £750.54
Furniture Costs £350.00
Total £2,674.48
On this basis, the cost of a medium rearrangement of desks should be taken as £2,700 for staff moving between buildings and £2,600 for staff moving within the same building.
2.2.4.3 Complex Rearrangement Costs
The Property Services Maintenance Team has no historic unit cost data for a complex move. However if compared with the medium rearrangement referred to in 2.2.5.2 there is likely to be additional building and electrical costs. Additionally IT costs of a similar value to the Building and Electrical costs will also be required. Therefore the cost of a complex rearrangement of desks should be taken as £5,000 for staff whether they are moving between buildings or within the same building.
2.3 Property Savings Opportunities
A Property Workshop was held on 21 September 2009 and its primary purpose was to test out the BT Model, to give confidence that it can be applied across the Council’s existing office estate in all locations, and that it can provide a sufficiently robust assessment of property savings opportunities, that can feed into the overall Workforce Deployment Business Case.
Having identified Oban and Dunoon as the pilot areas further analysis and research was carried out and the following information was produced for the Oban offices to allow it to inform the Workforce Deployment Business Case
• Customer Services Space Requirements
• Net Internal Areas
• Options/Moves to vacate Kilbowie House
• Property Cost Assessment of Options
• Other Risks/Issues
2.3.1 Customer Services Space Requirements
The customer services space requirements were confirmed by Charles Reppke, Head of Democratic services and Governance, as being 70m2. A typical layout, assuming the facility was provided in the Municipal Building is shown in appendix F.
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2.3.2 Net Internal Areas
For each of the offices there are various sources for the net internal area which include records held by the Council’s Estates section and the Council’s Property section. The net internal areas to be used are as follows (these figures are rounded down to the nearest 10m2).
Property Gross Internal Area (m2)
Kilbowie House, Gallanach Road, Oban, PA34 4PF 820
Lorn House, Albany Street, Oban, PA34 4AR 470
Municipal Building, Albany Street, Oban, PA34 4AW (excluding 115m2 in basement)
600
Oban Education Office, Dalintart Drive, Oban, PA34 4EF 220
West Highland HA Bldg, Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4HB 110
Soroba Road Offices, Soroba Road, Oban, PA34 4JA (Offices Only) 520
Oban Area Community Centre, Drummore, Lower Soroba, Oban, PA34 4SB 160
Willowview Community Care Centre,Lower Soroba, Oban, PA34 4SB Unknown
2.3.3 Options/Moves to vacate Kilbowie House
In order to establish what moves are required to vacate Kilbowie House reference needs to be made to the Property Utilisation Lists referred to in section 2.4 and appendix G. This shows that the number of staff in each of the Oban properties is as follows
Property Number of Staff
Kilbowie House, Gallanach Road, Oban, PA34 4PF 32
Lorn House, Albany Street, Oban, PA34 4AR 24
Municipal Building, Albany Street, Oban, PA34 4AW 29
Oban Education Office, Dalintart Drive, Oban, PA34 4EF 17
West Highland HA Bldg, Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4HB 12
Soroba Road Offices, Soroba Road, Oban, PA34 4JA 27
Oban Area Community Centre, Drummore, Lower Soroba, Oban, PA34 4SB 10
Willowview Community Care Centre,Lower Soroba, Oban, PA34 4SB 36
Total 187
There is also one member of staff located at Market Street Centre, giving a total number of Oban staff, including an allowance for 2 Councillors, of 190.
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Of the 190 Oban staff we are really only interested in relocating the 32 staff in Kilbowie House in year 1.
In Lorn House, Municipal Building and Soroba Road Offices there are currently 80 staff. If those relocated from Kilbowie House are added there is a requirement to accommodate 112 staff. It is assumed that either due to the nature of the service being delivered or the type of building that the other offices are not deemed suitable for altering in year 1.
The proposed desk layouts are shown in appendix H and indicate that 40 staff can be accommodated in Lorn House, 41 staff can be accommodated in Municipal Building (assuming ACHA have moved out – the current indication is that ACHA will move out between January 2010 and March 2010), and Soroba Road offices can accommodated 39 staff. It is worth noting that if a net usable area to gross internal area of 50% is used (refer 2.2.3) and an allocation of 6m2 per workstation is used (refer 2.1.3) the potential number of workstations that can be accommodated in the three buildings considered is as follows
Property Gross Internal Area x 50%
Possible Number of
Workstations
Desk Layout Number of
Workstations
Lorn House 235 m2 39 40
Municipal Building (note 70m2 for Customer Services)
265 m2 44 41
Soroba Road Offices 260 m2 43 39
Total 126 120
This table validates the assumptions regarding space standards and confirms that the staff within Kilbowie House can be accommodated within Lorn House, Municipal Building and Soroba Road Offices.
One of the main assumptions is that civil wedding ceremonies involving bride, groom and 2 witnesses can take place in the Municipal Building but any wedding ceremony with greater numbers will take place in the Corran Halls.
It should also be noted that further investigation will be required to confirm that appropriate team zones can be achieved.
2.3.4 Property Cost Assessment of Options
The year 1 property costs should be taken as the move of 32 members of staff from Kilbowie House to be relocated elsewhere within the Oban offices. In addition there will be the cost of mothballing Kilbowie House and the cost of dealing with any necessary short term storage arrangements associated with a relatively quick vacating of Kilbowie House.
Moving of Staff (32 @ £1,200) £38,400
Mothballing of Kilbowie House £ 5,,000 (Note: There will be an ongoing annual cost of maintaining the intruder alarm, fire alarm and electrical supply of £1,000.
Short Term Storage £ 5,000 (Allowance at this stage)
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In addition to the costs above there will be additional cost associated with forming the Customer Services area within Municipal Buildings these costs are included within the existing capital programme and are therefore not included within this business case.
2.3.5 Other Risks/Issues
The Workshop Group also identified a number of risks and issues in relation to the implementation of the project:
• Identification and securing of the resources to plan and project manage implementation
• The greater task here is not actually the property task of arranging moves & decoration – but the work culture and change management issues which this will throw up.
• That applying the workstyle change to properties which would be unaffected by staff changes would be inefficient (and seen by staff as plain daft e.g. all that changes is that a desk is removed)
• That the Achievable option, which will be achieved by a series of simple moves: o would be viewed by staff not as a change in workstyle, but as an exercise in
squeezing them to the existing estate – prompting issues over space standards o would potentially disperse the Operational Services Team (located at Kilbowie)over
a no. of locations
2.4 Property Utilisation Lists
Property Services produced Phase 1 business cases for Office Rationalisation in 2006/07. As part of that study Property Services compiled a list of job titles and people names for each property that was included. As part of this report Property Services took the opportunity to update these lists for the main areas. The detail is shown in appendix G for the main six areas considered with their associated staff numbers, including an allocation of 2 Councillors per area, being as follows
• Campbeltown (155)
• Dunoon (251)
• Helensburgh (180)
• Mid-Argyll (529)
• Oban (190)
• Rothesay (73)
This gives a total number of 1,378 for the main 6 areas.
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APPENDIX A
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL
OPERATIONAL SERVICES
Report on Occupancy Study
1. Introduction
Service Support received an enquiry from our Head of Service, asking if we could undertake an Occupancy Study of three buildings that are located in the Helensburgh & Lomond Area.
2. Aims
The aim of the study was to determine the overall building occupancy and utilisation of desk/ work stations in the following properties:
• Blairvadach House
• 29 Lomond Street
• 13 East King Street
3. Approach
The study involved a one day activity sampling pilot in each location which was carried out using direct observation. Two employees from Service Support undertook the study.
4. Results
The data from the Occupancy Study was entered into a spreadsheet database and was used to analyse the percentage of desk/workstations utilisation. Following the input of data the enclosed statistical results of the study were obtained (for further details see enclosed appendix).
Blairvadach
% of Occupancy
Working Day Periods
Ground Floor
Level 1
Mezzanine Floor
Level 2
First Floor Level 3
Second Floor
Level 4
All Floors
Full Day 43.75% 22.77% 37.50% 50.00% 40.72%
Lunch Break 12:00 – 14:00 excluded 44.74% 22.86% 35.81% 50.33% 40.66%
Lunch Break 12:30 – 13:30 excluded 46.36% 24.14% 38.59% 52.30% 42.67%
All core time excluded 49.67% 21.01% 41.46% 57.35% 45.48%
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29 Lomond Street
% of Occupancy Working Day Periods
Ground Floor
First Floor All Floors
Full Day 59.38% 43.04% 50.39%
Lunch Break 12:00 – 14:00 excluded 59.56% 44.00% 51.00%
Lunch Break 12:30 – 13:30 excluded 63.03% 45.45% 53.36%
All core time excluded 60.46% 46.79% 52.94%
13 East King Street
% of Occupancy Working Day Periods
Ground Floor
First Floor All Floors
Full Day 49.22% 55.00% 52.43%
Lunch Break 12:00 – 14:00 excluded 48.00% 54.80% 51.78%
Lunch Break 12:30 – 13:30 excluded 52.59% 57.93% 55.56%
All core time excluded 56.62% 60.00% 58.50%
6. Summary
The above information illustrates that there are occupancy ranges within each Building depending upon which working day period is used. The range is as follows:-
Blairvadach 40.72% - 45.48% 29 Lomond Street 50.39% - 53.36% 13 East King Street 51.78% - 58.50%
21st November 2008
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APPENDIX B
A detailed analysis for Argyll House, Dunoon & Manse Brae offices Lochgilphead was completed available from the project office on request
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Appendix C
Bookings for the Director of Community Services room in Argyll House
January to August 2009
Week Beginning (Monday)
Total Number of Bookings per week
Number of Hours for Whole Week
5 January 4 15 hours
12 January 7 32 hours
19 January 6 28 hours
26 January 5 19 hours
22 94
2 February 4 19 hours
9 February 4 20 hours
16 February 3 14 hours
23 February 5 20 hours
16 73
2 March 4 28 hours
9 March 10 30 hours
16 March 4 13 hours
23 March 3 17 hours
30 March 3 14 hours
24 102
6 April 4 9 hours
13 April 5 21 hours
20 April 8 28 hours
27 April 5 20 hours
22 78
4 May 6 21 hours
11 May 6 22 hours
18 May 7 18 hours
25 May 3 16 hours
22 77
1 June 3 6 hours
8 June 7 15 hours
15 June 5 21 hours
22 June 5 15 hours
29 June 2 5 hours
22 62
6 July 1 3 hours
13 July 3 8 hours
20 July 4 17 hours
27 July 5 14 hours
13 42
3 August 2 10 hours
10 August 2 7 hours
17 August 6 20 hours
24 August 2 3 hours
31 August 5 35 hours
17 75
Total 158 603
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Bookings for the Manse Brae Conference Room
January to August 2009
Week Beginning (Monday)
Total Number of Bookings per week
Number of Hours for Whole Week
5 January 8 28 hours
12 January 7 31.5 hours
19 January 9 33 hours
26 January 7 35 hours
31 127.5
2 February 6 34 hours
9 February 8 39.5 hours
16 February 8 17.5 hours
23 February 7 33 hours
29 124
2 March 5 25 hours
9 March 7 35 hours
16 March 8 36.5 hours
23 March 6 39.5 hours
30 March 11 30.5 hours
37 166.5
6 April 7 25.5 hours
13 April 7 35 hours
20 April 7 30.5 hours
27 April 8 38.5 hours
29 129.5
4 May 5 23 hours
11 May 8 38 hours
18 May 11 36.5 hours
25 May 6 30.5 hours
30 128
1 June 4 27.5 hours
8 June 5 27 hours
15 June 7 25.5 hours
22 June 6 25 hours
29 June 6 30.5 hours
28 135.5
6 July 6 21.5 hours
13 July 10 33 hours
20 July 6 30 hours
27 July 7 37.5 hours
29 122
3 August 7 37.5 hours
10 August 6 37 hours
17 August 7 26.5 hours
24 August 6 35.5 hours
31 August 8 34.5 hours
34 171
Total 247 1,104
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APPENDIX D
Annual Opex costs for all Council offices are available from the project office on request
APPENDIX E
A report into the feuhold/leasehold status, lease costs and market values for all Council offices is available from the project office on request
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APPENDIX F
POSSIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICES LAYOUT
Plan View
View of Reception Counter
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APPENDIX G
PROPERTY UTILISATION LISTS
The summary of staff in Campbeltown is shown in Table G.1
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
CAMPBELTOWN PROPERTIES
Quay Buildings 5 2 0 0 4 1
Old Quay Head 6 23 6 0 0 0
Old Registers Building 1 0 0 3 1 0
Witchburn Road 0 0 0 54 17 3
Burnet Building 0 2 0 5 8 1
Town Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 2 9 0 0 0 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 14 38 6 62 30 5
Table G.1
The Campbeltown members of staff in other buildings are all located at Kintyre CEC, giving a total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, of 155.
The summary of staff in Dunoon is shown in Table G.2
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
DUNOON PROPERTIES
Argyll House 1 0 0 43 32 15
Church Street 4 7 1 2 0 0
Dunoon CEC 3 6 0 0 1 1
ASIST 0 2 0 0 0 0
Dolphin Hall 2 4 0 6 4 1
Dolphin Hall Annexe 1 0 0 8 5 1
Ellis Lodge 20 8 4 0 0 0
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Hamilton Street Depot 0 0 0 0 7 0
Hill Street Offices 8 6 1 1 1 0
Sandbank Library HQ 0 1 0 10 2 1
Milton House 4 6 0 0 6 2
Struan Lodge 0 0 0 5 1 4
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 43 43 6 75 59 25
Table G.2
The Dunoon member of staff in another building is located at Ballochyle House, giving a total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, of 251.
The summary of staff in Helensburgh is shown in Table G.3
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
HELENSBURGH PROPERTIES
Emergency Planning 0 0 0 0 5 0
Blairvadach 3 20 5 7 15 4
Graham Williamson IT Centre 0 0 0 5 14 5
Scotcourt House 6 4 1 2 9 0
Social Work, 13 East King Street 0 1 0 5 5 4
Offices, 48 Sinclair Street 0 0 0 1 2 2
OT Office, 85 East Clyde Street 0 0 0 0 0 0
Social Work, 29 Lomond Street 1 24 4 12 1 0
Offices within Colgrain PS Community Wing 3 6 0 0 0 1
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 13 58 10 32 51 16
Table G.3
The Helensburgh member of staff in another building is located at Victoria Infirmary, giving a total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, of 180.
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The summary of staff in Mid-Argyll is shown in Table G.4
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
MID-ARGYLL PROPERTIES
Kilmory Castle 35 36 2 73 113 34
Manse Brae Office 28 0 0 11 38 10
Manse Brae Area Office 2 10 3 0 0 0
Dalriada House 0 14 0 0 0 0
Whitegates Offices 7 4 0 20 13 4
Clydesdale Bank Buildings 0 0 0 2 3 1
Area Community Education Centre 1 6 0 0 0 0
Offices, 65-79 Chalmers Street, Ardrishaig 2 9 0 0 0 0
Union Street Office 1 1 0 0 0 0
Lochnell Street Office 2 0 0 0 0 0
Tigh Mhicleoid 0 6 1 0 0 0
Argyll House, Harbour Street, Tarbert 0 3 0 0 0 0
Front Street, Inveraray 0 0 0 0 0 0
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 7 21 3 0 1 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 85 112 9 106 168 49
Table G.4
The Mid-Argyll members of staff in other buildings are located at Mid-Argyll Community Hospital (31) and Argyll & Bute Hospital (1), giving a total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, of 529.
The summary of staff in Oban is shown in Table G.5
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
OBAN PROPERTIES
Kilbowie House 6 5 0 0 16 5
Lorn House 6 12 3 0 2 1
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Municipal Building 7 21 0 0 0 1
Oban Education Office 3 0 0 3 10 1
West Highland HA Bldg 0 2 1 4 3 2
Soroba Road Offices 7 18 2 0 0 0
Oban Area Community Centre 2 7 1 0 0 0
Willowview Community Care Centre 8 23 5 0 0 0
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 39 91 12 7 31 10
Table G.5
The Oban member of staff in another building is located at Market Street Centre, giving a total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, of 190.
The summary of staff in Rothesay is shown in Table G.6
Frontline Backline
Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial Admin / Clerical
Professional Managerial
ROTHESAY PROPERTIES
Ballochgoy Resource Centre 3 2 0 0 0 0
Bute Sub Area CEC 1 2 0 0 0 0
Eaglesham House 2 4 0 5 4 1
High Street Office 2 4 0 0 0 0
Rothesay Social Work 9 27 0 0 2 0
Bute CEC (Moat) 3 0 0 0 0 0
Councillors 0 2 0 0 0 0
Staff in Other Buildings 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Number of Staff by Category 20 41 0 5 6 1
Table G.6
There are no Rothesay members of staff located in any another buildings so the total number of staff, including 2 Councillors, is 73.
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APPENDIX H
DESK LAYOUTS AT LORN HOUSE, MUNICIPAL BUILDING AND SOROBA ROAD OFFICE
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Argyll and Bute Council Process for Change – Workforce Deployment Theme
Appendix 4 - Day-in-the-Life-Of (DILO) Survey
David Hogarth August 2009
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Confidentiality Statement All information in this document is provided in confidence for the sole purpose of adjudication of the document and shall not be used for any other purpose and shall not be published or disclosed wholly or in part to any other party without BT's prior permission in writing and shall be held in safe custody. These obligations shall not apply to information, which is published or becomes known legitimately from some source other than BT. Many of the product, service and company names referred to in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks.
They are all hereby acknowledged.
Copyright, all rights reserved © BT 2009 Registered Office: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ
Metrics All numbers listed in this document have been rounded to the nearest integer for ease of use. This is usually stated in the table where listed. Totals in tables may not appear to show the correct value, this is due to the rounding of the numbers and is not an error. For example, percentages may not always appear to add to 100%.
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Distribution
Title Argyll and Bute Council: DILO Survey
Author David Hogarth
Owner (Responsible for Approval of Issued Versions)
Name Role
Carol Turnbull Workstyle Programme Manager
Review Panel
Name Role / Company Review requirement
Morag Brown Argyll and Bute Council Review and approve
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Change History
Issue Date Author/Editor Details of Change
Draft 0.1 14 August 2009
David Hogarth Initial Draft for Review and Comment
Draft 0.2 21 August 2009
David Hogarth Amended and updated to included M Brown / G Munro Comments
Draft 0.3 25 August 2009
David Hogarth Document updated to reflect agreed changes from AandB meeting, 24/08/09
Draft 0.4 25 August 2009
Gordon Munro Document updated to reflect agreed changes from AandB meeting, 28/08/09
Draft 0.5 4th September
2009 Dominic Sherry
Document updated to reflect agreed changes from AandB – data provided 03/09/09
Draft 0.6 13
th
September 2009
Dominic Sherry Document updated to reflect agreed changes from AandB – data provided 11/09/09
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Table of Contents
Management Summary ............................................................................................................. 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 8 Approach ................................................................................................................................... 8 Validity of Data......................................................................................................................... 10 Study Area Findings ................................................................................................................ 13 Department Findings ............................................................................................................... 24 Service Findings ...................................................................................................................... 28 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 35 Appendix.................................................................................................................................. 36
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Management Summary Argyll and Bute Council DILO Survey was conducted over a 10 day period in July 2009 with
the aim of quantifying the activities that would benefit from the implementation of new work
styles across the Council. All 1767 employees with access to the Council’s IT network
received an invitation to take part in a web based survey. Of this group, 516 employees were
formally targeted to complete the survey as they performed job roles which had been
identified previously as potentially benefitting from the adoption of new work styles. 68% of
this target group completed the survey and the average response rate across the organisation
was 31%.
Diagram 1 – DILO Survey Responses by Department
The survey asked staff to allocate time spent on a number of key activities during their
working day, these being travel, contact with customers, colleagues and other agencies,
administration and training. In addition, information on commuting to work was captured.
Diagram 2- Av. Time spent on DILO activities across the Council
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email colleagues
f2f others
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out of office
training in office
Activity
Overall Council Average
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The average time spent travelling during daily working hours across all Departments is 22
minutes. The study indicated that some Departments (Operational Services, Development
Services and Community Services) and some specific job roles involve large amounts of
travel. Some of this travel time could potentially be saved by using audio/web/video
conferencing in lieu of face-to-face internal meetings which currently take an average 83
minutes per day. This would reduce travel costs for the Council and reduce carbon emissions.
The average time spent commuting to and from work is 48 minutes a day across all
Departments. This time could be better spent if employees were given the opportunity to work
from home or from an office closer to home. In BT’s own experience and from the experience
of other organisations BT have worked with, a reduction in commuting time increases
productivity levels and improves the work/life balance of employees.
The average time spent per day communicating with external customers / service users is 56
minutes, around 14% of a 7 hour working day. The adoption of new work styles will lead to an
increase in time spent on customer facing activity thereby improving the overall standard of
customer service.
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Introduction Argyll and Bute Council (the Council) is developing a business case for the implementation of
new flexible, home and mobile work styles across its workforce as part of its corporate
transformation programme - Process for Change. An Outline Business Case and High Level
Design Report were presented to the Executive on 15th April 2009 with agreement to progress
to detailed design resulting in full business case and implementation plan. This is referred to
as the Argyll and Bute Council: Process for Change – Workforce Deployment Theme and will
be presented to the meeting of the full Council on 26 November 2009. This paper is one of
several specialist reports that inform the overall business case.
The adoption of new works styles will be a transformational process for the Council where
new ways of working, processes, behaviours, attitudes and technologies will come to the fore
and replace traditional norms.
This report describes the results of an online Day in the Life of (DILO) Survey conducted as
part of the business case.
A DILO Survey provides an independent assessment and understanding of current working
practices within the Council. The study requires participants to record online how they spend
their time each day, over five working days, against a number of different activity categories
(e.g. travel, customer meetings, internal meetings, administration, training etc).
The data gathered enables us to understand how a move towards new work styles will better
meet the needs of individuals, the Council, and ultimately its customers. It provides a view of
potential process and property improvements and insight into how the end customer
experience may be improved through new work styles within the Council.
In order to provide an insight and to inform the business case nearly 1800 Council employees
from across the organisation were requested to take part in this process. Of this number, 516
were targeted based on their previous identification during the high level business case and
were deemed to have the greatest potential to benefit from new work styles.
Approach The DILO survey took place over a period of ten working days from Monday 6
th July to
Friday 17th July 2009. The extended two week period was decided upon to accommodate
the start of the holiday period and ensure a higher response. Individuals were given the
choice of completing the survey in either week 1 or 2.
At the start of each week all participants received an email from the Chief Executive’s
Postmaster containing a link to a simple online form consisting of 20 questions. Associated
with most of these questions was a range of options from which to choose a response. The
full set of questions can be seen in Appendix D of this report.
Once the questions were answered, the form could be submitted online. It was suggested that
the participants completed their online diary form towards the end of their working day. A
further email was sent out each afternoon as a reminder to complete that day’s diary. If the
participant was not able to complete the diary form on that day, they were able to complete
the form retrospectively until the close of the Survey.
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A small number of participants did not have access to the internet / survey. These people
completed the survey in paper format and the results were entered online by the Council or
BT as appropriate.
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Validity of Data
Initially requests for participation in the DILO were issued to 1767 staff members
It was found that approximately 743 staff members participated in the DILO. Although, only
539 staff members, accurately completed the survey for the full week as requested. In order
to check that the survey gives an accurate reflection of the Council as a whole, it is important
to compare the average number of forms completed per day against the total number of
employees invited to participate.
A breakdown of participants per department is detailed in the table below.
Table 1: Response rate per department
Department Total Invited
Participants
Number of forms used in analysis
Total possible number of forms
Average Response Rate (nearest integer
%)
Chief Executive 106 256 530 48
Corporate Services 364 767 1820 42
Operational Services 274 431 1370 31
Development Services 171 267 855 31
Community Services 852 834 4260 20
TOTAL 1767 2555 8835 29
The average response rate was 29% across the Council.
In order to assess the accuracy of the data both the number of participants and the number of
forms completed by each Department should be taken into consideration. Not all participants
completed the diary form each day. Therefore it would be possible for a Department with
fewer participants to contribute more data to the study than a Department with more
participants.
During the analysis of the DILO data received by the participants a number of exceptions
were identified, these included;
• Where respondents had completed more than the requested 5 days
• Where respondents had duplicated entry data for a specific day
• Data received by Councillors
• Where respondents had recorded time against activities which was far and above
what they had recorded as their working day hours.
A decision was agreed with the Project Team to exclude these results from the Final Report
analysis. This represented 1146 forms completed (39% of responses).
Therefore, the survey was based on 2555 survey responses.
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The graph below indicates the contribution each Department made to the study. The
Departments most likely to influence the results were Community Services and Corporate
Services.
Diagram 1: Contribution to DILO survey data per Department
DILO Responses by Department
256
767
431267
834Chief Executive
Corporate Services
Operational Services
Development Services
Community Services
Despite this weighting, the data collected can provide a preliminary indication of the extent to
which the introduction of new work styles may benefit different groups.
For many job roles the time spent on each activity per day can vary to a large extent. Some
people will have regular meetings on particular days or will choose to avoid travel on a
Monday and Friday. This will affect the results of the DILO to an extent. The greatest
response rates are found on the first two days, Monday and Tuesday. This is typical of the
DILO study, as many people will want to complete the DILO on the first days to see what it is
like. After the first day, the initial excitement lessens and the response rate decreases.
Fridays often have the poorest response rates due to annual leave and flexi time off.
The overall response rate may have been affected by the DILO survey being carried out
during the school summer holidays.
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Caveats of this study
• The largest number of responses came from Community Services (33%) and
Corporate Services (30%). This can influence the findings when looking at the
Council overall.
• Some participants registered multiple diary entries for the same day. In order to make
participants comfortable and elicit a higher response rate the survey was made
anonymous; it was therefore not possible to eliminate all duplicate entries. This will
have a slight affect on the overall results.
• Some staff accidentally or by misunderstanding incorrectly entered their Service
details. As the data is anonymous it has been difficult to correctly assign all
respondees where this applied.
• Departments and Services will have a different mix of back office and front office staff
which may affect the results of the DILO survey. A higher ratio of back office staff
may skew the results to show less travel during working hours and more time on
administration work; whereas a higher proportion of front office staff may show more
travel during working hours and more interaction time with customers. In order to
target, in more detail, the areas that fall into these categories, job functions and roles
can be considered.
• Where it is suggested that time may be saved and productivity increased due to the
implementation of new work styles, this is assuming that:
* The job role/function allows this (i.e. the job does not require the person to
be physically on site due to carrying out public counter duties, etc).
* The individual is able and willing to work flexibly.
* Any constraints to remote working are addressed (e.g. paper based
processes are digitised; the required ICT infrastructure is in place).
• The diagrams in the sections below are all based on data collected with extreme
values removed, not the full results (as in the Validity of Data section above). These
raw results can be viewed in Appendix B. Some people recorded considerably more
time on individual tasks which totalled more than their working day. An arbitrary cut
off point was taken at anything 1.5 hours or greater than the working day and these
entries were removed.
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Study Area Findings Seven of the questions in the DILO Study were designed to discover the length of time
participants spend on certain activities: travelling, contact with others, training, and carrying
out administrative tasks. The following graphs represent the findings; they show the average
time spent by participants on each activity per day by Department. All times stated are
approximate to the nearest integer. The descriptions below consider how much of an average
working day is spent undertaking each activity. The Council’s standard working week is
currently 35 hours per week. The average working day is taken to be 7 hours.
Overall Council Results
The graph and table below shows the average time spent on the DILO activities (and on
inputting into key systems) by participants across the Council. The activity with the most time
recorded was administration tasks, followed by face-to-face interaction with Council
colleague. The Council may prefer to see a higher amount of time spent on customer
interaction than is currently shown (56 minutes in total).
Diagram 2: Average time spent on DILO activities across the Council
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email colleagues
f2f others
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out of office
training in office
Activity
Overall Council Average
Table 2: Average time spent on DILO activities across the Council
DILO Activity Time (minutes)
Commute 48
Travel during working hours 22
Face-to-face (f2f) with customers 24
Telephone / email customers 32
Face-to-face (f2f) with colleagues 83
Telephone / email colleagues 55
Face-to-face (f2f) with others 11
Telephone / email others 17
Administration tasks 107
Training out of office 3
Training in office 5
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Average time spent travelling to / from work Diagram 3: Time spent travelling to and from work per day
Commute
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on the commute to and from work is 48 minutes a day across all
Departments.
There are a high number of regular commute times recorded in this survey of in excess of 1
hour per day which can be attributed to the geography of Argyll.
Looking at the most frequently recorded (mode) times it can be seen that most people spend
around 0.5 or 1 hour on their daily commute. This is shown in the diagram below.
Diagram 4: Total Responses across the Council
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000
Number of entries
0.00.51.0
1.52.0
2.53.0
3.54.0
4.55.05.5
6.06.5
7.0
Tim
e (
ho
urs
)
Commute
The diagram above also shows that there were 904 responses of 1 hour or more for their
daily commute. This is approximately 36% of the total responses to the survey.
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If employees were able to work flexibly then it would be possible to decrease the average
commute time, as staff could work from home or a more local office at times. It has been
shown that when the average commute time is reduced, productivity levels increase and
employees benefit from an improvement in their work/life balance.
Average time spent travelling during working hours Diagram 5: Time spent travelling during working hours per day
Travel during working hours
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent travelling during working hours in a day across all of the Departments
is 22 minutes. This is equates to similar findings from other Council’s that BT has worked
with.
The DILO survey shows that the highest travel during working hours was recorded by
Operational Services (35 minutes on average per day) followed by Community Services (26
minutes) and Development Services (21 minutes).
Diagram 6: Total Responses across the Council for travel during working hours
0 50 100 150 200 250
Number of entries
0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.05.56.06.57.0
Tim
e (
ho
urs
)
Travel during work hours
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To become more efficient we recommend focussing on job roles which involve a large amount
of travel during working hours. By allowing these people to adopt more flexible or mobile work
styles and providing them with the tools and support required we could potentially cut down
the amount of travel time.
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Average time spent communicating with external customers
a) face-to-face contact with Service Users or Customers external to the Council b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with Service Users or Customers external to the Council
Diagram 7a: Time spent on contact with Service Users or Customers per day
Face to face interactions with customers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development Services Operational Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
Diagram 8b: Time spent on contact with Service Users or Customers per day
Telephone / email contact with customers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Chief Exec Community
Services
Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional
Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent per day on face-to-face contact with external Customers / Service
Users is 24 minutes across the Council. The Departments which spend the highest amount of
time on face-to-face contact are:
• Community Services (39 minutes)
• Operational Services (21 minutes)
The Chief Executive’s and Development Services Departments have less face-to-face contact
with customers at 6 minutes and 15 minutes respectively.
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The average time spent on telephone and/or e-mail contact with external Customers / Service
Users is 32 minutes per day across the Council. This is slightly higher than the average face-
to-face interaction, which is typical of other Councils.
The Departments which spend the highest amount of time on telephone and/or e-mail contact
with external Customers / Service Users are:
• Development Services (40 minutes)
• Corporate Services (36 minutes)
The study shows that, in total, the average time spent per day communicating with external
customers / service users is 56 minutes. This equates to 13% of a 7 hour working day. The
adoption of new work styles will increase the time spent on customer facing activity thereby
improving our customer service.
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Average time spent communicating with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
a) face-to-face contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
Diagram 9a: Time spent on contact with Argyll and Bute Council Colleagues per day
Face to face interaction with colleagues
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on face-to-face contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues is 83
minutes per day across the Council. This is around 20% of a 7 hour working day. There is
potential for some of these face-to-face meetings to be conducted virtually via audio / web /
video conferencing.
Diagram 10b: Time spent on contact with Argyll and Bute Council Colleagues per day
Telephone / email contact with colleagues
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development Services Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on telephone and/or e-mail contact with Argyll and Bute Council
colleagues is 55 minutes per day across the Council.
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The study indicates that, in total, the average time spent per day communicating with Argyll
and Bute Council colleagues is 128 minutes. This equates to 30% of a 7 hour working day.
Average time spent communicating with people other than customers or
Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
a) face-to-face contact with PEOPLE OTHER THAN customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues e.g. other agencies, Third Sector b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with PEOPLE OTHER THAN customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
Diagram 11: Time spent on contact with others per day
Face to face interaction with others
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on face-to-face contact with people other than customers or Argyll
and Bute Council colleagues is 11 minutes per day across the Council.
The Departments which spend the highest amount of time on face-to-face contact with people
other than customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues are:
• Community Services (17 minutes)
• Operational Services (13 minutes)
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Diagram 12: Time spent on contact with others per day
Telephone / email with others
0
5
10
15
20
25
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operational Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on telephone and/or e-mail contact with people other than customers
or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues, across the Council, is 17 minutes.
The Departments which spend the highest amount of time on telephone and/or e-mail contact
with people other than customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues are:
• Operational Services (20 minutes)
• Development Services (18 minutes)
Time spent on administrative tasks
Diagram 13: Time spent on administrative tasks per day
Administration
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
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The average time spent on administrative tasks per day is 107 minutes across the Council.
This equates to 25% of a 7 hour working day.
The Departments which spend the highest amount of time on administrative tasks are:
• Community Services (119 minutes)
• Corporate Services (114 minutes)
A number of participants of the DILO survey list ‘admin’, ‘administrator’, ‘administrative’, or
‘administration’ in their job title or service area. These people will influence the findings as the
majority of their day will be spent on administrative tasks. There is a potential for the Council
to reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks by adopting new work styles and
new technologies. For instance mobile workers could reduce this non-core element of their
role by updating information in the field or at customer premises.
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Average time spent on training
a) in the office b) out of the office
Diagram 14: Time spent on training per day (in office)
Training in office
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development
Services
Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
Diagram 15: Time spent on training per day (out of the office)
Training out of office
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Chief Exec Community Services Corporate Services Development Services Operat ional Services
Directorate
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Overa l l Average
The average time spent on training in the office per day is 5 minutes across the Council. The
average time spent on training out of the office is 3 minutes across the Council. In total 9
minutes were spent across the Council per day training.
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Department Findings On completion of the study, the results of each participant’s daily diary entries were collated
and analysed according to Department. The next series of diagrams illustrate the breakdown
of an ‘average day’ for a staff member in each Department, based on the DILO diary entries.
The day represented includes only the time spent on activities which were listed in the DILO
survey and commuting time is added to this. There will be other activities undertaken during
the day that the DILO does not record.
The results are comparable across all Departments with the highest time spent on the
following activities:
o face-to-face contact with external customers
o administration
o commuting time
o telephone / email contact with the Council.
Chief Executive’s 46 respondees (8% contribution to Service Findings) Diagram 16: Time spent on DILO activities per day in Chief Executive
Chief Executive
55
10
616
94
61
7
77 13
15
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f co lleagues
telephone/email colleagues
f2f others
telephone/email o thers
admin tasks
training out of o ffice
training in office
On average, the Chief Executive’s Department spent most time on face-to-face interaction
with colleagues (94 minutes), administration (77 minutes), and telephone / email interaction
with colleagues (61 minutes). Administration takes up 18% of a 7 hour working day. By
adopting new work styles there is potential for making efficiency savings within this
department.
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Community Services 186 respondees (35% contribution to Service Findings) Diagram 17: Time spent on DILO activities per day in Community Services
Community Services
48
26
39
32
8056
119
7 6
17
17
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email co lleagues
f2f o thers
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out o f office
training in o ffice
Within Community Services, the DILO activities that have the highest time recorded against
them per day are: administration, face-to-face contact with Colleagues, and telephone / email
contact with Colleagues. On average 19% of a 7 hour working day is spent on face-to-face
contact with colleagues. This Department also shows the highest amount of time recorded on
face to face customer contact (39 minutes).
Corporate Services 156 responses (29% contribution to Service Findings) Diagram 18: Time spent on DILO activities per day in Corporate Services
Corporate Services
45
15
18
36
7253
516
114
1 4 5
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email co lleagues
f2f o thers
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out o f office
training in o ffice
Ave. Hours
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In Corporate Services the highest proportion of time is spent on administrative tasks (114
minutes). The next highest proportion of time is attributed to face-to-face contact with
colleagues (72 minutes) followed by telephone/ email contact with colleagues (53 minutes).
Operational Services 95 responses (18% contribution to Service Findings) Diagram 19: Time spent on DILO activities per day in Operational Services
Operational Services
44
35
21
31
10057
13
20
94
2 3
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email co lleagues
f2f o thers
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out o f office
training in o ffice
Operational Services spends the highest amount of time on face to face contact with other
Argyll and Bute Council colleagues (100 minutes). This department also shows a higher
amount of time travelling during the working day (35 minutes) than the other departments.
Development Services 56 responses (10% contribution to Service Findings) Diagram 20: Time spent on DILO activities per day in Development Services
Development Services
50
21
15
40
8746
10
18
98
0 7 5
commute
travel during work hours
f2f customers
telphone/email customers
f2f colleagues
telephone/email co lleagues
f2f o thers
telephone/email others
admin tasks
training out o f office
training in o ffice
Ave. Hours
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Development Services spends the highest amount of time on administration (98 minutes)
followed by face-to-face contact with Colleagues (87 minutes).
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Service Findings A further breakdown of Departmental findings to Service level is shown in the series of
diagrams below. All times shown are approximate to the nearest integer.
The Service outlined in red is the one recorded as spending the highest amount of time on the
DILO activity. The Service in yellow is the one which spent the shortest amount of time on the
DILO activity.
Average commuting time Diagram 1: Time spent commuting per day (including any lunch time travel)
Commute
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Counci l Average
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Average time spent travelling during working hours Diagram 2: Time spent travelling during working hours per day
Travel during work hours
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Counci l Average
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Average time spent on customer contact a) face-to-face contact with external Customers / Service Users b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with external Customers / Service Users
Diagram 3a: Time spent on contact with external customers / service users per day
Customer interaction - face to face
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Face to face Customers
Council Average f2f
Diagram 3b: Time spent on contact with external customers / service users per day
Customer interaction tel/email
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Tel / email Customers
Council Average tel / email
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Average time spent on contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
a) face-to-face contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
Diagram 4a: Time spent on contact with Argyll and Bute Council Colleagues per day
Colleague interaction - Face to Face
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Face to Face Co lleague Council Averge f2f
Diagram 4b: Time spent on contact with Argyll and Bute Council Colleagues per day
Colleague interaction - tel/email
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
telephone/email colleagues Council Average Tel / email
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Average time spent on contact with others a) face-to-face contact with PEOPLE OTHER THAN customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues b) telephone and/or e-mail contact with PEOPLE OTHER THAN customers or Argyll and Bute Council colleagues
Diagram 5a: Time spent on contact with others per day
Interaction with others
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Face to face Others Council Average f2f
Diagram 5b: Time spent on contact with others per day
Interaction with others
05
101520253035404550
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Tel / email Others Council Average Tel / email
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Time spent on administrative tasks Diagram 6: Time spent on administrative tasks per day
Administration
0
50
100
150
200
250
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Counci l Average
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Time spent on training:
a) in the office b) out of the office
Diagram 7a: Time spent on training per day
Training - Out of Ofice
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Out of Office Council Average out o ffice
Diagram 7b: Time spent on training per day
Training - In Office
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Service
Tim
e (
min
ute
s)
In Office Council Average in o ffice
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Conclusions The information displayed in this report indicates that there is significant scope across the
Council for adopting flexible, mobile or home working work styles.
Services which spend a high proportion of time on administrative tasks and a low proportion
of time on face-to-face contact could benefit from home working. The average time spent on
administrative tasks per day is 107 minutes across the Council. This equates to 25% of a 7
hour working day. This suggests that there is potential to reduce the amount of time spent on
administration by adopting new work styles and introducing new technologies.
Many employees spend a lot of time travelling to and from work each day. This time could be
better spent if employees adopt a flexible work style, sometimes working from home or a
more convenient location closer to their home.
Those who spend large amounts of time travelling during working hours and in face-to-face
meetings with customers, colleagues, and others, will also benefit from new work styles. By
introducing audio/web/ video conferencing in place of internal face-to-face meetings (currently
83 minutes per day across all departments) the Council could reduce travel expenses and
help meet the requirements of the Council’s Carbon Management Plan.
Individuals from Departments which spend a high proportion of time in face-to-face meetings
are not generally using their desks at this time. This provides an opportunity to introduce desk
sharing and using the space saved to create more meeting rooms. This, along with other
property initiatives, will enable the Council to rationalise its property portfolio and thereby
deliver efficiency savings.
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Appendix A: Department and Service breakdown B: Raw Results – amended data C: DILO Survey Questions
Argyll & Bute DILO Survey Questionnaire.docx
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Steve Gillies | BT Consulting
WORK
STYLE
ARGYLL & BUTE COUNCIL
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT THEME
APPENDIX 5– SOLUTION DESIGN WORKSHOP REPORT
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Steve Gillies, BT Workstyle Transformation – September 2009
1.0 Introduction.......................................................................................... 3
2.0 Solution Design Workshops .................................................................. 4
3.0 Workstyle Adoption Profiles ................................................................. 5
4.0 Personal Preferences ............................................................................ 8
5.0 Gain Assessment................................................................................... 9
6.0 Solution Design Assessment................................................................ 14
7.0 Blockers Assessment........................................................................... 18
8.0 Conclusions & Summary...................................................................... 19
Appendix A – Design Elements..................................................................... 20
Appendix B – Workshop Pre-Read Material ................................................. 24
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1.0 Introduction
Argyll & Bute Council (the Council) is considering a series of themed change programmes as part of its ‘Process
for Change’ initiative.
There are several theme based initiatives
each interlinked as shown in Figure 1
including the Workforce Deployment
Programme. The Workforce Deployment
Programme is focused on the introduction
of modern agile working practices across
the Council. The large scale adoption of
agile working practices is being driven by
new on-line technologies, management
attitudes to remote working, employee
needs for improved work life balance and
by cost challenges.
A high level business case and solution
design was developed by the Council which
culminated with the publication of the High
Level Design Report on 20th
February 2009. This recognized the need for a more detailed analysis of the
Council’s specific requirements.
In July and August 2009 seven Solution Design Workshops were provided in which 85 staff participated. The
aims of the workshops were to validate staff requirements for agile working, validate the job role matching
exercise and to assess the appetite for adoption.
This report describes the findings, conclusions and recommendations from the Solution Design Workshops. It
should be read in conjunction with the Work Force Deployment Financial Report.
Additional information can be obtained from Morag Brown, Business Improvement Manager; Gordon Munro,
Performance Improvement Officer; or Laura Cameron, Service Standards Officer. The workshops and report
were developed with assistance from the BT Workstyle Team – contact [email protected] for further
information.
Figure 1: Work Force Deployment Context
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Steve Gillies, BT Workstyle Transformation – September 2009
2.0 Solution Design Workshops
A total of 7 workshops in 5 locations were conducted involving 85 staff as shown in Table 1 - Workshops. Each
workshop was managed by experienced facilitators. One of the workshops, Lochgilphead 7th
August, was
focused on managers.
Table 1: Workshops
Workshop Date # of Attendees Facilitators
Lochgilphead 27th
July 2009 11 Steve Gillies, Dominic Sherry, Colin Bromley, Lewis
Preston, Susie Thomson, Laura Cameron
Dunoon 28th
July 2009 9 Steve Gillies, Colin Bromley, Shirley Johnstone
Lochgilphead 3rd
August 2009 17 Dominic Sherry, Laura Cameron, Lewis Preston, Ernie
Brown
Campbeltown 4th
August 2009 13 Dominic Sherry, Laura Cameron, Shirley Johnstone, June
Graham
Oban 5th
August 11 Colin Bromley, June Graham, Laura Cameron
Helensburgh 6th
August 10 Shirley Johnstone, June Graham
Lochgilphead - Managers 7th
August 2009 14 Steve Gillies, Dominic Sherry, Morag Brown, Willie Young,
Laura Cameron
Pre-read material was made available to participants and each workshop consistently followed the same
agenda comprising of a discussion based presentation on the benefits and challenges of introducing new agile
based ways of working and a set of exercises. The pre-read material provided can be found in Appendix B. A
Facilitators Guide was also produced and this can be found in Appendix A. The agenda for each workshop is
shown in Table 2 - Agenda.
Table 2: Agenda
Introductions
Work Style Transformation Presentation
Exercise 1 – Job Role Matching
Exercise 2 – Solution Design Element Assessment
Exercise 3 – Personal Style Evaluation
Exercise 4 – Gain Assessment Exercise
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It should be noted that the workshops were very well attended and staff enthusiastically participated in the
exercises and discussions. Feedback has been very positive from participants. A list of the job roles that
attended each workshop is provided in Appendix C.
3.0 Workstyle Adoption Profiles
Following an in-depth discussion on agile working and detailed definitions of the various agile work styles –
home, flexible, mobile, fixed and on-line fixed – participants were asked to nominate which style best matched
their job role. The findings for Exercise 1 are provided in Table 3 – Work Style Matching Results.
Table 3: Work Style Matching Results
Workshop Date Fixed Work Style Flexible Works Style Mobile Work Style Home Work Style
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 2 8 1 0
Dunoon 28-Jul 0 8 1 0
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 2 14 0 1
Campbeltown 04-Aug 3 9 0 0
Oban 05-Aug 6 4 0 1
Helensburgh 06-Aug 1 8 1 0
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 0 15 0 0
14 (16%) 66 (78%) 3 (4%) 2 (2%)
Based on evidence provided by the Services the High Level Design Report concluded that 29% (474) of Council
staff could adopt one of the new agile work styles (Flexible, Mobile, Home). Extrapolating from the workshop
data would suggest a profile as shown in Table 4 – Work Style Profile.
Table 4: Work Style Profile
Total Target Population Flexible Works Style Mobile Work Style Home Work Style
100% 93% 4% 3%
474 441 20 13
However, it should be noted that representation at the workshops was heavily orientated towards the flexible
work style. The mobile work style is probably much understated. Similar studies with other Councils suggest a
profile of 70% flexible, 25% mobile and 5% home.
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The Council pilot has already identified a number of Mobile Workers resulting in less representation at the
workshops.
The job role matching exercise does reveal some differences between the workshops as shown in Figure 2 –
Workshop Works Style Matching Breakdown.
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Steve Gillies, BT Workstyle Transformation – September 2009
18%
0%
12%
25%
0%
55%
10%
73%
89%
82%
75%
100%
36%
80%
9%
11%
0%
0%
10%
6%
9%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
27-Jul
28-Jul
03-Aug
04-Aug
07-Aug
05-Aug
06-Aug
Lochgilphead
Dunoon
Lochgilphead
Campbeltown
Lochgilphead
Oban
Helensburgh
Fixed
Flexible
Mobile
Home
Figure 2: Workshop Work Style Matching Breakdown
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Steve Gillies, BT Workstyle Transformation – September 2009
4.0 Personal Preferences
At each workshop participants were asked to evaluate their personal preference towards agile working. The
overwhelming majority, nearly 100%, said that they felt they had the necessary skills to work remotely and
that they had a desire to work remotely ‘for some of the time’.
In addition a set of every day work activities were provided that are typical of the ‘remote’ worker. The
participants evaluated their work activities as shown in Figure 3 – Activity Results.
On average 40% of the activities were rated as ‘high or very high’ as a part of everyday work. This suggests that
many of the work activities of those who responded to this set of questions can be done remotely.
It should be noted that the activities included in this analysis are ones that are considered appropriate for
‘remote working’.
Figure 4: Activity Results
Figure 3: Activity Analysis
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Steve Gillies, BT Workstyle Transformation – September 2009
5.0 Gain Assessment
At each workshop participants were asked to estimate the percentage gain if they were to adopt one of the
agile work styles against face-to-face meetings, business travel, commute and administration. The total gain is
shown in Table 5 – Total Gain Assessment Results.
Note 1: The Total Gain Assessment excludes any gain from commute as this is generally perceived as an
employee benefit.1
Note 2: The Total Gain Assessment is based on agile working being able to impact 50% of Administration time
recorded from the DILO Survey. The DILO Survey concluded that 211 minutes per day were spent on tasks that
could be done by an individual without any support or assistance from a colleague. Examples of activities
included in this category are eMail, report writing, financial analysis, developing presentations, proof reading
and research. We have included 105.5 minutes per day in this analysis as the DILO Survey definition of
‘administration’ was ambiguous leading to a medium to low confidence level in the data gathered. For this
reason we have only included 50% of the total time spent on administration activities as gathered by the DILO
Survey.
Table 5: Total Gain Assessment Results
Workshop Date Total Gain Percentage Estimates
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 9.65%
Dunoon 28-Jul 12.04%
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 17.72%
Campbeltown 04-Aug 5.56%
Oban 05-Aug 3.32%
Helensburgh 06-Aug 3.67%
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 13.54%
All Workshop Average 10.01%
The total estimate of 10.01% is similar to but lower than the efficiency gains reported by many commercial
organizations who have invested in large-scale work style transformation and typically report a gain of
1 Several commercial organisations (e.g. Cisco) have reported gains from the reduction of employee commute time at 60% of the total
commute gain from reduced travel. Also, some commercial organisations have included a time reduction known as ‘decompression time’.
Studies have shown high stress levels from commuting and that it subsequently takes time for an employee to become productive on
arrival at the office – it can be argued that this decompression time can be recovered in part via agile working.
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between 10% and 20%. It is also similar to but lower than the efficiency gains planned by several Scottish and
UK Local Authorities who typically estimate efficiency gains of between 15% and 25%. The gains estimated are
further broken down into face-to-face meetings, business travel, commute and administration.
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Face-to-Face Meetings: A significant amount of time can be saved by substituting face-to-face meetings with
on-line web based meetings. There are three forms of on-line meeting to consider – audio only, web based
without video, and web based with video.
On-line meetings can often be used for information or knowledge exchange type meetings, especially those
with standard agendas and templates. It is more difficult, but growing in popularity, to also use on-line
meeting facilities for dialogue based meetings such as negotiations or team explorations. The nature of these
latter meetings, being less structured, makes them more difficult to replace the face-to-face element and
therefore they can require high quality, expensive video conferencing components.
Workshop attendees were asked to estimate what percentage of their face-to-face meetings could be replaced
by on-line meeting. The results are shown in Table 6 – Face-to-Face Meeting Gain Results.
Table 6: Face-to-Face Meeting Gain Results
Workshop Date Face-to-Face Gain Percentage Estimates
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 7.41%
Dunoon 28-Jul 6.56%
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 10.99%
Campbeltown 04-Aug 3.13%
Oban 05-Aug 1.53%
Helensburgh 06-Aug 1.01%
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 8.23%
All Workshop Average 6.00%
Business Travel: In addition to a reduction in travel time by substituting face-to-face meetings with on-line
meetings a reduction in business travel can be achieved simply by making the corporate network accessible
from any Council location.
We call this the ‘proximity advantage’ and each workshop participant was asked to estimate what percentage
reduction in travel time would be gained from it. The results are shown in Table 7 – Business Travel Gain
Results.
Table 7: Business Travel Gain Results
Workshop Date Business Travel Gain Percentage Estimates
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 0.19%
Dunoon 28-Jul 0.47%
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 0.52%
Campbeltown 04-Aug 0.20%
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Oban 05-Aug 0.19%
Helensburgh 06-Aug 0.39%
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 0.11%
All Workshop Average 0.30%
The gain estimated is low compared to other organisations at only 0.30% of a 7 hour working day, equivalent
to 1.26 minutes per day. This is owing to the geography the Council operates in. The long distances and travel
time between Council sites encourage staff to live local to their base location and to batch up meetings that
require travel. The net result is that the workshop participants have only estimated a small daily gain as they
are already efficient in this regard.
Commute: The ‘soft’ benefits of being able to work from home are very significant for many employees. In
addition a significant amount of time can be saved. The workshop participants estimated the reduction in
commute time as shown in Table 8 – Commute Gain Results.
Table 8: Commute Gain Results
Workshop Date Commute Gain Percentage Estimates
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 2.18%
Dunoon 28-Jul 3.43%
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 3.09%
Campbeltown 04-Aug 0.18%
Oban 05-Aug 0.94%
Helensburgh 06-Aug 1.62%
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 2.94%
All Workshop Average 2.09%
The estimate of 2.09% is equivalent to 8.76 minutes per day. There is a significant variation from person to
person, with some employees gaining considerable commute time.
As noted above in Note 1 of the Gain Assessment section we have not included any commute benefit in the
overall gain assessment calculation.
Administration: It is well recognized that some work activities can be better accomplished in a quiet,
uninterrupted environment. Employees, for example, will often work from home for activities (e.g. handling
email, writing reports) that can be completed more efficiently.
The amount of gain estimate by the workshop participants for these kinds of activities (labeled
‘Administration’ in the DILO Survey) is shown in Table 9: Administration Gain Results.
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Table 9: Administration Gain Results
Workshop Date Administration Gain Percentage Estimates
Lochgilphead 27-Jul 2.06%
Dunoon 28-Jul 5.02%
Lochgilphead 03-Aug 6.21%
Campbeltown 04-Aug 2.22%
Oban 05-Aug 1.60%
Helensburgh 06-Aug 2.26%
Lochgilphead 07-Aug 5.20%
All Workshop Average 3.71%
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6.0 Solution Design Assessment
At each workshop participants were asked to evaluate 35 elements of the solution design. These ranged from
technology options to education, training and office layouts. They were organized into 10 design areas as
shown in Table 10: Design Areas.
Table 10: Design Areas
Each element was assessed by workshop participants for
Importance, Efficiency and Satisfaction. The summary results
are shown in Table 11: Design Element Evaluations. Detailed
results are shown in Appendix X.
The assessments were conducted in small groups of 2 or 3
employees but scores were gathered from individuals.
The Furniture and Equipment (F&E) and the Systems Access
(SA) design areas were assessed by all workshop attendees
and the rest were split into groups.
Importance: in this evaluation participants were asked to rate
the design element for its level of relative importance to the
Council as an organization. In answering the question the
options were essential; important; of some value; of little
value; and unnecessary.
The top ten evaluated design elements for importance’ are
summarized in Table 11 – Importance Top Ten.
Table 11: Importance Top Ten
Design Element Summary Areas
F&E1, F&E2 Computer equipment and furniture (for permanent home bases employees)
SA1, SA3, SA4, SA5, F&E3,
F&E6
Secure network access to common systems such as email internet, intranet; and to specialized line of
business systems
PD2 Programme management arrangements, particularly the need to work across the Council and involve all
Services and all levels of management in the change process.
OSS1 Employee support through the transfer process and after they adopt and start to practice agile work
styles – support can take many forms including self service support via on-line systems.
Efficiency: in this evaluation participants were asked to assess the design element for how much it would
contribute to their work efficiency. They were asked to state if they agree with the statement “this design
element will improve my efficiency”. In answering the question the options were strongly agree; agree; neither
agrees nor disagrees; disagree; and strongly disagree.
Label Design Area
F&E Furniture & Equipment
A&I Accommodation & Infrastructure
SA Systems Access
OM Outcome Measures
BP Best Practice Support
H&S Health & Safety
PD Programme Delivery
OSS Operational Support Systems
E&T Education & Training
P&P People & Policy
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Table 12: Efficiency Top Ten
Design Element Summary Areas
SA1, SA3, SA4, F&E3, F&E6 Secure network access to common systems such as email internet, intranet; and to specialized line of
business systems
E&T1 Education, training and coaching on the use of tele-working technologies; and on practices, behaviours
and policies re agile working.
PD2 Programme management arrangements, particularly the need to work across the Council and involve all
Services and all levels of management in the change process.
F&E4, F&E5, A&I1 Computer equipment, furniture (for permanent home bases employees) and reconfigured office space
Satisfaction: similarly participants were asked to evaluate how much the design element would contribute to
their work satisfaction. They were asked to state if they agree with the statement “this design element will
improve my work satisfaction”. In answering the question the options were strongly agree; agree; neither
agrees nor disagrees; disagree; and strongly disagree.
The results of the solution design assessment clearly indicate that equipment, infrastructure, governance and
training are all important aspects of making a success of work style transformation.
Table 13: Satisfaction Top Ten
Design Element Summary Areas
SA1, SA7, SA8, F&E3 Secure network access to common systems such as email internet, intranet; and to specialized line of
business systems
E&T1 Education, training and coaching on the use of tele-working technologies; and on practices, behaviours
and policies re agile working.
OSS1 Employee support through the transfer process and after they adopt and start to practice agile work
styles – support can take many forms including self service support via on-line systems.
F&E2, F&E4, F&E5, F&E6 Computer equipment, furniture (for permanent home bases employees) and reconfigured office space
There are several common elements between importance, efficiency and satisfaction as shown in Figure 4 –
Top Ten Summary.
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Figure 5: Top Ten Summary
The detailed responses to the solution design elements are provided in Appendix A. The top ten summary
clearly indicates that a holistic and comprehensive approach is required to be successful with a work style
transformation programme.
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7.0 Blockers Assessment
Workshop participants were asked to list the ‘blockers’ they perceive to adopting agile work styles. These are
summarized in Figure 6 below.
Sutability of Technology/IT Support
Colleague Interaction & Communications
Paper Files Needed
Office Facilities, Layout, Storage Space
Network, Systems or Information Access
Attitude of Management & Colleagues
Visibility & Performance Measurement Concerns
Personal Work Style Preferences
Domestic Constraints
Security/Confidentiality
Figure 6: Blockers Assessment
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8.0 Conclusions & Summary
From the level of interest and enthusiastic debate at the Solution Design Workshops it is clear that many
employees view agile working as a potential and significant benefit to them.
The overwhelming majority rates themselves as being capable of working more in an agile fashion and stated a
desire to ‘for some of the time’.
It is clear from the activity analysis that a significant amount of day to day work can be done remotely from
any location providing they have access to the council network, systems and data records.
Many employees feel there is a cultural challenge and that both executive level and middle management need
to take a leadership role to successfully implement agile working Council wide. This is evidenced in the ‘top ten
analyses where education, training, coaching, programme management and governance were all cited as
important. They also feel that ICT equipment and services are important and vital to benefit realization.
The 85 workshop attendees provide the Council with confidence that they are heading in the right direction
and that the proposed agile working programme can be successful if these issues are addressed.
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Appendix A – Design Elements
Each activity was scored according to the rules shown in Table 14. All scores were multiplies by 100
to achieve data separation.
It should be noted that the minimum score for each solution design element is zero and the
maximum score possible is 500.
Table 14: Scoring Rules
Criteria2 Essential Important Of Some
Value
Of Little Value Unnecessary
Score 5 4 3 2 1
Criteria3 Strongly
Agree
Agree Neither Agree
nor Disagree
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Score 5 4 3 2 1
Table 15: Design Element Evaluations
Design
Element Importance Efficiency Satisfaction Short Description
F&E2 436 381 400 Home Workers require a desktop computer, printer, flat screen
monitor, keyboard and mouse as standard.
F&E3 432 392 397 A broadband service is required at the homes of Home Workers,
Flexible Workers and Mobile Workers.
SA1 431 411 390 Agile Workers require secure access to the corporate network
and to their critical Service Department systems from any
location.
F&E5 406 387 384 Mobile Workers require a Laptop PC and a printer located at
their home location.
F&E4 406 393 381 Flexible Workers require a Laptop PC and a printer located at
their home location.
SA8 398 384 378 Agile Workers will have access to an online support application
providing a range of support services and content.
2 Used to assess the importance to of the solution design element to the Council
3 Used to assess the contribution the solution design element can make to employee efficiency and job satisfaction
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F&E6 429 391 376 All Agile Workers will require on-line data back facilities
E&T1 412 396 376 Agile Workers require education, training and knowledge
exchange services. Examples that may be included in the
programme are online line training modules covering the main
aspects of home enabled working (accessed via the Work Style
Support Portal) including key ordering, authorisation and audit
procedures; class room based adoption course addressing the
features of the flexible working support environment, useful
contacts, suggested ways of working, and advice on working
practices and special tools (e.g. virtual team meeting software);
and advice on how to set up informal on-line knowledge sharing
and best practice exchange communities.
SA7 394 383 375 On line collaborative working tools will be made available to all
Agile Workers and to Online fixed Workers. These tools are used
to work with colleagues and can substitute a significant number
of face to face meetings.
OSS1 410 382 373 Agile Workers will have access to an on-line support services
tailored to their needs.
SA4 430 398 373 All Agile Workers will have on-line access to email, intranet, an
electronic document and records management system (EDRMS),
shared files and the internet.
SA3 422 393 370 Council sites will have Local Area Networks installed and
configured for use by all Agile Workers. This allows Agile Workers
to connect to the corporate network and systems from any
location with access points.
SA2 399 381 368 Council sites, located in areas of frequent ‘footfall’, will have a
wireless network installed allowing Agile Workers with the right
equipment (e.g. a laptop computer) to access the corporate
network and systems providing they have the right
authorisations.
OSS2 364 350 366 Agile Workers require access to an on-line community to share
ideas, knowledge and approaches with other Agile Workers.
SA5 420 381 362 A selection of key corporate applications will be made available
to all Agile Workers provided they have the right access
authorities. For example, Social Workers will have access to their
key social work applications.
F&E1 431 386 355 Home Workers will require a selection of Council provided
furniture including a desk, chair, and computer pedestal for use
at home. The furniture funded by the Council subject to business
case, affordability and approvals. The Council will retain
ownership of provided furniture. Furniture to be delivered
directly to the employee’s home address. Employees require the
ability to purchase additional furniture at their costs. In this case
the supplier will invoice the employee directly and be responsible
for the collection of any debt or for resolving issues.
F&E7 361 353 353 Agile Workers will require the ability to order stationery, forms
and consumables (e.g. printer cartridges) via an on-line self
service application. Home Workers will be able to have these
items delivered to their home office location.
A&I1 401 392 352 Agile Workers require Council sites equipped with flexi-centres
where all Agile Workers can work and access systems and data.
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OSS3 381 382 350 All new applicants wishing to become Agile Workers be provided
with access to an on-line support application that will provide a
variety of support services for new applicants including sources
of information and guidance for individuals considering a change
to their work style; sources of information and guidance to
explore the implications and impact of this new way of working
and to see what support packages are available; and advice and
guidance that support the application and setup processes.
OM1 392 366 349 Agile Workers will be expected to work with their line and/or
people manager to implement outcome based measures for their
job role where possible.
SA6 366 354 347 A list of optional computer applications (e.g. Visio) will be made
available to all Agile Workers at an additional charge to the
appropriate service department. The list will be agreed between
the Services and the Work Force Deployment Programme.
PD1 396 373 347 A central programme delivery team will be set-up to develop and
execute implementation and operational plans required to
support the Work Force deployment Programme – the team
would be formed following approval of their full business case by
full Council in Nov 2009.
P&P1 389 358 347 All employees may apply to adopt one of the agile work styles -
an authorisation process and criteria will be published. A process
and set of criteria will be defined for acceptance. Explanations
will be provided if an application is rejected.
PD3 379 382 345 The Programme Team will regularly produce progress reports for
all stakeholders including employees, Council managers and
Councillors.
P&P2 383 348 341 A notice period will be required for employees who want to exit
the programme.
PD2 407 387 339 The central programme management team will work in
cooperation with Services and other Council entities to ensure
the smooth development, adoption and operations of the work
style environment.
BP1 415 356 332 Agile Workers will have access to guidelines covering subjects
such as the use of equipment, flexible working practices,
implementing security policies, and virtual community
development and participation.
E&T2 321 331 329 Agile Workers will be provided with a regular news letter with
editorials, articles, special features and news of interest to the
community.
H&S1 398 331 325 Agile Workers who are provided home based Council furniture or
equipment will be required to comply with the Councils health
and safety policies and procedures and in accordance with
relevant UK and European legislation.
A&I3 394 368 324 Existing desk space will be reconfigured so that it supports agility.
This means that there will be workstations designated as ‘flexi-
desks’ that can be used by all Agile Workers.
A&I2 370 359 323 It is envisaged that each flexi-centre will consist of a mix of
spaces – including individual work stations, team zones and quiet
areas, but the mix and actual amount will depend on demand
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and space available.
P&P4 393 355 322 Guidelines and policy on the use of home based broadband will
be published and adhered to by all employees.
OSS4 383 353 321 All managers of Agile Workers will have access to an online
supports application that will provide a variety of support
services specifically for managers.
A&I4 380 355 312 All computers supplied to Agile Workers will be ‘locked down’ to
ensure security, performance and software licence legal
compliance. The Council require that all computer provided to
Agile Workers will be able to be remotely diagnosed, repaired
and updated. In addition users will be able to download the latest
releases or versions of client side applications (e.g. Microsoft
personal productivity tools) provided by the Council.
P&P3 341 300 286 Any equipment or furniture supplied is owned by the Council, if
an employee leaves the Council all equipment and furniture must
be returned.
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Appendix B – Workshop Pre-Read Material
Introduction
Argyll & Bute Council (the Council) is conducting a major study into modern, flexible working practices. The
aim of the study is to determine the potential and feasibility of adopting agile working practices across the
Council.
For the study to be successful it needs to be highly inclusive and involve as many staff as possible. For this
reason we are providing a series of Workstyle Solution Design Workshops. This paper is the workshop briefing
guide.
The workshops have three specific aims. First we want to assess job roles against four agile work styles – Fixed,
Flexible, Mobile and Home – and determine the potential for adopting these new work styles across the
Council. Secondly we want to identify the benefits and advantages of adopting new agile work styles to both
staff and the Council. And, thirdly, we want to identify any issues or concerns that staff may have if the Council
was to provide agile work styles where it is appropriate to do so across its operations.
There is no need to prepare for the workshop but we have attached three papers that are useful background
reading. ‘Appendix A - Workstyle Archetypes’ is a document describing the four work styles we will focus on in
the workshop. ‘Appendix B - Workstyle Transformation in the Scottish Public Sector’ is a short paper describing
the benefits associated with agile working to the public sector. It also provides a brief description of the new
work styles being considered as part of the study. ‘Appendix C - Solution Elements’ is a list of the design areas
to be discussed at the workshop.
Many thanks for your planned participation. If you have any questions about the workshop please contact
Laura Cameron on 01546 604325 or [email protected].
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Fixed Worker Archetype
Fraser is a Fixed Worker. He is required to be at his desk and
available from 9am to 5pm. He continually needs to interact
with colleagues and his daily tasks tend to be reactive. For
example, citizens may contact him at any time and he needs
to be able to react and prioritize his tasks on an hour by hour
basis.
The requests he receives are unpredictable and therefore it is
difficult to plan or schedule appointments.
Fraser likes working in a fast, busy environment and feels a
sense of satisfaction at helping citizens to solve problems. He
has a Desk Top PC and a work-station specifically allocated to him.
Fraser is a natural networker and enjoys the face to face interaction with colleagues on a day to day basis. He
recognizes that he is easily distracted and needs the constant ‘buzz’ of the office environment to keep him
focused. Also Fraser sometimes works with difficult stressful client situations and having the support of his
colleagues close-by can help him cope through difficult periods.
He requires immediate access to corporate systems to perform his duties and needs a fixed telephone which
has excellent sound quality. His ability to respond quickly depends on having access to all of his equipment
including ‘emergency’ numbers that he has posted in a prominent position on his workstation. Fraser spends
over 90% of his time in the office at his desk.
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Flexible Worker Archetype
Fiona is a Flexible Worker. She is a middle manager who
spends much of her time researching data, meeting with
colleagues in a variety of locations, problem solving, handling
complex citizen issues and coming up with new ideas.
She also has report writing duties and meets regularly with
senior management, elected members and community
representatives.
Before she became a Flexible Worker one of her biggest
frustrations was that she had to go back to the office at the
end of each day to report on her progress and to pick up
papers for the following day.
Fiona has a Laptop Computer and can access her data, email and key systems from anywhere that has network
access. She often drops into an area office, sometimes at a library, and accesses her systems to arrange
meetings and to research her databases. She also has a mobile smart phone that can be used to receive and
send emails, access the internet and text messaging.
She needs access to email, internet and document databases from as many places as possible and there are a
few corporate systems that she occasionally needs access to from Council offices. Typically she is in Council
offices 2 to 3 days per week and the rest of the time she is ‘on the move’ or at home working.
She has a Council office assigned as her home base and uses the shared workstation space and shared desks.
She can book a desk or private meeting rooms if she needs to. Her assigned office also acts as a ‘virtual postal
address’ and she can have mail forwarded to her home address if required.
She is a regular user of tele-conferencing facilities and about four times a week chairs a tele-meeting that
other flexible and fixed workers participate in. Recently she has also started using the new application sharing
facility where she can update planning spreadsheets from her Laptop PC and her colleagues can see and
comment on the changes instantaneously no matter where they are based. Since becoming a flexible worker
her travelling time has reduced significantly and her overall productivity is higher.
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Mobile Worker Archetype
Mike is a Mobile Worker. He is an inspector and supervisor
often travelling, working in the field, or providing advice at
commercial premises throughout the Council area.
In the past he used to have to go to Council offices to meet
his team every morning and also to pick up job schedules,
reports and instructions. Now he is able to spend less than
50% of his time in offices and has therefore been able to
increase his face to face time with citizens and his team.
He requires access to some special corporate systems,
particularly works scheduling and records management
applications. He also needs access to email and the internet whilst he is in the field.
Mike is a very ‘hands on’ supervisor and therefore only occasionally uses tele-conferencing facilities preferring
to conduct face to face sessions with his team. In fact, he was quite uncomfortable with tele-conferencing to
start with but thanks to the training provided he now uses it with ease when it helps him to do his job.
Whilst most of Mike’s work is predictable and can be planned in advance he occasionally has to drop
everything and attend ‘emergency’ situations when he and his team need to work very dynamically and closely
together. He finds the use of a Personal Digital Assistant and Mobile Phone invaluable in these circumstances
so has opted for these rather than a Laptop PC. If he needs to do report writing he will typically use one of the
Desk Top PC’s available in the new drop in centres.
Mike, by his own self admission, was very skeptical about the benefits of mobile working but has become a bit
of a convert over time. He puts this down to the practical nature of the solution and the ability for staff to opt
in and self select, to some extent, their preferred tool set. He does have a building assigned as his official base
and this is where his post gets delivered. However, he rarely goes there and is alerted if there is any mail to
collect. Mike reckons his productivity has increased significantly, not just from reduced travelling time but also
from better access to data and systems.
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Home Worker Archetype
Helen is a Home Worker. She is able to do the majority of her
work from home and spends 9 days out of 10 working from
home. She is a ‘case worker’ and her duties include gathering
information, checking facts, gaining authorizations, and
making judgments on citizen applications.
Citizens depend on the judgments she makes and she takes
her duty very seriously, exploring every angle on an
individual case before coming to a conclusion. Because of this
the amount of time to complete a case can vary wildly:
anything from 10 minutes to half a day of effort spread over
a lapsed time from 1 day to 20 days. Balancing all this and
meeting deadlines is quite a task, best done with full concentration and no interruptions.
In the past she was often distracted from the task at hand through interruptions from colleagues as she was
seen as an expert in one specialist area. This was frustrating as she didn’t seem to gain any recognition for the
contribution she was making. In fact, her daily output was less than average because of these interruptions.
Now she organizes a monthly tele-conference and cascades her specialist knowledge to other colleagues.
Recently she has been recognized as having helped new starts who are also home workers settle into their job.
This has given her the idea of setting up a Home Worker Community within the Council to share ideas,
knowledge, working practices and issues.
Her job is repetitive and her output can be measured. Whilst it is important to do things in a timely fashion she
can decide the priority of work and it doesn’t usually matter if she works flexibly at times more suitable to her
domestic situation.
She has a small office space at home, but it has been surveyed by the Council as fit for purpose and someone
visits regularly to conduct electrical equipment safety checks. She has a Desk Top PC, low carbon footprint
monitor, desk, chair, fixed telephone and printer all supplied by the Council.
She was always keen to work from home but was concerned about the psychological impact of feeling isolated
from the working community. To address this she visits her local office once every two weeks to network with
colleagues. Helen finds it hard now to imagine doing her job in the old way and has turned down approaches
from other companies who weren’t able to offer the same kind of working environment
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Workstyle Transformation in the Scottish Public Sector
Introduction
In common with Governments throughout the World the Scottish Public Sector faces its most challenging
period for decades. Increasing costs, changing demographics, funding restrictions and a poor economic
outlook are forcing Government to look for new ways of working. The pressures are evenly distributed across
all of the public sector including health, police and local authority.
Agile Working is proving to be an effective way of tackling these issues. It reduces travelling costs, increases
efficiencies and can increase employee satisfaction and skills. In addition work style transformation is seen as
an effective tool to reduce carbon emissions and to improve employee work life balance.
Ultimately it is the citizens that benefit as agencies develop their capability and capacity through the adoption
of agile working practices.
Argyll & Bute Council are investigating the potential for Agile Working and can possibly gain more than most
because of its remote geography. This paper is provided as a briefing for Argyll & Bute employees interested in
Agile Working and participating in the Workforce Deployment Programme.
What do we mean by Agile Working?
Today most Council employees work at the same location and have a permanent desk allocated to them. For
many employees this is unnecessary as they often visit other locations, for example Council offices, client’s
homes, or other premises on a regular basis. This means that desks are often used for only 50% to 60% of the
working day.
Also, when employees visit other locations they often can’t gain access to the corporate network, systems,
shared files or print facilities. This can cause unnecessary travel and delay in responding to requests.
Agile Working addresses these issues by implementing new technologies that can be accessed from a wide
variety of locations including employee’s homes where it is appropriate to do so. It also provides new tools
such as audio and web conferencing that help to reduce travel. Whilst these will never replace all face to face
meetings many meetings can be performed on-line and some are actually better conducted on-line.
It isn’t only the technology that needs to be changed to enable agile working – office accommodation also
needs to be reconfigured. Today almost all Council employees have a desk. Agile Workers will share desks
located at ‘drop-in’ centres. These will be bookable modern workstations designed to support Agile Workers
and the technology they use.
There are four types of Agile Worker to consider – Fixed, Flexible, Mobile and Home. These are explained
further.
A Fixed Worker has a permanently allocated work station at a given location. Typically they work in the same
place most days and have a fixed desktop computer and dedicated telephone line. Whilst their work station is
permanently allocated to them visitors can use it if it is available but their desk is not bookable and is expected
to be returned to the Fixed Worker on request.
Fixed Workers desk are usually in a team zone, a collection of workstations organized around a team or service
area. Fixed Workers are included within the scope of the ‘agility definitions’ as they are often provided with
the same on-line tools, for example web conferencing tools, as agile workers.
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A Flexible Worker can work at any Council location that provides shareable work stations. Typically they have
a laptop computer and a mobile telephone. They can also ‘log on’ to a desktop telephone and have their
incoming calls routed to them. A Flexible Worker does not have a permanently allocated desk – they use desks
in drop-in centres or book shareable desks in advance. Desks cannot be booked for more than a few days at a
time. Flexible Workers can work at a variety of Council locations, from home, client premises or ‘on the move’
from locations that provide wireless connections to the Internet.
A Mobile Worker is similar to a Flexible Worker but they spend a significant amount of their week ‘in the field’
or ‘on the move’. They may have a laptop computer, specialized device or a PDA/Smartphone type of device.
They can work at any Council location that provides shareable work stations. They can also ‘log on’ to a
desktop telephone and have their incoming calls routed to them. A Mobile Worker does not have a
permanently allocated desk – they use desks in drop-in centres or book shareable desks in advance. Desks
cannot be booked for more than 1 day at a time. Mobile Workers can work at a variety of Council locations,
from home, client premises or ‘on the move’ from locations that provide wireless connections to the Internet.
A Home Worker is able to work permanently from home but may choose to work occasionally from a Council
office. Home Workers typically have a desktop computer and a desktop telephone. They work remotely from
their colleagues and managers. Home Workers do not have workstation in Council premises but can use a
drop-in centre desk or book a shareable desk.
What are the Benefits of Agile Working?
There are several anticipated benefits and advantages for the Council and its employees leading to improved
citizen services and new ways of working.
Flexible work styles drive efficiency - Agile working increases our efficiency. It frees up unproductive time such
as travelling to meetings. It makes systems, knowledge and data available from any location making it easier
and quicker to respond to requests for information from colleagues.
Office space reduction - Most organisations can significantly reduce their requirement for office space through
the adoption of flexible working practices. It is common for modern office space to be designed with enough
capacity to accommodate only 60% of the workforce associated with the building. Agile working can release
significant office space allowing authorities the possibility of rationalizing properties and reducing their overall
property costs.
Reduced absenteeism - Many organisations in both the public and commercial sectors have found that agile
working practices reduce absenteeism. For example BT has over 70,000 flexible workers and 13,000 permanent
home workers in the UK. They have discovered that home working staff experience improved well being and
reduced absenteeism.
An empowered workforce - Agile working can be daunting for many individuals, especially those who may be
remote from colleagues for more than a few days. However, it also provides a feeling of self sufficiency and
empowerment if it is combined with a move from ‘input performance measures’ to ‘outcome performance
measures’. Middle managers can initially feel uncomfortable with the idea of not seeing their employees every
day. Empowerment to get the job done goes hand in hand with the adoption of new work styles if combined
with the implementation of outcome based measures at the team and individual level where possible. Many
organisations have reported increased staff satisfaction with their job resulting from an increase in agile work
styles.
Operational Resilience - Flexible working on a large scale introduces many opportunities for working in a
different way and delivering operational benefits. For example, one Council has a well developed continuous
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improvement programme that is able to take new ideas generated from the adoption of flexible working
practices and explore process reengineering opportunities. Winter snow storms can mean that Council staff is
stranded unable to get to work easily. The ability to work from home or from any location (e.g. library based
drop in centres) means that the Council can quickly adapt to unusual situations more effectively building upon
current arrangements the Council has in place to cope with adverse conditions.
Workforce Sustainability - Flexible work arrangements will help to sustain the Scottish Public Sector
Workforce. There is strong evidence from European wide surveys that flexible working arrangements are
attractive to potential employees. It can be an effective tool for recruitment and retention especially for
employees with special needs such as home care arrangements. Also, it can be used as a way of providing
highly flexible working hours to combat, for example, peaks in contact centre work load. By providing home
based call centre technology peak workloads can be handled by home based staff. All of these factors can be
addressed by the provision of agile working arrangements leading to a more engaged and sustainable
workforce.
Summary
Many trends that rely on a mix of elements take a while to mature. New flexible work styles started over 10
years ago with tele-commuting. The Scottish Public Sector has explored flexible working but moving beyond
the pilot stage has proved challenging. The method, tools and technologies are now well developed.
Attitudes to work are changing. Employees seek more flexible arrangements and demand the best tools for the
job. They also want to feel empowered to get the job done. New management approaches based on outcomes
are required that build upon the effective management approaches currently practiced.
The way we work is changing dramatically. The Scottish Public Sector has an opportunity to re-invent the way
the public sector works. The methods, tools and technologies have all reached a stage of maturity where large
scale adoption is a realistic option. The Scottish Public Sector can now look forward to a new period where
agile working becomes more common practice.
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Appendix C - Solution Elements
Furniture & Equipment
Furniture & Equipment Supply
F&E1 § Type of furniture for Home Workers
§ Type of equipment for Home Workers
§ Provision, supply and ownership of equipment and furniture
§ Additional furniture arrangements
F&E2 § Type of technology for Home Workers (e.g. computers, printers)
F&E3 § Network arrangements for Home Workers, Flexible Workers and Mobile Workers.
§ Security considerations
§ Private use considerations
F&E4 § Type of technology for Flexible Workers (e.g. computer, printers)
F&E5 § Type of technology for Mobile Workers
§ Special requirements
§ Cost considerations
§ Approval processes
F&E6 § Data and record back up
§ Records and document storage
F&E7 § Stationery, forms and consumables
§ Delivery options
§ Ordering and delivery arrangements (e.g. on-line self service ordering
F&E8 § Security considerations
§ Network access
§ Systems and applications access
Accommodation & Infrastructure
Office Accommodation & Infrastructure Changes
OA&I1 § Wireless connection
§ Criteria for site selection
OA&I2 § Local networks within sites
OA&I3 § Drop-in centres (e.g. how many, locations, furniture options)
§ Team zones
§ People to desk ratios
OA&I4 § Workstations
§ Power points
§ Network access points
§ Workstation options
§ Concierge services
§ Workstation booking policies
OA&I5 § Impact on existing desks
OA&I6 § Computer authorization considerations
§ Computer diagnostic, repair and update considerations
§ Software supply
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Systems Access
Systems Access (Networks, Data Stores, Document Stores, Tools, Applications)
SA1 § Document and records access.
§ Intranet
§ Internet
§ Corporate Applications
SA2 § Corporate applications considerations
SA3 § Personal computer applications (e..g. Microsoft Office)
§ Standards
§ Costs
§ Funding arrangements
SA4 § On line team working tools
§ Instant messaging
§ Social networking tools
§ Audio conferencing tools
§ Web conferencing tools
§ Live meetings (e.g. applications and white board sharing)
SA5 § Online work style support tools
Outcome Measures
Outcome Measurements
OM1 § Performance measurement considerations
Best Practice Support
Best Practice Support
BP1 § Support considerations (e.g. equipment use, software guides, issue resolution)
§ Management support
§ Specialist support
§ Out of hours support
§ Peer to peer support
§ Self help
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Health & Safety
Health & Safety
H&S1 § Health & Safety considerations (e.g. electrical safety, ergonomics, temperature, space)
H&S2 § Health and Safety Procedures.
Programme Delivery
Health & Safety
PD1 § Remit and make up of delivery management
§ Responsibilities
§ Resources required
§ Delivery arrangements and measurements
§ Project management
§ Benefits realization
PD2 § Service department alignment
§ Programme alignment
PD3 § Reporting
§ Communications
§ Stakeholder management
Operational Support
Operational Support Services
OSS1 § On-line self service support
§ Workstyle selection guidance
§ Equipment and consumables order tracking
§ Facilities booking
§ Templates (e.g. Health & Safety Checks, Agile Working Agreements)
§ Agile Working Coordinator
OSS2 § On-line community support
§ FAQ’s
§ Best Practice Library
§ Case Studies
OSS4 § Manager support considerations
§ Manager training and coaching
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Education & Training
Education & Training Support
E&TS1 § Training needs
§ On-line training
§ Classroom training
§ Coaching
§ Advisory services
E&TS2 § Communications
§ Newsletters
§ Intranet Pages
§ Case Studies
§ Stories
People & Policy
People & Policy
PP1 § Authorization processes and criteria
PP2 § Exit notice and policy
PP3 § Equipment and furniture ownership
§ Leaving policies
PP4 § Home based broadband usage policies
PP5 § Meeting attendance policies
PP6 § Funding policies (e.g. utilities, own use broadband service)
PP7 § Flexi-time policies
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Appendix C – Job Roles, Characteristics & Blockers
Table 16: Lochgilphead 27th July 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Policy
Development
Manager
Research Analysis, Policy
Development, Attending Meetings,
Managing Staff
Opportunity for face to face discussion
with colleagues, Technology
Flexible
Performance
Manager
Mainly Computer Based, Outcome
Focused, Mostly Online Work
Closely Linked To Colleagues Output,
Managing Others Closely, Collaboration
At The Drop Of A Hat
Flexible
Housing Benefits
Payment Officer
More Work Done, Less Stress, Own
Working Hours
Flexible
Environmental
Protection Officer
Home Near Office, Use Of Paper For
Guidance, No Travel, External Visits
Tend To Be Remote
Fixed
IT Engineer
Can Rotate Call Duty, Most Work Is
Done Via Phone, Mainly Project Work,
High Availability Of Systems Remotely
Sometimes Urgent Attention Is
Needed, Storage Of PC's
Flexible
Senior Clerical
Officer
Monitoring Stock Supplies, Receiving
Delivery Goods, Mainly Project Work,
Could Do Order Processing From
Home
Workload Unpredictable, Need To Be
There When Goods Arrive, Need
Signatures & Original Documentation
Fixed
Trainee Technician On Construction Sites, Potentially A
Lot Of Travel, Manager Is Remote,
Mainly Phone Calls, More Than 1 Hour
Commute
Still In Training, Need To Work With
Others, Enjoy Social Interaction In
Office, Don't Stay In Own Home
Mobile
Adult Education
Development
Worker
A Lot Of eMail Work, Part Time,
Variable Work Load, Meetings Can Be
Planned, Limited Team Input
Too Difficult To Be Outcome Based,
Clients Use Office, Team Work Would
Diminish, Work Satisfaction Comes
From Social Contact At Office,
Flexible
Transport
Planning
Technician
Report Writing - Need To Focus, Lots
of eMail and Phone Work, Work Can
Be Planned In Advance
Learning From Colleagues, Talks
Around Maps & Plans, Need To
Reference Files Regularly
Flexible
Public Transport
Assistant
Work Received Electronically, Lots of
eMail and Phone Work, Work Can Be
Planned In Advance
Contractors Not On eMail, Need Access
To Documents, Contract Files Need To
Be Online
Flexible
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Assistant
Operations Waste
Management
Travel 1 or 2 Days Per Week, Need
Peace To Write Reports, Lots of eMail
Work Life Separation, Colleague
Dialogue Needed, Council Systems,
Files etc,.
Flexible
Table 17: Dunoon 28th July 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Assistant Property
Officer
Site Visits, Phone & eMail, Problem
Solving, Solution Analysis
Culture, Trust, IT Systems, Access To
Systems Support Information, Control
Culture, Understanding Of Key Outputs
Flexible
IT Manager
Travel, Planned Meetings, Lots of
eMail, Design & Planning Role,
Measurable Staff Supervision
Network Coverage, Network Speed,
Data Transfer In Remote Areas
Flexible
Property Officer
Site Visits, Site Audits, Full
Geographical Area, Information
Gathering, Updating Records
Restricted Access To Databases,
Restricted Access To Records and
Information, Lack Of Geographical IT
Connections, Two Council Networks -
Education & Corporate
Mobile
Electrical
Technical Officer
Design of Electrical Installations,
Production Of AutoCAD Drawings, Site
Meetings & Visits, Contractor
discussions, phone and email
Large Amounts Of Technical Literature
Required, Specialist (AutoCAD) Desk &
Workplace Requirements, Access to
Council Databases & Networks
Flexible
Health & Safety
Manager
Site Visits, Communication With
Colleagues
Culture, Output Measurements Flexible
Architectural
Technician
Regular Site Visits, Design Work Using
CAD SW, Lots Of Administration Tasks,
Liaison With Clients (e.g. Schools),
Liaison With Other Specialists
Lack Of Access to Experienced
Members of Staff, Access To Files and
Drawings, Other Staff Attitudes &
Beliefs
Flexible
Finance Officer
Regular Meetings At Other Sites, Daily
Use OF IT Packages, Not Client Facing,
Autonomy Over Work, Travel &
Commute High, Know Of Meetings In
Advance, Most Of Work Computer
Based, Not Front Line Service
Line Management, Other Employees,
Personal Motivation At Home,
Contactable, Line Management
Responsibilities, Loss Of Team
Communications, Fear Of Losing Team
Spirit, Need To be Available Attitudes
Flexible
Transport
Planning
Technician
Report Writing - Need To Focus, Lots
of eMail and Phone Work, Work Can
Be Planned In Advance
Learning From Colleagues, Talks
Around Maps & Plans, Need To
Reference Files Regularly
Flexible
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Table 18: Lochgilphead 3rd August 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Service Desk
Operator
Data Entry - Phone Calls & eMail,
Video Conferencing Booking,
Communicating with Colleagues
Technology, Applications Access Flexible
Data Systems
Supervisor
Database management, Report
Writing, User Support, Research, User
Training
Management Meetings, Training Users Home
Risk
Management
Proof Reading, Document Editing,
eMail, Minute Taking, Writing,
Training, Data Input, Information
Gathering
No access to networks, office cover, no
face to face contact
Flexible
Litigation
Assistant
Research, Reading Legislation, Report
Drafting, Legal Research
Office Presence Required, IT Issues,
Support to Solicitors
Fixed
Rent Roll
Administrator
IT Maintenance, Generating Invoices,
Paying & Updating, Data Input, eMail
Space, IT Set Up Flexible
Services Officer
Systems
Software Maintenance, Software
Training, Report Writing, Field
Training, Field Work
IT Hardware, No Space at Home, Bad
GPRS, Social Interaction
Flexible
Community
Learning and
Regeneration
Worker
Field Visits, Meeting Clients, eMail,
Research/Reading, Thinking, Teaching
Training Young People, Field Visits,
Noisy Office – Constant Interruptions
Constraints for face to face meetings,
Inadequate IT
Flexible
Road Space
Manager
Management of Staff, Designing
Systems and Process, Compliance
Duties, Liaison with External
Organisations, Work in Various Offices
Limited resources, Paper Files Access,
Trust
Flexible
HR and
Performance
Manager
Planning, Thinking Improvements,
Service Delivery, Report Writing,
Advice to Managers, Face to Face
Meetings,
Visibility & access to managers and
staff, Immediacy of Response, Access
to Employee Records, Technology,
Slow Broadband
Flexible
Senior Audit
Assistant
Planning Audit Work, Meeting with
Auditees, Field Work, Reporting
Traveling, Unavailability of Auditees,
Meeting Rooms, Network Access,
Paper Files
Flexible
Learning and
development
assistant
Research, Materials Development,
Organizing Events, Training Delivery,
Research
Departmental communications, Access
to eMail & Systems, Motivation,
Personal Development Issues,
Flexible
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Technology
Accounting
Assistant
Accounting, Auditing, Reference
Checking, Evaluations, Telephone
Calls, eMail, Proposal Writing,
Accounting, Auditing
Paper Files, Technology, Client Contact Fixed
Finance Office
Budget Preparation, Accounting, Copy
Writing, Client Files, Issuing Contracts,
Checking Outputs
Technology, Paper Files, Client Contact Flexible
Telecare
Coordinator
eMail, Planning, Accounting,
Programme Review, Scheduling,
Planning, Project Management
Access to Systems, Access to Phone &
Flexible
Trainee
Accountant
Field Work, Report Writing,
Information Gathering, eMail, Site
Visits
Lack of Space, Technology Flexible
Policy Assistant
Proof Reading, Document Editing,
Research, Team Support, eMail.
IT Setup, Designated Work Space,
Meeting Managers & Councilors
Flexible
Performance &
Development
Manager
Staff in Different Locations, eMail Lack of Space, Technology Flexible
Table 19: Campbeltown 4th August 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Fraud Officer
Spreadsheets, Procurator Fiscal Cases,
Data Analysis, Management Checks,
Prepare Statistics
Paper Files, Interviews Flexible
Accounting
Assistant
Spreadsheets, Data Analysis,
Government Legislation Review, Data
Input
Paper Files, Access to Systems, Space at
Home
Flexible
Payroll
Supervisor
Typing, Checking, Monitoring Records,
Staff Supervision
Fixed
Senior Payroll
Assistant
Ongoing Training, Checking, Records
Maintenance, eMail
Flexible
Creditors
Supervisor
Dealing with Departments, Public
Facing, Monitoring Performance, Link
to Management
Staff Supervision, Systems Access,
Paper Files
Fixed
Trainee Purchase Word Processing, eMail, Report Paper Files Flexible
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Officer Updating, Word Processing
Senior Clerical
Assistant,
Creditors
Word Processing, eMail,
Spreadsheets, Report Updating
Paper Files Fixed
Finance Officer Word Processing, Research, eMail Colleague Interaction Flexible
Transport
Planning
Technician
Supervision, Spreadsheets, eMail,
Accounting, Legal Research
Receipts of Data, Receipts of Cheques
from Public
Flexible
Best Value and
Accounting
Supervisor
Accounting, Budgeting, Programme
Review, Scheduling, Planning, Word
Processing
Departmental & Management Policy,
Management & Team
Communications, Supervision of Team
Flexible
Systems
Administrator
Program Review, Software
Maintenance, Scheduling, Planning,
Word Processing
Hands on Servers Daily, Daily Back Ups Fixed
Council Tax
Supervisor
Legal Research, Proof Reading,
Scheduling, Planning, Word Processing
Flexible
Benefits Officer Proof Reading, Document Editing,
Legal Research, Word Processing,
Scheduling, Planning
Flexible
Table 20: Lochgilphead 7th August 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Networking &
Environment
Manager
Access To Files & Drawings, Open
Door to Staff, Independent, Need
Access to Library, Access to Files &
Drawings
Need To Meet Staff & Public, Family in
House
Flexible
Building
Standards
Manager
Ability To Plan Outside Office
Environment, Thinking Time, Time
Management, Report Writing,
Analysis, Ability to Interact With Staff
Poor IT, Fixed views of Staff,
Geographical Constraints, Isolation
Worries, Promotion Concerns
Flexible
Head Of Planning
Services
Mix Of Office & Field Work, High
Work Mileage, High Number of
Meetings, Need to be Accessible to
Staff, Team Working
Customer Perspective, Member
Perspective, Personal Attitude to Work
(leave work in office), Need to be
Visible Leader, High Number of F2F
Meetings
Flexible
Revenues &
Benefits Manager
Report Writing, Budget Preparation,
Consultation, Managing Staff, Design
Reviews & Analysis
Communications With Managers &
Supervisors
Flexible
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IT Infrastructure
Manager
Variable Means Of Communications,
Meeting Deadlines & Service Levels,
Team Meetings & Management,
Report Writing, Reading &
Responding, Customer & Supplier
Management
Social Business Network, Interaction
With Frontline Staff, Volume of
Meetings, Customer Expectations
Flexible
Community
Resources
Manager
Lots Of Meetings, Very Little Public
Contact, Dispersed Staff Team,
Statutory Services Responsibility,
Service Innovation Planning
Distances Involved, Handling
Complaints, Technology, Operational
Needs, Need A Better Web Site
Flexible
Area Community
Learning &
Regeneration
Manager
eMail, High Number of Meetings,
Staff Management & Support, Report
Writing, Monitoring & Evaluation
Isolation, Measuring Outcomes, Staff
Support Meetings, Attitudes & Culture
Flexible
Operations
Manager
Travel, Team Work, Client Contact,
Staff Confidentiality
Reliability Of Back Office Services, IT
Support, Paper Records
Flexible
Strategic
Transportation
Manager
Time Lost Due To Travel,
Concentrated Working, Time Lost Due
To Commute, Family Circumstances
Home Internet Connection, Team
Management, Mobile Coverage, Senior
Buy In Concerns, Loss Of Room, Staff
Confidential Meetings Space
Flexible
Health & Safety
Manager
Responsive Service, Council Wide
Provision, Out Of Hours Work
Potential
Paper Records, Equipment access,
Communication Concerns, Security
Concerns (Information & Equipment)
Flexible
Policy & Strategy
Manager
Flexible
HR Strategy
Manager
Mostly Single Location Face To Face Contact, Confidentiality Flexible
Service Standards
Officer
Report Writing, Research & Reading,
Publications, eMail
IT Infrastructure, Management Will,
Getting Used To Not Having A Desk,
Paper Files
Flexible
Principal Leisure
Officer
Strategic Thinking, Programme
Delivery, F2F Meetings, Motivation
Technology, Paper Files, Reporting
Mechanism
Flexible
Business
Improvement
Manager
Project Management, Programme
Management
Paper Storage, Door Stepping
Opportunities
Flexible
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Table 21: Oban 6th August 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Street Scene Area
Manager
Scheduling, Planning, Budgeting,
eMail, Word Processing, Scheduling,
Planning
Technology, Corporate Will Flexible
Social Worker -
Family Placement
Visiting Clients in their Homes, Report
Writing, eMail, Phone Calls
Difficult to work at home with no
access to email, Confidentiality -
taking files out of the office/making
calls, Access to desk/computer in other
locations, Access to systems, (e.g.
Carefirst), Buildings only open 9-5
during the working week
Flexible
Care Coordinator Visit Service Users, Fixed Building -
Resource Centre, Benefit System
Existing Day Service Structure Fixed
Technician
Design of Schemes, Word Processing
– Tenders, Project Management
Technology, Cost of Software Licenses Fixed
Adult Education
Development
Worker
Data Entry, Printing/Copying,
Programme Review, eMail, Research
No space at home, printer/copier
access, Need for group discussion
Fixed
Senior Clerical
Assistant
Dealing with public and clients,
Reception and office management,
receiving payments/banking income,
managing schedules and lets, assisting
office manager
Need to be present to assist clients,
unpredictable schedule, paper files,
F2F team time, client assistance
Fixed
Protective
Services Officer
On site work, Home starts 20% of
week, Travel time, responding to
queries, liaising with others
Paper Files, IT Systems, Public
Enquiries (F2F), Quick Response Often
Required
Fixed
SVQ Assessor
Home based administration, meetings
with candidates, travel, team
meetings
Accommodation, Technology,
Isolation, Access to Council Buildings
Home
Team Leader -
Benefits
Most staff call or email - could be
done at home, Flexibility
Technology Fixed
Area Finance
Assistant
Multiple Work Sites, Flexibility, No
Direct Manager
Technology, Line Management, No
Space At Home
Flexible
Assistant
Operations Waste
Management
Need peace To Write Reports, eMail Work Life Separation, Colleague
Dialogue Needed, Paper Files, Access
to Systems
Flexible
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Table 22: Helensburgh - 6th August 2009
Job Role Characteristics Blockers Selected Work
Style
Practice
Teacher/Training
Officer
Report Writing,
Reading/Preparation, Not a fixed
pattern of activity, Extensive travel,
Networking with external agencies,
Report Writing
Absence of technology, Need for
rapid access to meeting space, access
to sensitive information/security?
Must have admin support geared for
the post, Access to sensitive
information/security? Must have
administration support geared for the
post, electronic flexi system does not
cope with absence, personal
safety/insurance etc.
Flexible
Estates Surveyor
Report Writing, Collection of Data,
Liaison with third parties, Report
Writing
Paper Files, Administration Support,
Colleague Perceptions, Colleague
Communication
Flexible
Area Manager -
Catering and
Cleaning
Site Visits, Client Contact Lack if IT Support, Loss of Contact
with Staff, Paper Files, Loss of Storage
Space,
Flexible
European Officer
Reading/Researching Background
Information, Drafting Reports and
Funding Applications, Budget,
Finance, Number Crunching
Insufficient IT, Colleague Interaction,
Paper Files, Feeling Isolated
Flexible
Administrative
Assistant
Minute Taking
Home Circumstances - shift workers
Fixed
IT Officer -Telecoms
Work with Multiple Internal and
External Clients, Network Based
Resources, Distributed Team,
Multiple Sites
Variable Work Issues. Office Based
Requirements, Office Based Problems
(e.g. training, consultation)
Flexible
Senior IT Engineer
Phone. eMail, Electronic
Documentation, Remote IT Systems
F2F Communications, Paper Files Flexible
Community Learning
and Development
Worker - Home Link
Administration, Report Writing,
Background reading, Reduce Travel
IT Facilities, Access to Telephone,
Lack of Management Support,
Colleague Attitudes, Paper Files
Flexible
Quality
Improvement
Officer - Education
Report Writing, Reading, Travel,
Little Time Spent at Base and reading
IT, Material Storage, Administration
Support, Colleague Interaction
Mobile
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Debt Counselor
Letter Writing, Report Reading,
Research, Travel, Client Interviews
Noisy Environment, Interruptions,
Travel Time, Suitable Meeting Points
Flexible
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1
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT Argyll and Bute Council
Process for Change
Appendix 6 - Risk Log
Authors: Morag Brown
October 2009
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Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Risk Log
2
Ref Risk Area of Risk Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation Residual Residual Residual Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
1 Political Members do not engage in the project
3 1 3
Engage members and communicate with them throughout the duration of the programme
2 1 2
Adhere to PfC Communications Plan and PfC OD PPG Scrutiny Plan. OD PPG to meet monthly during project.
2 Political
Members do not agree on the priorities coming out of the programme and will not make the “difficult decisions” required
3 2 6
Seek early, wide ranging and ongoing Member involvement in the process of developing the components of the programme and communicate regularly with leading members throughout the process, as outlined in Communication Plan
3 1 3
Adhere to PfC Communications Plan and PfC OD PPG Scrutiny Plan. Prepare regular briefings for Council Leader.
3 Political
Council priorities change as a result of local pressures, national issues or regulatory enforcement.
3 1 3
A flexible approach and individual project based programme allows adapting to changing circumstances.
1 1 1 Update Project Plan as and when required
4 Delivery Lack of support from senior management
3 1 2
Seek early, wide ranging and ongoing involvement in the process of developing the components of the programme and communicate regularly with SMT and throughout the process, as outlined in Communication Plan
3 1 3 Adhere to Communications Plan which features a steady flow of information to Senior Management
Pag
e 2
40
Argyll and Bute Council – Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme – Risk Log
3
Ref Risk Area of Risk Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation Residual Residual Residual Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
5 Delivery
There is insufficient clarity about the vision for the council, and as a result projects do not fit with an emerging vision
2 1 2
The Council Improvement Plan has been produced to determine the focus and Improvement agenda for the Council and the Process for Change programme is strongly aligned to that Plan.
1 1 1 Adhere to PfC Communications Plan
6 Delivery
There is poor engagement of management, front line staff and services do not / will not embrace the transformation programme.
3 2 6
Work closely to engage staff from across all service areas and communicate with them throughout the duration of the programme.
2 1 2
Achievable through Stakeholder Engagement, Senior Management Support, adherence to Communications Plan and, sufficient resources
7 Delivery
The Council is unable to free up sufficient staff of the right calibre to support the project
3 2 6
Define resource requirements and source suitable officers, whether to support to the project or to backfill for other staff who then join the project team.
2 2 4 Team resourcing responsibility of HR board as defined in Project Governance document
8 Delivery
Trade unions attempt to block progress on the change programme
3 2 6
The Programme SRO / Manager should provide effective and open dialogue with trade union representatives.
2 1 2
Trade Union representatives to be invited to be members of HR Board. Regular updates to Trade Unions as determined by Communications Plan
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Ref Risk Area of Risk Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation Residual Residual Residual Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
9 Delivery
Key staff leave their respective employment during the programme
2 1 2
Identify suitable succession arrangements, implement effective documentation standards to ensure continuity and promote open and honest communication among the project team to enable maximum time to respond during notice periods.
1 1 1 Project documentation should be maintained in Process for Change SharePoint site
10 Delivery
Unplanned absence within the core project team
3 2 6
Identify suitable succession arrangements, implement effective documentation standards to ensure continuity and promote open and honest communication among the project team to enable maximum time to respond during notice periods.
2 2 4 Project documentation should be maintained in Process for Change SharePoint site
11 Financial
The council can not / will not invest the funding required to implement the project
3 1 3
Consider spend to save potential. Also consider risk and reward to reduce the risk exposure to the council overall by linking a proportion of external fees to successful outcomes in the project.
2 1 2
To be explored further with SMT, Programme SRO, Strategic Finance if there is a likelihood this could happen
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5
Ref Risk Area of Risk Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation Residual Residual Residual Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
12 Financial
Initiatives fail to identify the level of savings required to justify investment in the programme
2 1 2
Ensure that the development is based upon a robust analysis of opportunities. Data collection process must be robust and involve all staff in scope where ever practical
1 1 1
Resource for data capture, benefits realisation methodology and input from strategic finance essential
13 Financial
The council cannot afford one-off costs associated with transformation
2 2 4
The approach will establish a financial model which seeks to optimise projects sequencing within the given financial envelope. It will also assist the council in establishing what can be capitalised.
2 1 2 Benefits Realisation methodology and input from strategic finance essential
14 Financial
Service is degraded during transformation
2 2 4
Work with services to ensure that all transition plans are robust, that there is sufficient resource to limit service disruption and that the lessons from previous change programmes are embedded.
1 2 2
Implementation Plan will be developed with consideration for existing service delivery being paramount
15 Sustainability
Skills transfer is not successfully achieved
3 1 3
Develop methodologies to ensure that the common pitfalls of skills transfer are avoided or overcome.
2 1 2 Project methodologies developed by Project mangers
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6
Ref Risk Area of Risk Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation Residual Residual Residual Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
16 Sustainability
There is a lack of investment in infrastructure to support long term development
2 2 4
Work closely with the Board to identify suitable strategies to ensure that the investment required for supporting long term sustainable improvement is in place.
1 1 1 Regular board meetings and review of project issues and risk. Regular progress reports to SMT
17 Delivery
There is lack of engagement from middle management, leading to reduced take-up of agile working, staff motivation problems, staff performance issues, and/or service quality issues.
2 3 6
Part of comms and training plan will be targeted to engagement of middle managers.
2 3 6 Coaching, mentoring and support through Corporate Programme.
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7
Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
18 Delivery
Staff resources required for programme team are not available, or of reduced efficacy due to continuing 'day job' responsibilities. This could lead to delays and potentially increased costs.
3 2 6
Resource identification and budget will be clearly specified in the business case, which will be authorised by full Council. This will ensure that resources are available as required.
3 1 3
Ensure senior management are engaged and commit to provision of staffing and budget required. Continue to adhere to governance arrangements in place during Detailed Design.
19 Delivery
Lack of relevant skills among programme staff, leading to ineffective programme direction and ongoing management, risk management. This could lead to delays and potentially increased costs.
3 1 3
Experienced Programme Manager in place. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities within programme.
3 1 3
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Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
20 Delivery
ICT - delivery of Workforce Deployment is dependent on availability of a number of ICT tools. Should these be unavailable or delayed, this could impact the roll-out of agile working, impacting the programme and benefits realisation timescale, and potentially costs.
3 1 3
Clearly defined deliverables will be identified and agreed for delivery by ICT as part of the business case. This will include appropriate training and support for end-users in the use of new technology as necessary.
3 1 3
Work will be defined in work packages as part of implementation. Progress will be closely monitored as part of programme governance.
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Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
21 Delivery
Property - delivery of Workforce Deployment is dependent on availability of appropriate workspace for agile workers across various Council sites. Should these be unavailable or delayed, this could impact the roll-out of agile working, impacting the programme and benefits realisation timescale, and potentially costs.
3 1 3 3 1 3
Work will be defined in work packages as part of implementation. Progress will be closely monitored as part of programme governance.
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10
Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
22 Delivery
Policies, processes and training (HR, H&S, Security) - delivery of Workforce Deployment is dependent on availability of appropriate policies, processes and training for agile workers. Should these be unavailable or delayed, this could impact the roll-out of agile working, impacting the programme and benefits realisation timescale, and potentially costs.
3 1 3 3 1 3
Work will be defined in work packages as part of implementation. Progress will be closely monitored as part of programme governance.
Pag
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Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
23 Delivery
ICT – The lack of standardised desk top build and desk top support across all Council departments could result in problems with maintaining security and providing the level of support required for agile working. PC’s could be used by a social worker one day and a planner the next standardisation of build and support is important
2 2
Consideration needs to be given to a corporate standard for ICT skills, support and build across all Council departments
1 1
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12
Risk Area of Risk Inherent
Risk
Impact
(1-3)
Inherent
Risk
Probability
(1-3)
Inherent
Risk Per
Matrix
(1-9)
Risk Mitigation
Procedures/Controls
in place
Residual risk
impact
(1-3)
Residual risk
Probability
(1-3)
Residual Risk per matrix
(1-9)
Actions Planned
24 Benefits
Benefits Realisation process is new to the Council. There may be teething problems with its initial use, due to the learning curve with any new methodology. This could lead to imprecise definition and measurement of benefits, or delays in the process. This could lead to programme delays, or potential errors in benefits accounting.
2 2 4
Methodology will be trialled within Council prior to project implementation.
2 1 2
Ensure all relevant staff are well-trained and bought into the benefits realisation methodology. Review/audit process and outputs at regular intervals, particularly in first 6-12 months of programme. Provide additional experienced support if necessary. Closely monitor within overall programme.
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13
Risk Area of Risk
Inherent Inherent Inherent Risk Mitigation
Residual Residual Residual
Actions Planned
risk risk Risk per Procedures/Controls risk risk Risk per
Impact Probability matrix in place Impact Probability matrix
(1-3) (1-3) (1-9) (1-3) (1-3) (1-9)
25 Benefits
Staff wish to continue with face-to-face meetings, continuing to travel and spend time at meetings, rather than use conferencing facilities. This could impact achievement of benefits - e.g. productivity.
2 1 2 As part of Comms Plan, use of new tools is being actively promoted.
2 1 2
Introduce active change management, targeting staff to use conferencing rather than F2F meetings. Ensure rules are in place to link technology changes to adopting new Workstyles. Ensure baselining up-front and regular monitoring of new working practices.
26 Benefits
Risk that don't implement outcome based objectives and measures and so don’t drive the productivity benefits
3 1 3
Council is currently changing the PDR process, which will include SMART measures. As a Council, performance management is being enhanced through introduction of balanced scorecards.
3 1 3
Monitor that new processes are in place in time in each dept/service as part of phased Workforce Deployment roll-out
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Argyll & Bute Workforce Deployment Programme
Argyll & Bute Council & BT Confidential
Steve Gillies
BT Global Services | October 2009 Issue 5, 12
th October 2009
AGILE
WORKING
ARGYLL & BUTE COUNCIL
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT
APPENDIX 7 FINANCIAL REPORT
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1 Introduction................................................................................................ 3
2 Financial Conclusions .................................................................................. 4
3 The Base Scenario ....................................................................................... 5
Adoption Levels – Base Scenario ................................................................................... 6
Benefits Analysis – Base Scenario .................................................................................. 8
Efficiency Gains ...............................................................................................................................8
Property Gains ..............................................................................................................................11
Absenteeism Gains........................................................................................................................11
Recruitment Gains ........................................................................................................................13
Cost Analysis Base Scenario......................................................................................... 14
4 Summary................................................................................................... 16
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1 Introduction Argyll & Bute Council (the Council) has been investigating the potential for introducing new agile work styles
as part of the Workforce Deployment Programme.
The investigation included the development of a 5 year business case and the production of this report – the
Agile Working Financial Report. It includes a summary of the financial arguments for investing in agile
working, estimates of anticipated benefits and high descriptions of the costs required to deliver the vision. It
also includes the results of several variance analyses conducted to assess the impact of different scenarios on
the overall case for change.
We also recommend reading the Solution Design Report and the Property Opportunity Report for further
detail and context.
Consultants from BT Professional Services assisted the Council develop the business case. In doing so we had
considerable support and assistance from many Council employees. We would like to thank them for their
contribution and general helpfulness over the course of the study.
It is important to note that the costs provided in this report are based on estimates and provided for the
purposes of business planning only. They do not represent, in any form, a commercial offer from BT to
Argyll & Bute Council that is capable of commercial acceptance.
For additional information on this report please contact Steve Gillies ([email protected]) or Carol Turnbull
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Steve Gillies, BT Professional Services 4
2 Financial Conclusions
In this section we provide a summary of the financial conclusions of the financial business case. It should be
noted that whilst the financial case for investing in agile working is very strong there are other strategic
benefits to the Council which augment and add to the overall case for change.
The financial summary in Table 1 is based on what we are calling the Base Scenario where approximately
1,320 employees adopt one of the new agile work styles. The breakdown of employees by work style1 is shown
in Table 2.
Table 1: Financial Summary
Summary Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Total
Gross Benefit £57,765 £402,055 £1,126,555 £1,643,092 £1,931,405 £5,160,872
Total Costs £743,295 £710,121 £711,858 £706,518 £480,813 £3,352,605
Net Benefit -£685,530 -£308,066 £414,697 £936,574 £1,450,593 £1,808,268
RoI -92.23% -43.38% 58.26% 132.56% 301.70% 53.94%
NPV £1,461,633
Overall the cost benefit case is positive with an anticipated 5 year return on investment of 54% and a positive
cash flow estimated after 20 months. The net present value calculated in accordance with Green Book2
standards and using a discount rate of 3.5% is £1.461m.
Cash flow is negative in Years 1 and 2 owing to the upfront investment required to establish new infrastructure
(property and technology) and a support environment for employees adopting the new work styles. However,
various stratagems can be deployed to minimize the negative cash flow including carefully controlled budget
expenditure policies, spend to save mechanisms and possibly innovative arrangements with commercial
suppliers. These should be further investigated by the Council to reduce the impact of negative cash flow.
The ongoing annual net benefit, from Year 6 onwards, is approximately £1.93 Million as support and
infrastructure costs reduce after the initial 5 year implementation period.
From the above we conclude that the business case is attractive from a financial perspective and will assist the
Council attain its overall cost reduction and efficiency goals. It is BT’s experience that a RoI in excess of 15% for
this type of investment is considered acceptable by government agencies. The Council RoI is 54% over 5 years
and we recommend the Council accepts the business case presented and proceeds to the implementation
phase.
1 A description of agile work styles is provided in Appendix C
2 The Green Book, Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government, HM Treasury
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3 The Base Scenario
One of the problems in developing a business case for agile working is that there are so many different
possible scenarios.
For the above reason we have developed a Base Scenario to evaluate the benefits and costs of implementing
and supporting new ways of working. We then model variances to the Base Scenario and determine the
impact on the financial outcomes. The results of the variance analyses can be found in Appendix C –
Sensitivity Analysis.
The Base Scenario has been developed from a combination of the dialogues we have had with the Council and
from our own experiences in BT. The Councils input has been critical to determining an outline solution from
which the which the Base Scenario has been developed. For example, we jointly conducted several solution
design and validation workshops which were a major contribution to the process. For further information we
recommend reading the Solution Design Report.
Figure 1 describes the business case development process and how it fed into the development of the overall
conclusions and recommendations.
Figure 1: Business Case Development Process
A total of 7 workshops in 5 locations were conducted involving 85 staff. Each workshop followed a similar
agenda and was managed by experienced facilitators. One of the workshops, Lochgilphead 7th August, was
focused on managers. In addition a Day in the Life of (DILO) Survey was conducted to determine how staff
spent their working time. The combination of these studies is a significant input to the business case.
These inputs were combined with experience and research data to produce the final conclusions and
recommendations.
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Adoption Levels – Base Scenario
The Base Scenario assumes a five year adoption of agile work styles by 1,320 Council staff. The annual
adoption levels are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Adoption Profile
Adoption Breakdown - People Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Fixed Workers - New 9 24 20 12 0
Fixed Workers Cumulative 9 34 54 66 66
Home Workers - New 1 2 2 1 0
Home Workers - Cumulative 1 3 5 6 6
Mobile Workers - New 27 71 57 36 0
Mobile Workers - Cumulative 27 98 155 191 191
Flexible Workers @ 90% Occupancy - New
62 160 129 83 0
Flexible Workers @ 90% Occupancy - Cumulative
62 222 351 434 434
Flexible Workers @ 75% Occupancy - New
56 145 116 74 0
Flexible Workers @ 75% Occupancy - Cumulative
56 200 317 391 391
Flexible Workers @ 60% Occupancy - New
33 86 69 44 0
Flexible Workers @ 60% Occupancy - Cumulative
33 119 188 232 232
Total - All Work Styles 188 677 1070 1320 1320
Note 1: It is assumed that in Y1 all staff adopts agile work styles in Q4; in all other years the adoption is spread
evenly across all quarters. The effect of this is that for Y2 onwards new staff is assumed to join the programme
from the mid-year date.
Note 2: The 3 new work styles used to develop the business case are Home Worker, Mobile Worker and
Flexible Worker which are combined with the traditional Fixed Worker. A detailed description of each work
style can be found in Appendix C.
The anticipated employee breakdown into the 4 agile work styles percentage breakdown and used in the Base
Scenario is shown in Table 3.
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Table 3: Work Style Allocations
Work Styles
Fixed Workers 5%
Home Workers 1%
Mobile Workers 15%
Flexible Workers 80%
It should be noted that business case includes the benefits and costs associated with employees who remain
as Fixed Workers but who are provided with tools and services that allow them to substitute face to face
meetings with audio and web based on line collaboration facilities. A lower level of efficiency benefit is claimed
for this category as described in the Benefits Analysis section of this report.
Table 4: Flexible Sub-Styles - Workstation Occupancy
Flexible Worker Occupancy Breakdown
% Flexible Workers @ 90% Occupancy 41%
% Flexible Workers @ 75% Occupancy 37%
% Flexible Workers @ 60% Occupancy 22%
In addition the Flexible Work style was further broken down into sub-styles based on workstation occupancy.
The breakdown is shown in Table 4. Finally the number of staff by each work style was broken down by
location as shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Location Allocations
Local Allocation - Cumulative Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Lochgilphead 0 240 480 480 480
Dunoon 0 248 248 248 248
Oban 188 188 188 188 188
Rothesay 0 0 0 71 71
Helensburgh 0 0 0 179 179
Campbeltown 0 0 154 154 154
It should be noted that in the future there is potentially higher numbers of employees who potentially could
transfer into one of the 3 new agile work styles. As technology, social norms and working practices we
recommend the Council re-evaluate the potential for agile working annually and alter their implementation
goals and plans accordingly.
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Benefits Analysis – Base Scenario
We have identified 4 areas from 7 investigated that provide cashable benefits. Figure 2 illustrates that the
majority of cashable benefit results from increased efficiency gains as employees transfer from traditional
fixed work styles to one of the new agile work styles.
88% of the gross benefit is produced by increased efficiency gains, 7% from reduced absenteeism, 3% from
property closure and 2% from reduced recruitment costs.
Figure 2: Cashable Benefits
Efficiency Gains
There are many factors that will impact the amount of efficiency gain the Council can deliver through agile
working.
These include the effective deployment of technology, property changes and the degree of commitment from
operational line management and staff to adopt new ways of working. It is our experience that a mixed
approach balancing technology, people and process yield the best results.
An important aspect is that all aspects of implementation must be managed effectively using appropriate ‘fit
for purpose’ approaches to change management, benefits realization, technology deployment and office
reconfiguration.
The benefits to the Council will be in two forms: cashable (hard) benefits that can be directly translated into
either reduced costs or increased revenue to the Council, and strategic (soft) benefits that improve the
Council’s overall performance, position, skills, knowledge or general capability.
It should be noted that all cashable benefits should be evaluated in the context of strategic benefits as there is
often a tradeoff between them. For example, a reduction in the quality and completeness of the overall
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Steve Gillies, BT Professional Services 9
solution may increase the cashable benefit by reducing the implementation costs but it will impact the
adoption rate and the overall ability of staff to become modern flexible workers.
In the Base Scenario we have set efficiency targets as shown in Table 6. These are in line with efficiency gains
planned for in other Local Authorities and with experience from the commercial sector.
Table 6: Efficiency Targets
Efficiency
Target
Fixed Workers Home Workers Mobile Workers Flexible Worker
@ 90%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 75%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 60%
Occupancy
Y5 Target 3.00% 20.00% 15.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00%
Note 1: For all employees new to agile working we have assumed they will achieve on third of the target
efficiency in their 1st
year of adoption – this applies for all workers adopting a new workstyle irrespective of
which year they start.
Note 2: For the second year of adoption onwards we have assumed that 100% of the efficiency target is
achievable.
Note3: The Council recognizes that there are significant operational, cultural and employee issues associated
with efficiency gains. For these reasons the efficiency targets were reduced as shown in Table 7.
Table 7: Realizable Targets
Efficiency
Target
Fixed Workers Home Workers Mobile Workers Flexible Worker
@ 90%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 75%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 60%
Occupancy
Y1 (20%)
0.60% 4.00% 3.00% 1.00% 2.00% 3.00%
Y2 (60%)
1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Y3 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Y4 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Y5 (60%) 1.80% 12.00% 9.00% 3.00% 6.00% 9.00%
Note 4: Each work style has a 5 year efficiency target. For planning purposes, the projected CASHABLE
Efficiency Gains at the end of the 5 years is calculated at 60% of the potential. For example, a Home Worker
has a 5 year efficiency target of 20%. This business case is indicating that 60% (i.e. 12% efficiency increase) is
cashable and contained in the benefits calculation.
Table 8: Realizable Efficiency Targets in Minutes per 7.00 Hour Day
Efficiency
Target
Fixed Workers Home Workers Mobile Workers Flexible Worker
@ 90%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 75%
Occupancy
Flexible Worker
@ 60%
Occupancy
Y1
2.52 16.8 12.6 4.2 8.4 12.6
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Y2 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y3 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y4 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
Y5 7.56 50.4 37.8 12.6 25.2 37.8
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Property Gains
In addition to the efficiency based gains described above we estimate savings associated with property
closure. For the Base Scenario we have assumed that property closures can only be achieved in the Oban
location. Further investigation is required to determine if additional property savings can be achieved in Oban
or at other locations throughout the Council’s territory.
The saving claimed in the Base Scenario is £55,000 per annum facilities management, operational and
maintenance costs from ‘mothballing’ Kilbowie House. Additional detail is provided in the Property
Opportunity Report.
Table 9: Property Savings
Property Closure Savings Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Oban £45,0003 £55,000 £55,000 £55,000
Note 1: No revenue incomes have been included for property disposal or rental; no cost avoidance savings
have been included from reduced use of office accommodation (e.g. from reduced wear and tear); no cost
avoidance savings have been included for reduced property enhancements (e.g. special needs access)
Absenteeism Gains
Commercial organisations adopting large scale agile working practices typically see a reduction in absenteeism.
This is owing to an improvement in employee work life balance and is thought to come from reduced stress
and improved general well-being. Also, employees with chronic pain or injuries can often work from home or
with reduced travel requirements (commute or business to business) as a result of becoming an agile worker.
Table 10 illustrates the savings we have assumed from absenteeism for each work style. The anticipated
saving from Y5 onwards is £100K pa and the total 5 year saving is £281K.
Fixed Workers: We have assumed that the absenteeism rate for Fixed Workers stays at the current Council
wide level of 5% pa.
Home Workers: It is the experience of commercial organisations that Home Workers benefit the most from
reduced absenteeism. For example, BT gains an additional 2.5 days pa from call centre workers based at home
compared to the equivalent job role conducted in a call centre. For this reason we assumed that Home
Workers absenteeism rate will reduce from 5% pa to 3% pa.
Mobile Workers: Mobile Workers will be able to work from home regularly and will potentially gain the most
from reduced travel stress. We are assuming a reduction from 5% pa to 4.0%.
Flexible Workers: Flexible work styles come in 3 forms based on workstation occupancy – 90% occupancy, 75%
occupancy and 60% occupancy. Employees who work at the 75% or 60% occupancy levels will benefit from
reduced travel similar to Mobile Workers whilst the 90% will be more like traditional fixed work styles. We
have assumed an overall reduction for Flexible Workers from 5.0% pa to 4.5% pa.
3 Reduced by £10K for property closure costs
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Table 10: Absenteeism
Absenteeism Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Current Absenteeism Rate 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00%
Fixed Worker Absenteeism Rate 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00%
Home Worker Absenteeism Rate 3.00% 3.00% 3.00% 3.00% 3.00%
Mobile Worker Absenteeism Rate 4.00% 4.00% 4.00% 4.00% 4.00%
Flexible Worker Absenteeism Rate 4.50% 4.50% 4.50% 4.50% 4.50%
Days Gained Per Fixed Worker 0 0 0 0 0
Days Gained Per Home Worker 3 12 20 24 24
Days Gained Per Mobile Worker 50 180 285 351 351
Days Gained Per Flexible Worker 138 497 785 968 968
Total Days Gained 191 689 1,090 1,344 1,344
£4,766 £26,689 £61,438 £87,692 £100,334
Note 1: An average salary of £124 per day (£28,000 per annum) has been used to calculate the anticipated
savings. The savings are calculated by multiplying the percentage gain (e.g. Flexible Workers 0.5%) by the
number of annual working days (204) and multiplying the average daily salary (£124) and finally by the number
of employees in each work style.
Note 2: Many factors impact absenteeism. It is difficult to manage and therefore our confidence in realizing
the benefit must be rated as low to medium. For this reason we have modeled different level of absenteeism
achieved in the Sensitivity Analysis section of this report.
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Recruitment Gains
Employers that develop a reputation for providing modern working conditions based on agile work styles gain
from reduced staff turnover and reduced recruitment costs. To model this in the Base Scenario we have taken
the average number of recruitment days per employee for the Council and reduced it for each work style as
shown in Table 11.
Table 11: Recruitment
Benefit 7: Recruitment Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Council Recruitment Costs4 £238,030 £238,030 £238,030 £238,030 £238,030
New Recruits 443 443 443 443 443
Costs per Recruit £537 £537 £537 £537 £537
Days Effort Per Recruit 4.32 4.32 4.32 4.32 4.32
% of Agile Worker Recruits 20.31%5 20.31% 20.31% 20.31% 20.31%
New Agile Worker Recruits 90 90 90 90 90
% Gained Per Fixed Worker 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%
% Gained Per Home Worker 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%
% Gained Per Mobile Worker 10% 10% 10% 10% 10%
% Gained Per Flexible Worker 10% 10% 10% 10% 10%
Days Gained Per Fixed Worker 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22
Days Gained Per Home Worker 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08
Days Gained Per Mobile Worker 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43
Days Gained Per Flexible Worker 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43
Days Gained per Agile Worker 2.16 2.16 2.16 2.16 2.16
Total Days Gained 194.25 194.25 194.25 194.25 194.25
£24,173 £24,173 £24,173 £24,173 £24,173
Fixed Workers: A small gain of 5% is assumed for employees recruited into fixed work roles owing to the
enhanced reputation of the Council as a modern employer.
Home Workers: We have assumed that a 25% in recruitment costs can be achieved for Home Workers as this
represents a major attraction for potential employees.
Mobile Workers & Flexible Workers: We have assumed a 10% reduction in recruitment costs owing to the
enhanced reputation of the Council as a modern employer and from improvements in the general
employment environment provided by the Council from new technologies and modernized office
environments.The gain is calculated by taking the percentage gain (e.g. 25% for Home Workers) and
multiplying it by the recruitment days (4.32) and then by the number of recruits within that work
style. Recruitment benefits are not required to follow the phasing profile as the project can be
accelerated for any individuals affected.
4 Source: Argyll & Bute Work Style Data Definitions, Corporate Finance
5 Agile Workers stated as a percentage of the total Council staff of 6,500
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Cost Analysis Base Scenario
28 cost drivers were investigated. We concluded that 12 of them were zero cost for the Council either because
the organisation has already purchased the service (e.g. Microsoft Enterprise License Agreements) or because
the Council has an alternative zero cost option to deliver a similar service (e.g. Support Services, Data Back-Up
Services). The costs are shown in Table 12 and Figure 3.
Note 1: The top 8 costs represent 93% of the overall estimated costs. 66% of costs are for technology, 20% for
people and 14% for property.
Table 12: Costs
Description Cost
Business Broadband - Cost 9 £1,235,305
Client Programme Staff - Cost 25 £588,156
Workstation Changes - Cost 7 £483,914
Infrastructure & Applications - Cost 23 £223,169
Laptop Computers - Cost 2 £189,689
Printers - Cost 15 £184,052
Authentication Tokens - Cost 27 £103,791
Wireless Network Installations - Cost 11 £100,100
External Specialist Staff - Cost 26 £65,000
Audio Conferencing Service - Cost 19 £52,638
Fixed Line or IP Telephony at Home - Cost 17 £34,841
Laptop Encryption - Cost 3 £33,711
Tablet Computers- Cost 4 £28,444
Fast Business Broadband - Cost 28 £23,543
Furniture Packs - Cost 12 £3,873
Employee Utility Bills - Cost 13 £2,380
£3,352,605
A detailed description of each cost along with the basic assumptions used to determine the overall costs is
provided in Appendix B – Cost Descriptions.
In producing cost estimates we have endeavoured to be as complete as possible based on the information
available at the time of the report production. Where possible we have used verifiable facts but, inevitably,
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some costs are based on assumptions or estimates. Where assumptions have been used we have taken a
‘moderate/realistic’ view.
The costs provided in this report are for business planning purposes only and do not in any form represent a
commercial offer from BT to the Council capable of acceptance.
It should be noted that many of the costs are variable depending on the level of adoption of Council
employees for the new work styles. Any changes to the level of adoption as described in the Base Scenario or
any changes to the assumption used to determine estimates will have a significant impact on the overall costs.
Figure 3: Cost Analysis
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4 Summary
In summary the financial case for the Base Scenario is positive. It is estimated that the adoption of agile
working will produce a net benefit of £1.8M over 5 years and an NPV of £1.462m based on approximately
1,320 staff adopting agile work styles.
Cash flow is negative for approximately 20 months owing to a significant up- front investment in technology,
infrastructure, new office layouts, training and education. The acceptance of the business case is
recommended to the Council. The net benefit from Y6 onwards is £1.93M.
Reflecting operational and cultural issues the Council has opted to base the business case on a realizable
efficiency gain lower than planned by similar government agencies and lower than claimed by commercial
organizations. The sensitivity analysis shows that this strategy leaves little room for either reduced benefits or
increases costs – some of which are difficult to estimate and significant the risk of significant cost increases
must be viewed as medium to high.
Our recommendation is to monitor closely all costs but particularly costs associated with programme
management, office changes and ICT. We also recommend monitoring the efficiencies gained throughout the
programme and that the Council makes adjustments to its efficiency targets based on its experiences in Oban
and subsequent implementations.
We recommend that Council accepts the business case described and proceeds to the next phase of
implementation planning and resource identification.
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AGILE
WORKING
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT FINANCIAL REPORT
APPENDIX 7A - SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
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Appendix A – Sensitivity Analysis................................................................... 3
Variance 1: Average Salary............................................................................. 4
Variance 2: ICT Infrastructure & Applications................................................. 5
Variance 3: Programme Management............................................................ 6
Variance 4: Opportunity Costs ....................................................................... 7
Variance 5: Property Benefits ........................................................................ 7
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Appendix A – Sensitivity Analysis
In agreement with the Council 5 impacts of variances on the Base Scenario were further investigated. The
variances are briefly described in Table 1.
Table 1: Variances
Variance Description
Average Salary The average salary used to calculate efficiency benefits is varied from £20,000 pa to £30,000 per annum in
£2,000 steps. The Base Scenario uses £28,000. It should be noted that the salary used in all scenarios includes
Council national insurance and pension contributions.
Infrastructure &
Applications Costs
Infrastructure & Applications costs are particularly difficult to estimate and are subject to many factors such as
network performance, quality of service issues and supplier charges.
We varied costs from 100% to 200% of the Base Scenario in 20% steps. This equates to a range of costs from
£223K to £446K.
Programme
Management Costs
The overall success of the programme will depend on the effective management of many inter-related streams
of work. In particular the business case is highly dependent on benefits realization and change management.
We have modeled the impact of variances to costs from 100% to 200% of the Base Scenario. This equates to a
range of costs from £588K to £1.2M.
Opportunity Costs The Base Scenario excludes costs associated with: operational line management time required to coach, direct
staff and handle employees issues related to agile working. However, time will be required from management
to assist with the realization of benefits.
We have included a variance that includes the ‘opportunity costs’ associated with the amount of time required
for operational line management to coach, direct and support employees. Specifically excluded are Cost 5:
Management Support, Cost 6: Council Training – Staff Attendance and Cost 8: Concierge Services.
Property Benefits The Base Scenario includes a £55K annual saving associated with the closure of Kilbowie House, Oban. Whilst
further investigation is required to determine if other properties can be closed it is proposed that properties
similar in size to Kilbowie House can potentially be closed in Dunoon, Lochgilphead, Rothesay, Campbeltown
and Helensburgh.
We have modeled the impact on benefits of closing the equivalent of Kilbowie House in each of these
locations.
It should be noted that each variance is modeled using the Base Scenario with no other changes made. Scenario
combinations have not been considered.
In each analysis we vary the parameter(s) being considered and record the impact on benefit, costs, net benefit and return
on investment.
The Base Scenario business case is based on a realizable efficiency target taking into account organisational challenges and
issues and the variances are based on this reduced target. We call the reduced target the ‘Realizable Target’ and the
unreduced target the ‘Efficiency Target’.
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Variance 1: Average Salary The Base Scenario assumes an average salary of £28,000 based on BT’s experience of modeling business cases in other
Scottish Local Authorities. In this variance we model the impact of varying the average salary from £20K to £30K.
£20,000 £22,000 £24,000 £26,000 £28,000 £30,000
Gross Benefit £3,791,305 £4,133,697 £4,476,089 £4,818,480 £5,160,872 £5,503,264 Total Costs £3,184,560 £3,226,571 £3,268,582 £3,310,593 £3,352,605 £3,394,616 Net Benefit £606,745 £907,126 £1,207,507 £1,507,887 £1,808,267 £2,108,648 RoI
19% 28% 37% 46% 54% 62%
Note 1: To maintain a RoI above 20% agile working should be targeted at employee groups with an average
annual salary (including Council national insurance and pension contributions) of more than £22,000.
Note 2: To maintain acceptable RoI results with average salaries less than £22,000 will require benefits
realization greater than 60% of the Efficiency Target.
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Variance 2: ICT Infrastructure & Applications
The Base Scenario is based on ICT Infrastructure & Applications estimated costs of £223K provided by the
Council’s ICT representatives. In this variance we model the impact of the ICT Infrastructure & Applications
costs increasing by 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%.
100% 120% 140% 160% 180% 200%
Gross Benefit £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 Total Costs £3,352,605 £3,397,226 £3,441,848 £3,486,470 £3,531,091 £3,575,713 Net Benefit £1,808,267 £1,763,646 £1,719,024 £1,674,402 £1,629,781 £1,585,159 RoI
54% 52% 50% 48% 46% 44%
Note 1: To maintain acceptable RoI results with ICT cost increases greater than 60% will require benefits
realization greater than 60% of the Efficiency Target.
We recommend close monitoring of Applications & Infrastructure costs as the programme is implemented
ensuring that ‘value for money’ is gained at each gateway point and that the business case remains viable.
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Variance 3: Programme Management
The Base Scenario is based on Programme Management costs of £588K over the 5 years of implementation. In
this variance we model the impact of the costs increasing by 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%.
100% 120% 140% 160% 180% 200%
Gross Benefit £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 £5,160,872 Total Costs £3,352,605 £3,470,236 £3,587,867 £3,705,498 £3,823,129 £3,940,760 Net Benefit £1,808,267 £1,690,636 £1,573,005 £1,455,374 £1,337,743 £1,220,112 RoI
54% 49% 44% 39% 35% 31%
Note 1: A 40% or higher increase in Programme Management costs result in efficiency gains limited to 60% of
the efficiency target.
We recommend that the Council ensures it has both the skills and capacity available to manage the
programme to the resources required. Substituting internal staff with external market supplied specialists will
increase the cost of programme delivery significantly unless additional value add can be demonstrated.
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Variance 4: Opportunity Costs
The Base Scenario excludes operational line management costs associated with employee coaching, support,
direction and issues handling. The cost is excluded as these tasks as considered part of normal management
responsibilities and are not additional to current working arrangements.
The variance is provided should the Council decide at a future point to include line management costs
associated with these tasks.
Excluding Opportunity Costs Including Opportunity Costs
Gross Benefit £5,160,872 £5,160,872 Total Costs £3,352,605 £4,094,127 Net Benefit £1,808,267 £1,066,745 RoI
54% 38%
Variance 5: Property Benefits
The Base Scenario includes £55K per annum based on closing Kilbowie House. In this variance we model the
impact of achieving a similar closure in each of the main locations.
Oban Only All Locations
Gross Benefit £5,160,872 £6,535,872 Total Costs £3,352,605 £3,352,605 Net Benefit £1,808,267 £3,183,267 RoI
54% 95%
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Conclusions
None of these sensitivity analysis produces a net benefit lower than £1 million. The lowest ROI is 38% which is
more than acceptable to the Council as a basis for proceeding to implementation.
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th October 2009
WORK
STYLE
ARGYLL & BUTE WORK STYLE FINANCIAL REPORT
APPENDIX 7B – COST DESCRIPTIONS
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Appendix B – Cost Descriptions
In this section we provide a detailed description of the costs used to build the business case. In each
section we state what the cost is for, split it into one time and ongoing costs where appropriate, and
provide a cost trend if applicable along with key assumptions.
Note 1: Any changes to the costs or assumptions will have a significant impact on the business case. All
costs provided as part of the financial case have been derived from the description provided in this
appendix.
Note 2: Within the scope of the financial study no attempt was made to validate costs with suppliers or
obtain quotations. We have used estimated costs based on verifiable data where possible. If costs data
wasn’t available we estimated costs based on assumptions and agreed with the Council.
Note 3: All estimated costs are based on the Base Scenario Argyll & Bute Council Workforce Deployment
Financial Report.
The costs provided in this section and provided in all parts of this report and in the Argyll & Bute
Council Workforce Deployment Financial Report are provided for business planning purposes only and
do not represent in any form an offer from BT to the Council capable of commercial acceptance.
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Cost 1: Desktop Computer Costs
Number Required 73
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers, 100% of Fixed Workers
All agile workers who require a desktop computer already have one and that it can be
used as they change work style.
Supplier None required as the Council plan to use existing estate.
One Time Cost per Unit £305
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £209 pa assumed to start in Y1 of purchase
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £0 as the Council plans to use existing machines.
Cost Trend Applied Whilst we can expect Desktop Computers to reduce in price we have based the 5 year
costs on today’s prices.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 2: Laptop Computer Costs
Number Required 388
Assumptions 0% of Home Workers & Fixed Workers; 40% of Mobile Workers & 50% of Flexible
Workers.
NB: The following applies to Flexible Workers. There are 3 Categories of Flexible Workers
as defined in the Cost Benefit Report depending on their projected occupancy.
Flexible Worker Occupancy Breakdown
% Flexible Workers @ 90% Occupancy: 41% of Flexible Workers
% Flexible Workers @ 75% Occupancy: 37% of Flexible Workers
% Flexible Workers @ 60% Occupancy: 22% of Flexible Workers
The 90% Occupancy Flexible Workers do NOT require a laptop
50% of the “60% and 75%” Occupancy workers will require a laptop
Mobile Workers needs will be evaluated and they will be provided with either a Laptop PC
or a suitable mobile device such as a Smartphone, Tablet PC or Personal Digital Assistant.
These devices may be significantly more expensive to supply and support than standard
Laptop PC’s therefore they will be subject to a special approval process.
50% of employees who become Mobile or Agile Workers and require a laptop computer
already have one. The remaining 10% of Mobile Workers are provided with Tablet
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Computers.
The Council will publish a set of standard equipment for each work style implemented. If
additional or more expensive devices are required then the Services will be asked to
justify the additional cost and fund from it from their budget.
Unless a special request is approved a Laptop PC will be provided to 40% of Mobile
Workers and a Tablet PC to 10% of Mobile Workers.
Supplier Assume the Council will use existing supply arrangements.
One Time Cost per Unit £401
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £209 pa assumed to start in Y1 of purchase
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £189,689
Cost Trend Applied Whilst we can expect Laptop Computers to reduce in price we have based the 5 year costs
on today’s prices.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 3: Laptop Encryption
Number Required 388
Assumptions 0% of Home Workers & Fixed Workers; 50% of Mobile Workers & Flexible Workers.
50% of Mobile or Agile Workers who require a laptop computer already have one with
appropriate encryption protection.
100% of Mobile Workers who require a Tablet Computer will require encryption
protection at costs similar to that for a Laptop Computer.
Supplier Assume the Council will use existing supply arrangements.
One Time Cost per Unit £55
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £8 pa assumed to start in Y1 of purchase
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £33,710
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
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Cost 4: Tablet Computer Costs
Number Required 20
3 in Y1, 7 in Y2, 6 in Y3, 4 in Y4.
Assumptions 0% of Home Workers & Fixed Workers; 10% of Mobile Workers & 0% of Flexible Workers.
Mobile Workers needs will be evaluated and they will be provided with either a Laptop PC
or a suitable mobile device such as a Smartphone, Tablet PC or Personal Digital Assistant.
These devices may be significantly more expensive to supply and support than standard
Laptop PC’s therefore they will be subject to a special approval process.
The Council will publish a set of standard equipment for each work style implemented. If
additional or more expensive devices are required then the Services will be asked to
justify the additional cost and fund from it from their budget.
10% of mobile Workers will be provided with a Tablet Computer – any additional costs
will be funded by Services based on a business case.
Supplier Assume the Council will use existing supply arrangements.
One Time Cost per Unit £900
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £209 pa assumed to start in Y1 of purchase
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £28,444
Cost Trend Applied Whilst we can expect Tablet Computers to reduce in price we have based the 5 year costs
on today’s prices.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 5: Management Support Days
Number Required 2,508 person days over 5 years
357 days in Y1, 929 days in Y2, 748 days in Y3, 474 days in Y4, 0 days in Y5.
Assumptions The management time required is allocated for support, coaching, benefits realization and
issue handling.
2 days management support per annum for employees new to agile working is required.
The Council provides expert support to line management for benefits realization and
change management – if this is not provided the effort from line management per
employee may significantly increase.
The Council provides appropriate communications to employees throughout the life of
the programme.
The Council provides appropriate executive and operational management leadership to
the programme.
The average salary of a manager required to support agile working staff is £35,000 pa
including Council NI and pension contributions.
Management time for this activity is considered an ‘opportunity cost’ and is therefore not
included as a cost in this business case.
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Supplier Assume the Council will conduct these activities with its own staff supported by specialists
either from the Workforce Deployment team or from external suppliers.
One Time Cost per Unit Not applicable
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £156 per day based on a manager’s average annual salary of £35,000 pa including NI and
pension contributions and 225 working days pa.
Source: Council Finance
Total Five Year Cost £0
Council management time is considered an opportunity cost and is not included in the
Base Scenario.
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied.
Budget Allocations 75% - Workforce Deployment Programme
25% - Services.
Cost 6: Council Staff – Training Attendance
Number Required 2,574 person days over 5 years.
366 days in Y1, 954 days in Y2, 767 days in Y3, 486days in Y4, 0 days in Y5.
Assumptions 1 days training for Fixed Workers and 2 days training for Home, Mobile & Flexible
Workers.
The Council uses its own training staff who are taught by external specialists in a ‘teach
the teachers’ super-user approach.
15 train the trainer 1 day workshops required and 23 1 day workshops for managers
required.
The average salary of an employee who is provided with training is £28,000 pa including
Council NI and pension contributions.
Staff time for this activity is considered an ‘opportunity cost’ and is therefore not included
as a cost in this business case.
Supplier Assume the Council will conduct these activities with its own staff supported by specialists
either from the Workforce Deployment team or from external suppliers.
One Time Cost per Unit Not applicable
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £124 per day based on an average managers annual salary of £28,000 pa and 225 working
days pa.
Source: Council Finance
Total Five Year Cost £0
Council management time is considered an opportunity cost and is not included in the
Base Scenario. A variance was modeled using a cost of £390,202 over 5 years. See
Appendix 7A for additional details.
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied.
Budget Allocations 75% - Workforce Deployment Programme
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25% - Services.
Cost 7: Workstation Changes
Number Required 382 changes over the 5 year programme.
Assumptions 30% of all Mobile & Flexible Workers will require a workstation change.
The Council uses its own staff to manage and deliver the changes required if external
contractors are required the costs may significantly increase.
90% of all workstation changes are simple at a cost of £1,200 per change.
10% of all workstation changes are medium complex at a cost of £2,700 per change
Complex changes costing more than £2,700 per change will be allocated to local 30 year
property business cases.
Supplier Assume the Council will conduct these activities with its own staff.
One Time Cost per Unit Not applicable
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £1,200 for a simple change; £2,700 for a medium complex change.
Source: Council Property; BT
Total Five Year Cost £483,914
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 8: Concierge Service
Number Required 7 locations across the Council territory.
Assumptions The Council uses its own staff to deliver the concierge service.
1 person is required for 20% of their time at an average annual salary of £21,000
Supplier Assume the Council will conduct these activities with its own staff.
One Time Cost per Unit Not applicable
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £93 per day
Total Five Year Cost £0
Council staff time is considered an opportunity cost and is not included in the Base
Scenario.
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied.
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
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Cost 9: Business Broadband
Number Required 621
Assumptions 100% of Mobile Workers;
Flexible Workers with 60% workstation occupancy rates are provided with business
broadband at their home location.
50% of Flexible Workers with 75% workstation occupancy rates are provided with
business broadband at their home location.
Flexible Workers with 90% occupancy rates are not provided with a home based
broadband service.
The proportion of Flexible Workers with either 75% or 60% occupancy in all Council
locations is similar to Oban and Dunoon.
All Mobile Workers are provided with business broadband at their home location.
Supplier To be negotiated via normal procurement services
One Time Cost per Unit £319 per installation
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £480 pa
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £1,235,305
Costs have been calculated based on normal commercial rates – a competitive
procurement process may reduce costs.
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 10: LAN Network Upgrades
Number Required 0
Assumptions The Council local networks have sufficient capacity to deliver the data and voice load
required in addition to existing demand.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £1,000 per installation
Source: Council IT, BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £200 pa
Source: Council IT, BT
Total Five Year Cost £0
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Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 11: Wireless Networks
Number Required 57
16@Oban, 23@Dunoon, 13@Lochgilphead, 7@Campbeltown, 5@Rothesay,
3@Helensburgh
Assumptions The number required is in addition existing wireless installations.
Supplier To be negotiated via normal procurement services
One Time Cost per Unit £1,000
Source: Council IT, BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £100 pa
Source: Council IT, BT
Total Five Year Cost £100,100.00
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 12: Furniture Packs
Number Required 7
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers to be provided with home based furniture.
All Home Workers to be provided with home based furniture including a desk and chair.
Supplier To be negotiated via normal procurement services
One Time Cost per Unit £500 per pack including desk and chair.
Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £25 pa to cover breakage
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £3,872
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 13: Utility Payments
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Number Required 7
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers to be provided with utility payments.
Council to fund utility payments via normal expense claiming process to a maximum of
£104 pa.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £104pa
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £2,379
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 14: TFT Monitors
Number Required 0
Assumptions All employees adopting agile work styles will use existing computer equipment including
monitors.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £100
Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £10pa
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 15: Printers
Number Required 430
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers; 100% of Mobile Workers; 100% of “60% Occupancy” Flexible
Workers
The Council’s default is that a Flexible Worker is not supplied with a home based printer
unless a short business is made and approved.
The Council monitors and closely manages the use of consumables.
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Supplier Assume existing Council supplier
One Time Cost per Unit £80
Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £100pa including consumables
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £184,052
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 16: Mobile Phones
Number Required 250
20% of Mobile Workers; 20% of Flexible Workers
Assumptions All Mobile & Flexible Workers require a mobile telephone. Phones will be reallocated
where necessary.
80% of Mobile & Flexible Workers already have a Council supplied mobile phone.
Supplier Assume existing Council supplier
One Time Cost per Unit £200
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £86pa
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 17: Fixed Line or IP Telephony at Home
Number Required 87
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers; 10% of Mobile Workers; 10% of “60% Occupancy and 75%
Occupancy” Flexible Workers
Supplier Assume existing Council supplier
One Time Cost per Unit £102
Source: Council IT
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Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £100pa including call charges
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £34,841
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 18: Single Number Facility (Follow Me)
Number Required 0
This facility enables users to log on to any Council based telephone irrespective of
location and make or receive calls.
Assumptions The Council provides ‘follow me’ telephony services this facility from its existing ICT
platform at no additional cost to all Agile Workers.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £0 including service wrap
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 19: Audio Conferencing
Number Required 10% of all audio conferencing calls use an external service; 90% uses the existing Council
service
Assumptions The Council provides this facility from its existing ICT platform at no additional cost.
The average use for all 1,320 employees who become agile workers is…
Average of 20 minutes per day per user – Y1
Average of 22 minutes per day per user – Y2
Average of 24 minutes per day per user – Y3
Average of 26 minutes per day per user – Y4
Average of 30 minutes per day per user – Y5
A maximum of 2.1 Million minutes of audio conferencing from an external service over 5
years.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
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Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £0.02 per minute per line
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £52,637
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 20: Web Conferencing
Number Required 0
Assumptions The Council provides this facility from its existing ICT platform at no additional cost
Average of 20 minutes per day per user – Y1
Average of 22 minutes per day per user – Y2
Average of 24 minutes per day per user – Y3
Average of 26 minutes per day per user – Y4
Average of 30 minutes per day per user – Y5
The Council can provide a minimum of 21 million minutes of web conferencing over 5
years at zero costs to an acceptable quality of service.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £0.04 per minute per line
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 21: Data Back Up Service
Number Required 0
Assumptions The Council provides this facility from its existing ICT platform at no additional cost
The internal data back-up service is available to all 1,320 agile workers and meets the
Councils security, data protection and privacy requirements and legal obligations.
No costs are included to upgrade the Council’s security, data protection and privacy
services from current status.
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Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £100pa per user
Source: council IT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 22: Agile Worker Support Service
Number Required 0
Assumptions The Council provides this service and can provide the content, knowledge and experience
required.
The service provided is fit for purpose and is available to all agile workers in a timely
manner.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Source: Council Workforce Deployment & IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £0pa per user
Source: Council Workforce Deployment & IT
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
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Cost 23: Infrastructure & Applications
Number Required Not applicable
Assumptions The Council delivers the required changes to its ICT infrastructure and applications to
support the Workforce Deployment Programme
The following estimates of costs apply
MPLS Upgrade £0
SAN £0
High Capacity Internet Access £0
General HW & Infrastructure Updates £0
Citrix or Terminal Server Development £44,000
Mobile Devices £0
eForms Upgrade £0
IM £0
Training Licenses £107,500
Room Booking Software £35,680
Additional VOIP One Time £0
Additional Networked Buildings £40
Malware Precautions for PDA's & Smart phones £34,000
Hard Disk Encryption for PDA's & Smart phones £0
Audit Client Costs £1,950
Other Application Development £0
Specifically excluded from the Workforce Deployment budget are the High Capacity
Internet Access Pipe, Additional VOIP costs and eForms upgrades – these costs are
allocated to the Council IT budget.
No on-line or off-line mobile applications development effort (e.g. eForms) is required to
meet business requirements for data capture or additional business function.
Supplier Not applicable
5 Year Costs £223,169.10
Source: Council ICT; Council Training for Training Licenses
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit Not applicable
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 24: WiFi Accounts
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Number Required 0
Assumptions The Council does not require this service as it potentially breaches data protection and
security policies.
Council requirements for WiFi services to promote local economic development are
specifically excluded from the business case.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per Unit £0
Source: Council Workforce Programme
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £0
Source: Council Workforce Programme
Total Five Year Cost £0
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 25: Client Programme Staff
Number
Required
3,645 days
Council Law & Administration Support Days 0
Council ICT Support - Project Development Days 255
Council ICT Support - Operational Days 1125
Council Communications Support Days Including Training Development 200
Council Procurement Support Days 0
Project Support Days 895
Council Best Value Support Days 0
Council Project Management Support Days 335
Council Property Management Support Days
835 Assumptions ICT Development Specialist costs at 175% of Average Salary
ICT Operations Specialist costs at £130% of Average Salary
Programme Support costs at 125% of Average Salary
Project Management costs at 125% of Average Salary
Property Specialist at 125% of Average Salary
The Council has the skills and employees available to manage the programme to the levels of resources
estimated.
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost
per Unit
Not applicable
Ongoing Annual £124 per day based on average salary of £28,000 and 225 working days pa
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Cost per Unit Council Finance
Total Five Year
Cost
£588,155.56
Any substitution of Council staff with external specialist may increase costs significantly.
Cost Trend
Applied
No trend applied
Budget
Allocations
100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 26: Agile Worker Support Service
Number Required 95 days
Assumptions Senior Project (Programme) Manager costs at 150% of Average Salary
HR Specialist costs at 125% of Average Salary
ICT Development Specialist costs at 175% of Average Salary
ICT Operations Specialist costs at £130% of Average Salary
Programme Support costs at 125% of Average Salary
Project Management costs at 125% of Average Salary
Property Specialist at 1255 of Average Salary
Supplier Not applicable
One Time Cost per
Unit
Not applicable
Ongoing Annual
Cost per Unit Programme Manager Daily Fee £1,000
Project Manager Daily Fee £750
Specialist Daily Fee £500
Source: BT
Total Five Year Cost £65,000
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 27: Authentication Tokens
Number Required 626
Assumptions 100% of Mobile Workers; 100% of all Flexible Workers with a Laptop Computer (or
equivalent)
Supplier Assumed competitive procurement process
One Time Cost per Unit £5
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Source: BT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £100 including service wrap
Source: BT (based on City of Edinburgh experience)
Total Five Year Cost £103,791.47
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
Cost 28: Fast Business Broadband
Number Required 7
Assumptions 100% of Home Workers
Supplier Assumed competitive procurement process
One Time Cost per Unit £100
Source: Council IT
Ongoing Annual Cost per Unit £1000 including service wrap
Source: Council IT
Total Five Year Cost £23,543
Cost Trend Applied No trend applied
Budget Allocations 100% - Workforce Deployment Budget
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WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT Argyll and Bute Council
Process for Change
Appendix 8 - Equality Impact Assessment Authors: Laura Cameron
October 2009
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The Equality Impact Assessment Form
Essential Information 1. Name of function or policy: Process for Change - Workforce Deployment Theme 2. Is this function or policy: √ New □ Reviewed 3. Name of Officers completing this form: Morag Brown 4. Designation(s): Business Improvement Manager 5. Date of Impact Assessment: October 2009
6. Lead Council Department(s) involved in the delivery of this function or policy Chief Executive (Improvement and HR – Business Improvement Team)
7(a). Who else is involved in the delivery of this function or policy? (e.g. other Council departments or partner agencies) It forms part of the ‘Process for Change’ agenda which is one of the Council’s key strategic objectives, therefore all Council Departments and Heads of Service will be involved in the delivery of this function.
7(b). How have they been involved in the Impact Assessment process? A wide selection of staff from service departments have been assigned temporarily to assist the Business Improvement Team. All Directors, Heads of Service and third tier managers have been consulted. The HR Board including representation from the Trade Unions approve all reports prior to inclusion in the Council’s Committee cycle. The final report will be presented to Council for approval on 26th November 2009.
Aims of the function or policy 8. What are the main aims of the function or policy? Please list
• The future blueprint involves staff having the appropriate technology and equipment to enable them to access all relevant documents electronically and thus provide a complete service to customers first time, whether they are working at home, on the move or in a Council office.
• The large scale adoption of flexible working practices (flexible, mobile, home) and the large scale adoption of modern online tools such as web conferencing, mobile devices, audio conferencing, and collaborative working environments.
• The development of new ways of working including flexible, mobile and home working will assist in any future property rationalisation exercise and the likely reduction in office buildings along with the associated maintenance and running costs.
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• Modernising the workplace paired with a cultural shift towards a widespread adoption of new ways of working such as desk sharing and open plan office layouts will enable the workplace to become a much more dynamic and responsive environment. Workstations can be shared, touches down centres accommodate peripatetic workers and meeting rooms can double up as quiet room space.
9. Who are the main beneficiaries of the function or policy? Please list
• Customers of the Council
• Employees
• Council as a whole
10. Is the function or policy intended to increase equality of opportunity by permitting positive action or action to redress disadvantage? Yes □ No √ Give details:
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Evidence 11. What evidence will you use to identify any potential positive or negative impacts? (Evidence could include: consultations, surveys, focus groups, interviews, pilot projects, user feed back (inc complaints made), officer knowledge and experience, equalities monitoring data, academic publications, consultants’ reports, Citizens’ Panel etc)
Evidence Details
Consultation
7 solutions design workshops were held across 5 localities (Lochgilphead, Dunoon, Oban, Campbeltown and Helensburgh) involving 85 members of staff at varying levels of the organisation.
Research
The Council have researched agile working in other Councils and have regularly referred to the research undertaken by Project Nomad, which is a centre for excellence for flexible and mobile working in local government.
Officer knowledge and experience (inc feedback from frontline staff)
A 6 month mobile and homeworking pilot was undertaken across Planning and Environmental Services during second half of 2008. This was a very successful pilot which resulted in a wide range of benefits for the Officers involved and for the Council as a whole, including; increased flexibility for employee, better work – life balance, improved recruitment and retention of staff, reduced travel costs and improved customer satisfaction. BT have been recruited as consultants to take forward the Workforce Deployment theme of Process for Change. Their professional knowledge and experience in agile working (including the experience of other Councils who have undertaken similar projects) has been taken into account.
Equalities monitoring data
Surveys of Customer Survey Points carried out during the High Level Design phase.
User feedback (inc complaints)
User feedback from the pilot has been very positive, with the participants citing a number of personal benefits such as a better work life balance, improved job satisfaction and more flexibility in how/where work is carried out (between home and the office).
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Other Argyll and Bute Council has a partnership approach to the Process for Change agenda with Moray, Highland and Dumfries & Galloway Councils.
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Impacts 12. What, if any, Equality Target Groups could be affected by this function or policy? Place the symbol in the relevant box Consider also the relationship between belonging to an Equality Target Group and the effect of wider cross-cutting issues. E.g. a gay homeless person
Equality Target Group
Positive Impact
(+)
Neutral Impact
(0)
Negative Impact
(-)
Cross cutting Issue1? (please specify the issue)
BME* 0
Disability 0
Gender 0
LGBT** 0
Belief 0
Younger 0
Older 0
*BME: Black and Minority Ethnic Community **LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
13. From the Equality Target Groups you have highlighted above, what positive and negative impacts, do you think the function or policy might have? Detail the impacts and describe the groups affected.
Positive impacts (describe groups affected)
Negative impacts (describe groups affected)
1The cross cutting issues you should consider for the purpose of this Equality Impact Assessment
are: employees, health, access (including rural isolation), low income, unemployed, homeless and carers or any other relevant issue(s).
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If you have NOT identified any potential negative impacts go to question 15 and detail your monitoring, reviewing and publishing arrangements.
14. If you have identified any negative impacts use the matrix below to identify the level of the negative impact and the number of people potentially affected by the negative impact.
HIG
H
Your function or policy is likely to be unlawfully discriminatory. Refer to the EIA Guidance on how to modify your function or policy.
Your function or policy is likely to be directly discriminatory.
You must reject or substantially modify your
function or policy.
Nu
mb
er o
f P
eop
le A
ffec
ted
LO
W
Consider ways in which you can minimise or remove any low level negative impact that affects a small number of people.
Your function or policy is likely to be unlawfully discriminatory. Refer to the EIA Guidance on how to modify your function or policy.
LOW HIGH
Level of Negative Impact
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Monitoring and Reviewing 15. How will the implementation of the function or policy be monitored? (e.g. customer satisfaction questionnaires) The workforce deployment theme will be monitored using project management and benefits realisation methodology. The HR Board will also continue to act as the project board for this theme.
16. How will the results of the monitoring be used to develop the function or policy? The results of the monitoring and lessons learnt will be used during future years of implementation to ensure improvement and effectiveness in the roll out of this project. 17. When is the function or policy due to be reviewed? Will be reviewed on an annual basis.
Public Reporting of Results 18. Summarise the results of the Equality Impact Assessment. Include any action which has been taken as a result of the Equality Impact Assessment. You must note if you have modified or consulted on your function or policy. This summary should be recorded under Implications on all reports going to Council committees. Please also note where else this summary is going to be published. Summary This Equality Impact Assessment was carried out in October 2009 as part of the detailed design phase. No positive or negative impacts have been identified as a result of this project and the evidence gathered to date does not indicate that there is a need for action to be taken at this stage. The EIA will be reviewed in one years time during the implementation stage of the project, which may result in further action being taken.
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Notepad (optional) Please use the space below to detail any matters arising from the Impact Assessment process.
Please send feedback on ways to improve this process to: Policy Officer (Strategy), Policy and Strategy, Chief Executive’s Unit, Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT
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