R140 G182 B29 R108 G141 B49 R78 G0 B100 R198 G12 B48 Dominant ColorsCorporate Colours R208 G113 B47 R225 G168 B0 R66 G20 B95 R143 G49 B58 R178 G180 B179 R116 G118 B120 R77 G79 B83 Supporting neutral colors Outsourcing Human Resources The Dartford Experience Steve Brooks, Head of Finance and Resources

2 Background to Dartford Borough Council Smallest district council in Kent Population of approx 90,000 Gross expenditure of £50m General fund budget of £12m – and reducing We do not do education or social services No direct service organisation 400 employees – and reducing Local pay and conditions

3 HR and payroll at Dartford BC 2006/7 HR – Manager plus 3 fte staff All work in civic centre as do 95% of all staff Gross cost £233k Payroll – 1 fte plus 20% of 2 other staff Gross cost – approx £45k Payroll not part of HR Frontier CHRIS integrated software

4 Main reasons for change Management Team unhappy with strategic advice Senior managers unhappy with HR support Staff did not trust HR confidentiality Core data unreliable Integrated software cumbersome

5 Why outsource? “always outsource from a position of strength” Nice thought but I imagine it rarely happens – not our experience Cost was not the main reason for change Payroll not considered at this stage

6 Options considered Three companies approached 1. Small high quality HR consultancy with a few outsource clients 2. National outsource company 3. NorthgateArinso NorthgateArinso approached because of the work they were doing with Canterbury CC

7 NorthgateArinso Not used NorthgateArinso before Fundamentally different way of providing the service remote administration and HR consultancy support small on site presence senior and strategic support when required regular meetings with relevant managers regular briefing for managers ResourceLink software – My View

8 Consideration of two alternatives Team consisting of me, one director and two senior managers Detailed presentations and discussions Visit to NorthgateArinso at Peterborough Demonstration of ResourceLink/MyView

9 Decision and why Unanimous support for NorthgateArinso proposals Would totally change the way the HR service was provided The two managers had experienced off site HR support and were comfortable with it Two good references Potential saving of £50k on current costs Service Level Agreement

10 Payroll When we looked further at ResourceLink/MyView it soon became apparent that this would substantially change the way we produced payroll I asked for a quote for outsourced payroll and Jenny Erby, Payroll Manager went to see ResourceLink and talk to payroll staff at NorthgateArinso Easy decision to include payroll – cost and resilience

11 Initial priorities Transition stage until ResouceLink/MyView built Meet and greet sessions Transfer existing policies to Peterborough Review policies Produce new staff handbook Agree admin processes and procedures to transfer to Leeds office Prepare payroll for transfer Corporate restructure

12 Initial timescale Started review in March 2007 Temp support from NorthgateArinso in May 2007 Decision in August 2007 Contract for HR commenced October 2007 Payroll live April 2008 MyView – online payslips live May 2008

13 First impressions Major culture change for staff and importantly managers Some found it hard to adjust – “there is no one in HR” Further communication about Advice Line and Admin Team Restructure delayed implementation of initial priorities Trying to do too many things – set achievable objectives

14 Key achievements so far All HR polices updated New comprehensive Employee Handbook New HR strategy New Competency Framework New Managing Attendance policy and procedure MyView for: Payslips Online reporting and managing of sickness Online request and managing of leave Annual saving of £60,000 NorthgateArinso have access to other expertise and services NorthgateArinso adapt quickly and can provide additional support at short notice Respond positively and quickly to criticism and complaints

15 Teething troubles and lessons learnt Teething troubles Leeds not sufficiently staffed when we went live Delays in getting MyView correctly set up NorthgateArinso working in silos Lessons learnt Don’t try to do too much in one go Agree up front where services will be provided from

16 The future Contract for 5 years – ends Sept 2012, option to extend Can NorthgateArinso help us to reduce costs and be more efficient? Can we establish a joint working HR service incorporating NorthgateArinso and other authorities ? Training for future leaders

17 Questions Q&A