A common HR System operational across all sites would therefore enable the:

·        Electronic processing, storage and retrieval of personnel information across all sites.

·        Automation of core administrative HR processes i.e. recruitment, to enable ‘quicker, better, cheaper’ processes which meet customer requirements.

·        Accurate and immediate production of the wide range of information and reporting requirements in order to monitor progress against Trust and national strategic objectives.

This was achieved by upgrading to the latest 32 bit HR software providing Personnel, Recruitment and Training systems and giving the Trust the ability to pass on some of the day to day management of their employees to the department heads through the use of web enabled products.

A large amount of customisation had been carried out on the previous system and much of this needed to be carried over to the new system. A number of new features where identified, and many requirements meetings where carried out to ensure that the system would perform to user requirements.

The project consisted of :

Ø      upgrading three core products -  Personnel, Recruitment and Training,

Ø      purchasing two Web enabled products -  Manager and People

Ø      customisation

Ø      data transfers

Ø      Training

Ø      project management.

Configuration

The products purchased were implemented with having the following configuration of users within the Trust:

                                  Core system (c50 – 100 users)

                                HR, recruitment teams, training

administrators, etc.

                                Manager eXtend (c200+ users)

                                Ward managers, Heads of Depts,

                                Directorate Managers, PSDs, etc

Employee eXtend

(c12, 000 users)
 

This configuration is cost effective, would allow far greater access to the system and is technically more efficient.

IMPLEMENTATION

CORE PRODUCT

A phased roll-out plan for the implementation of the system was developed and agreed with Divisional HR Managers. It focused upon the core system and identified ‘where’ – which areas in the Trust should be targeted first - and ‘what’ – what components of functionality were key for the Trust and Divisional requirements. The plan also took account of the limited resources available within HR to support the roll out. It was agreed that the DHRMs would ‘champion’ the roll out of the system in their own Divisions and the corporate HR System Team would provide technical and training support.

The roll-out plans were:

First Phase

  The initial roll-out was targeted at areas who used the previous version of the HR System at WGH, RVH and RHSC and also LOMIS (a ‘home grown’ legacy system) users at RIE. This was to ensure continuity of service to our core customer base within the Trust.

Prior to this initial roll-out all available data was transferred from legacy systems to ensure no loss of historical data. Once the upgraded HR system was up and running these legacy systems were ‘switched off’.  As at March 2001 all employee appointments, change of details and terminations have been processed through the upgraded HR System either locally or centrally within HR.

Initially 35 users based at Western General, Royal Infirmary, RHSC, Royal Victoria, PMR and CITY were identified, connected and trained on the system.  

This first phase of the roll-out has been completed. This has enabled users to have quick and effective electronic storage and retrieval of employee information including demographics, professional qualifications, department and grade information, etc.

Second Phase

  The second phase roll-out focused on the three high priority areas identified by the DHRMs – Recruitment & Absence Monitoring.

Recruitment

The recruitment module supports the automation of the whole recruitment process, from the initial manpower authorisation control, monitoring vacancy stages, issuing candidate letters and finally the actual appointment and issue of contracts to new employees.

Recruitment is critical for the maintenance of records on the system as the module is linked and automatically updates the main database upon appointment of new starts. It therefore ensures there is no time lag between a new employee starting and the data available to other users on the system.

Recruitment is conducted by Divisional HR teams, Nursing Recruitment Team, RVH Recruitment Team and Liberton Recruitment Team.  All recruitment is now processed on the system.

Absence

The core Personnel module allows the recording of absence at individual, team, ward, directorate and Divisional levels across the Trust. It simplifies reporting, with weekly payroll returns, divisional and nursing reports all being produced from the single data input. This is in marked contrast to situation prior to roll-out were there was duplication and triplication of paper systems. Absence for 90% of Nursing staff (5,000 employees) is recorded and reported on, producing weekly and monthly reports. 

Recording of absences for staff groups/areas other than nursing is mixed. Divisional HR Managers (DHRMs) are currently putting together plans for managing absence in their Divisions. 

The barriers to implementation are not related to the system but reflect existing practices, or the lack of them, in these areas. For example Medical staff (i.e. Doctors) absences are rarely recorded.

The objective is to have all absences recorded and reported via the system. Only when complete coverage is obtained will we be able to provide an accurate picture of absence across the whole Trust.

Training was not initially identified as a high priority for the roll out process. However discussions with the Healthcare Information System (HIS) team in late 2001 highlighted their need for support in managing the high volume HIS training programmes required prior to and during the HIS implementation programme.

The HIS team required support in the administration of all HIS courses and the reporting capability to manage a high volume (c10, 000 employees) training programme.

Given this was a major priority for the Trust the HR System team provided significant support at short notice to provide access to and training on the Training Product to the HIS Training Team. This is now currently in place and, subject to some further refinement, is operational. Individual HIS training records are recorded and the administration of all HIS courses is be processed through the system.

In addition to HIS, all mandatory Nurse training is now being recorded against individual employees. Administration of training courses by the Organisational Development and Training Department function will go live in the next 2-3 months.

The objective is to administer all in-house training and development via the system.

CURRENT USERS - CORE PRODUCT 

Currently there are 100 registered system users across all sites utilising all Core Products – Recruitment, Personnel and Training.  This is fast reaching the licensing limit of 50 concurrent users. The Trust is experiencing greater demand for access to the system as the roll out continues and anticipate reaching the maximum number of users of the core system by late 2002. The plan is to begin to roll out the intranet products – see below – and transfer a number of existing core system users to the intranet option.

Line managers, via the Trust intranet are to be able to access information about their employees and generate a range of reports on individuals, teams, Departments, etc. subject to security access. Absence can be inputted directly from this product. For many managers this will be their only access.

EMPLOYEE eXTEND

Employees will be able to view their ‘own’ personal details, which includes career history, absence details and professional registration details.  Employees will also be able to view details of Trust vacancies and training opportunities and apply on line.

Both products also have the potential to provide useful information to all users e.g. Employee and Telephone Directories, with direct links to internal e-mail system.

The Trust has successfully piloted and rolled-out the Manager extend Product to the following sites/areas : -  

Liberton Hospital - 1 site, 8 Wards/Departments – 350 staff

Therapy Services Function – 4 sites - 500 staff

Women and Children’s Division – 2 sites - 15 Departments – 1200 staff

Line Managers are accessing and maintaining their teams personnel records via the Intranet.  This includes the recording of absence, personal information and professional membership.

CONCLUSIONS 

The Trust has a solid, reliable HR information system that is technically tried and tested within the Trust and offers great opportunities for the re engineering of a range of transactional HR activities and the radical improvement in management information and reporting capabilities.

To date the focus of effort within the HR System Team has been on delivering a sound technical product on time and budget, which it achieved, and focusing implementation on the Trust short/medium term HR priorities.

  The HR system is an important tool and enabler in shaping and delivering the Trust HR Strategy. Implementation plans within the Trust are now focusing on the medium to long term and in supporting the delivery and implementation of the forthcoming HR Strategy.