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The transition from paper to an e-HR technology solution for Aberdeen council
Covering an area with a population of over 200,000, Aberdeen City Council employs close to 12,500 staff in support of local education, social care, the environment, housing and business.
The Council's Employee Development Team has a primary responsibility for the ‘Corporate Appraisal’ scheme across the organisation, which was historically paper-based. This used bespoke appraisal forms recording previous performance against their specific job role, an assessment against the Council’s core competencies, before setting future objectives with a supporting ‘Personal Development Plan’ (PDP).
Whilst this approach was sound in principle, it inevitably highlighted challenges that any paper-based appraisal process is prone to over any length of time or as it scales up to accommodate large numbers of employees.
The most notable issue that arises is simply one of administration; handling vast amounts of paperwork, which have to be circulated, completed, monitored, archived and retrieved, creates a ‘paperstorm’ that can engulf a small team of administrators.
Similarly, providing useful management information as to the status of appraisals, and aggregated data as to what development needs are being requested across the organisation, becomes an onerous task in itself.
For users, completing multiple forms, ensuring their security and remembering to pass them on once completed, can become a low priority task and consequently an inconsistent process for the organisation.
With this in mind, Aberdeen City Council embarked on a project in early 2007, to create an on-line appraisal process which would enable to them to begin the transition from paper to an e- HR technology solution.
They began by outlining the requirement for a hosted, web-based system, operated under a ‘Software-asa- Service’ (SaaS) user licence model; this approach would allow them to quickly and cost-effectively introduce an on-line process which would have no impact on their current I.T. infrastructure.
The solution had to be fully tailored to their needs, by replicating their existing appraisal forms and introducing a new 360 degree feedback assessment against their own core competencies.
Importantly, they wanted a system that would be easy to use for both administrators and employees; it had to be as intuitive as possible to minimise the need for ongoing training and to encourage widespread use.
Working with their selected partner, Bowland Solutions, the Council implemented the on-line corporate appraisal system in early 2008, taking some 150 Corporate Directors, Heads of Service and Service Managers through as the first group.
The new appraisal process begins with a 360 degree feedback assessment against the ten council competencies, consisting of six core competencies relevant to all, coupled with an additional four management competencies.
An administrator invites appraisees via a system-generated email, whereupon the appraisee can log-in and select the level of competency appropriate to their role, and a minimum of five respondents to give feedback, including their own self-assessment.
Respondents requested to give feedback, simply log-in, complete the questionnaire and log-out again. Once the required amount of feedback is completed, the 360 degree feedback report is automatically made available for the appraisee to share with their line manager in advance of their appraisal meeting.
A highly tailored report aggregates all of the ratings and narrative feedback, graphically and anonymously showing how each respondent rated against each question, complete with a summary of strengths and development areas.
With the 360 degree feedback cycle completed, the appraisee accesses the system again and completes their 'Corporate Appraisal' form. This captures a review of performance against key tasks, as well as setting priority areas of work for the forthcoming period.
Their line manager similarly completes the same form on-line for the appraisee, before they meet to discuss and agree a final version which is signed off before being archived.
The last step in the appraisal process is for the appraisee to complete a 'Personal Development Plan' (PDP), which is again signed off by both parties; this identifies development needs arising from the final agreed appraisal form and the individual's 360 degree feedback.
This ability for all users to get on with the appraisal process, has been supported by a principle of simplicity in the system and user interface design, coupled with on-the-page help and guidance, and even Flash-based training movies.
Although still in its infancy, the Council are seeing a number of benefits as they adopt this technology; time saved on the part of users, a reduced burden on the administration team and the wider introduction of 360 degree feedback to underpin their commitment to the organisations desired core behaviours and employee development.
HR Networks Scotland Magazine September 2008