Chair: Sharon Currans (Banbridge District Council)

Chair: Sharon Currans (Banbridge District Council)

PPMA ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13

NORTHEN IRELAND REGION

Chair: Sharon Currans (Banbridge District Council)

Secretary:Linda Leahy (Local Government Staff Commission)

The Northern Ireland Region continues to grow both in attendance at meetings and in outputs. The 2012/13 year has been a most productive year as we continue to progress collaborative initiatives across the region.

We continue to meet monthly and in addition the various working groups meet as and when required to progress action.

ACITVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

The following achievements and activities of the Northern Ireland Regionduring the 2012/13 are as follows:-

PEOPLE and ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

Progress on the People and OD Strategic Framework which was developed in partnership with the Local Government Staff Commission (LGSC) was presented at the LGSC’s HR Conference in December 2012 has been significant. A composite report on the progress has been circulated widely in the sector. Details will be posted on the NI PPMA website.

The Strategic Framework provides a common platform for workforce development across the local government sector in Northern Ireland and supports individual councils in achieving their objectives as detailed in their corporate plans. To support its objective six interlinked Strategic Pillars have been identified including Leadership, Performance Culture, Employee Relations, Pay and Reward,

Talent Management and Learning Organisation.Working groups have been established under each of the six Strategic Pillars and PPMA continues to be actively involved in providing the professional lead to these groups. PPMA also have 2 representatives on the Project Board overseeing the overarching strategy.

PPMA ACTIVITIES

  • Leadership Capability Framework model was presented at the LGSC HR Conference in December and members of PPMA are working with PENNA to develop the detail of the Leadership Academy for Local Government. This work is being supported and funded by the LGSC;
  • Competency Framework developed for use across the sector in partnership with the LGSC. Following publication of the framework materials, seminars were delivered by and to PPMA members to enable practitioners to use this tool and it is being widely circulated to Local Authorities. The framework contains 4 Competence Groups that comprise 14 sets of behaviours for employees working a Strategic, Operational and Front Line level within individual Councils which reflects the standards and behaviours expected of employees within Local Government at an individual, team and organisational level;
  • Delivering Effective Change – Your Practical Guide (PPMA & LGSC) is now at final draft stage and the Practical Guide and Toolkit is being tested with a quality assurance, group of managers.
  • Industrial Relations Model and Employee Relations Framework have been issued for consultation;

Improvement, Collaboration and Efficiency Agenda (ICE)

The Improvement, Collaboration and Efficiency (ICE) Programme is an initiative led and designed by local government in Northern Ireland (SOLACE) to support local councils as they strive to continue to deliver high quality, efficient services in an increasingly challenging economic environment.

Its aim is to identify, share and implement opportunities for improvement, collaboration and efficiency across local government, creating opportunities for councils to engage in a variety of initiatives to deliver services in new and innovative ways on a local, sub‐regional and regional basis.

PPMA ACTIVITES

  • Collaboration in procurement of Occupational Health services amongst Local Authorities. Joint Tender documents have been agreed and we are currently seeking procurement advice prior to launching the tender process
  • Collaboration on Policy formulation across Local Authorities. A toolkit of model policies has been developed and circulated. Work is on-going on further policy development.
  • PPMA are further developing a Human Resources Development Programme which focuses on the needs of our members and is supported by the LGSC.
  • Collaboration across 26 Councils in recruitment advertising with the review of ‘Local Government Jobs’ a composite advertising campaign which delivered savings in excess of £400,000 across the sector in its first year. It is now established and continues to deliver significant savings and in addition has developed the Local Government brand in Northern Ireland.
  • The PPMA Recruitment subgroup (supported by the LG Training Group) are developing a recruitment portal for the sector liked to the Local Government Jobs and Situational Judgement Tests for high- volume recruitment posts which may also ultimately facilitate joint recruitment and a call-off list of candidates. The group is also looking at common recruitment documentation and ways to share recruitment practice.
  • The Systems Integration Working group has achieved significant improvements in service provided by our main Personnel System IT provider by presenting a collaborative single voice as a customer.
  • PPMA were asked by SOLACE in to undertake the recruitment exercise for appointments to the Community Safety Partnerships within Local Authorities (previously undertaken by private consultants on behalf of Central Government). This was a major public appointment exercise and demonstrated the professional ability of the Region’s members to deliver a quality service on behalf of the sector.

EVENTS

  • Well attended monthly meetings with guest speakers and a visit from the PPMA president in March 2013.
  • Readiness for Shared Services Workshop in February 2013.

Below is an overview of the main working groups currently active within the Region, many are supporting the SOLACE led ICE Agenda:-

  • PPMA ICE PerformanceWorking Group
  • People and OD Strategic Framework working groups and Project Board
  • PPMA Working Group on Job Evaluation processes
  • PPMA ICE Occupational Health Provision Working Group
  • PPMA ICE HR Systems Working Group
  • PPMA ICE Recruitment Working Group
  • PPMA Policy Development Working Group (subdivided into various Policy specific groups)
  • PPMA ICE e-Learning Working Group

In addition PPMA holds the position of chair on the Local Government Practitioners Group which develops the Learning and Development Strategy for the sector and currently has four working groups covering e-Learing, Training Evaluation, compliance training and Council Corporate Training Plan review. PPMA members are either leading or active members in these groups.

Below is an overview of the main working groups currently active within the Region, many are supporting the SOLACE led Improvement ,Collaboration and Efficiencies (ICE) Programme:-

  • PPMA ICE PerformanceWorking Group
  • People and OD Strategic Framework working groups and Project Board
  • PPMA Working Group on Job Evaluation processes
  • PPMA ICE Occupational Health Provision Working Group
  • PPMA ICE HR Systems Working Group
  • PPMA ICE Recruitment Working Group
  • PPMA Policy Development Working Group (subdivided into various Policy specific groups)
  • PPMA ICE e-Learning Working Group

In addition PPMA chairs the Local Government Practitioners Group which develops the Learning and Development Strategy for the sector and currently has four working groups covering e-Learing, Training Evaluation, compliance training and Council Corporate Training Plan review. PPMA members are either leading or active members in these groups.

This is a very brief outline of the main strategic activities undertaken in the past year and reflects the themes in the National PPMA Business Plan. The Region’s activities and events during the year have reflected the challenges facing local government in Northern Ireland and we have continued to strengthen our important links with SOLACE, the Local Government Staff Commission, NILGA and our other stakeholders.

I would like to acknowledge the amount of time and effort involved in the above activities and want to record my thanks to our local PPMA members who have engaged willingly in this body of work. I also want to thank specifically thank Linda Leahy for her invaluable support both to the region and personally to me as chair of the region, and to her colleagues in the LGSC for their on-going help and support.

As always we wish to record our thanks to the national officers who provide support and encouragement throughout the year.

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