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Programme Athena Update byMartin RaysonDivisional Director HR & ODLondon Borough Barking & Dagenham

London Heads of HR 25th November 2011

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Purpose of Session

To update attendees on the progress of Programme Athena

In overall terms progress made in Finance On the HR stream clarify current HR position for

each Council To report back on the progress of the Oracle

workstream, as a means to demonstrate what is possible

To draw out the barriers to active participation in the

project by the HR Community

General Update on Programme Athena There have been changes to the programme

management team…but the overall vision for Athena remains the same:

“Authorities using the same processes through a shared solution, to deliver support services within London public sector organisations, in order to gain the opportunity and ability to deliver significant efficiencies and service improvements for ICT enabled support service functions, such as Finance and HR. This will fulfil local needs and demands and maximise the opportunities that exist through joint supplier management.”

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The Programme is still committed to..

Enable better and more efficient integrated working across authority and sector boundaries;

Enable the future proofing of joint working arrangements across the public sector;

Ensure that back office services can be as lean and efficient as possible ensuring that as much of taxpayers money supports front line service provision; and

Provide a strategic value for money solution for London.

Update on Athena – Progress made in Finance

One Oracle, One SAP, Tri-borough at procurement stage

One Cedar, and One Agresso developing business cases

HR systems in London

Update on Athena - Current position on HR HR Oracle users at Hounslow, Camden, and Greenwich have been

incorporated into the existing One Oracle (Finance) group and are exploring opportunities for convergence)

Two other HR groups have also been set up One Northgate (Hackney, Bexley, Hillingdon,Islington, RBKC,

Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Lewisham) Hackney was the One Lead but is now procuring on a neutral basis –

new One Lead required One Midland (Hammersmith &Fulham, City of London, Croydon,

Redbridge, Newham, Ealing, Sutton & Merton, Kingston) Hammersmith & Fulham was the original One Lead but now

committed to Tri-borough project. New One Lead is required Overall

Progress on the exploration of HR convergence has stalled. There is a need for new impetus particularly as the changes planned by the convergence of the financial systems will have significant impact on organisations and people

What we need from you....

Your honest feedback and views on engagement with the London HR community;

Your ideas for replicating the Financial common processes work;

Your experience in supporting similar projects; What do you see as the major issues or barriers

from an HR perspective; How can we move forward with the HR

workstream?

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Martin Rayson’s Update on Oracle

Memorandum of Understanding OUR AIMS - to work collaboratively to create a Joint Service to:

Create a common instance of an ERP system in Oracle Release 12 with an initial go live date for wave 1 by April 2013 and wave 2 October 2013

Avoid duplication of costs in the re-implementation to Oracle Release 12

Develop joint back office accounting, finance and procurement transactional processing services

Establish combined hosting arrangements Standardise processes, practices, definitions and policies

coordinated with best practice to improve the quality and consistency of service provided

Create new ICT solutions including reporting, planning and forecasting functionality

Work in coordination with Programme Athena Be cognisant of the different delivery models currently in place at

the authorities

Example Current Issues Oracle configured as an historic, rigid devolved local

authority model System customisations inhibiting future upgrades with prohibitive costs

Chart of accounts improvements required, undermining performance currently supported by an industry of MS-Excel spreadsheets

Unnecessary system complexity Unused capability within the system with insufficient

training of staff Reduction in quality of data and information Inconsistent processes and accounting policies

Drawn from partner boroughs

Example Opportunities

Create one legal entity with flexibility for commissioning / provider arrangements

Introduce efficiencies to reduce bureaucracy Migrate to standardised vanilla functionality Introduce greater levels of self service for suppliers,

debtors and employees ‘One version of the truth’ through interactive reporting

suite Automate accounting procedures for example common

approach to accruals External systems convergence into Oracle

Drawn from partner boroughs

Conceptual Architecture (Wave 1 & 2)

Our belief, a combined single instance of Oracle has significant benefits

Route map

Creating a system that is easy to use without customisation, greater levels of standardised functions that support simplified processes and procedures and a system that increases user satisfaction.

StandardiseSimplifying the Chart of Accounts, creating common processes and performance reporting with other London Boroughs throughProgramme Athena

Consolidate• Re-implementing to Oracle Release 12 as a combined system • Migrating some systemsto Oracle • Introducing Business Analytics reporting• Empowering staff to manage budgets and resources

Joint ServiceSharing the delivery of transactional HR, payroll, finance and procurement services via a possible Joint Committee Arrangement

Athena

Other separate procurements arein progress by other authorities

Partners

Tier 1 – Wave 1 Barking & Dagenham Brent Lambeth Lewisham

Tier 1 – Wave 2 Croydon Havering

Tier 2 – Wave 3

• Bexley

• Bromley

• City of London

• Greenwich

• Hounslow

• Hillingdon

• Kent County Council

• Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

• Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames

• Newham

• Westminster City Council

Tier 1 - Active partnerTier 2 - Option open for the future

33The Joint Service

Solution Phasing Proposal

Solution Confirmation Development Implementation Support

Go LiveAlignment & Design

2011 2012 2013 2014

Calendar Year

StartFinance & Procurement (R11 to R12)

Lambeth, Lewisham, Barking

& Dagenham

Integration Confirmation

Transition Support

Go Live

Start Finance &Procurement (R12 to R12)Lambeth, Lewisham,

Croydon, HaveringBrent, Barking &

Dagenham

Solution Development Implementation Support

Go LiveStart HR & PayrollR11 to R12Lambeth,

Brent, Barking & Dagenham

Lambeth, Croydon, Havering, Brent

Barking & Dagenham

** Assumed split into a series of ‘sub-waves’*** Operational shared service go live to be added

Go LiveStart HR & PayrollR12 to R12

Integration Transition Support

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 1

Wave 2

April April OctOct

Wave 3 **(First sub-wave)

All in sub-wavesAlignment Integration Confirmation

April

Transition Support

Go Live

R11SupportEnds

R11 Contingency

Implications For HR

Single Oracle Instance Minimal if no customisation Potential to maximise self-service Standardisation of procedure & policy Business change process Readiness of organisations Other things going on! Active participation in project arrangements

Next Steps

HR & Change Management Workshops Agreeing shared values Determining HR/Payroll system

requirements Understanding implications for

policies/procedures Shared services workstream – thinking

about models

Key Questions

To what extent does Athena (or the principles of) feature in yourfuture strategy for the HR function in your Council?

What are the barriers to active participation by HR in the Athenaproject?

How the barriers might be overcome?

Would it be valuable to start by thinking about where we might be able to create a shared set of policies and procedures which might be useful irrespective of platform?

In your view is Athena an impossible dream? What is the view of your organisation?

Is the project getting the leadership it needs?

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Questions?