3. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Overview
3.1 The Human Resource Management ( HRM) function is delivered by the Head of HRM, supported by an assistant and two administrators. The College does not have a strategy to guide activity, but instead follows the principles of the ACPOS People Strategy. Policy and procedure overseen by the function is focused principally on the support staff, given that police officers on secondment are governed, in general and for the time being, by their home force practices. When the common police services fall under the umbrella of the SPSA, it may be appropriate to review the potential anomalies presented by differing conditions and support for police and support staff. The same applies to Health and Welfare, as noted in paragraph 3.17. HMIC suggests that the SPSA and ACPOS consider whether the status of police officers seconded to the SPSA needs to be adjusted during secondment so that their people management needs can be supported by the Authority.
3.2 Support staff are in the unusual position of being managed through the College despite being employed by Fife Council. Terms and conditions are therefore consistent with those for Fife Council. The introduction of the SPSA will see the new Authority become the employer for all support staff. Such changes can have a significant impact on staff, through uncertainty about job security, pay and conditions. During the inspection HMIC found staff to be largely comfortable with the arrangements, albeit a number of issues had not yet been resolved. Nevertheless, assurances about job security and conditions of employment appear to have been effective.
Recruitment and Selection
3.3 Police staff are recruited via advertisement to police forces. As far as possible the College recruits police officers to start in April or October, which helps with the organisation of foundation courses and the induction of new staff. The stages of recruitment follow a defined process to ensure a consistent approach. The selection process involves a formal structured interview. It was noted that while interview panels for training posts included representation from the relevant division, they did not necessarily include a qualified training specialist. In order to help recruit the most appropriate trainers, HMIC would suggest that the College consider whether a training specialist should participate in relevant interview panels.
3.4 HMIC found the College to be experiencing some difficulty recruiting police officers as instructors. A recent advertisement for Probationer Training Division instructors attracted only four applicants for six posts. A consequence of this problem was that PTD remained four instructors below its recognised complement at the time of inspection. One factor, which ironically appears to have had a negative influence, is the almost universal adoption by forces of fair and transparent promotion systems that are open to everyone. This means that officers who have not yet succeeded in their in-force promotion selection process and who apply for promoted posts on central service, tend to be given temporary promotion by their forces. Officers can participate in their promotion processes while on secondment; success in this normally leads to conversion from temporary to substantive rank, within the secondment.
3.5 Nevertheless, this means that officers who are successful in their in-force promotion process are unlikely to apply for central service, as a result of the 'bird in the hand' principle. While those who have not yet been successful may feel that a temporary promotion and two years away from their force is too much of a risk to longer term prospects.
3.6 HMIC strongly supports the introduction of fair and transparent promotion policies by police forces. However, HMIC also believes that (a) officers seconded to central services should be amongst the best of their peers, and (b) time spent on central service is valuable development for officers who have ambitions to progress further.
3.7 There is no easy solution to this state of affairs, but it needs to be addressed in respect of all central services offering promoted posts. One ameliorating measure would be to introduce selection processes for all central services, which chief constables would be happy to treat as equivalent to their own i.e. by rewarding success with substantive promotion - or at least substantive promotion on return to force, subject to performance reports. The longer- term solution for all forces, which would add value by applying consistency and completely transparent impartiality, would be a common national selection system designed by and administered on behalf of, but independent of, individual forces.
Recommendation 3
HMIC recommends that the SPSA consult with ACPOS on the subject of recruiting staff to central service posts and examine the options available to encourage candidates to apply for SPSA secondments, including the possibility of selection procedures that forces would accept for substantive promotion.
3.8 The stages of support staff recruitment currently follow a defined process similar to that used for police staff. As support staff are currently employed by Fife Council, the procedures follow that local authority's policy and guidance. Posts are advertised through the College, Fife Council, police forces and Job Centre plus. Posts are not generally advertised in specific publications. Consideration has been given to targeted advertising, particularly to address a current diversity imbalance. The range of areas to be considered and the consequent prohibitive cost has apparently prevented the College from adopting such an approach, even though it has successfully been adopted by the smaller common police service, the Scottish Criminal Record Office.
3.9 As Best Value practice, when posts become vacant they are assessed to confirm the job requirement. For police officer posts this includes consideration of whether the post can be civilianised. The effect of such reviews over recent years is evident in the increasing proportion of support staff at the College. Good examples of this can be seen in the employment of specialist training co-ordinators and physical education instructors. In addition to providing best value, this approach helps to maintain the corporate memory of the College, which would be under threat if too many staff members were on fixed-term secondments. HMIC commends the positive progress on civilianisation as an example of good practice and notes that further such opportunities were being suggested by College staff.
Equal Opportunities and Diversity
3.10 HMIC found some evidence of the College's commitment to achieving high standards in equality and diversity. This was particularly apparent during the inspection in the messages given out by all members of the Executive team; the team maintains a high profile on the issue, including participating in the College Diversity Action Group. The College introduced an Independent Advisory Panel in 2002, with members nominated by Scottish police forces. The remit of the Panel is to facilitate external consultation and to provide a mechanism for training design and quality assurance to ensure that content and methods of delivery meet the needs of the communities served. The panel meets quarterly and conducts regular visits to training divisions.
3.11 The College has an equal opportunities policy, which may be considered to be its benchmark for standards in this area. During the inspection, however, evidence suggested that these standards were not universally maintained. Members of the inspection team witnessed some training situations where expected standards of diversity were not fully complied with and found some training materials that did not have necessary references to diversity issues. This suggests that the intention to introduce quality assurance has not been completely successful and ought to be reviewed.
3.12 Similarly, the College intention to recruit a representative workforce has not been particularly successful. Whilst HMIC recognises the challenges faced, it considers that there is scope for greater innovation in attempts to address the current imbalance in this important area.
3.13 The College does have a diversity action plan based on the ACPOS Diversity Strategy. The action plan comprehensively addresses the issues. However, some actions marked as complete should more appropriately be considered as requiring further review in the future, such as the steps taken to recruit a more diverse workforce referred to above. HMIC was also disappointed to note that, whilst all police officers on the College staff had received the nationally agreed diversity training, only 40% of support staff had been trained. This does not compare favourably with Scottish police forces. Plans were in place to address the shortfall in the number of support staff who had received diversity training and HMIC will examine progress during the next inspection.
3.14 HMIC was made aware of positive progress being made through the relationship between the College and the Gay Police Association ( GPA). The College now has a staff member who can act as a point of contact and provide confidence and support to gay men and women who attend the College. The GPA has welcomed this development. Discussion was also under way on the possibility of the GPA providing a seminar for the Continuous Professional Development Programme.
3.15 It was apparent too that the College had identified scope for further improving its diversity practices. An external consultant was engaged to review its diversity action plan, corporate plan and other strategic documents and to help develop a new equality and diversity strategy that would incorporate gender, age and disability responsibilities. At the time of the inspection the College was considering the draft strategy.
3.16 HMIC found that the College, like the other constituent parts of the new SPSA, has no dedicated diversity officer. Aspects of that role are covered by HR staff and the diversity training co-ordinator. Nevertheless it will be necessary to appoint someone with that specific remit for the Authority, if desired standards are to be developed and maintained and the potential of staff maximised. Such an individual might also be able to develop further options to improve the diversity balance of staff across the Authority. The College also has a responsibility for diversity beyond its staff. It must take diversity into account in its relationship with police forces, other stakeholders and in the way it prepares and trains police staff. Though ACPOS' decision to introduce a national diversity co-ordinator is a positive development, this person cannot be expected to take on ownership of day-to-day diversity issues within the SPSA.
Recommendation 4
HMIC recommends that the SPSA project team consider the capacity of the future Authority to address diversity issues, including the option of creating a diversity co-ordinator post to support all parts of the Authority.
Health and Welfare
3.17 Attendance figures for College staff appear to indicate a supportive working environment and a committed workforce, with low absence levels for both police and support staff. The positive outlook of staff was evident throughout the inspection. Staff were enthusiastic, dedicated and took a clear pride in the establishment. An occupational health nurse is available to all staff on three half days a month, while support staff also benefit from specialist consultants as required via Fife Council. Whilst the nurse was recognised to be very busy on occasions, College staff are content and feel the current level of provision to be sufficient to meet demand. Specialist assistance for police staff is provided from home forces. Though separate service provision can work, it does not necessarily suggest ease of accessibility. Changing the status of seconded police officers, as proposed in Suggestion 4 after paragraph 3.1, would help to create the circumstances where police officers could be supported by the same HR staff and policies as their support staff colleagues, as part of the SPSA.
Health and Safety
3.18 The College has clear policies on health and safety, and an established committee with representation from across College divisions meets on a quarterly basis. The Executive's commitment to health and safety is demonstrated by the committee being chaired by the College Secretary, while the Director personally undertakes an annual cycle of reviews.
3.19 The College has a formally qualified Health and Safety Officer who manages the organisation's response to health and safety issues and ensures compliance with legislation. In addition, each division appoints 'representatives of employee safety' ( ROES) who conduct workplace inspections, workstation assessments and risk assessments. The ROES have been trained by the Health and Safety Officer to conduct these inspections and assessments, demonstrating shared ownership across the establishment.
Staff Development
3.20 On appointment to the College, new staff undergo personal interviews with each member of the College Executive and a two-day induction course. Each is also allocated a mentor to help them integrate into the College. HMIC noted that the induction course had recently been reviewed and that a written pack was being developed for staff who join the College outwith the normal recruitment periods. Such staff would, however, still attend the next induction course, which provides an overview of the College, a meeting with the relevant head of Division and input on the College vision, mission and objectives.
3.21 In addition, on taking up appointment at the College teaching staff attend a foundation course to develop the skills necessary to deliver lectures. This course forms part of the curriculum for the diploma in higher education in training and development, which is a developmental course open to staff during and beyond their time at the College and for which the College provides the necessary financial support. The higher education diploma in training and development is a positive investment in the continuous development of staff, which HMIC considers to be good practice. It was noted, however, that the only compulsory aspect was the foundation course. Whilst a commendable number of College staff commit themselves to the ongoing development offered by the Diploma, others do not. As a consequence, there is no requirement for training staff to undergo any continuous professional development to update their skills. This is inconsistent with the overall aims of the College. HMIC suggests that the College consider introducing mechanisms, preferably within the PDR system as referred to in Recommendation 6, to promote the maintenance and development of skills for all training staff.
3.22 The quality of teaching delivered by instructors is the subject of a structured assessment approach in training divisions: colleagues and line managers observe inputs and complete written reports which comment on specific aspects of the instructor's input. These are then reviewed with the instructor to identify areas for improvement.
3.23 In terms of development needs beyond instructor training, the College supports any staff who, on their own initiative, undertake other external training within the terms of a published policy. This includes financial assistance of up to 80% of the cost for support staff, while police officers are able to seek funding from their home force. Both police and support staff can receive time off for study and examinations.
3.24 General staff development is delivered as part of the appraisal and development process. Support staff and police officers complete a personal development plan relevant to their appraisal process. A skills matrix is prepared for support staff which details the skills level necessary for the post and the actual skill level of the staff member. These PDPs provide the basis for identifying any training necessary to help the staff member maximise his or her potential.
3.25 The budget for staff development is devolved to each College Division. Costs are a factor in assessing and prioritising staff training needs, although efforts are made to provide the type of training and development where cost is not a major factor. Such development can also enhance career development, something that was apparent from support staff who had progressed through different roles at the College. HMIC found various good examples of staff training and development across divisions, demonstrating the College's commitment in this regard.
3.26 Reference has been made to the foundation training provided to new teaching staff. One area that is not covered during that training is diversity, presumably on the basis that teaching staff will attend, or have attended, a training course consistent with the National Equal Opportunities Training Strategy. During the inspection HMIE staff witnessed training in diversity that they considered to be of high quality, but as noted in para 3.11 they also observed three separate incidents in other classes where the expected standards were not maintained.
3.27 The arrangements for evaluating instructors at the College have been described earlier in this section. The shortcomings found by HMIE may indicate that the evaluation processes may not be sufficiently frequent or robust, and HMIC considers that both the training and evaluation of delivery merit review.
Recommendation 5
HMIC recommends that the College provide additional diversity training, or a different type of diversity training, to teaching staff. It should also review arrangements for assessing and monitoring teaching staff and develop a robust and consistent system to promote the maintenance of appropriate standards, particularly in relation to diversity and equality issues.
Staff Appraisal
3.28 Support staff are currently appraised using the Scottish Executive appraisal system. Shortly before the inspection, the College started to operate the HRS human resource system being developed by the Scottish Police Information Strategy ( SPIS). This system supports the new performance development review ( PDR), which will replace the existing national police appraisal system and which was the subject of a recent successful trial on behalf of ACPOS by Grampian Police. The College will shortly introduce this new appraisal system, though as HMIC learned during the inspection, these new arrangements will apply only to College support staff.
3.29 The appraisal of police officers seconded to the College is currently governed by practice within their home force. This means that whilst the core principles of appraisal and evidencing behaviour and performance throughout the year will be consistent, supervisors must be conversant with a variety of reporting systems. This does not appear to be efficient practice, particularly when the College will have access to the new ACPOS-approved system of appraisal. Some College staff expressed concern that moving away from the home force appraisal process might in some ways disadvantage the officers concerned, for example with regard to promotion processes at force. Given that all appraisal processes have the same aim, and that the new process is designed to be a national arrangement, HMIC does not believe that this should be the case.
3.30 It was noted that a new system of appraisal for probationary students has been developed in liaison with the team developing the PDR. The new approach allows teaching staff to submit evidence on student performance at any stage. When recording the information they are provided with a clear competency based structure, supplemented by descriptors which help to assess whether performance is competent or still developing.
3.31 Staff and managers in all organisations need to be and feel part of the same, consistently applied system. They also need unity of management and responsibility. As suggested at the beginning of this Chapter, the people management needs of all staff at Tulliallan would be best served by these being much more closely aligned with the College itself, within the SPSA.
3.32 Consequently, the issue of appraisal should be considered in the context of the forthcoming personnel arrangements for the SPSA as well as for other staff secondments outwith the SPSA. HMIC considers that staff on secondment for a year or more should, wherever possible, be appraised under the new PDR arrangements, with management delivered by the organisation to which they are seconded and home forces being updated as required.
Recommendation 6
HMIC recommends that ACPOS discuss with the SPSA, and other organisations to which Scottish officers are seconded, the potential for seconded staff to be appraised, where possible, using the new personal development review system. Also that appraisal processes be led, managed and maintained by the organisation to which staff are seconded, with copies of all relevant documentation being shared with forces.