Council quartet plans shared ERP
The sharing of services at four councils in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire will save £3.4 million and will secure HR's role for the future, according to the HR executive lead on the project. Cotswold District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, Forest of Dean District Council and Cheltenham Borough Council are working towards sharing services in finance, procurement, HR and payroll in a project known as the 'GO' programme.
Moving to a self-service model, with employees assisted by “centres of excellence”, aims to permit the councils' HR teams to streamline transactional processes and “focus on the strategic aim”, says Karen Gane, also HR manager at Forest of Dean District Council.
HR Magazine says access to up-to-date accurate data online will allow staff to make faster and better informed decisions. The platform will lower administration costs by offering self-service functions for day-to-day tasks such as ordering goods, claiming expenses and requesting annual leave.
Manager self-service capabilities allow departmental heads to take ownership of their service costs, removing reliance on centralised corporate control. The platform will also allow coordinated procurement to ensure the right goods and services are provided at the best possible cost.
Cheltenham Borough Council has been selected to host an ERP system that it will share with the other councils, states Computing.co.uk.
The ERP system is provided by UNIT4, and will host a full set of transactional services, including finance, procurement and HR.
"We were looking at particularly sharing services that could support our front line services, and this seemed like the obvious first step," says Pat Pratley, senior responsible owner for the programme.
According to the draft plan, the council also aims to reduce the cost of its ICT support structure by £185 000 in 2011/2012, and by £39 000 between 2012 and 2015, it says.
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