IT TO SUPPORT MOBILE WORKING IN HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

On 21 June 2005 the Executive Member for Policy and Resources endorsed the pilot phase of the Flexible and Mobile Working Project in the Social Services Department.

A 15-user pilot over ten weeks will start in late summer. The first stage will be primarily conducted at Gosport where some of the IT equipment is already in place and the team are familiar with the devices and some of the software. Working practices will be modified to take full advantage of the technology supplied. The teams involved include Gosport Children and Families Reception and Assessment Team who, like all Children and Family teams have been using Swift since its delivery in April 2004, and representative staff from the Adult, Older Persons and Children Sectors.

There main benefits of flexible and mobile working include measurable service improvements (e.g. greater client contact time), measurable savings (e.g. accommodation and travel costs) and other less quantifiable benefits (e.g. improvements in morale and job satisfaction). Overall the changes will help to modernise the service in ways which are essential for the best performing local authorities of the future.

The key objectives of the pilot stage are to:

o Prove that tangible cost savings in areas such as mileage claims can be achieved and sustained

o Confirm that benefits resulting from improved staff productivity can be achieved, and to assess their potential for improved efficiencies and possible cost savings

o Enable target productivity time savings (e.g. face to face contact with clients) to be set for any subsequent implementation

o Further assess the potential for rationalisation or improved use of accommodation that could result from a wide implementation of mobile working

o Develop a full risk analysis to inform decisions on future phases of the project. This will include assessing the robustness and acceptability of the technology and reviewing staff willingness to change the way they work.

o Fully assess the operational suitability of different mobile devices for specific types of settings

o To develop recommendations for future phases of the project, either in terms of a business case to proceed or a recommendation to halt the project at this stage.

In working closely with IT Services, this pilot will also help with the wider needs of the County Council in testing technologies to support mobile and flexible working patterns in other departments and provide a framework of criteria that other departments could adopt in considering the potential cost benefits of more flexible working arrangements. The National Priorities and E-Government outcomes published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has established a requirement for all local authorities to provide online facilities to allow "ICT support and documented policy for home/remote working [for staff]" and "Access to home/remote working facilities."

The pilot will cost £115,000 and will be funded by the Social Services Department's Information for Social Care Grant. The pilot will be completed by November 2005 and a progress report will be presented to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources in January 2006.

Once the pilot has proved successful for Social Services further roll out will be considered in the context of Members' priorities for the new Children and Adults directorates and other plans, particularly the development of contact centres and the Council's human resources policies for flexible working.

This decision supports all six aims of the County Council by increasing the capacity of workers with improved systems and greater flexibility, enhancing quality of service and potentially increasing the number of cases handled within the same budgets (Aims 4, 5 and 6); decreasing the amount of paper, mileage for unnecessary journeys and office space used, reducing the overall environmental impact of Council service delivery (Aims 2 and 5); improving the perception of Hampshire as a thriving and forward-looking authority thereby offering potential to attract investment to the area (Aim 3); increasing the access of staff to core systems, to work increasingly flexible work patterns, and to offer greater work-life balance to staff whilst maintaining quality and quantity of service. Also many staff will feel that they are valued and trusted (Aims 1, 3, 5 and 6).