The National Audit Office is to radically overhaul its HR department and
introduce e-HR to improve efficiency and cut costs.
Starting this week, the NAO is scrapping its six regional HR offices and
centralising the function at its London headquarters, cutting the HR department
by 25 per cent to 30 staff.
HR staff left out of the centralised team are being trained and redeployed
in other support functions at the Government auditors.
John McCann, HR director at the NAO, believes the move will focus the
service delivery of HR, make it more cost effective and improve communication.
"We shall still have a large HR team with a big investment needed to run
the graduate recruitment programme, secondments and payroll," he said.
"But there is now a clear remit for delivery. Communication will be
centralised and improved as there have been inconsistencies between corporate
and unit HR teams."
The second stage of the restructure is the implementation of e-HR including
an HR advice page for managers.
Within the next two years the NAO’s 770 staff will be able to complete HR
processes online, including the updating of personal details. Paper payslips
will eventually be scrapped and replaced by online versions.
"The move will develop line managers’ understanding of HR issues and
trust them to rely on their own judgement," said McCann.
The NAO has also updated staff development to improve retention of
high-potential employees following an 18-month report into development and
retention.
As a result of the changes, more than 110 trainee auditors will be assessed
and monitored regularly by their line manager, training manager and an
independent senior manager who will act as a mentor.
By Paul Nelson
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