Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Careers in HRChange managementFranceLatest NewsEconomics, government & business

Whitehall shared services will take two years to achieve

by Guy Logan 7 May 2009
by Guy Logan 7 May 2009

Defra’s HR chief has admitted that Whitehall’s imminent move to shared services may take two years to become fully operational.

A Treasury report by former Logica boss Martin Read, endorsed in the Budget last month, said up to 30% cost savings could be achieved across government departments and quangos if they adopted a radical re-engineering of back-office functions and introduced central-wide shared services.The plans will put an estimated 6,000 HR jobs at risk.

But, Siobhan Sheridan, HR directoratthe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), warned that her Department has taken since April 2007 to fully implement shared back-office functions across its HR, payroll, procurement and finance departments.

“The early days of running shared service functions are always challenging, and that’s the same whether it’s in the private sector or public sector,” Sheridan told Personnel Today. But she added that the cost savings and simplified running of back-office functions would prove beneficial in the long run.

Sheridan was brought in from Capital One Bank to help improve the department in 2008 after a critical Whitehall capability review found serious problems with leadership.

Last month the department’s former HR director, Francesca Okosi-Arimah, said Defra’s HR department had often come up against a “brick wall” from the Defra leaders when trying to improve areas like leadership.

Okosi-Arimah said: “The early reviews led to HR casualties and HR held its hands up. But it is about leadership in the organisation too. You can put in all the processes you want in HR, but if there isn’t the commitment to own those decisions by the top leadership team it won’t work.”

Sheridan declined to comment on the criticism, but admitted leadership was a priority on her change agenda.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“As with every organisation, there is always more work to do on leadership and on development of leadership,” she said. “But I’ve had a very positive experience of working with the leadership team here in Defra so far.”

She added that she was also using employee engagement surveys and the annual Investors In People review as a way of diagnosing leadership problems.

Guy Logan

previous post
Leitch Review skills targets doomed as UK lags behind competitors, report warns
next post
Primary maths teacher shortage will last 10 years

You may also like

Performance management is broken: how can we rebuild?

11 Jul 2025

Gregg Wallace case: don’t be too hasty to...

11 Jul 2025

‘Replace sick notes with gym’, Streeting tells GPs

11 Jul 2025

Workers with second jobs at an all-time high

11 Jul 2025

How using data can transform return-to-office mandates

11 Jul 2025

Ministers loosen fire and rehire proposals in Employment...

10 Jul 2025

£188k tribunal award for director sacked after cardiac...

10 Jul 2025

It’s no secret – parity in the workplace...

10 Jul 2025

Firms’ salary secrecy means ‘they lose out on...

10 Jul 2025

Court of Appeal rules that Ryanair agency pilot...

9 Jul 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+