Innovating to achieve more with less
Productivity has become a central tenet upon which the Government is pinning its plans to revitalise the public sector. In a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that public sector productivity was down 5.7% on pre-pandemic levels (1) and highlighted the need for change.
Announcing what he called, “[the] most ambitious public sector productivity review ever”, the Chancellor confirmed a renewed focus on reform. Led by the Chief Treasury Secretary, the review would aim to boost annual output by a further 0.5%, with a focus on opportunities to reduce “unnecessary” admin tasks by using innovative technologies.
Police forces throughout the UK are already under pressure to achieve more with less, following the Home Office’s Police Officer Uplift programme, which increased officer numbers by more than 20,000 over a three-year period (2) Funded by a commitment of £3.6 Billion (3), the programme has led to an overall total of 149,572 officers across the 43 territorial forces, the highest number on record since comparative records began.
However, such significant growth in the workforce over a relatively short term has created demands on forces’ resources, in terms of vetting, onboarding and other requirements. In Episode 3 of the HSO/GovNews podcast series, How Modern ERP Strategies Evolve Cultural Attitudes in Police HR and Finance Operations, John Bloomer, Director of Resources (Assistant Chief Officer and Section 151 officer) at Staffordshire Police, encapsulated the problem, saying, “You can’t bring a third of your workforce in brand new with less than three years’ experience… Naturally, productivity would have gone down in that period.”
Episode 3: How to build intelligent Finance and HR platforms to support frontline policing
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