The NSPIS Human Resources application, developed by CedarHR, provides an integrated HR management system. It is the first nationally accredited IT system for managing staff career paths from recruitment through to retirement.

The system is based on the Oracle HR e-Suite and is made up of seven 'modules', targeted at different areas of HR management:

• The core Police Personnel (PP)
• Training Administration System (TAS)
• Health and Safety Reporting (HSR)
• Duty Management System (DMS)
• Self-Service (SS)
• Quality Points Scoring (QPS)
• Resource Analyser module (RA).

Although fully integrated, each module can be deployed on a standalone basis. In practice, to date, only DMS has been deployed in isolation.

Current status

Between 2006 and 2008, the Oracle technology base was upgraded. Referred to as "ORIGIN" it is live in 3 forces, rising to at least 11 by the end of the 2008/09 financial year, with the remainder to upgrade in 2009/10. All development work is now taking place against the ORIGIN baseline.

ORIGIN is compatible with the National Management Information System (NMIS) that produces standard national management information. NPIA has also delivered an interface to allow the NSPIS HR and Command and Control applications to exchange information, and this is undergoing testing. It is hoped to be made available for live deployment in the first quarter of 2008. 

Who's using it?

Twenty-seven forces, including one in Scotland, have implemented at least one module. In most cases, forces have implemented more than one module.

Benefits

It allows the monitoring and management of all aspects of HR staff management and is the only integrated system that ties all aspects into one. The information held will enable forces to comply with legal requirements placed on them by police and support staff regulations, as well as the European Working Time Directive.

It allows forces to post staff against duties for which they have the right skills and to perform checks against any minimum staffing requirements. The integration of the modules within NSPIS HR brings business benefits from the savings in staff time from re-keying of data and the inevitable inaccuracies that this brings.

Staff welfare needs can also be managed through the system, along with any work-related health and safety issues.

As an integral part of the Police Personnel module, Cedar has recently delivered an Integrated Competency Framework (ICF) module which is now available.

The current version of self-service gives staff full PDR access including self-evidence capture.

Forward Plan

A Management of Change Group (MoCG), consisting of representatives from the HR user community, Cedar HR, NPIA, HMIC, Home Office and Skills for Justice meets bi-monthly. It aims to drive through further enhancements to the product to increase the business benefits.

The group has developed a three year plan to assist this process. The group also administers a 'log of legislative change' to ensure that any identified changes to legislation or police regulations are captured as soon as possible.

Governance

A National User Group involving NPIA and force representatives meets annually to review progress and agree priorities for the next 12 months. A NUG Executive Group ensures that progress is continually monitored.

In addition it is further supported by a Change Implementation Group which prioritises requests for change, clarifies user requirements, reviews Cedar HR developments and undertakes Factory Acceptance (Beta) Testing.