Item 09 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 6 November 2024
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 6 November 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 Appendix 1: People and Technology Delivery Plan 2024/25 - Mid Year Progress 4. Our Council Objective 10. Our workforce is resilient and skilled where digital technology supports service delivery for our residents Q1 2024/25 Q2 2024/25 Performance Indicator Status Value Target Short Trend Long Trend Status Value Target Short Trend Long Trend Notes Owner Percentage of ICT helpdesk incidents fixed with half day of being logged. 75% 65% 77.9% 65% Performance exceeded target. Total Number of Incidents: Opened 3918. This is a decrease of 990 Incidents from Q1, due to implementation of new technologies and removal of Citrix. Incidents closed and resolved in under 3 hrs 35 mins was 3683. James Gallacher % employee attendance improvement rate (teachers & local govt.) -15% 1% 10.6% 1% Whilst Q1 missed target, Q2 exceeded target. Across the Council workforce attendance has improved by 10.6% when compared to Q1. Whilst this can partly be attributed to lower levels of absence during the summer months when employees are typically on leave, it is encouraging and will continue to be closely monitored into Q3. Alison McBride
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2 Action Status Progress Due Date Note Owner Progress assurance and test plan for Service Plans 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned with Emergency Plans having been reviewed, issued for consultation, updated and now live. 4 plans remain outstanding. Civil contingencies facilitated training for both Council and HSCP Council Incident Officers (CIOs) and Support Centre Managers (CSMs). Scott McFarlane Progress and manage the Council`s & HSCPs Business Continuity Process 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) being updated from 2023, and will require an annual review (rolling programme). Scott McFarlane Develop a framework for the Council’s Power Resilience arrangements 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. The Essential Services Power Resilience document and Assurance Checklists were updated by the Strategic Resilience Group (SRG) this includes Council and HSCP Strategic Leads. A Power Resilience Workshop was facilitated by Civil Contingency Officer (CCO) and Chief Officer, People & Technology in April. An Action list will support work towards reducing the impact of a National Power Outage or a Significant Cyber Attack. Once all actions are completed, a “real time” exercise will be arranged. Scott McFarlane Further secure the Council’s Technology Infrastructure 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned, ongoing review, investigation and testing to inform enhanced security and protection. James Gallacher Deliver fit for purpose Bandwidth capacity to all Council locations 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. 5 sites have now migrated to the new SWAN2 network with schools reporting immediate improvements. 28 sites will be completed by Dec 24 and 82 in total by summer of 2025. James Gallacher Enable an improved digital workplace experience for council employees 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Technology improvements continue to progress well and are enhancing the digital workplace experience for employees. This is due to improvements such as a new remote access solution and decommission of legacy technology resulting in 900 fewer ICT incidents being reported in Q2. James Gallacher Review and implement MS SharePoint and One Drive 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. SharePoint and One Drive is now live for Health & Safety with ICT to migrate during October 24. James Gallacher Coordinate ICT device replacement programme. 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Device replacements are progressing well across corporate and education estate with a low volume of devices remaining to be replaced from 24/25 budget. James Gallacher Enhance/ expand digital skills champion roles 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Digital Champions (DigiChamps) receive periodic newsletters to share with their services, and advance notification of all the Digital Themes activities. DigiChamp Alison McBride
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3 Action Status Progress Due Date Note Owner role in supporting rollout of Microsoft 365 will continue to be developed as pilot evolves. Develop a plan to further mainstream digital transformation across the Council 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Digital themes have been designed and introduced focussing on Putting People First using Intranet based trickle learning tools for all staff. The third theme - Maximising Technology is being delivered and will complete before the end of November. Support for pilot project for roll-out of Microsoft 365 collaboration tools (MS Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) is underway and will be completed before end of 2024. Alison McBride Workforce Planning: Develop and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and learning and development plans to enable capabilities, improve resilience and promotion of a diverse workforce 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Of the workforce planning sub actions agreed within each service area progress includes; Knowledge sharing and development is taking place across the service. Focused resource on Voluntary Severance/ Voluntary Early Retirement (VS/VER) and savings exercise, Staff Working in Transition and Change (SWITCH) and equalities. A number of employee benefit initiatives have been launched including a new Cycle to Work scheme, counselling and My Money Matters financial advice. Further developments in the workforce planning console to support the management of intermittent absence and stress risk assessment process. Trickle use continues to be promoted for engagement and there has been a realignment of the employee recognition awards with the Council’s ACHIEVE values and this will launch in November 2024. The ICT customer satisfaction survey was issued in early October 24 and will aid improvements. Victoria Rogers Workforce Planning: Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce. 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Of the workforce planning sub actions agreed within each service area, progress includes; A review of the succession planning guidance is underway and is expected to be rolled out in phases with Phase 1 concentrating on Chief Office and senior management levels by the end of this year. Development of career pathway roles and talent pools and considering different Social Media platforms to reach a wider audience and diversify the workforce. Victoria Rogers
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4 Action Status Progress Due Date Note Owner The HR Graduate post development into a temp HR Adviser post with buddying and mentoring taking place across the teams to ensure resilience. Year 2 of the recruitment work plan (onboarding) has commenced with user research for new employees and recruiting managers. Workforce Planning: Implement service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Of the workforce planning sub actions agreed within each service area, progress includes; Review of structures, roles and requirements in line with SOM compliance and phases. Job evaluation revised policy and processes now embedding, strengthening the Council’s position on equal pay and considerations around role design. Development of the workforce planning console in terms of trends and red flags around employee data. Management information sessions on use of the console by Strategic HR has led to around a 250% increase on average console use. Review of Data Management provision during Sharepoint implementation. Victoria Rogers Workforce Planning: Develop and implement learning and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Of the workforce planning sub actions agreed within each service area, progress includes; Digital themes to support pilot project roll-out of M365 collaboration tools (MS Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) are underway. Various development initiatives focused on new technologies, M365 and Remote Access, and Cyber. We continue to progress job evaluation/analysis, management development and leadership training. Victoria Rogers
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5 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner Workforce Management System not fit for purpose There is a risk that the WMS system is not fit-for-purpose thereby requiring manual workarounds restricting the level of automation impacting on efficiencies 25-Sep-2024 This risk remains current due to the manner in which Frontier deploy improvements and support the system development in line with operational requirement. Officers continue to monitor and manage this risk. No change to risk matrix Arun Menon Challenges in protecting the Health and Safety of Employees and Others Failure to meet the Council’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of its employees and other people who might be affected by its business 02-Aug-2024 Corporate H&S are actively reviewing and optimising key service areas, including Safety Management Standards and training. Changes are underway to the H&S / Insurance management system to improve efficiency and reduce turnaround times for enhancements to the system. Work is also being carried out to refine and simplify the health surveillance process in collaboration with OH and line managers. Recent activities include management workplace inspections, noise monitoring, H&S auditing, a review of the Corporate Warning Marker System and significant work on the management of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Fire safety management includes, the fire risk assessment programme, fire safety training and support to services to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. No change to risk matrix Alison McBride Complexities in ensuring an appropriately resourced and resilient workforce Failure to ensure that there is an appropriately resourced and resilient workforce in place to meet future organisational needs, in effectively executing the Council’s 2022-27 Strategic Plan. 02-Aug-2024 Workforce Planning Strategy in place for 2022-2027. People First Strategy is in place covering 2022-2027 and this is a consolidation of a number of areas: well- being, employee engagement, workforce planning, learning and development and digital. A robust package of wellbeing resources continue to be available, absence levels are closely monitored, with personal stress and minor ailments absences prevalent. Alison McBride
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6 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner Trickle relaunch is ongoing across the whole of the organisation to ensure this tool is better used for employee feedback and engagement with the recent issue of a Chief Officers pack. Digital Skills approach has been refreshed with a matrix cascade planned across the organisation to support 365 Share point rollout utilising digital leads and champions. To further support this the digital transformation board has been restructured to focus more on innovation and with a view to achieving more pragmatic outcomes such as understanding service skills gaps, better use of data and dashboards and more use of digital tools to improve processes. Services are currently working on structures and service delivery whilst considering the difficult financial funding position and the impact of this will be closely supported and monitored. No change to risk matrix Threat of Cyber-attack Data, systems and/or infrastructure are impacted as result of security attacks which are increasing in number at a time when this threat is already placing demands on resources to deliver increased levels of security controls. 02-Aug-2024 Cyber strategy, policies and technologies are continually being improved, reviewed and monitored; ICT continues to follow NCSC guidance where applicable. A new Cyber Security team and lead is now in place with the focus on promoting employee awareness to cyber risk from both a professional and personal perspective. This is including development of a dedicated security intranet page to provide guidance and advice to employees. Recent focus has strengthened email mail security with posture scoring improvements. Progress continues to further improve our M365 security posture in addition to a review of our disaster recovery planning and incident management procedures. James Gallacher
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7 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner Incident response readiness, security gap analysis and M365 security review has been completed by our 3rd party security partner. Results are currently being reviewed with the aim to agree an improvement action plan. Cyber Incidents response plans have been updated and will be completed during October 24. ICT are also planning to simulate a Cyber- attack with assistance from Scottish Government Digital Office. Enhanced online email security training is in progress with continuous phishing campaigns to raise employee awareness. There is a continual review of the process to apply security updates, patches, and software deployments. Recent improvements and investment have been implemented to automate the update processes where possible. Geo-blocking to GB remains in place and the geo-political situation continues to be monitored. We have now implemented additional 365 security policies to align with these security restrictions. This will be further extended to our new remote access solution. No change to risk matrix Objective 11. Our Council is adaptable and focused on delivering best value for our residents Action Status Progress Due Date Note Owner Undertake annual Payroll Audit 12-Jan-2025 Action progressing as planned. Audit has been issued to all Chief Officers and HSCP Heads of Service for completion by 8th November 2024. Arun Menon
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8 Action Status Progress Due Date Note Owner Implement statutory Payroll changes 31-May-2024 Action complete. All statutory changes such as Tax and NI have been implemented for 2024/25. Arun Menon Implement revised team structure and service provision 30-Sep-2024 Action complete. This was achieved through removal of tasks which have been actioned and communicated. Arun Menon Review and update Fit For Future approach 31-Mar-2025 Action complete. Following review, the approach this year will concentrating on digital champions, skills and improvements alongside supporting SharePoint rollout which will ensure services are efficient and that we make the best use of our resources. Alison McBride Continue to embed sound H&S practice 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Corporate H&S are continuing to meet targets set out in the Operational Plan. Alison McBride Implement improvements in recruitment life cycle processes 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing. Review of project plan has taken place and prioritised actions to progress over 2024/25. Progress has been made in reviewing succession planning guidance for future talent resources. Progress has been limited due to limited resources and conflicting priorities. Alison McBride Maintain and monitor employee wellbeing, engagement and workforce planning 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Employee awards have now been refreshed in line with the Achieve values framework and launch is planned. The first ceremony will take place in May 2025. The intranet page is currently being updated to prepare for the launch and Senior Management Network session was held to introduce the new employee award framework. Further work is required around the console development and job profiles. Alison McBride Review and enhance employee skills and learning programme 31-Mar-2025 Action progressing as planned. Mandatory training information for teams has now been made available to Managers on the console. Access to the national M365 skills hub has been granted and joining instructions are being developed. The Pilot M365 is underway and additional training resources and opportunities will be available to employees as M365 is rolled out. Alison McBride Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner Keeping abreast of developments in the innovative use of Information Technologies Failure to keep pace with changing technology environment 02-Aug-2024 WDC is continuing to implement several technology transformation projects with a focus on delivering an improved and secure digital workplace experience for council employees. Delivery of a new secure remote access solution is now complete for employees and additional James Gallacher
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9 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner tasks are ongoing to provide separate access for suppliers and 3rd party users such as NHS employees. Modern Desktop projects are progressing well with end-of-life storefront technology being replaced with improved and consistent local access to the latest desktop applications for users. Laptop devices are now secured and controlled via the Microsoft cloud and are also imaged offsite by our supplier. A project to redesign the process to updates devices with windows updates and security patching is ongoing with the aim to reduce disruption to employees. ICT continue to embrace and research new technologies and maximise our existing investments. MS SharePoint is now live for H&S team with ICT to migrate during October 24. Phase 2 of the project will deploy SharePoint to remaining council services from January 25 onwards. All corporate email mailboxes have now migrated to the cloud with Education being scheduled for completion during October 24. ICT in conjunction with NHS are progressing cross organisation projects with access to WDC Wi-Fi now available in 3 NHS buildings. NHS employees are now accessing NHS Wi-Fi in Church Street with additional file access to follow. New firewall technology has been ordered and installation being planned, this project will increase data capacity throughput at our data centre and provide enhanced security. This new technology will ensure we are secure and allow increased bandwidth speeds to be delivered as part
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10 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Note Owner of our Scottish Wide Area Network project to improve bandwidth at all council sites. No change to Risk matrix. Action Status Overdue Not on track In Progress and on track Completed PI Status Target significantly missed Target narrowly missed Target met or exceeded Risk Status Alert High risk Warning OK Long Term Trends Improving No change Declining Short Term Trends Improving No change Declining