Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to present the Fund’s administration performance for the three months to 1 31 March 2023 vs key performance indicators (KPI’s).

The Pensions Operations Manager introduced this item to the Board and gave them a presentation. A copy of the presentation will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes and a summary is set out below.

She informed the Board that it had been a tough few months for the team as the Payroll Leader had resigned at the end of March. She said that this required some immediate decisions to be taken which included moving Team Leaders from Member Services across to Payroll.

She explained that seven payrolls take place every month alongside reporting to HMRC, which had all been completed properly and on time in both April and May. She said that a new Team Leader has been recruited and is currently in training. She wished to give thanks to the Member Services Manager and the team for all their work.

The Member Services Manager said that a lot of fast track training was given and that all payments had been made on time.

Steve Harman asked if the new Team Leader could be approached to stay on a permanent basis.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that they had already been appointed on a permanent basis.

The Chair commented that he felt that this had been a very impressive achievement from everyone involved.

The Head of Pensions addressed the Board.

Current state of APF organisation ….

Service quality is below SLAs agreed with the Pensions Committee:

? 75% of members’ service requests are completed within SLAs

? c.65% was achieved before the office return in Q4 2022 – since when further improvement has stalled

Service quality is limited by 4 key issues:

? high vacancy rate of c.16%

? elevated work load due to increased i-Connect data combined with a complex leaver-joiner process

? performance MI is insufficiently embedded in operational management

? there is limited digitisation with heavy manual processes

We have the ability to address all the above issues.

Improvement objectives ….. - 2025 – what good looks like

Service

·  Meet service standards set by CIPFA, plus TPR requirements

·  Achieve SLAs agreed with APF Pensions Committee – 90% in 2025

·  Easy digital experience – with substantial uptake of My Pension Online2

·  All employer data exchanged electronically

Foundations

·  Deliver all regulatory changes which benefit members, e.g. - McCloud, Dashboard, GMP

·  Transformed digital platforms – for members, employers, APF staff

·  MI drives insight and is embedded into operational decisions

People

·  Pay rates are competitive for retention & recruitment of required talent

·  Vacancy rate within normalised range of 4-8% within 12 months

·  New operational structure embedded by year end

·  Engaged workforce: keen to learn, keen to serve members

Steve Harman asked where the figure of achieving 90% of our targets comes from and why is it not 100%.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that the figure was a legacy issue and had always been in place prior to her commencing her role. She added that in her opinion 100% would not truly ever be achievable.

The Head of Pensions added that he felt that 90% was achievable within 2.5 years and that he would be willing to evaluate the position after that time. He then returned to the presentation.

Key levers to improve people environment

·  Improve salaries

o  We asked Aon to undertake an independent review of APF salaries comparing all roles vs similar public & private sector organisations. Aon recommended salary increases linked to roles – based on the external comparisons.

o  B&NES HR has approved the principle and aggregate of proposed salary increments. We now move into detailed implementation – with approval of each individual case. We expect salary changes to take effect from the July 2023 payroll.

·  Fill vacant positions

o  Sorting Payroll ? We have already hired the team leader – who has extensive private sector experience. We need to hire 1 Senior Officer & 1 Officer.

o  Hiring people with experience who can learn quickly and make a difference to service delivery, e.g. Officers & Seniors serving members and employers / Technical Leads.

o  Transformation ? We need to hire a Change Programme leader who can drive digital transformation. We also need project leads who can work with the wider APF team.

Helen Ball asked if any consideration had been given to awarding staff bonuses or honorariums.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that some of these measures had already been put in place.

·  Leadership & communication

o  Regular leadership briefings.

o  People understand the APF strategy, how their team fits and how their own role contributes.

o  Input into APF strategy, e.g. climate change & net zero / change priorities.

·  Organisation, Training, Development, and Career Progressions

o  New organisation structure to support digital future in place – December 2023.

o  Career development ? Training plans / career families for progression.

o  Get the basics right ? Clear personal objectives / 121s with line manager / team discussions.

Payroll

·  Objectives

o  Fully resourced

o  Robust processes

o  MI on workflow – full transparency

·  Actions

o  Recruit SPO & PO June - August 23

o  New TL to take over payroll running - Autumn 23

o  Review & create new processes - December 23

o  Create workflow to manage work - January 24

Leaver process

·  Objectives

o  No backlogs > 60 days

o  Meet TPR & regulatory requirements

o  Meet SLA targets set in Admin Strategy (CIPFA) agreed by Pensions Committee

·  Actions

o  Consider bulk digital processing to clear backlogs

o  Formation of Leaver Team

o  Streamline & digitalise 3 key processes

o Leaver

o Starter

o Post changes

o  Support & Development - Employer training / People training & upskilling

Management Information (MI)

·  Objectives

o  Transparency of work levels

o  Reporting to support pro-active achievement of KPIs and SLAs

o  Agile reporting, weekly, monthly

o  Team productivity

·  Actions

o  Business Analyst in place to review reporting needs and develop new reports

o  Working with other funds to understand reporting capability

o  Review of workflows to in-bed new reporting with new processes and responsibilities

o  Create, design, test and deliver new reports

Day-to-day and backlogs

·  Objectives

o  Fully resourced & trained team

o  No backlogs > 60 days

o  Self service & digital processes for members & employers

o  Satisfied members

o  Engaged workforce

·  Actions

o  Regular weekly/monthly reviews of work – Agile working to focus on changing work loads

o  Operational focus on 2 key areas – Retirements / Death

o  Automate & digitalise processes and consider applying to backlogs

o  Website developments for Employers & Members (self service)

Alison Wyatt asked if there was any mileage in consolidating any work with other Funds.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that they do meet quarterly with other Funds, but inevitably they will all have a different type of focus.

The Head of Pensions added that he was aware some collaborations are taking place, but felt that the Fund now needs to focus on solving the problems that have now been identified.

Helen Ball asked if the Board could be updated regularly on the Improvement Plan and said that she didn’t feel the need to know if the KPIs haven’t really changed.

The Head of Pensions and Steve Harman agreed with this proposal.

Change Programme

·  8 projects

o  Objectives for each project

o  Criteria for prioritising

o  Clear delivery plan

·  Necessary projects absorb common resources – limiting capacity for transformation.

·  Project prioritisation applied

Steve Harman asked why ‘Rebrand’ had been given a priority of 1.

The Communications and Marketing Manager replied that the current logo of the Fund was difficult to process digitally.

The Head of Pensions added that, as well as the logo change, the rebrand was about changing language and tone of voice used in communication to make understanding simpler for members.

The Pensions Operations Manager added that it was a priority as the website would not be supported from the end of October 2023.

Helen Ball asked if there were any external complications from the KPIs not being achieved.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that they were not normally any longer than 5 days over their targets and had not felt the need to self-report themselves to the Pensions Regulator or been reported by them. She added that in the circumstances the year end had gone well overall and wanted to take this opportunity to provide a clear and honest account of where we are.

The Board RESOLVED to note:

i)  The presentation that had been given

ii)  The Fund performance for the three months to 31 March 2023.