Agenda item

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

The Head of Pensions introduced this item to the Committee and highlighted the following sections from within it.

He informed them that work on the rebrand of the Fund had begun and that they were keen to involve Committee members in the project. He added that this would involve a logo and colour scheme change and amendments to the language and tone of voice used in communications to make understanding simpler for members of the Fund.

Charles Gerrish asked officers to be mindful of any colour schemes that might prove challenging to those members with any visual impairments.

The Head of Pensions replied that they were aware of the need to make sure that the website remains as accessible as possible.

William Liew asked if officers had considered engagement with actual members of the scheme on this project.

The Head of Pensions replied that they were looking to engage with stakeholders where possible, especially on climate change matters.

The Chair asked officers to make sure that all Councillors were aware on this ongoing work.

Current state of APF organisation ….

Service quality is below SLAs agreed with the Pensions Committee, but within the targets set by CIPFA and The Pensions Regulator.

? 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

Councillor Kate Kelliher asked if there was a need to monitor smaller employers in more detail.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that the SLAs were the same for all sizes of employers.

Wendy Weston referred to page 90 and asked a question relating to retirement cases and the number of active cases completed outside SLA.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that the chart shown was to indicate the timeframe for when cases have been completed even though they were outside of the SLA.

Jackie Peel asked whether the backlog issues were in terms of standard cases or those of a more difficult nature. She also asked whether the receipt of better Management Information (MI) would improve the backlog issue.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that there is a degree of the backlog that can be attributed to older, more difficult cases and that whilst these remain the figures are not likely to improve. She added that it was hoped that better MI would improve the figures in some way.

Charles Gerrish referred to Appendix 2, Annex 1 and asked if it was correct that the figure relating to Historic Refund Cases (478) should be the same for December 2022 and March 2023.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that this was correct and that it was normally a small amount that was involved. She said that the Fund do try to trace the people involved as much as possible. She added that the software used offers no option to change the status.

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 Online

·  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

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.

Wendy Weston asked how much pay rates were proposed to increase by.

The Head of Pensions replied that on average they would increase by 8% for those approved roles.

·  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.

The Chair asked how the Fund’s vacancy position compared with others.

The Pensions Operations Manager replied that as far as she was aware all were facing similar struggles.

Wendy Weston queried whether a number of staff losses would be to London based Funds.

Nick Weaver commented that he felt that this was most likely as he was aware that they were targeting officers near retirement age and offering towards a 50% uplift in pay. He added that he advocated the Fund build their own team to have a strong future.

Key operational levers to meet service objectives …..

·  Payroll: rebuild team and hire to fill vacancies

·  Leaver process: fix and simplify

·  MI: drive deeper insight and embed operationally

·  Backlogs: identify and resolve

·  Digital change & system investment

Change Programme

• 8 projects
  • Objectives for each project
  • Criteria for prioritising
  • Clear delivery plan

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

• Project prioritisation applied

Jackie Peel asked what the likely key blockages for the Fund would be not to make its desired progress.

The Head of Pensions replied staff vacancies and any new / unexpected regulations.

Jackie Peel asked if the Fund would be allowed to use consultants to aid their progress at all.

The Head of Pensions replied that this would be a possible option as a backstop position.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the service performance for the three months to 31 March 2023.