PeoplePoint, the Civil Service Transactional HR and Pensions Shared Services Centre, is the most advanced of our Shared Services projects. 6 more Public Services Bodies transitioned to PeoplePoint earlier this month.
There are now over 24,000 employees serviced by PeoplePoint across 19 Public Service Bodies. The remainder of the 40 in scope Bodies will transition during 2014.
At this point, the forecasted savings are €12.5m per annum with a reduction of 149 full time equivalent staff working in transactional Human Resources activities. PeoplePoint will also yield non-financial benefits including improved efficiency, consistency and service delivery.
The Civil Service Payroll Shared Service Centre, based in 3 locations: Galway, Killarney and Tullamore will consolidate and integrate payroll processes and practices from the 17 payroll centres currently providing payroll services to 53 Public Services Bodies. During 2014, 27 of the 53 in-scope Bodies will transition into the Payroll Shared Services Centre, over a series of two waves. Garda and Prison Officer payrolls already transitioned from the Department of Justice and Equality late last year.
When fully operational, and providing payroll services to all 53 in scope Bodies, it is estimated that the PSSC will achieve savings of €5.6 million per annum. The Business Case indicates that the number of FTEs required to provide payroll services will be reduced by c. 16% (56 FTE).
Last December, the Government agreed to proceed to the next stage of a Financial Management Shared Services Project for the Civil Service, Defence and Justice sectors.
The initial scoping phase of the project has already been completed and represents an undeniable case for change. It is estimated that sustainable savings in the region of €14.6 million, or over 30%, per annum could be achieved once a shared services solution has been fully implemented.
The number of sites for this type of work will reduce from 20 down to 3. The sites that will accommodate the Financial Management Shared Services Centre are: the Department of Defence, Galway; the Department of Finance, Tullamore; and the Department of Justice and Equality, Killarney. These locations have been selected on the basis of an objective assessment of the level of skills and facilities available and the ability to attract staff from across the Public Service.
A formal Request for Tenders to support the work of the Project Team during the current phase of work has issued on the eTenders website operated by the Office of Government Procurement. The process is fully open and in line with all relevant EU requirements. The work will entail documenting the detailed finance business requirements, developing the technology design and redesigning a single chart of accounts. A detailed implementation timeline and scope has not yet been developed pending the completion of this analysis. Once this phase is completed, a further submission will be made to Government to proceed to full implementation.
