PART 1
(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
TO THE LEAD MEMBER DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
ON MONDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2004
TITLE : GREATER MANCHESTER GEOLOGICAL UNIT STAFF RESTRUCTURING
RECOMMENDATIONS :
The GMGU’s Joint Management Committee, in its meeting of 27th February, considered and
agreed in principle to the proposed staff restructuring. As the staff affected are Salford City
Council employees the GMGU Management Committee has referred the proposal to Salford City
Council for a final decision with a recommendation that the proposed restructuring be approved.
It is recommended:
A) The proposed GMGU Staff Restructuring be approved,
B) Staff regrades/redesignations be backdated to 1st April 2004,
C) The post of Principle Geologist be filled asap,
D) The post of Contaminated Land Officer be filled asap to reduce long term
agency fees, and Approval in principle be given to the addition of a ‘GM Waste
Plan’ team to the Unit structure.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
The Greater Manchester Geological Unit is externally financed and was originally set
up to provide technical support to AGMA and the ten Greater Manchester districts on
matters relating to minerals and waste planning. However, the Unit now also provides
a wider range of services to other local authorities and the private sector. At present
approximately 40% of the Unit’s income comes from Core and SLA funding from the
10 Planning Authorities and 60% comes from a range of tendered services provided
to other local authority departments and to a limited extent to the private sector.
Much of the additional work the Unit receives is related to contaminated land.
Specifically the Unit’s archival, site investigation and technical peer review services
are all experiencing growing demand from clients.
The current staff structure was based on providing a simpler range of services and a
higher proportion of core and SLA funding than is presently the case. The Unit’s
present productivity and efficiency has been maxamised under the current structure
by collaborative working and strong personal commitments by the Unit’s staff. The
Unit is operating at capacity and no longer has the flexibility to respond to either new
opportunities or to the continuing growth in demand for its services without structural
change.
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The proposed changes to the staff structure are therefore needed to provide further
efficiencies and clear lines of management responsibilities for the different services
that are currently provided. These responsibilities build on the existing ad-hoc and
informal roles that individuals have developed over the last year in response to
clients needs. In addition, the proposed structure includes a new role that will be
responsible for developing the Unit’s office systems and processes for the benefit of
the staff and service delivery.
The details of the proposed re-structuring have been discussed with senior officers
within the Development Services and Personnel Directorates. An informal
consultation has also been undertaken with the Unit’s staff. A revised set of Job
Descriptions and Person Specifications have been drawn up in consultation with outstationed Personnel staff. These have been cross-referenced with similar posts,
where these exist, elsewhere in the council. The final stage of the restructuring
process has included the formal consultation with the Unions and the Unit’s staff and
the incorporation of the changes that came out of these consultations.
In addition to the changes to the staff structure required for the operational
improvements to the Unit’s current work load, the GMGU has been identified by the
AGMA Executive, at its meeting of 30th July, as the appropriate body to prepare a
‘Greater Manchester Waste Plan’. The plan will take 3 years to complete and require
the recruitment of a dedicated team supported by specialist consultants. The work is
estimated to cost £1.4 million and will be fully funded by the ten districts. While
preliminary arrangements for the proposed team are provided in this report, a
separate report will be submitted with the finalised details and costings in the near
future.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS :
Diagram A – Current & Proposed Structure
Diagram B – Proposed GMGU Structure with GM Waste Plan Team
Permanent and Temporary Staff re-structuring tables.
(Available for public inspection)
ASSESSMENT OF RISK: Medium
THE SOURCE OF FUNDING IS: GMGU Income & Funding from the Ten Greater Manchester
Authorities
LEGAL ADVICE OBTAINED: N/A
FINANCIAL ADVICE OBTAINED: Yes
CONTACT OFFICER : Simon Talbot
Tel: 0161 275 7152
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S) N/A
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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: UDP
1.0
PROPOSED STAFF RESTRUCTURING
1.1
The purpose of the restructuring is four-fold. The Unit needs to:

Further improve office efficiency and service delivery,

Maintain high quality and flexible services for local authorities,

Retain experienced and talented staff,

Allow for future growth in line with local authority demand.
2.0
The current staff structure and proposed structure are shown on the accompanying
diagram.
3.0
The proposed structure introduces changes to four existing posts and creates four
new posts. The principle change is the establishment of four service areas with a
senior member of staff (Principal Officer) responsible for the income and expenditure
associated with each service. These service areas are:




3.1
Surveying and Archival Research
Minerals & Waste Planning
Intrusive Site Investigations and Laboratory Testing
Contaminated Land Advisory Services
The introduction of the ‘Principal Officer’ titles reflects designations used elsewhere
within the Directorate for the proposed grades.
It should be recognised that the specific needs of individual projects results in
considerable overlapping of roles and the close collaboration of the Unit’s staff is
always required. However, the proposed structure will allow an identified senior
member of staff to take overall financial and management responsibility for a
particular project instead of this role falling to the Unit Director.
3.2
To compliment this structure a new Senior ICT and Systems Manager is proposed to
provide strategic management of the Unit’s administration systems. This is a key role
that is designed to reduce the staff time devoted to administration and increase time
spent on providing quality services to our client authorities. Overall, the proposed
structure reduces the effective administration staff compliment and increases fee
earning (local authority service delivery) staffing levels.
3.3
The new structure, will also release time for the Unit Director to carry out strategic
management of the Unit in addition to appropriate project work. Overall, the proposed
changes are in line with staff’s career aspirations and will work to the strengths and
abilities of the staff within the Unit. The details of the proposed changes are
discussed below (refer to Diagram A – Current and Proposed Structure).
3.4
Principal Mining Surveyor & Archival Research Manager
(Regrade/Redesignation). The current Mining Surveyor is already acting at a senior
level and represents a principle fee earner (service provider) within the Unit providing
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informal supervisory role to technical support staff engaged in archival research and
site surveys. The proposed regrade/redesination acknowledges current activities and
formalises the increased role of the post. The proposed grade has been
benchmarked to existing Principal Planner (Minerals & Waste) post.
3.5
Senior ICT Officer & Systems Manager (New Post). Responsible for continuing
improvements to office administration and computer systems with the specific task of
reducing the administrative burden placed on all staff. The post requires close liaison
with Unit Director and all Unit staff. Post holder will supervise admin support staff.
3.6
Technical Assistant. Provides GIS, archival research and geological support to Unit.
High proportion of work carried out is fee earning service provision. Existing post
holder has been employed on temporary contracts since August 2000. Confirm
effective change from temporary to permanent position.
3.7
Unit Administrator (Regrade). Post regraded in line with range of similar
responsibilities provided elsewhere in the Directorate currently undertaken by the
post-holder.
3.8
Clerical & Technical Assistant (Regrade/Redesignation). Change to job
description to include 50% of workload to be fee earning GIS, archival research or
geological support work in addition to current clerical support work. The current post
holder is already contributing to fee earning work in this way and further
improvements to the office systems will free up more time to this role. Jointly
managed by Unit Administrator and Senior Mining Surveyor & Archival Research
Manager. (NB. This post was partly originally created to assist with the increase in
administration associated with the New Leaf land reclamation Programme. This
programme will shortly be managed by Manchester Enterprises).
3.9
Principal Planner (Minerals & Waste) (Redesignation). It is recommended that the
post is re-designated in-line with other posts at this grade.
3.10
Two Planning Officers (Minerals & Waste) and Geologist (New Posts). Employed
as and when work load and finances permit to provide support to Principal Planner
and Principal Geologist respectively.
3.11
Principal Geologist (Regrade/Redesignation). The Unit has been without a Senior
Geologist from 18th March. Despite advertising the vacancy in national specialist
magazines and on the internet, no interviewable candidates were identified.
Subsequent instructions to a specialist recruitment agency also failed to identify
suitable candidates with the required experience in the salary range offered. In order
to attract suitable applicants a market supplement, equivalent to the grade of PO 4/5,
need to be applied to the post.
3.12
Principal Contaminated Land Officer (New Post). The current Contaminated Land
Officer is already acting at a senior level and represents a principle fee earner
(service provider) in the Unit effectively responsible for the growing contaminated
land services. Due to unique area of expertise and lack of experience available within
Salford CC or elsewhere in market place, post is ring-fenced to current Contaminated
Land Officer. Due to ‘glass ceiling’ operated within environmental protection
departments for specialist contaminated land officers, there is considerable staff turnover of experienced contaminated land officers in the market-place. Every effort is
required to ensure that the current post-holder is retained. The proposed grade has
been benchmarked to existing Principal Geologist and Principal Planner (Minerals &
Waste) posts.
3.13
Agency Staff. In order to respond to fluctuating workloads and to maintain flexibility
in service provision the Unit employs agency staff as and when required. Due to the
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current workload and the recent resignation of the Senior Geologist, the Unit is
currently employing two members of agency staff through a University of Manchester
Campus Ventures company, Mineral Solutions. A further have been recruited on a
temporary basis. While this option is extremely beneficial there are significant
additional costs associated with it. It is hoped that in future temporary staff can be
employed through Salford City Council on fixed ‘Event Contracts’. Due to the
continuing and growing contaminated land services, a specialist Environmental
Scientist has been employed since May 2003 on a series of short term temporary
contracts through an Agency. It is recommended that this expertise that has been
built up over the last fifteen months is permanently captured by recruiting to the
vacant Contaminated Land Officer post.
4.0
GREATER MANCHESTER WASTE PLAN TEAM
4.1
Diagram B indicates the current thinking behind the establishment of a dedicated
team to undertake this piece of work.
4.2
The team will comprise a core of six members of staff headed by a Waste Plan
Manager. As there is a national demand for such staff it is recognised that ‘market
supplements’ will need to be applied to most of these posts. In addition, after taking
note of what has happened in neighbouring authorities, it is proposed to make the
key posts permanent. This will be possible by a commitment from the ten planning
authorities to relocate the post holders elsewhere within Greater Manchester at the
end of the 3-year project.
4.3
There are obvious advantages of locating the team within the GMGU. One of these
will be the administrative cost savings arising from using the Unit’s existing support
staff. This will need to be supplemented at certain times by short term agency staff.
Additional savings will be achieved by not having to rent additional office space for
the team but to use the GMGU’s current office space. However, in order to fit the
additional staff into the current space the office layout will have to be redesigned with
purpose built modular desk system. The cost of this will also be covered by the
‘Waste Plan’ establishment costs.
5.0
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.1
It is recognised that the long-term viability of the Unit depends on its ability to operate
as an ‘in-house’ specialist consultancy for the benefit of the ten local authorities
within Greater Manchester. This is irrespective of whether the Unit operates within or
outside of the proposed JVC. To do this effectively it has had to operate in
competition with private sector environmental consultancies. It is therefore, very
important for the Unit to maintain and develop its reputation for providing cost
effective, high quality services. The proposed re-structuring will increase the staff
costs but these will be offset by improvements in efficiency and streamlined
administration systems and processes. As a result there will be an effective increase
in the ratio of fee-earning to support staff.
5.2
With the current staffing structure the Unit achieved a small surplus of approximately
£3,000 at the end of the 2003/04 financial year. With increasing demand for the
Unit’s services this favourable financial position is likely to continue for as long as the
Unit is able to meet its clients’ expectations. The Unit’s current reputation may be
jeopardised by continuing to turn work away.
5.3
The cost of the current staff structure in the current financial year, including agency
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staffing costs, is £238,9871 (£211,807 excluding agency staff costs). Under the
current structure 7 fee earners are supported by 3 admin staff.
5.4
Taking into account the appointment of a new Principal Geologist and a new
Contaminated Land Officer to replace agency staff, the cost of the proposed staff
structure in the current financial year would be approximately £246,346. The new
structure represents a 5% increase in fee earning potential. Once the new structure
has bedded in significant additional efficiencies will be achieved.
5.5
In the long term, by 2009 when salary increments reach top of grades, significant
additional staffing costs over the current structure will be incurred. If the number of
staff remains the same (including 1 member of agency staff) then the staff costs for
the current structure in five years time would amount to £242,182 (£215,002
excluding agency staff). This compares with £271,681 if the unit were to be
restructured. This represents a proposed increase of £24,909 equivalent to 6% of the
Unit’s current turnover.
5.6
There is a strong expectation that the Unit will continue to grow over the next few
years with additional staff recruited to the new posts created in the proposed
structure. This expected growth is in line with the Unit’s recent performance. The Unit
had a staff of 4½ in 1998, growing to 10 in 2003 (including long term agency staff).
The new structure allows for the Salford City Council staff compliment to grow to 13.
If all of these posts were filled then the full staffing cost in 2009 would amount to
£340,387.
5.7
With a staff compliment of 13 the average salary cost per post would be £26,183.
This figure is slightly above the average salary cost of the current structure projected
to 2009 of £24,677. As it is expected that further improvements in technology and
administration systems will deliver considerable further efficiencies, the projected
increased staffing costs should be easily covered by the predicted increases in
earned fees.
6.0
CONCLUSION
6.1
There is a need to make changes to the existing staffing structure to maintain a
successful Unit and improve its operational flexibility. The re-designated and regraded posts have been considered against the background of gradings presently
adopted within the Development Services Directorate and similar organisations
elsewhere in Greater Manchester and have been discussed with Personnel Services,
the Unit’s staff and Union representatives.
6.2
The proposed changes can be made within the predicted financial position.
6.3
It is recommended that the above staff structure be adopted and the proposed
changes be implemented within the suggested time scales.
Malcolm Sykes
Director of Development Services
1
All figures reported are pre-annual settlement increases. Annual settlement increases will be
covered by increases in charge out rates and core funding.
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