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ANNEX A
Quick Guide to the Review Process - Flowchart

ANNEX B
Location Review Methodology: Stage OnePurpose of Stage One
1. The aim of the first stage of a location review is to
consider a wide range of locations, which have been
identified by local authorities and local enterprise
companies, and sift them down to the six or seven that most
merit a more detailed investigation. This is achieved by a
'
weighting and scoring'
4 assessment against a small set of general criteria
combined with the consideration of any unique factors
specific to the particular body or organisation, that might
preclude certain areas from being practical.
2. The Support Team, in partnership with local
authorities and local enterprise companies, will identify a
list of potential locations to be used in location reviews.
This list will be published along with as much supporting
information as is available to assist in stage one of the
review. The locations identified have been proposed because
they are expected to satisfy the overarching goals of the
relocation policy, - that of cost-effectiveness,
decentralisation and assisting areas of social and economic
need.
3. For Small Unit Initiative reviews, the first stage
identifies five or six locations from a list of fragile
rural communities. The Support Team will provide
information on all these locations - which meet the
relocation objectives above as well as the additional Small
Unit objective of bringing the benefit of government jobs
to fragile rural communities.
Comparing Locations by Core Criteria
4. There are two core criteria against which potential
areas should be assessed:
- Efficiency & effectiveness;
and
- Socio-economic benefits.
5. These
criteria should be given an equal 50%
weighting to create a final ranking for each
location. In Small Unit reviews, socio-economic benefits
have already been factored in to create an agreed list, so
stage one of reviews under this strand of the policy need
only consider efficiency and effectiveness - so please
disregard paragraph 9 below.
6. The Support Team can help identify which
sub-weightings will be most useful depending on
circumstances and can help with the staff and stakeholder
surveys that you will need to inform the process. The Team
will also help with the analysis of surveys to identify the
potential impact each location might have on organisational
efficiency and effectiveness. A staff survey example is
attached as
Annex E.
Efficiency & Effectiveness
7. A relocation can have a significant impact on
business continuity as well as short to medium term
efficiency. A move will often lead to a short term
reduction in efficiency (for example, during the period new
staff are being trained and gaining experience) but should
lead to efficiency gains in the long term. In assessing
efficiency and effectiveness, it may be necessary to flag
up the likely need to
phase the movement of posts over time, and
to
double run to maintain business continuity.
Consideration should be given to establishing satellite
offices to bring the organisation closer to more of its
stakeholders. If it becomes obvious that stakeholders are
in remote communities, consideration should be given to
transferring units of the organisation to the
Small Units Initiative.
8. When scoring each location a number of factors should
be considered,
e.g.:
- Staff retention: How many staff are
likely to continue working at the new location? How
does this relate to their grade and skill levels? How
easy will it be to replace lost staff? Some account
should also be taken of the need to operate dual
running and the requirement to retain existing
experienced staff for a set period of time.
- Access to labour: How easy will it be
to recruit staff locally? How much training will new
staff require? Are there likely to be good public
transport links that can be used by a significant
number of staff?
- Access to stakeholders: Would the
location make it easier or harder for the organisation
to communicate with its stakeholders (both external and
within the public sector)? If so, how significant would
the impact be on business effectiveness? Will
relocation have an impact on the amount of work related
travel that is necessary, either by staff or
stakeholders?
- Property Suitability and Cost: It is
important that there is suitable accommodation that
meets the needs of the organisation,
e.g. in terms of size, quality or
communication requirements. In the case of a large
organisation, a new build on a development site could
be an option. Expected property costs also need to be
considered as they are a significant long term factor
in determining business efficiency. The relocation team
can provide up to date information on availability and
cost of suitable accommodation.
Socio-economic Benefits
9. Socio-economic benefits are included in location
reviews to reflect the Executive objectives to:
- Support fragile communities;
- Help areas of economic hardship and
deprivation;
- Decentralise and share the benefits of public
sector employment.
The Support Team will publish information on all the
potential locations and will advise on how socio-economic
benefits will be used to rank the locations. A slightly
different weighting is used for small organisations (up to
30 staff). The
Appendix to this annex provides detail on
the socio-economic indicators to be used.
Unique Issues for Early Consideration
10. Using the above criteria will produce a ranking of
locations - the highest of which are likely to merit
further investigation at stage two. However, there may also
be specific factors that could make certain locations
highly impractical. Additional factors that will
significantly reduce the realistic viability of an option
should be considered at an early stage. These may influence
the recommended shortlist.
11. Such issues are likely to be unique to a particular
organisation. However, some of the factors that have come
to light in previous relocations include:
- Large scale relocations: The scale of
a relocation will have to be appropriate to the size of
the local population. For example a sparsely populated
rural area would find it difficult to provide the
labour or housing needs of a very large
organisation.
- Need for highly specific skills: If
key skilled staff are unlikely to move with their
posts, will the local labour market be able to provide
the required skills? Alternatively, will specialist
staff be prepared to commute?
- High travel needs: If travel by staff
or stakeholders is significant, certain locations may
be impractical.
- High additional
IT/Networking costs for remote
sites: This could favour more urban or central
locations.
Recommending a Shortlist
12. Comparing locations by the core criteria should
provide a final shortlist to recommend to Ministers. To
reflect the smaller scale of Small Unit Initiative
relocations, the review process for small units has been
streamlined and there is no need to present Ministers with
the shortlist for agreement or announcement. The Support
Team will advise on this. Usually six or seven locations
will be put forward to the second stage. The status quo
option should
always be included in the recommended
shortlist, even if it is only there for comparative
purposes.
13. If there are unique issues which significantly
affect the relocation then they should be discussed and, if
appropriate, a revised shortlist proposed. It is vital that
any such issues are explained fully, as it will be for
Ministers to decide whether their impact is significant
enough to warrant the exclusion of particular options.
14. The Team will advise on how the Stage One Report
should be presented to Ministers so that a decision can be
made. The decision will be made by the Relocation Ministers
(First
Minister, Deputy First Minister, Minister for
Parliamentary Business, Minister for Finance and Public
Sector Reform and Deputy Minister for Finance, Public
Sector Reform and Parliamentary Business).
Announcing the Shortlist
15. Ministers have undertaken to improve the
transparency of the review process. To assist in this,
decisions on shortlists should be made public. Staff
should, of course, be made aware of the shortlist before it
is announced. The Support Team will advise on the format of
news releases. Ministers have also undertaken to publish
the reasons for their relocation decisions and these shall
be included with the announcement.
Recommended Socio-economic Indicators
16. The recommended indicators below are to be used for
scoring locations under the socio-economic criteria section
of stage one of a location review. In compiling this list,
a wide range of potential measures and indicators were
considered, each of which paints part of the picture
regarding the socio-economic background of an area. In
narrowing down the list, the following principles have been
taken into account:
- The need for indicators that are
relevant to our policy goals;
- The need for
consistency in the way we compare
locations in Scotland;
- The desirability of
avoiding duplication of similar
indicators;
- To use indicators that are
meaningful and easily
understandable;
- To use information that is widely
available,
measurable and
up to date.
17. For the first stage of the review, localised
information should be used wherever possible. The Support
Team will provide this. However, where this is not
available data collected at the local authority level is
useable.
Supporting Fragile and Declining
Communities
18. The following two population measures highlight
areas at risk of depopulation, and which may be at a
competitive disadvantage due to the sparsity of their
population. Latest information on both the indicators
listed below is supplied by the General Registry Office of
Scotland (
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
).
- Change in Working Age Population over the last
decade
This information gives us an understanding of how
each
authority's population has changed in recent years.
Areas with the greatest fall in population should be ranked
highest.
Provides an indication of how sparsely the local
population is spread out. Areas with the lowest population
density should be ranked highest.
Helping Areas of Economic Hardship &
Deprivation
19. There is a redistributive goal to the Scottish
Executive's relocation policy. The following three
indicators can help to highlight areas of greatest need,
and which have the greatest potential to benefit from a
relocation.
- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
This composite index combines a wide range of individual
measures, each looking at differing aspects of deprivation.
Included in its design are factors looking at income,
employment, health, education and geographic access to
services. Locations should initially be ranked at a local
authority level by considering the
'Percentage of local authority population amongst the
20% most deprived in Scotland'. This provides an
indication of the relative concentration of deprivation in
each local authority area.
- Average (Median) Weekly Earnings
As part of the annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (
ASHE), the Office of National Statistics
compiles average gross median weekly earnings figures by
local authority area. Areas with lower average wages should
rank highest.
- Claimant Count Unemployment Level
The level of claimant count unemployment is compiled
monthly by the Office of National Statistics. Areas with
the highest average local authority unemployment should
rank highest.
Decentralisation and Sharing the Benefits of
Public Sector Employment
The relocation policy aims to disperse public sector
employment more evenly across Scotland.
- Proportion of employment by the public
sector
As part of its Annual Business Inquiry, the Office of
National Statistics produces information on the proportion
of local authority employment within the public sector.
Areas with the lower percentage employment should rank
highest.
ANNEX C
Location Review Methodology: Stage TwoWhen scoring locations, they should first be ranked
under each of the six indicators
5 and then a final ranking created by combining the six
scores together. When creating the final combined
socio-economic score for each location the following
weightings should be used:
Policy Goals and Specific
Indicators | Relocations of more than 30 staff | Relocations of 30 or less staff* |
|---|
By Objective | By Indicator | By Objective | By Indicator |
|---|
Supporting fragile communities | 25% | | 50% | |
|---|
Change in Working Age Population | | 12
1/
2% | | 25% |
|---|
Population Density | | 12
1/
2% | | 25% |
|---|
Helping areas of economic hardship
& deprivation | 50% | | 25% | |
|---|
Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation | | 16
2/
3% | | 8
1/
3% |
|---|
Average Weekly Earnings | | 16
2/
3% | | 8
1/
3% |
|---|
Claimant Count Unemployment | | 16
2/
3% | | 8
1/
3% |
|---|
Decentralisation and sharing the
benefits of public sector employment | 25% | | 25% | |
|---|
Employment by the public sector | | 25% | | 25% |
|---|
* Including larger relocations that plan to split the
organisation into satellite units containing 30 or fewer
staff each.
For relocations of more than 30 people the above
weightings have been designed to emphasise the relative
importance of
helping areas of economic hardship &
deprivation, as this has been prioritised by the
Scottish Executive as a key policy objective. However,
small scale relocations can offer a unique opportunity to
help areas that might otherwise not have the infrastructure
or labour supply to support a larger relocation.
Accordingly, for relocations of 30 or fewer staff the
weightings have been designed to emphasise the
supportingfragilecommunities objective. This second set of
weightings should also be used for larger relocations if
they plan to split the organisation into satellite units
containing 30 or fewer staff each.
Purpose of Stage Two
1. The purpose of stage two is to identify, and value,
the costs and benefits associated with each of the
shortlisted locations, through an option appraisal
exercise. The review will measure
direct impacts but must also include an
assessment of
customer impact, socio-economic benefits and
financial implications. Further information on the
process involved in conducting an option appraisal can be
found in the
HM Treasury's 'Green Book' guidance,
Appraisal & Evaluation in Central Government.6
2. As the review process aims to evaluate the impact
over the lifetime of the organisation, both immediate
changes and longer term impacts will need to be considered.
Each option should be compared with the
status quo. Where a lease is not renewable, then
the review should include a 'do minimum' option that
considers moving to a new local site.
3. It should be clear in the review what evidence is
behind each of the assumptions made in the final report.
The more important a factor is to the final decision, the
more evidence will be required. Where information that was
used in stage one is still relevant then it should be
presented again, often in an expanded or more detailed
format.
Direct Impacts
4. It is important that the appraisal includes all
significant direct costs, and benefits, that may change
between options. These could include the following:
- Accommodation costs (such as annual rent, rates
& service charges, or the costs of constructing and
maintaining a new purpose-built office);
- Costs involved with relocating the office and its
employees;
- Travel costs for commuting to a new location;
- Recruitment costs;
- Parallel running costs;
- Training costs;
- Efficiency savings (
e.g. due to combining two offices
together); and
- Additional operational costs (including any
increases in business travel).
5. Costs and benefits should not just be those that
impact on the organisation. It would be reasonable to
include factors such as any changes to employee travel
costs (in terms of lost time or money) even if compensation
is not provided.
6. Some impacts may not be directly measured in
financial terms, for example longer travel times. However,
in some cases it will still be possible to produce monetary
valuations of these impacts. Where it is not possible to
monetise impacts, it will still be important to describe
the degree of benefit or loss being incurred, or weight and
score the impacts. Those impacts which can be given
monetary value should be reported in real terms and
discounted at 3.5% p.a. The results should then be
presented in Net Present Value terms to compare costs and
benefits that occur at different times. In principle, all
costs and benefits over the foreseeable lifetime of the
organisation should be considered, rather than just
short-term impacts. In practice, what constitutes a
'foreseeable lifetime' can vary and will depend on a number
of factors such as the known life expectancy of the
relocating unit and the expected length of property lease.
However, unless there is clear reason otherwise,
the standard 15 year timescale should be
used.
7. To make it easier to relate the net cost or benefit
of each option to the relative size of the relocation, the
economic impact should also be given in
Economic cost per job terms. This is the
difference between the
NPV of an option and that of the status
quo, divided by the number of full time equivalent jobs
being relocated.
Property Costs
8. Property costs are likely to be a highly significant
component of overall costs, and therefore should be
considered carefully. Property costs should include rental
charges, fit-out costs, business rates and expected service
charges and/or maintenance costs.
VAT must be treated equally across all
options,
i.e. adjustments should be made for any
differences in the incidence of tax, such as those arising
from different contractual arrangements.
9. If the relocation is not imminent, rental costs
should normally be estimated based on average market rents
for an office of the desired size. However, if the
relocation is in the near future then actual prices taken
from currently available property would be preferable. This
allows for the fact that in certain locations the only
available properties may be larger than required (although
this could potentially be mitigated by sub-letting surplus
space).
10. If estimating the costs of constructing a new
purpose built office, an adjustment should be made for
optimism bias.
7 This should be in line with the Treasury's current
guidance.
8 In general, for a standard office this guidance
recommends that a 24% mark-up is factored into expected
construction costs to allow for optimism bias.
11. Costs should be based on 'opportunity costs' (
i.e. the value of an asset in its best
alternative use) rather than financial costs. This could be
particularly relevant where existing accommodation is owned
outright rather than leased.
12. Older office premises can be poorly designed and
inefficient. Would moving to a new property allow for a
reduction in the size of the office or make working
practices more efficient? This is more likely to be a
significant factor if the option includes merging more than
one office together.
Staff Costs
13. The ability to retain staff can be a significant
factor influencing the cost of a location. Staff surveys
can help inform how many of the current staff are likely to
remain with the organisation, though the review should also
consider the potential for reporting bias as staff try to
influence the final decision. Questions that are likely to
be important include:
- How many key staff are likely to relocate to the
new location?
- How many key staff are likely to commute to the new
location?
- How easy will it be to recruit new staff
locally?
14. Based on this information, it should be possible to
make an assessment of the likely travel costs, recruitment
costs and training costs (both short term and long term)
associated with each option. The impact of relocation on
business travel costs should also be assessed if likely to
be significantly higher than from the current base. These
costs can all be expressed in monetary values, and hence
should be factored directly into the
NPV calculations.
15. Redundancy costs should
not be included in an economic appraisal
where the management of posts being relocated are of a
generalist nature. This is because they are considered to
be 'transfer payments', where one person's cost is balanced
out by another's gain. However, it would still be
appropriate to include such costs in a separate discussion
of the budgetary 'affordability' of each option.
Customer Impacts
16. Customers and stakeholders may be affected by a
relocation in a number of ways. For example:
- Affecting access by moving closer, or further away,
from the core customer base;
- Changes in quality and experience of staff working
in the organisation.
17. Collecting evidence on the customer impacts is not
straightforward, but the information collected during stage
one may be useful as a starting point. It is unlikely that
it will be possible to express these impacts in monetary
terms. However, where customer impacts are expected to be
significant, it may be worth considering the use of a
weighting & scoring system to weigh up relative impacts and rank
options.
18. In some cases, there may be concern that certain
location options would have a significant effect on
customer service, particularly where a substantial number
of experienced staff have indicated that they would not be
willing to relocate. It is important to try to build up as
much evidence as possible on this issue, accounting for any
potential reporting bias that may exist. In particular, you
should consider what staff, both in terms of grade and
numbers, are genuinely key to the efficient continued
working of the organisation. If it is felt that a
particular relocation would lead to disruption, due to
staffing problems, then the review should consider how long
such disruption would last. Costs for parallel running of
two or more offices may have to be factored in. It may be
possible to put a value on such a temporary loss of
effectiveness if this is a genuine concern, having taken
steps to avoid such an eventuality arising.
19. In assessing the extent of any short-term
disruption, account should also be taken of the scope for
mitigating these impacts. For example, key staff may well
be willing to temporarily work at the new location(s), so
allowing for handover and training opportunities. This may
in the short term increase costs, but at the same time
reduce disruption.
Socio-economic Benefits
20. The relocation policy aims to assist areas with
particular social or economic needs. Stage two should
identify and compare the benefits the dispersal of jobs
would bring to each of the shortlisted locations.
Socio-economic information presented in stage one should be
included again. However, it will be necessary to include a
more
strategic assessment of relative needs and detail of
any particular issues not apparent from the raw data.
Consulting
local authorities, local enterprise companies
Communities Scotland and the
enterprise networks will be vital to compare socio-economic benefits
across shortlisted locations.
21. Although much of the information collected is
usually presented at local authority level, this can also
be supplemented by more local data which will be provided
by local enterprise companies or local authorities. This is
particularly important in larger local authority areas or
in areas where there is a notable range of economic and
social need. However, when using such data it should be
recognised that the employment catchment area of the
relocated unit may be quite large - certainly reaching
beyond the level of the local electoral ward. Often the
best picture will be created by considering both the local
and higher level data in tandem (for example: by quoting
both the local town's average unemployment rate and the
average rate in the local authority).
22. Any recent local changes in unemployment criteria
should also be taken into account, if known. This would
include the closure of local businesses or public sector
employer offices that impacts on the local economy.
23. The review should attempt to go beyond simply
presenting a picture of socio-economic conditions in each
location. It should try to paint a picture of the
particular strengths and weaknesses of each location and,
most importantly,
how the relocation would make a difference. Some
of the questions to consider here include the
following:
- How would the relocation directly affect the local
employment market? For example, would it be expected to
reduce local unemployment, attract new people to the
area, lead to extra in-commuting and/or reduce
out-commuting? Relating local unemployment and skill
levels to those of the positions being relocated will
help answer this.
- How will the
direct impacts be distributed between the
local community and the wider region? This will be
affected by the changes in the employment market
discussed above.
- Will there be
indirect impacts on the local community or the
larger region? For example, will additional services be
sourced locally (cleaning, maintenance,
IT,
etc.)? Will employees spend a significant
proportion of their wages in the local area?
- If low population density or depopulation is a
local issue, will the relocation help (for example,
through in-migration)?
- Are low local wages an issue and if so what
evidence is there that the relocation would raise
average incomes?
24. It may be possible to put monetary values on some
elements of socio-economic benefit, but for others a
qualitative description will be all that is possible. Local
enterprise companies should be able to help provide a good
overview and the Support Team will put them in touch with
project teams early in stage two for this purpose.
Financial Implications
25. There may be significant short term financial or
budgetary implications that do not fully come to light in
the economic assessment. For example, high initial
relocation costs, redundancy payments, or the capital cost
of a purpose built office would have significant early
impact on the budget. Ministers will need to consider these
budgetary factors as they may influence the viability of an
option. This should be discussed as a separate section of
the report, to emphasise that it does not affect the
overall economic and socio-economic merits of each
option.
26. Any specific costs that will have a significant
budgetary impact should be highlighted individually, with
accompanying evidence and explanation. However, what is
most important is that Ministers are made aware of the
net financial impact. One method of
discussing this is to indicate how a relocation would
impact on the short term
cashflow of the organisation, for example, during the
first 5 years after a move.
27. To give an indication of the long term budgetary
impact, a financial Net Present Value figure should also be
given for each option. This should be calculated in the
same manner as the economic
NPV. However, it should be based solely
on the direct financial costs to the organisation itself,
excluding any wider economic or socio-economic aspects. For
example, any redundancy costs would now be included, but
the extra time taken for staff to travel to work would
not.
28. As with the economic appraisal, the financial
NPV should be accompanied by a financial
cost per job (the difference between the financial
NPV of an option and that of the status
quo, divided by the number of full time equivalent jobs
being relocated).
Making a Recommendation
29. The review's final recommendations should consider
all of the impacts discussed above, balancing those
costs and benefits that can be monetarised (in the economic
NPV) against those factors which are
harder to quantify. Where the resulting decision is not
clear cut, Ministers should be offered advice on the pros
and cons of each option. The financial implications should
also be considered. However, financial factors will only
influence the short term feasibility of an option, rather
than its long term desirability. Accordingly, such factors
are unlikely to change the order of preference of the
options, but will help the Ministers make an informed
decision as to what is practicable.
30. What is most important is that the report attempts
to fairly and objectively summarise the merits of each
option, allowing Ministers to make a well-informed final
decision
ANNEX D THE RELOCATION GUIDE
Best Practice Guidance On Staff
Engagement1. This Paper suggests how organisations conducting a
location review should engage with staff. Guidance is made
available for Scottish Executive civil servants separately
on the Executive's Intranet. The paper provides guidance to
HR staff and others directly involved in
the business areas identified by Ministers as being
suitable for relocation. The Executive's paper for its own
staff takes account of existing agreements on redundancy
and the Consultation Framework Document on location and
relocation of staff agreed between the Executive and the
Council of Scottish Executive Unions.
2. Relocation decisions are based on a range of issues
including costs, quality and efficiency of service,
economic factors such as unemployment, availability and
suitability of property, transport issues, environmental
considerations, and the position of staff concerned. There
should be opportunities for
staff representations to be made and
consultation with the relevant
Trade Unions should take place.
Informing Staff of Decision to Review
Location
3. Once Ministers have taken the decision that a
business area should be included in the location review
programme responsibility rests with the head of that area
to lead the review. The relevant trade unions should be
informed and invited to meet with management to discuss how
the review will be conducted.
4. Management should inform all staff working in the
area of the decision as quickly as possible. This might be
done by the head of the business area meeting all staff
together to announce the decision, explain the review
process and the steps to be taken leading up to Ministers
deciding where the business area will relocate to. Trade
Unions should be invited to attend such a meeting.
Staff Considerations
5. In location reviews,
unique staffing issues that will have to be taken into
account by Ministers should be highlighted clearly. In
business areas where the staff are predominantly
specialists, Ministers will need details
of the levels of expertise and professionalism required by
staff to deliver a service. Factors such as how well the
business area can continue to work efficiently in the event
that professional staff decide not to relocate should be
included. Where staff are predominantly in the
administrative group Ministers need to
know what impact there will be on the business if staff
have indicated they do not wish to relocate. Information
about the timescales involved for recruiting staff, in the
new area, to backfill vacancies should be provided as well
as whether, as a result of staff not relocating with their
job, there is a need to consider dual running for a
specified period. This may involve continuing to manage a
satellite office in the original location to ensure
business continuity until such times as management is
satisfied the new office can operate efficiently with its
new workforce.
6. Management, through the project team, should ensure a
communication strategy is developed to keep staff regularly
in touch with developments. Good communication is central
to the management of the location review process as it
can:
- Maintain and improve organisational performance -
time spent communicating at the outset can minimise
subsequent rumour and misunderstanding;
- Assist management improve performance levels and
decision making - allowing staff to express their views
can help management arrive at sound decisions relating
to both the relocation and the running of the business.
These decisions can be more readily accepted by
employees which is particularly important in periods of
change;
- Ensure employee continued performance, commitment
and morale - staff's commitment is likely to be
enhanced if they know what the organisation is trying
to achieve and how they as individuals can influence
decisions;
- Help develop trust - discussing issues of common
interest and allowing staff an opportunity to express
their views can engender improved management/ staff
relations.
7. The communication methods adopted will include
regular face to face and written updates which should
be:
- Clear, easily understood and concise;
- Presented objectively, in a regular and systematic
way;
- Relevant and timely;
- Open to questions being asked and answered.
8. Where the face to face approach is used it should
involve:
- Group meetings/Team briefing - these provide
valuable opportunities for discussion and feedback on
matters;
- Management presentations - involving some/all
staff. These require careful preparation and allow for
only limited opportunities for individuals to respond.
This method has to be used sparingly and should be
followed up in other ways.
9. The written approach can be helpful and might involve
the use of a range of options such as e-mail, letters, news
bulletins and question and answer sheets. However, face to
face contact should be the main focus of the communication
strategy.
Staff Survey
10. A staff survey is a useful way to determine staff's
intentions. Management should decide the most appropriate
time for the staff survey to be held. Where possible, only
one survey to gauge staff's views should be held in advance
of location decisions being made. It is appreciated that
such a survey may have limited value as clearly the final
choice of location will have significant bearing on staff
reaction. It is therefore suggested that a second survey
should follow to determine the numbers of staff willing to
move or commute to the proposed new location. Survey
responses are a useful indication of intent, but should not
be binding on staff. Where the numbers involved are small a
survey may not be appropriate.
Temporary Support Measures
11. Management will wish to retain as many experienced
staff as possible to ensure continuity of business. It is
possible that in certain circumstances some temporary
short-term measures may have to be taken to help maintain
the efficiency of the business in the lead up to and after
relocation. Such measures should be considered against
meeting the position of staff in post. In such situations,
management will require to consult with
HR and the trade unions about how this
part of the process should be managed. An attractive travel
and subsistence package might be offered where individuals
are willing to travel longer distances on a temporary
basis.
Human Resource Plan
12. The right recruitment and induction processes are
vital in ensuring that employees recruited in the new
location become effective in the shortest time possible.
Once the new location has been identified, analysis of a
second Staff Survey will help determine staffing
requirements. The project team should draw up a Human
Resource Plan which will:
- Forecast staffing requirements against business
objectives;
- Assess available supply of the right people to meet
these requirements;
- Match available supply against forecast
demand.
Training for New Staff
13. Managers may require to gauge the knowledge and
skills of the new work force. A skills audit is a useful
way to establish the training/development needs of the new
staff. It can also determine what roles the more
experienced staff need to play to bring on new
recruits.
Retraining and Reskilling
14. Retraining and reskilling is an issue for staff who
may not wish to relocate with their posts. When staff in
this position are identified, training programmes should be
developed to allow them to obtain other work elsewhere.
ANNEX E
Pre Relocation Appraisal: Staff Survey
TemplatePersonal Details |
Name | |
Extension | |
Division/Branch | |
Pay Band/Range | |
Specialism (if appropriate) | |
Working pattern (eg: full time) | |
Length of Service in post | |
Length of overall service | |
What is the main mode of transport
you most frequently use to get to
work? |
Car - driving | |
Car - passenger | |
Bus | |
Train | |
Walk | |
Cycle | |
Other | |
Please indicate where you live
(e.g) west/east/south/north Edinburgh or
location outside Edinburgh |
|
On average how long does your
normal journey to work take (one
way)? |
1-15 mins | |
16-30 mins | |
31-45 mins | |
46-60 mins | |
Over an hour | |
Approximately what distance do you
travel to work (one way)? |
0-5 miles | |
6-10 miles | |
11-15 miles | |
16-20 miles | |
21-25 miles | |
26-40 miles | |
More than 40 miles | |
Please indicate the suitability for
you of the following possible new office
locations |
| Would move | May move | Would not move |
Aberdeen City | | | |
Aberdeenshire | | | |
Angus | | | |
Argyll and Bute | | | |
Clackmannanshire | | | |
Dumfries & Galloway | | | |
Dundee City | | | |
East Ayrshire | | | |
East Dunbartonshire | | | |
East Lothian | | | |
East Renfrewshire | | | |
Falkirk | | | |
Fife | | | |
Glasgow City | | | |
Highland | | | |
Inverclyde | | | |
Midlothian | | | |
Moray | | | |
North Ayrshire | | | |
North Lanarkshire | | | |
Orkney Islands | | | |
Perth & Kinross | | | |
Renfrewshire | | | |
Scottish Borders | | | |
Shetland Islands | | | |
South Ayrshire | | | |
South Lanarkshire | | | |
Stirling | | | |
West Dunbartonshire | | | |
West Lothian | | | |
Western Isles | | | |
(Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) | | | |
If the distance to the new location
was commutable, would you commute? |
Yes | |
No | |
If you answered yes, how much time
would you be willing to spend commuting
(one way)? |
1-15 mins | |
16-30 mins | |
31-45 mins | |
46-60 mins | |
Over an hour | |
Please indicate the factors that
would prevent you either commuting or
moving to a new location? (
e.g. caring responsibilities
or partner's job) |
|
What are the factors that would
encourage you to move to a new
location? |
|
Please use the space below to make
any additional comments about the proposed
relocation as it affects you. |
|
ANNEX F
Post Relocation Evaluation: Staff Survey
TemplateWhere possible this survey should be conducted as soon
as possible after the relocation, when any period of double
running or additional training period has been
completed
Personal Details |
Name | |
Extension | |
Division/Branch | |
Pay Band/Range | |
Specialism (if appropriate) | |
Working pattern (eg: full time) | |
Length of Service in post | |
Length of overall service | |
Where you worked before |
'Organisation name'has recently relocated (part) of its
operations to its current site in'place'. What were you doing prior to working
at this location |
I was employed with '
Organisationname' at it's previous site in
Edinburgh | |
I was employed elsewhere within the public
sector | |
I was employed within the Private sector | |
I was not working | |
Current travel to work
arrangements |
What is the main mode of transport
you most frequently use to get to
work? |
Car - driving | |
Car - passenger | |
Bus | |
Train | |
Walk | |
Cycle | |
Other | |
On average how long does your
normal journey to work take (one
way)? |
1-15 mins | |
16-30 mins | |
31-45 mins | |
46-60 mins | |
Over an hour | |
Approximately what distance do you
travel to work (one way)? |
0-5 miles | |
6-10 miles | |
11-15 miles | |
16-20 miles | |
21-25 miles | |
26-40 miles | |
More than 40 miles | |
Travel to work arrangements prior to'Date of relocation'
- If you used to work for
'Organisation's name' in its previous office
in Edinburgh, put down your travel arrangements for
there.
- If just prior to working here at
'Place' you were not working, then please
leave this section blank.
Current travel to work
arrangements |
What was the main mode of transport
you most frequently used to get to
work? |
Car - driving | |
Car - passenger | |
Bus | |
Train | |
Walk | |
Cycle | |
Other | |
On average how long did your normal
journey to work take (one way)? |
1-15 mins | |
16-30 mins | |
31-45 mins | |
46-60 mins | |
Over an hour | |
Approximately what distance did you
travel to work (one way)? |
0-5 miles | |
6-10 miles | |
11-15 miles | |
16-20 miles | |
21-25 miles | |
26-40 miles | |
More than 40 miles | |
Housing |
What is the post code for where you
currently live? | |
Have you moved house recently, or
plan to move, to be closer to your job
here? |
Yes I have moved house | |
I am definitiely planning to move house in
the foreseeable future | |
I may move house in the foreseeable
future | |
I am not planning to move | |
If you have moved recently to be
closer to your job here, what was the post
code of your previous address? | |
ANNEX G
Post Relocation Evaluation: Survey of Relocation
CostsThis questionnaire is designed to record the additional
financial costs, or savings, incurred by your organisation
due to relocating to its present site. It attempts to
capture both the initial start up costs, and any changes in
long term running costs. Please complete the form as fully
as possible and supply additional explanatory information
as you feel necessary.
Notes
- Please only include financial costs incurred
directly by your organisation or the Scottish
Executive.
- Please be careful not to double count costs. In
particular, if including a specific factor as a
recurring cost do not include it again as an initial
set up cost.
- We are interested in both the financial costs and
savings due to relocating. If in any areas savings have
been made, please include these and mark
appropriately.
- Has any aspect of the relocation led to an improved
level of service provision or efficiency gain (
e.g. from now having a purpose built or
more up to date office)? If this is the case then
please provide a brief explanation in the 'additional
comments' section of the relevant question, or at the
end of this questionnaire.
Section 1:
One-Off Set Up Costs
Section 1: One-Off Set Up Costs
This section examines those costs which were incurred
during the process of moving to the new
location or in the subsequent months, but which are not
expected to recur.
1.1 One-off Staff Costs
a) Staff relocation
(Financial assistance given to help staff with
moving costs)
£
Additional Comments:
b) Recruitment costs
(Initial recruitment costs, over and above what
would normally be spent in a standard year)
£
c) Training costs
(Cost of additional training courses for new staff.
As with b), only include costs over and above what
would normally be spent in a normal year.)
£
Additional Comments:
d) Redundancy costs
(If applicable estimate total redundancy
payments.)
£
Additional Comments:
1.2 One-off Accommodation/Property
Costs
a) Fitting out - General
(General fitting out of new office;
e.g. decoration, new furniture, etc)
£
Additional Comments:
b) Fitting out -
IT
(New
PCs, Servers, cabling, etc)
£
Additional Comments:
c) Costs of purchasing, or constructing, a new
property
(If applicable. If fitting out is part of purchase
costs, please do not double count)
£
Additional Comments:
d) Value of original premises
(Applicable only if the property was owned by the
organisation or the Scottish Executive rather than
rented/leased. If previous property has been sold, or
is expected to be, please quote sale price. Otherwise
estimate market value.)
£
Additional Comments:
e) Lease breakage charges and/or other
costs
(If applicable.)
£
Additional Comments:
1.3 Other One-off Costs
a) Additional rent or lease costs
(Please list individual costs separately and give a
brief description of each)
£
Additional Comments:
Section 2:
Additional Annual Running Costs/Savings
Section 2: Additional Annual Running Costs/Savings
This section relates to changes in your organisation's
on-going running costs. Please only list the additional
costs (or savings) in comparison to costs prior to the
relocation.
2.1 Additional Annual Accommodation/Property
Costs
a) Additional rent or lease costs
(Per annum. If costs lower than before then please
indicate the saving)
£
Additional Comments:
b) Rates
(Per annum. If costs lower than before then please
indicate the saving)
£
Additional Comments:
c) Service charges
(Per annum. If costs lower than before then please
indicate the saving)
£
Additional Comments:
2.1 Additional Annual Accommodation/Property
Costs - continued
d) Other recurring accommodation/property costs
(Please list individual costs separately and give a
brief description of each)
£
Additional Comments:
2.2 Recurring Additional Staff Travel
Costs
a) Travel to/from work costs
(Annually. What the organisation pays towards the
additional staff travel costs, rather than total travel
costs)
£
Additional Comments:
2.3 Recurring Additional Communications &
Technology Costs
a)
IT & Telephony costs
(Above what had previously been incurred by the
organisation.)
£
Additional Comments:
b) In work travel costs
(Annual costs over and above what had previously
been incurred by the organisation.)
£
Additional Comments:
2.4 Other Recurring Costs
a) Other recurring costs
(Please list individual costs separately, in annual
terms, and give a brief description of each.)
£
Additional Comments:
3 Any other relevant information
(For example, has any aspect of the relocation lead
to an improved level of service provision or efficiency
gain?
e.g. from now having a purpose built or
more up to date office.)
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