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THE Relocation Guide

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ANNEX A Quick Guide to the Review Process - Flowchart

A Quick Guide to the Review Process - Flowchart

ANNEX B Location Review Methodology: Stage One

Purpose 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.

  • Population Density

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 Two

When 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 Engagement

1. 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 Template

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

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 Template

Where 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 Costs

This 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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Page updated: Monday, June 27, 2005