Mark Glaister Procurement Manager Surrey County Council

1. Mark Glaister Procurement Manager Surrey County Council

2. About Surrey

4. Key Statistics • The Councils gross budget for 2004 was £1.26 billion of which £737.6 million is spent on goods, services and works. • A population of 1.1 million supported by the County Council, 11 Districts and 14 Borough Councils • Surrey Children’s Service currently provides support to over 3,000 children and young people from an annual budget for goods and services of £34 million • The Council is committed to saving £2m during 2004 / 5, £3m during 2005 / 6 and £4m during 2006 / 7. In addition, the Council has recently launched a Policy and Productivity review with the aim of saving an additional £5m per year over a 3 year period. Total savings target of £24 million over the next 3 years. • The Council recognise that more effective procurement will be key if these targets are to be achieved with e-procurement very high on the agenda.

5. The Temporary Staffing Requirement - Children’s Services

6. The Requirement Children’s Services requires temporary staffing agencies to supply the following categories of worker: • Social Workers (qualified and un-qualified) • Residential Social Workers for Waking Nights & Children with Disabilities • Admin and Secretarial • HR • Procurement How was this requirement historically being met? • £2 million spent per annum with 52 different local agencies

7. Problems In Meeting This Requirement • Lack of control over spend - different charge rates/pay rates across agencies • Lack of visibility over spend - no process for tracking and monitoring spend • Ordering processes inconsistent across teams - temp quality inconsistent • No central records of temps held by the Council - high risk exposure • No process for measuring the performance of agencies • Considerable management time spent on processing timesheets and invoices • 5,000 temporary staffing invoices processed per annum • 8,000 temporary staffing time sheets processed per annum

8. The Objective

9. The Objective • To achieve best value temporary staff supply • To reduce the current level of temporary labour expenditure within Children’s Services by 10% - 15% in direct and in-direct savings • To reduce the amount of management time currently allocated to staff ordering, invoicing, time sheeting and management reporting and allow managers to concentrate on their core activity. • To achieve a consistent application of policy governing temporary staff usage within Children’s Services • To manage risk more effectively • To identify where, when and why temporary staff being used to inform workforce planning

10. The Options

11. The Options • How should we manage supply? • How should we manage delivery? Managing Supply • Option 1 - Establish a preferred list of agencies (PSL) • Option 2 – Establish an in-house supply agency • Option 3 - Appoint a master vendor • Option 4 - Appoint a vendor neutral managing agent Managing Delivery • Option 1 - Purchase an e-procurement system • Option 2 - Purchase an outsourced e-procurement system

12. The Decision

13. The Decision Managing Supply • Option 4 - Appoint a vendor neutral managing agent Managing Delivery • Option 2 - Purchase an outsourced e-procurement system

14. Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 3 Programme Overview Vendor neutrality ensures maximum competition for all available staffing orders. Service quality drives movement between tiers Multiple portals into a single ordering point Delivery driven by a web-enabled exchange and exceptions managed by experts in Comensura’s service centre Social Work Vendors Site 1 Site 2 Site 1 Carer Vendors comensura.net automates: • Ordering • Candidate submission • Invoicing • Time Sheeting • Real time spend information Site 3 Site 1 Location and skill-set specific tiers

15. The Decision – benefits to Surrey • “To support business improvement through cost effective and efficient purchasing of goods and services through corporate implementation of e-procurement. Working with local suppliers to equip them to take advantage of e-procurement activities” • ODPM 2004 Vendor Neutrality • Encourages local suppliers to work with the Council in line with the Governments Priority Service Targets • Promotes a consistent temporary staffing workforce • A more diverse and higher quality temporary workforce • Best value temporary staffing supply. Vendor Neutrality promotes continuous improvement amongst the agency supply chain. E-Procurement • Complete visibility and control over spend – authorisation levels set for ordering, invoicing and time sheeting • Automation of costly back office processes – invoicing, time-sheeting etc • Standardisation of job specifications allowing for greater skills matching of candidates by agencies • All costs associated with technology maintenance, training, and upgrades borne by outsourced provider • Bespoke market place - Integration with Councils SAP System

16. The Decision – benefits to suppliers Vendor Neutrality • Orders are contested on the basis of quality and price not size or reputation • Equal opportunity to increase market share across the Council E-Procurement To be competitive, staffing suppliers must add value to their temporary staff and concentrate on attraction, interviewing, matching, developing and counselling • Engage with authority easier and quicker – all that is required to interact is access to the internet • Reduce their staffing and account management costs dramatically, through instant access to key recruitment decision makers across the Council • Respond to temporary/permanent vacancies quicker due to instant notification supported with detailed job and skill requirements • Obtain feedback on performance – promotes continuous quality improvement • Reduced cost of transaction with client – automated time sheeting and invoicing

17. Q&A

18. Additional Information For additional information on this programme or indeed the other programmes being delivered by Comensura across Local Government please contact: Andy Weston Sales & Marketing Manager Comensura Tel: 0781 089 8210 Email: andy.weston@comensura.co.uk Web: www.comensura.co.uk