Forces to benefit from shared organisational support platform

The new system will streamline the two forces’ IT infrastructure and help drive efficiency.

The seven-year-contract with Capita’s Secure Resource Solutions business, worth £1.7 million, will see the forces move towards a collaborative human resources (HR), finance, payroll and duty management platform that will result in significant savings for both forces and encourage best practice.

The Capita Origin resource management system will be rolled out on the Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) application.

The programme, managed by Capita, is being implemented in four phases. Phase one upgraded the existing South Yorkshire systems to the latest Oracle technology, while the second phase enhanced the force’s HR system. These upgrades brought the force’s systems fully up to date.

Phase three, based on a collaborative HR solution, will deliver a common shared Origin HR platform for both Humberside Police and South Yorkshire Police.

The final phase, which is expected to be completed and fully operational by the end of 2015, will see both forces combining to use Capita’s full Origin ERP platform. It will allow them to share their finance and procurement, payroll and operational duty management using Capita’s duty management system.

Nigel Hiller, finance director at South Yorkshire Police, said: “Shared services are the logical answer to the current pressure police forces are facing to cut costs and improve efficiency, while at the same time maintaining our frontline services.”

Humberside Police Assistant Chief Officer (Support) Phil Goatley added: “We are all excited about the new potential for service improvement and cost reduction that this project brings to both forces. We must, in the context of an extending and deepening financial challenge, seek solutions for joining up services that enable our people to multi-skill and be flexible. This is just such an ambitious shared enterprise.”

Lucy Bailey, business development director of Capita Secure Resource Solutions, said: “This is an ambitious collaboration between the two forces, one which aims to drive out force best practice and provide a more efficient and effective organisational support function.”