Our people

We have seen significant changes and improvements in our approach to Human Resources (HR) in the last year. In April 2006, Vicky Best, our new HR Director, joined the ICO, started a full review of the HR function and developed a comprehensive HR strategy. This strategy covers a range of initiatives to improve and develop the profile of the HR function and the ICO as a whole. The aim is to ensure that our approach to recruitment, leadership and development is professional. It emphasises our commitment to building, rewarding and retaining a diverse, highly skilled and motivated workforce. Another important theme has been the development of new ways of working in the context of moving away from the traditional personnel model to a strategic, performance-focused HR service.

New policies

We have already made substantial progress and have implemented new HR policies and procedures which cover areas such as dignity at work, managing sickness absence and performance management. We have established new ways of working which have improved our effectiveness in the way we attract and recruit new staff to the organisation. We have developed and implemented a competency framework which will be linked to recruitment, learning and development and the performance management process.

Developing leadership

We have started a significant leadership development programme which is predominantly aimed at senior managers in the organisation. This is a bespoke programme, developed from the results of a skills audit. The programme will focus on developing leadership and management skills such as coaching, managing performance and personal effectiveness.

Developing staff

The ICO is committed to providing effective and appropriate learning and development opportunities for all staff. This year, we have built upon successes of previous years and have provided a wide range of learning and development opportunities. As well as the leadership development programme, we have delivered training to managers on the new HR policies and health and safety, and provided job specific training to ensure that our staff have the right skills and knowledge. We have also developed a new staff induction programme because we recognise that a good induction for new staff is of fundamental importance to the success of the organisation. We have also supported a number of staff to gain professional qualifications through further education.

Unfortunately, we have not made as much progress as we had planned in the area of equality and diversity. We have developed a strategy and action plan and will focus next year on delivering our commitments in this area. The completion of the pay and grading review has also taken longer than was originally intended. This work is now complete and we will learn lessons from this experience.