Wales Audit Office - Organisation profiling tool

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Organisation profiling tool

For each section that follows, please click on the radio button against the description which best describes your organisation. Upon completion a ‘Risk Profile’ will be generated automatically.

1. Policy
	Level a Organisation has achieved WAG Corporate Health Standard at least at Silver level to demonstrate commitment to the ‘Healthy Workforce’. Organisation can demonstrate actions consistent with HSE Stress Standard. Sickness Absence,Attendance and Capability policies and Procedures reviewed and updated since 2004. Grievance and Disciplinary procedures follow ACAS models and are compatible with Attendance and Capability.
	Level b Organisation is committed to achievement of WAG Corporate Health Standard and is developing action plans re HSE Stress Standard. Working Groups in place to address Violence and Aggression. Attendance policy exists,and includes ‘How-to’ guidance to ensure consistent application
	Level c Capability Procedure exists,and Sick Pay policy covers 6 months full + 6 months half pay,and both policies have been reviewed since 2000.
	Level d Policies and Procedures were put in place last century and are predominantly reflections of long standing national agreements.

2. Systemic
	Level a All absence is reported and is recorded directly to an electronic system which enables instant up to date on-line viewing by line managers and which generates up to date (current) reports capable of presentation by department /workgroup, by day-of-the-week and with historical comparisons. There are defined systems to ensure cover of key senior posts in the event of long-term absence.
	Level b Individual records and patterns of attendance are compared using the Bradford index or other defined standards for consistency. Line Managers initiate the use of data to identify common causes of absence in their areas. Occupational Health Services are run with recently reviewed defined Key Performance Indicators.
	Level c Absence data is held centrally and line managers’ actions are triggered by e-mail/phone/letter from central team. Senior Managers are routinely provided with trend data concerning their areas of responsibility. Internal Audit are satisfied that over 95% of absence is properly reported.
	Level d Absence data is derived as a by-product from the payroll system and is therefore never current and is likely to be incomplete through reliance on reporting systems which rely on managers remembering to complete the input. Reports are produced for Senior Managers only when requested.

3i. Operational - Managerial

	Level a Attendance level targets are included in all Senior Managers’ personal performance reviews. Project Plans are used to engage staff in continuous improvement of services in high-absence areas.
	Level b Line Manager competence in handling operational aspects of Attendance is included in their personal reviews, and significant numbers of managers have been trained in the last two years on ‘How-to’ handle various aspects of absence management.
	Level c Year-on-year and inter-departmental absence / attendance level information is made available to senior managers to identify areas which cause concern.
	Level d The Chief Executive, Senior Managers or Line Managers are not provided with regular reports on absence.

3ii. Operational - Team Leader / Employee
	Level a Team Leaders know the main causes of absence in their work group(s) and are actively working to mitigate these with professional support from HR and OH.
	Level b Team Leaders conduct Return-to-Work interviews without prompting from central team (/system). Case Conferences are held covering all absences of over 4 weeks and any which identify Stress. The Capability Procedure is used at a level representing 1% of the headcount per year.
	Level c Staff ring in on the first day of absence and team leaders have this information within an hour. Return-to-Work discussions are carried out covering over 90% of absences.
	Level d It is not known what proportion of absences are covered by Return-to-Work discussions. Case Conferences are used only for a small number of exceptional cases.

Wales Audit Office
24 Cathedral Road
Cardiff
CF11 9LJ

Tel: 029 2032 0500
Fax: 029 2032 0600