Reward Project Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is OGC creating new guidance?
2. Will the OGC adhere to this?
3. Do CIPS offer any guidance?
4. What will this project deliver?
5. How have the unions been involved?
6. What measures are you putting in place to ensure the survey data is confidential? How realistic are you that people are going to be honest?
7. Who can take part in the Reward Survey this year?
8. What are you looking to achieve from the survey?
9. Do results of surveys of this nature already exist?
10. Will the results of the survey be published? 
11. When will the survey be running and how will I be able to access it?   
12.What is the proposed Reward strategy?  
13. Why is OGC getting involved in seemingly a HR issue?
14. How can these recommendations be applied across government?
15. When will you look to roll out the results?
16. Why is this needed - is there a feeling that staff are not already being paid enough?
17. How does this fit into the various departmental pay audits that are going on at the moment?

1. Why is OGC creating new guidance?
Transforming Government Procurement was published in January 2007 and was explicit in recommending government departments ensure that "the right procurement people with the right skills are in the right jobs with the right incentives".

As a result of this, the Government Procurement Service (GPS), part of the OGC, is leading a cross government initiative to build the procurement profession by identifying reward and career structures that reinforce the recruitment and retention of high calibre professionals.

Heads of Profession across all departments supported the remit for this piece of work which should provide guidance to all departments enable "a consistent, managed, transparent regime that rewards increasing professionalism, attracts those of sufficient calibre from outside, retains the required skill base and allows managed movement between departments".

2. Will the OGC adhere to this?
OGC, like all other government departments, are within scope for this piece of work.

3. Do CIPS offer any guidance?
The Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply (CIPS) are engaged with this project and are supporting the process with wider data and research within the procurement profession. They will continue to be consulted throughout the project and we will make best use of their expertise as and when appropriate.

4. What will this project deliver?
The reward project has its own special interest group chaired by Nigel Smith, Head of Profession and Chief Executive of OGC.  They have agreed and will lead the project plan which involves:

•  A confidential internal reward survey of government procurement professionals taking place in July
• A wider look at data available from the procurement professional on reward and career structures to inform the bigger picture
• Workshops with key stakeholders involving members of the HR community
• A strategy on producing guidance for all government departments to use to support the development and retention of high calibre procurement professionals
• A strategy to implement the guidance and see change in the way departments reward, recruit and retain procurement professionals.

5. How have the unions been involved?
Cabinet Office are supporting this project as part of the wider Civil Service Capabilities Group (CSCG) work stream reviewing reward structures across the civil service and their role in facilitating the HR Reward Group. We will liaise with their TUS contacts to ensure they are fully informed regarding our piece of work .

6. What measures are you putting in place to ensure the survey data is confidential? How realistic are you that people are going to be honest?
The internal reward survey will be managed by a third party supplier in order to maintain anonymity of all responses. GPS will only receive highlight reports and trends upon which the strategy can be built.   As with any survey, confidence intervals will apply to the data in terms of statistical significance to allow for any discrepancies.

We will rely upon those individuals completing the survey to do so openly and to realise that there is an appetite for change within many departments and the more accurate data we have, the better evidence there is to influence change which benefits everyone.

7. Who can take part in the Reward Survey this year?
The scope of this initial survey has been restricted to make it more manageable in the first instance. For this reason, the focus this year is on departments in central civil government who will be subject to Procurement Capability Reviews (PCRs), and a small number of additional high-spending agencies.

If you meet the following criteria you are eligible to participate:
a) You are a permanent or fixed term employees of one of the below organisations - not an interim, consultant or temporary agency worker.

b) Your employing organisation is one of the following:

• Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
• Communities and Local Government
• Cabinet Office
• Central Office of Information
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Department for Culture Media and Sport
• Department for Children Schools and Families
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Department of Health
• Department for International Development
• Department for Transport
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Government Communications Planning Department
• Highways Agency
• HM Prison Service
• HM Revenue and Customs
• HM Treasury
• Home Office
• Ministry of Defence
• Ministry of Justice
• NHS PASA
• Olympic Development Authority
• Office of Government Commerce

c) You manage contracts and suppliers as part of your job OR You undertake tendering or contract letting on a regular basis OR You are responsible for procurement policy and/or compliance

You do not have to hold any professional procurement qualifications to take part in this survey.

Unfortunately you cannot take part if:

• You are employed by an organisation outside of those listed above
• Your job does not feature a substantial amount of procurement or contract management of some sort on an ongoing basis
• You are an interim or consultant working for one of the above organisations

The survey is due to be launched in July and will be run on an annual basis. We hope to increase the scope of each survey on a year on year basis.

8. What are you looking to achieve from the survey?
The survey will provide us with an up to date and factual view of the reward landscape across government departments which will be used as the platform on which the strategy will be built.

9. Do results of surveys of this nature already exist?
General profession surveys exist and some of this data will be used for external benchmarking purposes. However, the various reward packages on offer across government departments vary widely, especially with regard to professional development and other allowances, and this will not be reflected in existing surveys.

10. Will the results of the survey be published? 
Feedback on key themes highlighted by the survey will be shared in the autumn. Detailed information will not be available as data will be aggregated by our supplier to protect the confidentiality of the information provided by individuals.

11. When will the survey be running and how will I be able to access it?
All staff who are within scope for this survey (see Q. 7) will receive an e-mail from the organisation running the survey which will provide a link to the secure survey site. You should receive this on 14th July and the survey will be available to complete for 5 weeks from that date.

12. What is the proposed Reward strategy?
The strategy will be finalised once we have gathered a firm evidence base as to the current reward landscape across Central Civil Government and some up to date benchmarking data from the wider procurement profession. We expect the proposals to be drafted in August. Whilst the content is not yet known, we are clear that it needs to provide clarity around appropriate levels of pay for the profession; deliver comparability across departments to enable retention of a high calibre workforce and examine incentivisation to drive improved performance.

13. Why is OGC getting involved in seemingly a HR issue?
This is one of the top priorities for the profession, especially if it is to meet the procurement challenges ahead. It is also part of the solution to common themes emerging from the Procurement Capability Reviews across departments around capacity and capability issues. Cabinet Office is keen to support heads of profession, as the centres of expertise, to provide appropriate guidance to HR departments around reward structures. The GPS is leading this work as the centre for government procurement professionals.  This reflects the current arrangements for SCS level posts where departments (as the employers) work with Cabinet Office (as the facilitators) and take guidance from the professions.

However, as one of the central aims of the project is to facilitate a more consistent approach across Central Civil Government, senior level representation from the procurement profession, HR community, Cabinet Office, Treasury and at Permanent Secretary level have agreed to work together on a Special Interest Group and through a workshop programme to identify and remove any obstacles towards adoption by the departments.

15. When will you look to roll out the results?
The draft strategy will be presented to GPS Council in September for endorsement and formal recommendation to departments.

16. Why is this needed - is there a feeling that staff are not already being paid enough?
Reward is not just about pay. The strategy will cover how we attract people into the profession, develop their capability while they are with us and retain the best people with clear routes for career progression. Pay is an integral component of this and we will look at how departments can use the pay remit received from the Treasury in the best way possible to reward staff consistently across government.  It is part of the Cabinet Office's wider Civil Service Capabilities Group (CSCG) who are reviewing reward structures across the civil service and their role in facilitating the HR Reward Group.
 
17. How does this fit into the various departmental pay audits that are going on at the moment?
This work will support any existing pay audits currently underway, providing support and guidance to the HR community on appropriate reward mechanisms for procurement staff.
 

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