The point of PeoplePoint

eolas explains the workings of the State’s human resources and pensions shared service.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform views shared services – such as PeoplePoint – as a key element in the Public Service Reform Plan and an enabler for wider reform and renewal. Standardised processes deal with repeatable transactions and thus free up Public Service staff to focus on core services and more strategic activities.

Writing on the department’s blog, Minister Brendan Howlin has said: “The point to PeoplePoint is not only what it adds – it provides the impetus to transform HR delivery across the entire Civil Service – but also what it takes away.” PeoplePoint saves money, time and human resources.

The number of staff working in Civil Service human resources will have fallen from 870 to 330 between September 2013 and December 2014. According to Howlin, the shared service arrangement will reduce the cost of delivery whilst maintaining quality, greater efficiency in delivering HR services, an increased focus on ensuring customer service, and the fostering of a strategic HR capability.

PeoplePoint was established in March 2013 and currently provides transactional HR and pensions services to 24,000 employees across 21 Public Service organisations, including all government departments, the Office of Public Works and the Courts Service. The latest clients are the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office. 240,000 cases have been processed to date and a total of 40 organisations are expected to have made the transition by 2015.