Effective Governance: The importance of centralising job data to mitigate risk

Reporting and reducing risk is a key priority for local government, but what steps can be taken to address this challenge?

Centralising job data is critical for effective governance and robust risk management in local government. Without a unified approach, organisations encounter challenges such as inconsistent job descriptions, difficulties when assessing pay equity, and the risks associated with outdated or inaccurate job information.

Research has highlighted that increased data visibility is often cited as one of the main ways the public sector can become more efficient. Centralising data means establishing a cohesive, comprehensive, and readily accessible repository of job content, which is vital for ensuring compliance, fairness, and improving operational efficiency.

We explore the current challenges organisations face and highlight the advantages of centralising job data.

Key Challenges for good governance

There are some common issues around job data and job content that we encounter when starting to work with public sector organisations:

Time wasted finding job content

We find that, across most local authorities, job descriptions are stored in a wide variety of locations. There may be some held centrally but there will be others on individual desktops or in team files. There is no central place where job content is stored that is easily accessible by whoever needs it.

This leads to time wasted trying to find job content and often a duplication of effort; a typical example is a manager recreating a job description because an already-created version can't be found. This lack of centralisation also makes governance and locating job content for pay equity analysis extremely challenging and time-consuming.

Inconsistent formats

A common challenge for local government is that there isn’t a consistent format for job descriptions. Often the template has changed over time and there are wide variations – some ranging from 24 pages long, others two pages long. This results in inconsistent job content. Different formats for job content hinder the ability to perform cross-departmental analyses, for example when assessing pay equity for similar job roles that sit in different teams.

Job content not being regularly updated

Job descriptions need to be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure they reflect current roles and responsibilities, especially for use as pay equity comparators. This task is often difficult to manage without a central repository where all job content is stored and easily accessible. Job content will only be updated when a vacancy arises and, therefore, may not accurately reflect the job being done on the ground.

Lack of audit trails

Without a centralised mechanism to capture changes to job descriptions, tracking the evolution of roles becomes challenging. When job description reviews and approvals are conducted manually via email, there will be no clear record of changes made, who approved them, or when they were implemented. A lack of accurate record keeping is often cited as a key issue in pay equity cases.

Different formats for job content hinder the ability to perform cross-departmental analyses. For example, assessing pay equity for similar job roles sitting in different teams.

Outdated versions of job content being used

In the absence of a centralised repository, it can be unclear which version of a job description is the latest. This ambiguity can leave an organisation exposed to potential risks, such as claims that outdated or inaccurate job descriptions were used for job evaluation. Centralising job data helps ensures that there is always a single, up-to-date version of each job description or role profile available, resulting in good governance.

The Solution

The way to mitigate these risks is to bring all your disparate job content together in one centralised location and then implement a process around how job content is updated and managed going forward.

This will help ensure that job content is up-to-date, accessible, consistent and fit-for-purpose for the reporting that is required for all local authorities.

Key elements to consider for any new process are:

• Ensure that job content is in a consistent format with the same templates being used for all roles – this makes comparison easier
• Make sure that there is a clear audit trail of when and how job content is updated – who made the change, what the change was and when it was made
• Build a regular review of all job content so that it accurately reflects the jobs being done on the ground
• Consider introducing a job titling framework for all roles so the same system is used across all job roles
• Automate the review and sign-off process around job content so that it is streamlined and efficient

Centralising job data is crucial for risk management and good governance. It ensures consistent and accurate job content, facilitates equal pay analyses, maintains an audit trail of changes and provides clarity on the latest versions of job content.

By addressing these critical aspects, local authorities can reduce the risks associated with decentralised job content management and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Investing in a centralised job data system is not just a matter of efficiency, it is a strategic imperative for sustainable organisational success in the public sector.

To learn more about controlling the job data chaos, why not join one of our webinars.