We are continuing to experience delays in the payment of first awards. We have now completed the forecast recovery for Awards and plan to manage the workload from different points going forward.
We are currently anticipating recovery by the end of November but with continued refinement as we improve our processes we are hopeful it may be sooner.
We will of course continue to update you on a fortnightly basis on our progress against this plan.
Current Position
Total awards processed from the 1st September – 1011
|
First awards waiting to process |
Position 17th August |
Position 26th August |
Current position |
|
30/07/18 – 05/08/18 |
520 |
353 |
15 |
|
06/08/18 – 12/08/18 |
624 |
431 |
135 |
|
13/08/18 – 15/08/18 |
N/A |
310 |
258 |
|
16/08/18 (Peak Day) |
N/A |
690 |
493 |
|
17/08/18 – 19/08/18 |
N/A |
317 |
273 |
|
20/08/18 – 26/08/18 |
N/A |
618 |
584 |
|
27/08/18 – 28/08/18 |
N/A |
N/A |
171 |
|
29/08/18 – 31/08/18 |
N/A |
N/A |
245 |
|
01/09/18 – 09/09/18 |
N/A |
N/A |
626 |
We still have approx. 11,500 applications on hand as applications are being received on a daily basis; all applications are being dealt with in line with our recovery plan.
We briefly introduced an awards tracker but this has since been removed whilst we work on the information being displayed. We want to refine it so it gives sufficient information to assist the member but it does need further work to get this just right.
The calls coming through to the Contact Centre are fluctuating on a daily basis but we have continued to see a decrease and wait times across all 4 lines appear more stable.
Recovery plan – activities continue.
- We continue to focus resources on first awards as a priority
- Additional hours are being worked to maximise daily clearance.
- Reviews are taking place to ensure that processes are as efficient as possible to reduce waste.
- 10 new Pensions Administrators have commenced and are now in training.
- We have undertaken additional training for 20 staff currently dealing with pension’s data. This will enable the less complex, semi-automated aspects of the awards process to be expedited.
- 30 new staff have been trained in the Contact Centre and are now supporting the service.
- Cross skilling of awards staff continues to further increase their knowledge on various processes.
- A fast track process for members suffers hardship has been implemented from the Contact Centre.
- An employer checklist has been drafted to assist employers when submitting an AW8 to reduce the need for us to contact you later. The intention is to share this draft with a few employers to obtain some feedback on its potential effectiveness.