For the past two years, the PICS Management Office (PMO) has been conducting the implementation of online annual assessment reporting. This phase has now been completed. From September, all transfer and annual reporting for Inspectors to Superintendents will be done online. This provides useful data on desired postings, streaming and training preferences of personnel. At Force level, Personnel Wing is already utilising this for career management. In collaboration with Training Wing, a more accurate indication of real training requirements from the end-users perspective is possible. One key benefit of on-line reporting is a more dynamic appraisal process. Reportees can now view their reports on-line, thereby enabling them to better prepare themselves prior to interviews with their line management.

The new-look PICS 2002 will be released in December, then, over the next year, PMO will gradually improve the system making it easier and more user-friendly. The majority of middle management in Regions, Districts and Divisions now have access to PICS. The vision is to enable and encourage such officers to better utilise PICS as a tool for career management.

In the past, PICS was regarded as a system operated by civilian staff, however, assessment reporting on-line has now ensured that everyone from Inspector rank up is required to use PICS. The next step is to convince those officers that PICS can be used as a HRM tool at any level. Managers will also be empowered with information to perform their functions. This also means improved training not only on basic PICS operations, but also smarter usage of the system and interpretation of the results it produces.

In 2002, PICS-generated reports will be improved. Over the past two months the PMO team has been consulting staff around Regions regarding their needs. They also have extensive experience in dealing with user enquiries and ad-hoc data requests. It is now time to share that experience to the benefit of users through improved redesign and training aimed at the management levels of the Force.