'I suppose that we came at it from the perception of the failing of humans and the rather limited basic computer systems that we already had,' said John Thorndyke, workforce planning and development manager at the council.

Devon started with the business plan, defined the need, and went out to tender. In 2003 it launched a workforce plan to manage staffing needs in a strategic way. The council selected systems from Snowdrop for training administration, performance management and succession planning. Snowdrop also installed U-Access, a web-based system that lets staff see and edit personal data such as appraisal dates and feedback.

'Previously, it was time-consuming to know the qualifications and skill levels across the workforce, or to draw up the reports required internally and for Government', says Mr Thorndyke. As an example, the Government has set targets for increasing the levels of NVQ qualifications among care staff in the social services department.

'We are often required to provide information to a Government department,' he says. `It was always a laborious task to track it down. We didn't have a good and clear mechanism for gathering that information. We couldn't, at the touch of a button, say that at this establishment such and such a person was qualified.'

Implementation is ongoing, but the signs are that the new systems will enable them to do this, Mr Thorndyke reports. `We are already seeing the outputs starting to tell us that information. When it is fully operational, the system will automatically generate emails and letters and once training is set up it can be replicated,' he adds. 'The workflow engine will pop up reminders to book slots for sessions and flag up the need for materials so the entire process can be automated.'