PAD ‘moves into digital age’

THE Personnel Administration Division (PAD) is taking a big step as it moves from a system of paper to a digital system called the Correspondence Management System (CMS).

Speaking at the launch of the CMS, which was held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Friday morning, Chief Executive Officer of PAD Gail Atkins revealed that after 19 months of planning and engineering, with the assistance of the LPA Corporate Solutions, they were finally able to launch the CMS. She explained that CMS was designed to allow PAD to receive, process, track and disseminate correspondence electronically from both external government entities and the general public.

“There were several factors that propelled us to consider this solution; the foremost among these is the need to manage large volumes of correspondence,” she said.

“Our records indicate that we receive, on average, 450 individual pieces of mail weekly. One can therefore imagine from a logical perspective the challenges experienced, especially when matters required input from more than one unit in the division.”

In addition to the incredible amount of mail coming in, Atkins noted that PAD also needed to provide storage for the large volume of correspondence, expressing that “the division is now at the point where space for storage and files effectively compete with the need to provide individual workspace”.

She noted that CMS therefore provided the opportunity for them to effectively transform PAD from a paper-based environment to one that is electronic, which reduces the need for physical storage and provide a safer way to archive files in a central depository. She believed that in this regard, CMS represented a major public sector reform initiative that will benefit the department for years to come.

Prime Minister the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart commended PAD for their initiative as there were several benefits to be derived from the introduction of the system.

“The introduction of the Correspondence Management System therefore is evidence that the Personnel Administration Division recognises that digital and communication technology has been changing life experiences not only in the home, but also in the workplace,” he said.