Advance Change Ltd

Actus Performance, Talent & Learning Management Software

Actus Performance, Talent & Learning Management Software increases productivity, engagement, compliance and talent retention. Features include: objectives and KPI tracking; configurable appraisal/PDR; 121; development; talent pools; competencies and succession planning. Feedback; Values; Pulse & 360 Survey; Learning Mgmt; doc storage and interactive BI. AI features & Culture Change training available.

Features

• Fully configurable employee appraisal or performance review templates
• Workforce objective & goal setting, milestone & KPI tracking
• Pre-boarding; Onboarding; Induction Management and 121's
• Learning (LMS), Development & Training (PDR) Management
• Track key qualifications & expiry e.g. Safeguarding; Revalidation; Certification
• Career & Talent Management, Talent Tools & Succession Planning
• User driven Feedback & Recognition aligned with values if desired
• 360 feedback & pulse & engagement survey module
• Automated data uploads, API integration, SSO and accessible by mobile
• Real time reporting dashboards accessible to managers and HR

Benefits

• Eliminates painful paper-based staff appraisal improving transparency and fairness
• Higher PDR uptake supports talent retention; development & succession planning
• Improved productivity by embedding year-round performance conversations
• Talent onboarding & management creates career paths & increased engagement
• Improved performance & compliance through real-time reporting dashboards
• Cost savings through reduced attrition & lower agency spend
• Empower staff and embed values through recognition and 360 feedback
• Highly configurable, quick to implement, enabling evolution or transformation
• Reduce risk through increased visibility, automated alerts and custom reports
• Rapid ROI and culture change through expert consultancy & support

£0.50 to £2.00 a user a month

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at info@actus.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

929852548785185

Contact

Lucinda Carney
01582 793 053
info@actus.co.uk

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
• What software services is the service an extension to: Performance management is our usual standalone module which can be integrated with a proprietory HRIS or payroll and be supplemented over time with our fully integrated Talent, 360/Pulse Survey or Learning Management Modules (indicative add on costs are provided).
• Cloud deployment model:
  • Public cloud
  • Private cloud
  • Community cloud
  • Hybrid cloud
• Service constraints: No constraints, 24/7 accessibility all support included
• System requirements: Access to a modern (supported) browser

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: SLA's state within 4 hours but usually within 90 minutes; Monday to Friday 9-5.30 pm
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Actus provides both Technical and Organisational Development Support. We adapt our support levels to meet the needs of the client and provide technical account management or a cloud support engineer if needed. This support is included in the licence fee.; ; As soon as a support request is received an email will be generated letting the reporter know that their query has been received and the likely response time. We are known as being highly responsive, usually responding personally well within our SLA's.; ; We are also able to provide more advanced consultancy and support around integration and SSO at extra cost if required.; ; In the case of general Super User support (Requests), there is a guaranteed response time of four hours - usually much faster. Individuals may be directed to relevant sections of user guides and user videos but telephone or email guidance will be given if required.; ; “Report a Problem” or system issues (Incidents) are acknowledged within 1 hour (details confirmed and ticket raised) and have minimum response SLA’s of 1-8 hours. Expected resolution timelines will then be communicated with the user until the issue is resolved.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Actus Software is exceptionally intuitive to use, however we also provide a full range of training and project management support to help clients achieve a swift ROI. ; ; A tried and tested approach for success in Public Sector is that of defining Champions and Super Users who benefit from train the trainer sessions supported by an expert project manager through our 5 step Implement & Engage process.; ; As you would expect we have a full range of user documentation and video guides. However, we also provide bespoke e-learning; webinars and face to face training.There is also a full range of change management services available.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Users are able to extract their own data throughout the life of the contract in PDF; Word or excel format. Organisations are also able to extract all historical records via the HRAdmin login, quickly and easily, again in the form of Excel; CSV and PDF.; ; On request, bespoke extracts can also be provided direct from the database.
• End-of-contract process: Upon notification of contract expiry, our support team will contact the client to agree key timescales as well as the desired format and timetable for any extracts. We will agree whether the client wants to take advantage of the Self-Service Exit route and remove their own extracts or whether they would like this delivering as a managed service.; ; On the agreed date or dates extracts will be provided and the organisation will be marked as Inactive for 14 days allowing a cool off period. Once this deadline has passed the client is informed organisation will be deleted with all data being removed from the database within 6 weeks of this point.; ; We reserve the right to charge a one off cost of £795 for the creation of bespoke CSV or database extracts. All other off-boarding is included in the licence fee.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: The main application can be accessed via a mobile device, the menus minimise as part of the responsive design. Functionality is consistent between desktop and mobile. ; ; We have also just launched the Actus App which is specifically designed for mobile devices.
• Service interface: No
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: We have a range of API's in place for existing clients. As we approach each integration individually we would consult with the client to determine the best approach for them. Actus API's tend to be used for synchronisation of systems data. Actus is also suitable as a standalone solution.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: The system can be fully branded with logos and colour coding and language/terminology can be changed to fit the cultural requirements. It is also possible to customise all aspects of the configuration including objective fields, appraisal and one to one forms. ; ; The Talent Management and HR database can also be fully customised in terms of additional fields, visibility and encryption

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Our systems continuously monitor user demands and are able to automatically load balance so there should be no reason for other user demands to impact the user experience of others. ; ; Additionally, monitor the system capacity weekly to ensure that we have spare capacity to absorb peaks and troughs of usage and are able to increase storage capacity within hours.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Login frequency and other system usage metrics are available through the reporting dashboard for users and admin. Additional service reports are provided during quarterly service reviews with account managers.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with another standard
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Users are able to export their data directly via the user interface which provides the option to select which modules (or all modules) are required for exporting and in what format e.g. Excel; PDF or Print
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • PDF
  • Excel
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • Excel
  • Powerpoint
  • Word
  • PNG

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: We can also set up SFTP connections for automated upload/download of files.
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: The following are used at various times:; - File Upload portal on the Actus application is used for internal transfer of files. Automatic deletion after 14 days ensure that PII is not retained unnecessarily. ; - Secure FTP is used for transfer of large files and especially PII files.; - Also proprietary software such as Hightail, that have password encryption and expiry dates,

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Our expected SLA for availability is 99.5% uptime. In the event of sustained non conformance (more than 3 instances of not meeting the SLA in a 3 month period) clients are entitled to equivalent service credits.
• Approach to resilience: We have chosen our PaaS partner for their excellent performance, security and support and history of supporting the Public Sector Cloud. Resilience is continually evaluated by our technical team and we are able to evidence this further on request.; ; Technically (RAID configured servers) and location (Backup servers are hosted separately) ensure that the systems are resilient and the Business Continuity Plans (BCP) are fully responsive.
• Outage reporting: Email and telephone correspondence is used to communicate to all key personnel on the client side within 60 minutes of a confirmed issue. Regular communication is then provided until the issue is resolved, including a dedicated hotline. Causes and impact of the outage are then reviewed and an incident report with any fixes is then issued to client.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access to every areas of the application is strictly limited by the user role that is assigned to the user. These roles include Employee, Manager, HRAdmin & MasterAdmin.; ; All areas of the application are triple-locked using the:; - organisation_Id; - user_id; - user_role.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: I. ACCREDITATION SERVICE FOR CERTIFYING BODIES (Europe) LT (ASCB)
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 06/07/2017
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: 27001 covers the entire organisation.; ; The Annex A document is available on request and ISO 27001 covers the majority of the relevant Advance Change Ltd processes.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications:
  • ISO 27001
  • Cyber Essentials

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: ISO 27001 accreditation ensures that the policies, procedures and Board/Management reporting are completed and Continuous Improvements are made.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Configuration of the system is controlled and monitored by the Onboarding process that requires internal and client sign-off.; ; System development follows ITIL based process that, depending on the extent and impact upon the client, require consultation, specification document, internal/external consultation, agreement, testing and sign-off.; ; Any 'significant' functionality changes to the system is clearly communicated to all clients in advance and generally, options to activate optional functionality, are offered.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: Constant monitoring of the application/resources/ports provides exception reports for areas that require attention. Exception reports are assessed immediately, prioritised and addressed in accordance with severity.; General release patches are identified weekly and applied in a timescale in accordance with the severity.; Additionally to the system reports and software release we rely upon media such as email, twitter and industry releases to identify issues ASAP.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Access to the application is limited to set roles (User, Admin, MasterAdmin).; ; The scope of access defines the level of control and checks that are applied. For example access and change logs for the MasterAdmin roles are regularly (bi-weekly) checked for 'unusual' behaviour.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Although there are some events that are similar, with common resolutions, we generally operate on the premise that each event needs to be addressed and the cause of that negative event rectified.; ; All non-compliance and system issues are reported, via the Actus system/email/telephone, to our chosen Service Desk application (using ITIL best practice) where we:; • Identify; • Log it; • Categorise; • Prioritise; • Respond; • Initial diagnosis; • Incident escalation (If required); • Investigation and diagnosis; • Resolution and recovery; • Incident closure; ; Incidents are then managed in the appropriate team/management meeting to identify areas of improvement.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  SaaS solutions remove the need for wasteful paper based appraisal documents

  Covid-19 recovery

  Performance management software helps connect hybrid workforces and increase productivity, helping organisations to be more effective following covid.

  Equal opportunity

  Actus allows the monitoring and measurement of ED&I data and can support better, more equal management practices.

  Wellbeing

  Employee engagement is fundamental to wellbeing and Actus provides the tools to drive engagement between manager and employee. This relationship is also key to supporting employee wellbeing. Using a tool like Actus to make workload visible and transparent is also key to preventing burnout.

Pricing

• Price: £0.50 to £2.00 a user a month
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: A free trial for up to 100 users for up to a month can be provided on request.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at info@actus.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.