Recent Audits - What We've Learned

Our recent audits of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), revealed a number of problems in the management of human resources in these two small organizations. More importantly, we learned a number of lessons that we want to share with all departments and agencies.

Lesson #1: The strategic planning of human resources activities must be part of the business planning process, even in small organizations.

Canadians expect and deserve a competent Public Service that is appointed without bias on the basis of merit in a way that is fair, transparent and equitable. Therefore, doing human resources right is essential to delivering your mandate. Management needs to play a strong role in this function.

Some problems uncovered by our audits were brought about by a lack of strategic planning and/or the lack of an adequate staffing framework

A lack of strategic HR planning leads to ad hoc staffing— the kind that is time-pressured and puts the staffing values at risk.

The truth is, all organizations - both large and small - need a staffing framework. It is within this framework that effective HR planning can take place. A good staffing framework - consisting of plans, policies, monitoring and clear roles and responsibilities - puts your organization in the position to successfully carry out staffing activities, even when operational pressures are high. It allows departments to conduct processes that are fair and transparent, and provides the opportunity to be open and honest with employees about staffing actions from the outset.

Lesson #2: Staffing values need to be an inherent part of the culture of an organization.

Senior managers and those at the working levels must all be committed to the staffing values.

Sometimes problems stem from a lack of knowledge of the staffing values at various levels of the organization. Following our audit reports, employees at both the OPC and the MPCC received training on the staffing values. However, training is just one part of the solution and can only be considered effective if it results in a change in behaviour throughout the organization.

Lesson #3: All staffing activities must be properly documented.

In many cases, the PSC was unable to confirm that the staffing values were upheld in staffing actions, simply because the documentation to do so did not exist. It is impossible for our auditors to determine if merit was respected in staffing activities, if these activities are not adequately documented. While other evidence may be very helpful, official documents are generally the most reliable.

In 2002, the PSC sent a letter to Heads of Human Resources alerting them to our concern about the lack of staffing documentation in departments. Our two recent audits of the MPCC and the OPC revealed that this may still be a problem. The PSC's Audit Branch is conducting an ad hoc file review to determine what progress has been made by departments on this issue.

Lesson #4: Everyone must understand their role and responsibility in managing human resources.

Everyone has a role to play in managing human resources well. Managers need to act in keeping with the staffing values. Human resources advisors need to advise managers on how to conduct their staffing activities to ensure they respect the values and the merit principle. Deputy Heads are accountable for these activities. They need to paint an accurate and complete picture of the most significant issues facing their organizations in their Staffing Accountability Reports.

Poor staffing performance has repercussions, up to and including the removal of delegated authority to carry out appointments. The staffing values are in place to help departments hire the best candidates to fulfill their mandates — failing to uphold these values in staffing actions means that you may not get the best employee for the job. Recognizing the gravity and importance of this, the PSC has committed to making the terms and conditions of our delegation agreements with departments more explicit, to ensure that departments fully understand what is expected. This process is already underway and we expect a new delegation instrument to be in place by December 2005, in time for the implementation of the new PSEA.