A Guideline To Staffing Performance Reports

Table of Contents A Guideline to Staffing Performance Reports Result Value: Competency Result Value: Representativeness Result Value: Non-partisanship Process Value: Fairness, Equity and Transparency Speaking about Reports Conclusion Appendix: Aide Memoire

Information Management and Review Directorate Policy, Research and Communications Branch Public Service Commission of Canada

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A Guideline to Staffing Performance Reports

This document is a reference tool that can be used by departments to prepare reports for the Public Service Commission (PSC) on their staffing performance. It describes what a departmental report might contain with respect to the result values of competency, representativeness and non-partisanship and the process values of fairness, equity, transparency.

The PSC recognizes that the new reporting requirements will involve a learning process for the departments and the PSC. In other words, we are taking into consideration that it will take some time for departments to develop, with the help of the PSC, their ability to render an account regarding outcomes. Initially, the PSC is expecting that departmental reports will consist of descriptions of the processes that are currently in place and contain very little discussion of the outputs. Over time, we are expecting that departmental reports will have more emphasis on outputs and outcomes.

The PSC expects the content and format of departmental staffing performance reports to vary from one department to another on the basis of factors such as the departmental context, the environment, the size of the organization, and the indicators and assessment methods selected. Moreover, the PSC expects departmental reports to include more than just the positive results that were achieved. It is perfectly acceptable for the reports to deal with the problems affecting certain values and the efforts made to improve the situation.

Finally, The PSC does not see accountability as a one-way street. The PSC encourages the departments to report on PSC policies and guidelines with regard to how they facilitate or pose problems for sound management of the staffing system.

The following are a few examples, by way of suggestion, of what a departmental report to the PSC could contain with regard to the result values of competency, representativeness and non-partisanship and the process values of fairness, equity, transparency.

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Result Value: Competency

Two of the suggested indicators (client satisfaction and productivity level) are proxy indicators for results. We understand that some departments will not be able to report on this level of detail in the first years. If you are able to report on client satisfaction and/or productivity level, it is not necessary that you report annually on the outcome indicators. You may report every two years on some outcome indicators or alternate annually between different outcome indicators as long as they include some of the elements listed below. If you cannot report on departmental client satisfaction or on the general productivity level of employees, there may be some partial indicators that you could use for reporting. For example, if you have a service in which employee productivity standards exist and you are able to do an assessment, then you can use the information in your departmental report. The following are other sources of information that could be reported on:

• you have a recourse mechanism your clients can use to request re-assessments of decisions made by your employees;
• you have surveyed your clients on their satisfaction with a specific program;
• you receive letters of congratulation or complaints from the public regarding a service;
• you have received an award for the excellence of a product or service, and so on.

For departments which are not ready to report on outcome indicators, the departmental report to the PSC could include the following:

• results of analyses of complaints (appeals and investigations);
• results of follow-up with managers on outside recruitment (probationary period);
• results of follow-up with managers on internal staffing measures;
• how staffing strategies reflect the organization's operational needs. For example:

• Fairly large departments with a significant staffing volume could report on the staffing strategies relating to the main occupational groups directly involved in program and service delivery. There should be discussion of the strategies with regard to recruitment, promotion and maintenance or development of competencies. A number of elements may, for example, be part of departmental strategies: development of competencies linked to the department's business plan or to a new mandate, recruitment and promotion on the basis of generic competencies, professional training programs to bring employees up to the desired competency level, the link between the training and development plans and operational needs, and so on.
• Small departments with few staffing activities could, in the absence of extensive staffing strategies, report on the practices or initiatives in place to ensure the competencies of the employees recruited and promoted, as well as the measures taken to develop the competencies of employees within their organization.

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Result Value: Representativeness

We expect that departments will report on output-that is, on their demographic data with regard to both recruitment and promotions-while explaining the context in which they have had to operate. For example, in the case of a department in a period of workforce reduction, the department's representativeness strategy may have related more to retention of its employees than to recruitment. In the case of a department which has done little outside recruitment, efforts may have focussed more on improving the self-identification process for employees targeted by employment equity measures.

In addition to reporting on demographic data, the departmental report should include the initiatives undertaken to improve the representativeness of your workforce. These initiatives might include:

• specific recruitment initiatives such as using Article 5 of the PSEA (section 44 of the Regulation) in order to meet the expected targets
• initiatives relating to adoption of the new EE Act -- especially the review of employment systems
• initiatives to eliminate or overcome obstacles in the area of employment equity (physical improvement of facilities, participation of members of target groups in selection interviews, revision of statements of qualification by a special committee, exit interviews with EE-targeted employees, and so on)
• initiatives to create a favourable work environment (e.g., increasing the managers' and employees' awareness of representativeness issues)
• initiatives relating to Land Claims Agreements negotiated with Aboriginal groups.

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Result Value: Non-partisanship

Non-partisanship is a core value of the Canadian Public Service and one of the fundamental reasons for the PSC's existence. In the context of delegating its staffing authority, the PSC is demonstrating its concern for the value of non-partisanship by requiring an attestation statement from the Deputy Head on the following:

• non-partisanship in the conducting of staffing activities
• the ability of public servants to perform their duties in a neutral way, despite certain political activities that may be conducted outside the workplace.

The following are a few elements that you could use to provide qualitative support for your departmental attestation statement:

• implementation of a code of ethics in staffing matters or inclusion of provisions concerning staffing in an existing departmental code of ethics
• information or training on responsibilities relating to non-partisanship
• dissemination of an annual reminder to all personnel regarding sections 32, 33 and 34 of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA)
• identification of a departmental resource person.
  
  

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Process Value: Fairness, Equity and Transparency

Ultimately, we expect departments to report on output -- that is, the satisfaction of managers and employees with respect to these process values -- while explaining the context in which they have had to operate. It will not be necessary to report on this level annually. Your reports could alternate from presenting the results of satisfaction surveys to presenting some of the following on a yearly basis:

• the results of complaints analyses (appeals and investigations)
• the mechanisms in place or measures taken to ensure respect for these values (e.g., communicating the staffing approach to employees, establishment of a code of ethics covering these values, internal mechanisms for complaints, open communication between management and employees with respect to staffing activities, and so on)
• the results of your review of staffing practices and processes in regard to these process values (e.g., use of areas of selection, notices of appointment without competition, use of generic statements of qualification where possible, communication with employees, ways in which acting appointments are made, and so on)
• illustrations of how respect for these values has been demonstrated in specific situations. For example:
  • You may refer to a specific situation, such as a major re-organization of a branch or a major workforce reduction situation, to illustrate how transparency has been demonstrated with respect to communication of decisions and equity in the treatment of employees;
  • for small organizations that engage in little staffing activity or that have not been in a special situation on the organizational level, the same examples can be applied, except that the illustration could be based on an individual transaction.

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Speaking about Reports

The PSC does not recommend or require any specific format for reporting. The format and content of the document are expected to vary according to factors such as the volume and complexity of staffing in departments. However, one element of the report will be common across all organizations: consultation with union representatives. In the staffing accountability framework and in the departmental presentations, we have emphasized the importance of Deputy Heads obtaining the union representatives' reaction regarding the departmental staffing performance report and including that reaction in their report to PSC. The PSC is presently looking for a way to get the input of national union representatives on the health of staffing in the whole Public Service.

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Conclusion

This document has presented some guidelines to help the departments design their reports to the PSC. The examples are not exhaustive and we hope that they inspire you to come up with new ideas.

The objective of departmental feedback to the PSC is to enable us to play our governance role as effectively as possible by taking stock of the health of staffing in the Public Service. We certainly want you to tell us about your successful initiatives, but we believe it is also important that we be informed of problems you encounter, as well as of efforts made or measures taken to correct weaknesses you have found.

We hope this feedback will take place in an atmosphere of trust serving as the basis for a new partnership between the departments and the PSC, in which the PSC would, among other things, communicate information about good practices throughout the Public Service.

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Appendix: Aide Memoire

This document is made available to help departments and other agencies prepare staffing performance reports as part of the general framework of Delegation and Accountability Agreements.

1: General Information

• There is no specified format.
• Reports must be balanced, reviewing both good and poor results.
• Reports must be written; they are signed by the Deputy Head and intended for the PSC (President and Commissioners).

2: Content of Reports

• Everything negotiated in the Delegation and Accountability Agreement must be mentioned or commented on in the reports; explanations concerning methodology must be thorough and explicit.
• Reports might start with a background summary dealing with such issues as:
  • Workforce adjustment/ reorganization/ amalgamation
  • Activity level
  • Competency profiles and other initiative
  • Other quantitative and qualitative data.
• Reports must reflect all the staffing components: recruitment along with horizontal and vertical mobility. For each subject, references to Delegation or Specific Agreements, special programs or departmental initiatives are recommended.
• The contents of the reports may be used to meet the information needs of departments, central agencies and Parliament, and add to the total knowledge of Human Resource Management.

3: Future Prospects

• Openness to innovations proposed by departments.
• Consideration of potential comments on performance following internal consultation.
• Suggestion to have Deputy Head's certification on each value (long-term).
• Following the tabling of the first report, establishment of an agenda for consultation between the PSC and departments on the deadlines and format for reports; the indicators and criteria for subsequent reports are subject to negotiation depending on context.

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