The Public Service Resourcing System - A Screening Solution

On October 7, 2005, the Public Service Commission (PSC) announced changes to its policy on area of selection. As of April 1, 2006, all officer-level jobs that are open to the public in the National Capital Region will have a national area of selection. This means that all Canadians may apply to, and be considered for, these jobs, regardless of where they live. That's great news for Canadians who want to join the public service. But what does it mean for managers and human resources (HR) professionals? For them, this policy change poses a challenge - more applications to screen. Many are questioning how they will find the time and resources to manage these larger volumes of applications.

Arash Hashemi demonstrates the automated staffing tool. The PSC is hosting training sessions for employees across the country.

Certainly, the flexibility available in the new Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), will help. But the answer also lies with new technology. Specifically, the Public Service Resourcing System - a proven screening solution. PSRS, as it is also known, is an electronic screening system for external staffing processes. It is a user-friendly, intuitive tool that "walks" managers and HR specialists through the staffing process. Hiring managers define the requirements needed for a position at the outset. Applicants are then screened against those requirements, based on their responses to an electronic questionnaire. Thus, the number of applications that need to be screened manually is greatly reduced. The result is fewer referrals to sort through and much better candidate matches.

Since 2003, PSRS has operated on a pilot basis in two PSC regions - the National Capital and Eastern Ontario Region and the Central and Southern Ontario Region. Although PSRS does not yet have complete functionality, it successfully screened down referrals by as much as 77% compared to manual screening. Canadians who use PSRS to apply for jobs on the jobs.gc.ca Web site will find that the process is clearer, faster, more responsive and transparent.

The PSRS was introduced to federal organizations on a larger scale last fall, when it was provided to all PSC regional offices. With the coming into force of the new PSEA at the end of December 2005, the PSC enhanced PSRS to address the requirements of the new PSEA. Again, this enhanced system, which has been tested to ensure that it is capable of managing new volumes of users, is available to departments and agencies through the PSC's regional offices.

Finally, in April 2006, interested departments and agencies will be given direct access to PSRS in their own organizations. But it doesn't end there. PSRS is an interim solution for external staffing. It is not perfect, but it is a much better alternative to manual screening. Expected to be the first system to come out of the Treasury Board Secretariat's Corporate Administration Shared Services (CASS) initiative, PSRS will help departments and agencies manage large volumes of applications, as they strive to meet the requirements of the revised policy on area of selection and take on new responsibilities under the new PSEA.

As time goes on and the needs of organizations under the new PSEA become clearer, we will continue to improve PSRS to make it the most responsive and effective screening tool available. The PSC is also working to have in place by 2008, an all-inclusive screening solution for both external and internal staffing processes.

For more information on the PSRS, which is part of the Public Service Staffing Modernization Project (PSSMP), please visit www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/pssmp-pmdfp/index_e.htm.