Advisory on the Streamlined Civilian Advertised Staffing Process

ADM(HR-Civ)
Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources - Civilian)
ADM(RS)
Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services)
CAF          
Canadian Armed Forces
DND        
Department of National Defence
DRT         
Defence Renewal Team
FY
Fiscal Year
HR
Human Resources
NSL
National Staffing Log
OPI
Office of Primary Interest
SSE
Canada’s defence policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged

1.0 Introduction

The ability to staff civilian positions in an efficient and timely manner is a key factor to the successful delivery of SSE, which places significant focus on a skilled and agile civilian workforce to deliver the Defence TeamFootnote 1  mandate.

In April 2019, DND streamlined its civilian staffing process to reduce the time and effort associated with staffing civilian positions. In the context of this advisory, streamlining refers to actions or decisions taken to increase the efficiency of the civilian staffing process. This can include:

In accordance with the ADM(RS) Risk-based Audit Plan for FYs 2018/19 to 2020/21, this advisory was conducted to examine the new streamlined civilian staffing process and assess whether hiring managers and HR personnel were able to meet timelines as established by ADM(HR-Civ) and the DRT,Footnote 2  and to identify opportunities to further streamline the process.

1.1 Background

The management and administration of civilian staffing is a shared responsibility across various internal and external stakeholder groups.

Internal Stakeholders

Civilian and military hiring managers of civilian employees are responsible for the recruitment and management of civilian employees in accordance with federal legislation and policy. They execute these responsibilities through the planning and conduct of staffing, including determining staffing needs, establishing merit criteria and assessment tools, and selecting qualified candidates. While hiring managers are accountable for their staffing decisions, they are supported by ADM(HR-Civ), which provides functional direction and guidance to hiring managers.

Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources - Civilian) oversees and administers civilian HR policies, programs and services to support departmental priorities and operational needs. ADM(HR-Civ) develops and implements plans, policies and programs to recruit, develop and retain people to effectively support DND’s mandate.

The Staffing Centre of Expertise team within ADM(HR-Civ) provides civilian staffing services to internal partner organizations and is the lead overseeing the streamlining of civilian staffing and its implementation across Defence Team organizations within DND and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Staffing advisors from the Staffing Centre of Expertise team directly support hiring managers by providing advice, guidance and services for staffing related matters.

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff is responsible for processing and granting personnel security clearances within the Defence Team as required by the position to be staffed.

External Stakeholders

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer develops policies and programs and delivers services related to people management in the federal public service.

Public Service Commission develops policies and regulations related to staffing for the federal public service. It is also responsible for, amongst other responsibilities, administering and overseeing priority entitlements and second language evaluations.

The focus of this advisory is on streamlined internal and external advertised staffing processes. These can include distinct, collective or anticipatory processes. Many staffing processes can also lead to the creation of pools of candidates. Definitions of these and other terms used in this report are presented in Annex C – Glossary of Terms.

1.2 Context

Since the 2014 ADM(RS) Audit of Human Resources Service Levels, ADM(HR-Civ) has addressed all recommendations. This resulted in the development of standardized procedures to improve monitoring and reporting against service standards, the creation of a national staffing model to address staffing fluctuations across various regions, and the establishment of a process to expedite the certification of staffing officers.

ADM(HR-Civ) reorganized its business lines in April 2017 in response to the growing demand for civilian staffing services. To better support the needs of internal stakeholders, ADM(HR-Civ) introduced a new client service delivery model, “Next Generation HR-Civ,” to modernize core departmental HR services and establish greater strategic HR capabilities. One initiative identified through the model was a streamlined approach to staffing.

Streamlining Civilian Staffing

In May 2017, the DRT conducted a review of internal and external advertised staffing processes. It worked collaboratively with ADM(HR-Civ) to streamline the advertised staffing process to reduce time and effort to staff positions, and remain compliant with legislation and staffing values.

Based on this analysis, which included input from hiring managers and HR personnel, they identified stakeholder roles and responsibilities and reduced the number of steps and days to complete staffing processes, as illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1. Streamlining the Civilian Staffing Process.

Civilian Staffing Process

 

Former Process

Streamlined Process

Number of Steps

Duration (working days)

Number of Steps

Duration (working days)

Internal Advertised Process

70

170-180

27

36-70

External Advertised Process

67

170

25

44-82

Table 1. Streamlining the Civilian Staffing Process. This table illustrates the reduction of steps and days from the former process to the streamlined process for internal and external advertised processes.

Table 1 Details - Streamlining the Civilian Staffing Process.

ADM(HR-Civ) piloted five staffing processes in November 2017 to test the new streamlined staffing process. The pilot also tested the extent to which automated applicant screening capabilities and the use of structured inventories and pools contributed to process efficiencies. The pilot was monitored by the Staffing Centre of Expertise team to track performance, obtain feedback from pilot participants and identify lessons learned to inform improvements to the streamlined process. A series of post-pilot staffing processes using the streamlined approach were conducted to collect additional data and feedback.

The streamlined staffing process was approved in April 2018 by ADM(HR-Civ), with implementation beginning one year later in April 2019. As each of the nine staffing teams within ADM(HR-Civ) was given discretion and flexibility on how to implement the streamlined process with their internal partners, implementation has varied across Defence Team organizations.

1.3 Rationale

DND is comprised of approximately 23,000 civilian employees.Footnote 3  Demand for civilian staffing is expected to increase for several years with the implementation of SSE. The Department’s ability to staff civilian positions in a timely manner is an important factor to delivering on SSE initiatives. The Department has forecasted the hiring of an additional 1,150 civilian employees over the next ten years. As the functional authority, ADM(HR-Civ) is a key enabler of timely staffing of civilian employees and plays a critical role in helping ensure that staffing resources and tools available to hiring managers are used efficiently and effectively.

1.4 Objective

The objectives of this advisory were to:

1.5 Scope

The advisory focused on internal and external advertised processes that were initiated on or after May 1, 2017. HR planning cycles, processes and practices from a sample of Defence Team organizations were also reviewed.

The advisory excluded an examination of staffing compliance and processes relating to civilian pay, security clearance and second language evaluation. Pay management practices and processes and the security screening process were the subjects of recent ADM(RS) engagements, while second language evaluations are administered by the Public Service Commission. Compliance to relevant requirements will be examined through a cyclical staffing assessment in FY 2020/21.

1.6 Methodology

The methodology used for the advisory included the following:

Table 2. Sampled Staffing Files.

 

Number of Staffing Files

Pre-Pilot

Pilot

Post-Pilot

Totals

Internal Advertised Process

9

2

3

14

External Advertised Process

4

3

1

8

Totals

13

5

4

22

Table 2. Sampled Staffing Files. This table illustrates the number of files that were examined from the various processes.

Table 2 Details - Sampled Staffing Files.

1.7 Lines of Enquiry

The following lines of enquiry were used as the basis for the observations and recommendations that follow in this report:

  1. Civilian staffing activities meet the established timelines of the new streamlined process; and
  2. ADM(HR-Civ) and hiring managers in Defence Team organizations have the resources to meet the established timelines of the streamlined process.

1.8 Statement of Conformance

The advisory findings and conclusions contained in this report are based on sufficient and appropriate evidence gathered in accordance with procedures that meet the Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. The advisory thus conforms to the Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing as supported by the results of the quality assurance and improvement program. The opinions expressed in this report are based on conditions as they existed at the time of the advisory and apply only to the entity examined.


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2.0 Findings and Recommendations

2.1 Staffing Performance Data and Monitoring

While the total number of days to complete a streamlined staffing process can be determined, the current tracking tool does not capture the duration of the individual steps within the process.

We expected ADM(HR-Civ) to have in place:

2.1.1 Staffing Performance Data

ADM(HR-Civ) collects and monitors performance data through the NSLFootnote 4  to assess and report on whether staffing processes meet established timelines. A sample of nine pilot (5) and post-pilot (4) staffing files (refer to Table 2) were reviewed to assess whether they met the new established timelines (refer to Table 1). Given that supporting documentation was not always available, there were instances where the start and end dates for each step in the process could not be determined.

While the total durationFootnote 5  of each staffing process examined was captured in the NSL, the duration of individual steps could not be determined through NSL data. The NSL was developed prior to the implementation of the streamlined staffing process and was therefore not designed to record and track data aligned to the new process. Any measurement of the start and end dates of individual steps proved challenging in the absence of a proper methodology to consistently determine such dates. Further, it was unclear if potential elapsed time between steps in the process, such as idle time (for example, when documentation requiring processing remains unactioned for an unspecified period of time), was accounted for. Tracking any non-value added time between and/or within the steps could improve ADM(HR-Civ)’s ability to identify delays and mitigate where possible.

Analysis of NSL data for the nine pilot and post-pilot streamlined staffing processes revealed the following:

Detailed results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Duration of Streamlined Advertised Staffing Processes.

 

Internal Advertised Process (IA) /
External Advertised Process (EA)

Maximum Expected Duration

Total Actual Duration

Variance

Pilot Processes

IA

70

101

+31

70

324

+254

EA

82

164

+82

82

138

+56

82

94

+12

Post-Pilot Processes

IA

70

56

-14

70

44

-26

70

98

+28

EA

82

44

-38

Table 3. Duration of Streamlined Advertised Staffing Processes. This table illustrates the total actual duration (measured in working days) of each of the nine pilot and post-pilot processes, including the number of working days below (-) and above (+) established timelines for the streamlined staffing process.

Table 3 Details - Duration of Streamlined Advertised Staffing Processes.

All five pilot processes leveraged previously established inventories or pools developed by ADM(HR-Civ) staffing teams, which meant the staffing processes were beginning from a more advanced position relative to the normal process “start date.” A number of steps had already been completed prior to the initiation of the five processes, such as the development of merit criteria, job advertisements and, in some cases, assessment tools.

The NSL showed that the start dates of the five pilot processes were based on the dates on which applicants were first pulled from the inventory or pool and not the process “start date” as defined by the streamlined model. Performance of a staffing process should be measured against only the steps that were applicable to that process. For example, if a staffing process uses an inventory that reduces the number of steps necessary, its duration should be measured against the expected time to complete the number of steps consistent with an inventory-based process.

Measuring the duration of individual steps within streamlined staffing processes will allow ADM(HR-Civ) to more accurately measure the performance of the streamlined staffing process. This would enable ADM(HR-Civ) to identify bottlenecks, understand delays, and make process changes as necessary.

Noteworthy Practice

Delay logs are used by ADM(HR-Civ) to track delays in staffing processes to better identify areas where further follow-up action may be needed.

2.1.2 Delays in the Staffing Process

Delays were noted at various stages of the staffing process by numerous stakeholders. Hiring managers indicated that the length of time to screen and assess applicants and to remit required documents to HR were the more common delays. Delays reported by HR personnel included document processing as well as transferring staffing files from one staffing advisor to another due to employee leave or turnover.

Delays in the staffing process are logged in the NSL by HR personnel. The delay logs identify the cause and length of the delay, the stage in which the delay occurred, as well as the responsible stakeholder. The information generated by the delay logs is used by ADM(HR-Civ) to identify areas where additional training may be required for HR personnel and to better manage workload and resources.

2.1.3 Monitoring Streamlined Staffing Performance

The Staffing Centre of Expertise team is responsible for monitoring staffing data. Each of the nine staffing teams within ADM(HR-Civ) is required to review their respective data in the NSL for accuracy and completion, and to correct any errors. The NSL’s built-in reporting tool can be used to generate reports for various areas of interest. For example, the NSL error report identifies invalid user input, such as entering dates in the wrong chronological order. While this internal control is important in alerting the user to the error, it does not prevent them from completing the entry process in the NSL. The NSL also does not have the capability to capture other types of user input errors, such as blank data fields. The Staffing Centre of Expertise team indicated that it is working with Assistant Deputy Minister (Information Management) to make enhancements to the NSL that would strengthen the robustness of data input controls. In addition, online reference tools and monthly training sessions are offered to new and existing NSL users in an effort to reduce the incidences of errors.

Other reports are generated on an ad hoc basis, often in response to data query requests submitted by NSL users. A more consistent monitoring and reporting approach would provide the Staffing Centre of Expertise team with valuable baseline information that would enable more accurate performance measurement.

2.1.4 Data Integrity and Quality Assurance

Interviews indicated that inconsistent practices in data entry amongst HR personnel also presented risks to the integrity of the data in the NSL. Two such examples were identified:

While the Staffing Centre of Expertise team reviews NSL data, this was found to be limited in scope and done on an ad hoc basis. NSL data serves as a key source of information for reporting on the performance of civilian staffing. Implementation of quality assurance practices would ensure the integrity and accuracy of NSL data.

2.1.5 Conclusion

Establishing appropriate timelines or service standards for the streamlined civilian staffing process is important in managing expectations, enabling performance measurement and encouraging continuous improvement. As the actual duration of each process step is not fully measured, processing times cannot be accurately determined. Without an improved system with clear business processes that reliably tracks and creates amalgamated reports on detailed tasks, durations and other specifics (e.g., reasons for hold or delay), it will be difficult to identify systemic bottlenecks in the process and their root causes, as well as to identify solutions, mitigating strategies and opportunities for further streamlining. Implementation of quality assurance practices is important to ensure data integrity and proper performance monitoring and reporting against established timelines.

ADM(RS) Recommendation

2.2 Support for Streamlined Civilian Staffing

While roles and responsibilities of the streamlined staffing process were found to be generally well communicated and understood by hiring managers and HR personnel, hiring managers reported difficulty in accessing staffing information in a timely manner.

We expected ADM(HR-Civ) to have in place:

2.2.1 Staffing Information and Support

Access to Staffing Information

The ADM(HR-Civ) Intranet site contains a range of tools and information to provide guidance to hiring managers on staffing-related matters. Some hiring managers reported having difficulty accessing staffing information in a timely manner, particularly prior to initiation of a staffing process. A review of the ADM(HR-Civ) site found out-of-date staffing information which indicated that the information was under review as a result of a new central agency policy that came into effect in April 2016. Timely access to current staffing information is important for hiring managers to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Staffing Advisor Support

The provision of staffing services by HR personnel is key to enabling hiring managers to carry out their staffing responsibilities. Once a hiring manager has submitted a staffing request, a staffing advisor is assigned to provide advice, guidance and support throughout the process.

Since the implementation of streamlined staffing, staffing advisors have assumed additional responsibilities in the services and support they provide to hiring managers. Staffing advisors are now responsible for drafting job requirements or merit criteria for the position being staffed, developing assessment tools and articulating the selection decision.

Hiring managers involved in the streamlined staffing processes viewed the overall level and quality of support from staffing advisors positively, commenting on the timeliness of advice and guidance, and on the support in drafting merit criteria and assessment tools.

The advisory identified several factors that appeared to determine the satisfaction of hiring managers with the staffing process, including the level of effort required by managers to complete the different steps of the process, the length of time to complete the process, and the hiring managers’ visibility into the process.

Differences were observed between hiring managers and staffing advisors regarding their expected role and level of effort in the staffing process, such as:

Having well-defined stakeholder roles and responsibilities will help manage expectations and better enable hiring managers and staffing advisors carry out their staffing responsibilities.

2.2.2 Communication

Noteworthy Practice

The staffing process plan outlining key tasks and the expected duration of each step in the staffing process facilitated task completion and communication between hiring managers and HR personnel.

The advisory found that the communication between hiring managers and HR personnel was viewed as generally positive by both groups. Roles and responsibilities in the streamlined staffing process were also well communicated and understood by hiring managers and HR personnel.

The staffing process launch meetings enabled hiring managers and staffing advisors to collaboratively establish a process plan outlining roles and responsibilities, key tasks and timelines. Interviews revealed that the process plan served as an important tool to guide hiring managers through the staffing process and fostered a collaborative relationship between hiring managers and staffing advisors. It also enabled a mutual understanding of roles and responsibilities and facilitated task completion and communication throughout the staffing process.

When the streamlined staffing approach was initiated in April 2019, the nine staffing teams within ADM(HR-Civ) were given discretion and flexibility for its implementation within their respective teams and internal partner organizations. As a result, implementation varies across staffing teams and Defence Team organizations. While this approach allows for flexibility in implementing the streamlined process, it creates a risk to the consistency and timeliness of information being communicated to Defence Team organizations.

Given the regular posting of military members across Defence Team organizations and the retention rate amongst HR personnel, clear and effective communication between all stakeholders involved in the streamlined staffing process is a critical element to efficient and effective staffing.

2.2.3 Accountability in the Staffing Process

Interviews indicated that both hiring managers and HR personnel do not always complete tasks within the established timelines. Accountability protocols are not in place to address such instances, which would include mitigating measures to address unanticipated delays in the staffing process. While the roles and responsibilities of hiring managers and HR personnel were outlined in the agreed upon process plan, it is equally important to establish and communicate actions that should be taken and by whom when delays or issues arise.

2.2.4 HR Service Delivery Capacity

Noteworthy Practice

ADM(HR-Civ) implemented a capacity management and prioritization strategy in 2018/19, which helped HR staff prioritize and manage their workload capacity.

There are approximately 90 staffing advisors across the country, with a 15 percent vacancy rate for staffing advisor positions at any given period. Staffing advisors interviewed indicated that they are typically assigned 30 or more staffing files at any given time. Staffing advisors expressed concerns over workload capacity, noting that managing a high volume of staffing files simultaneously limits their ability to provide more strategic advice to hiring managers. To help address these concerns, ADM(HR-Civ) began implementing a capacity management and prioritization strategy that would limit the number of staffing files assigned to a staffing advisor to 15 files at any given time. While the strategy had been implemented by only a few staffing teams within ADM(HR-Civ), it is expected to be adopted across the remaining staffing teams by the end of FY 2019/20. The strategy requires close collaboration between ADM(HR-Civ) and each Defence Team organization to understand and prioritize staffing needs. This allows staffing advisors to focus their efforts on staffing time-critical positions over those with greater flexibility in timing or that are anticipatory in nature.

The level of retention and the important workload of staffing advisors impact the continuity of service provided to hiring managers and lead to disruptions in the staffing process and, in some instances, lead to inconsistencies in advice provided by the former staffing advisor and the new advisor.

2.2.5 Conclusion

As a key source of information for hiring managers and others seeking information on staffing related matters, including on the streamlined staffing process, it is important that content and tools on the ADM(HR-Civ) Intranet site be current and easily accessible to users. Establishing stakeholder accountabilities is key to ensuring that timely follow-up action is taken to address unanticipated delays or other issues that may arise in the staffing process. For some hiring managers and HR personnel, recognition that staffing is a shared responsibility that requires collaborative effort remains a challenge, and is a culture change that has not fully been accepted within the Department.

ADM(RS) Recommendation


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3.0 General Conclusion

Civilian staffing is a critical internal service that directly supports the achievement of DND/CAF priorities. SSE has set out the Defence Team’s priorities for the foreseeable future and will result in an increase in demand for civilian staffing across the organization. The streamlined staffing process was implemented by ADM(HR-Civ) to reduce the time and effort associated with staffing civilian positions.

Without an improved system to reliably track detailed tasks and durations within the streamlined staffing process, it will be difficult to identify systemic bottlenecks and opportunities for further improvement. While certain monitoring and oversight of NSL data is being conducted, implementation of quality assurance practices is needed to ensure the integrity of staffing data and the accuracy of performance monitoring and reporting against established timelines.

While the ADM(HR-Civ) Intranet site contains information and guidance for stakeholders on staffing related matters, it is important that the information be current and easily accessible to users. It is also important to communicate information about the streamlined staffing process in a consistent and timely manner to all Defence Team organizations. Accountability protocols, which allow for timely action to be taken in the face of unanticipated delays in the staffing process, would improve the ability of stakeholders to mitigate such delays.


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Annex A—Management Action Plan

ADM(RS) uses recommendation significance criteria as follows:

Very High – Controls are not in place. Important issues have been identified and will have a significant negative impact on operations.

High – Controls are inadequate. Important issues are identified that could negatively impact the achievement of program/operational objectives.

Moderate – Controls are in place but are not being sufficiently complied with. Issues are identified that could negatively impact the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.

Low – Controls are in place but the level of compliance varies.

Very Low – Controls are in place with no level of variance.

ADM(RS) Recommendation (Moderate)

Management Action

Action 1.1 ADM(HR-Civ) launched the Staffing Measurement Framework as a tool for measuring the strength of the staffing continuum, including activities performed by hiring managers and HR service providers, which directly enables the Defence Team to meet SSE objectives.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: April 2017

Action 1.2 ADM(HR-Civ) to develop, make available and use for continuous improvement quarterly performance dashboards, available to all Defence Team organizations, hiring managers and the staffing community.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: December 2019 (pending validation)

Action 1.3 ADM(HR-Civ) to use available information from the NSL application to capture and analyze steps within the staffing process for continuous improvement.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: March 2020

Action 1.4 ADM(HR-Civ) to implement a quality review program for peer or management oversight to monitor the quality of NSL data.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: March 2020

ADM(RS) Recommendation (Moderate)

Management Action

Action 2.1 ADM(HR-Civ) to continue to deliver relevant, accessible and up-to-date staffing information, training and tools for hiring managers via digital platforms including the Intranet, the HRGo app, SharePoint, InfoPath, GCconnex, DND Learn, SABA, and more. Information includes accountability and impact of delays within the staffing process.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: December 2019 (pending validation)

Action 2.2 ADM(HR-Civ) to ensure that staffing advisors are trained and equipped to reinforce HR accountabilities of managers as it relates to timeliness as well as trigger early detection and escalation of HR-specific delays.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: December 2019 (pending validation)

Action 2.3 ADM(HR-Civ) to publish start date calculators and a manager’s guide to achieving positive pay outcomes as a tool to support managers.

OPI: ADM(HR-Civ)
Target Date: December 2019 (pending validation)


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Annex B—Advisory Criteria

Criteria Assessment

The advisory criteria were assessed using the following levels:

Assessment Level and Description

Level 1—Satisfactory
Level 2—Needs Minor Improvement
Level 3—Needs Moderate Improvement
Level 4—Needs Significant Improvement
Level 5—Unsatisfactory

1. Civilian staffing activities meet the established timelines of the new streamlined staffing process.

Assessment Level 3 – While the NSL used by ADM(HR-Civ) is capturing data on the total duration of a civilian staffing process, there is an opportunity to measure the duration of each step in the streamlined process to identify potential areas for improvement.

While the Staffing Centre of Expertise team performs monitoring and oversight on NSL data, this is limited in scope and performed on an ad hoc basis. Implementation of quality assurance practices that would provide assurance on the integrity and accuracy of NSL data have not been implemented.

2. ADM(HR-Civ) and hiring managers in Defence Team organizations have the resources to meet the established timelines of the streamlined process.

Assessment Level 3 – ADM(HR-Civ) employs approximately 90 staffing advisors across the country, with a 15 percent vacancy rate for staffing advisor positions at any given period. Workload capacity is a concern for many staffing advisors managing 30 or more staffing files at any given time. The level of retention of staffing advisors also impacts the continuity of service provided to hiring managers and leads to disruptions in the staffing process. It is important that HR personnel and hiring managers have access to needed staffing resources, including improved data tracking tools and easily accessible online information and guidance.

Sources of Criteria

Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), Internal Control – Integrated Framework, 2013.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat – Management Accountability Framework, 2016.


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Annex C—Glossary of Terms

Advertised Staffing Process

An appointment process where eligible persons are informed of and can apply to an appointment opportunity to or within the public service.

Internal Advertised Staffing Process

A process for making one or more appointments in which only persons employed in the public service may be considered.

External Advertised Staffing Process

A process for making one or more appointments in which persons may be considered whether or not they are employed in the public service.

Anticipatory Staffing Process

A process to staff positions that may or will become vacant, rather than positions that are currently vacant.

Appointment

A staffing action taken to select (or appoint) a person to a position to or within the public service. Appointments to and within the public service are made pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act.

Asset Qualifications

Qualifications, other than official language requirements, that are not essential to perform the work, but that would benefit the organization or enhance the work to be performed currently or in the future.

Collective Staffing Process

An approach that allows for one appointment process to fill several similar positions within or between departments and agencies in the public service.

Distinct Advertised Staffing Process

A process that advertises only one position to be staffed.

Essential Qualifications

Qualifications that are necessary for the work to be performed and that must be met in order for a person to be appointed.

Inventory

A repository of persons who have responded to an advertisement and meet the registration condition(s); however, they are usually not yet assessed.

Merit Criteria

For the purpose of determining merit for appointments made pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act, the four types of criteria are essential qualifications, asset qualifications, organizational needs and operational requirements.

Non-Advertised Staffing Process

An appointment process that does not meet the criteria for an advertised appointment process.

Pool

A repository of persons who have been fully or partially assessed for a position(s) within the public service. This can include:

Fully Qualified Pool

A repository of persons who, in addition to having met all the essential qualifications, have been assessed on all the other merit criteria of the position(s) for which they were assessed.

Essentially Qualified Pool

A repository of persons who have been assessed and who have met all the essential qualifications of the position(s) for which they were assessed.

Partially Assessed Pool

A repository of persons who have been assessed on some, but not all, of the merit criteria of the position(s) for which they were assessed.

Sources

PSC Glossary, Public Service Commission of Canada, 2011,
http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/cfp-psc/SC3-160-2011-eng.pdf

Audit of Appointments from Collective Staffing Processes, Public Service Commission of Canada, 2010,
http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/cfp-psc/SC3-151-2010-eng.pdf


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