Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Goal setting

Question 1

Has your organization set goals (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years) for recruiting and promoting Indigenous peoples and Black and other racialized people?

• My organization has set recruitment goals for:
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Black people
  • Racialized people
• My organization has set promotion goals for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees

Please provide details and/or examples, including what your organization is using to set its goals (e.g., operational priorities, labour market availability [LMA], population data, workforce availability [WFA]), and how these goals are communicated to employees, if applicable. What has been the most helpful in advancing towards the goals you have set? What challenges, if any, have you encountered?

Within its 2023-2026 Employment Equity Plan (EE Plan), the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has stated the objective of increasing “the number of employees recruited and/or promoted within the underrepresented designated groups in order to achieve a representative workforce.” 

This goal is based upon annual updates to the departmental gap analysis informed by Treasury Board Secretariat Workforce Analysis Reports and is documented within the departmental EE Plan which is shared with all employees.  Updates to this data are shared with senior management and the Diversity Committee.

While these updates have been helpful for management to monitor progress, organizational challenges characterized in the EE Plan and in the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk persist. Since the Call to Action, any gains experienced in closing gaps have been eroded due to departures often linked to retirement and/or the realities of a competitive labour market.

Question 2

Has your organization set goals to foster greater inclusion (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years)?

• My organization has not yet set these goals.

Please provide details and/or examples, including which metrics or data your organization is using, if applicable (e.g., your Public Service Employee Survey results, pulse surveys, exit interviews, human resources administrative data).

To successfully deliver its mandate, the TSB relies on teamwork as part of its ongoing operations. Diversity and inclusion as measured in the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) demonstrate that the TSB compares favorably to public service norms. When areas of concern arise in PSES results, action plans and goals are set to monitor and close gaps or areas of concern as required.

Measuring progress

Question 3

Has your organization developed an approach for measuring progress towards your established goals? 

How is the approach being implemented within your organization (e.g., how is it communicated to employees? What are the roles of executive team members including the Chief Data Officer and Head of Audit and Evaluation and regional management if applicable? How are you reporting on results and outcomes both internally and externally?)?

The TSB has articulated within its EE Plan its approach to monitoring and reporting on employment equity information. Semi-annually, updated departmental EE data are shared with senior management and the Diversity Committee. Accordingly, as noted in question 1, annual updates are also made to the departmental gap analysis informed by Treasury Board Secretariat Workforce Analysis Reports and they are documented within the departmental EE Plan which is shared with all employees.

While these updates have been helpful for management to monitor progress, organizational challenges characterized in the EE Plan and in the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk persist. Since the Call to Action, any gains experienced in closing gaps have been eroded due to departures often linked to retirement and/or the realities of a competitive labour market.

Consequential accountability

Question 4

How is your organization using performance management and/or talent management processes to establish accountability for results?

• Qualitative objectives are in performance management agreements.

Please provide details about how performance management and/or talent management processes are being used to establish accountability for results.

The organizational challenges of the TSB, as a small workforce comprised of highly specialized investigative staff, are characterized within its EE Plan and the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk.

Staffing actions and employee turnover can have a significant effect on employment equity, diversity, and inclusion statistics between reporting periods, making specific progress toward results a challenge. In an effort to ensure accurate measurement of the diversity of the workforce, messaging to employees has reinforced the importance of self-declaration and identification in completing their human resources profile – an effort we expect to expand on as modernization of centralized tools become available later in 2024.

This said, since the Call to Action, any gains experienced in closing gaps have been eroded due to departures often linked to retirement and/or the realities of a competitive labour market.

Given the small size of the TSB’s sub-organizational groups, workforce availability data is supressed, and targeted actions or progress at the performance management level are impractical given operational realities where recruitment is based on highly technical qualifications, where there is limited upward career mobility or opportunity, and where the public service competes directly for talent with high-valued compensation packages available in industry, qualified, available, and interested applicants on the whole are in short supply.

As such, TSB executives have the overarching commitment of “Advancing Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Public Service" within their performance management agreements.

Specific, tangible actions outlined in the forward direction of the Call to Action

Question 5

Have you, as head of your organization, and/or your executive teams sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles?

• Neither I nor my executive team have sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles.

Please provide details about the nature of sponsorship that you and/or your executive team have provided, along with other programs, such as mentorship or leadership development, if applicable.  

While the TSB has a limited population of designated group members at succession levels, in at least one case, an offer to mentor / develop / provide experience through acting opportunities to an Indigenous, Black or other racialized employee was made and declined. Generally speaking, the TSB’s technical staff express limited interest in taking on managerial / EX leadership roles given their satisfaction as technical experts in their specialized domains. Furthermore, given these specializations, and their applicable total compensation regimes, managerial and executive positions often provide lower levels of compensation.

This being said, as documented within its EE Plan, the TSB has very limited gaps noted for its managerial positions and its executive positions; both noted at only -1.

Question 6

Have you, as head of your organization, personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees?

• I have personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees

Please provide details.

The TSB is making good on one of its outstanding planned commitments as it has launched several continuous anticipatory staffing inventories targeting designated groups for our technical positions, a measure which I have personally endorsed as Deputy Head. This strategy goes a step beyond noting representativeness as an organizational need for our department and seeks to make active use of established tools and practices aimed at addressing representation challenges.

This being said, and as previously noted and documented in our EE Plan, and my 2021 update to the Clerk, the TSB faces a number of challenges in these regards and we continue to explore avenues to improve our representation and ensure that our workplace is safe and inclusive for all.

Question 7

Has your organization prioritized official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement?

• My organization has prioritized official language training for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees

How is your organization prioritizing official language training?

As a small organization, the TSB is often able to prioritize official languages training for those who require it as part of their substantive roles, or to support their demonstrated interest in advancement. In 2023, at least one Indigenous, Black, or racialized employee was hired non-imperatively.

Does your organization offer access to Indigenous language training or have plans to offer access? Please provide details. 

The TSB has no plans to offer access to Indigenous language training.

Question 8

Has your organization provided support and/or invested resources for organizational employee networks and communities?

• Governance structures are in place to support employee networks and communities (e.g., champions, champions/chairs participate at management tables).

Please provide additional detail about how your organization engages with and supports employee networks and communities.

Despite being a small organization, the TSB has a number of organizational committees that include active involvement and engagement of its employees, most notably, the Diversity Committee, Standards Committee, Learning Committee, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) National Policy Committee, various OHS Workplace Committees, Mental Health in the Workplace Committee, National Labour Management Consultation Committee. The TSB also has a number of Champion roles distributed to members of the Executive Committee [Diversity, Official Languages, Mental Health, OHS, Team Building, Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC), Workplace Modernization, and Public Service Employee Survey (PSES)]. Both TSB committees and Champions provide inputs to the TSB Executive Committee on a regular basis.

Additionally, as a best practice, the TSB’s Chief Operating Officer holds regularly scheduled Townhall meetings with both the TSB management community and with all staff. Relevant updates and information affecting departmental operations, and updates from champions, are regularly shared with all employees through an electronic departmental newsletter – The Beacon.

Question 9

Has anti-racism, equity and inclusion work been embedded in your organization’s integrated business plan and/or mental health plan?

• Anti-racism, equity and inclusion work has been embedded in the organizational plan.
• Anti-racism, equity and inclusion work has been embedded in regional and/or branch plans.
• Work is underway on our integrated business plan and/or mental health plan to embed anti-racism, equity and inclusion work.

The annual TSB Business Plan integrates anti-racism, equity and inclusion work noting as a priority to continue efforts to identify and remove any barriers to the recruitment, retention and/or promotion of members of designated groups through the continued implementation of our EE Plan.

Additionally, as a best practice, the TSB Code of Values and Ethics, which is updated annually, is shared and acknowledged by all staff. It outlines the TSB values, expected standards of conduct, links staffing activities to employment equity objectives and bias mitigation, and provides employees with reference to the TSB Accessibility Plan as well as all avenues for resolution of conflicts and sources to support well-being.

Finally, the TSB Mental Health Strategy provides the overarching vision of “A supportive, respectful, and stigma-free workplace that promotes and supports the mental health and well-being of all TSB employees, from the most seasoned senior managers to brand-new junior employees.”

Question 10

Does your organization have a calendar to avoid holding major meetings and events during significant religious, spiritual, and cultural periods?

• My organization currently has a calendar for this purpose.

If the calendar already exists, please provide additional details on how this calendar is communicated or promoted within your organization.  

As a small department, the TSB utilizes Important and commemorative days, and central agency messaging through HR networks on equity, diversity, inclusion and official languages to highlight significant cultural and historical dates in its electronic departmental newsletter – The Beacon.

Additional information about your organization’s ongoing initiatives 

Question 11

What are two or three specific barriers that you have faced in advancing work on the Call to Action?

Please provide two or three examples.

The TSB faces several persistent barriers and challenges in advancing the Call to Action which have already been characterized within the TSB Employment Equity Plan and in the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk. Since that time, recent announcements concerning Treasury Board Secretariat’s Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace have limited previous organizational modernizations with regards to flexible working arrangements and may impact future recruitment efforts. 

Given the small size of the TSB, workforce availability data is often supressed, making the monitoring, reporting, and follow-up on results challenging. Since the Call to Action, any gains experienced in closing gaps have been eroded due to departures often linked to retirement and/or the realities of a competitive labour market for a specialized workforce that is in high demand.

Another challenge, as described in question 5, is that more than half of the TSB’s workforce occupy highly specialized positions where staff express limited interest in taking on managerial / EX leadership roles given their satisfaction as technical experts in their specialized domains. The TSB therefore experiences challenges in recruiting qualified staff in general without factoring in representation objectives.

Finally, delayed progress on the modernization of centralized tools for self-declaration and identification available for employees when completing their human resources profile have hindered the TSB’s ability to accurately reflect the true diversity and representation of its workforce.

Question 12

Recognizing that employees often have multiple identities, what actions is your organization undertaking to support Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are also members of other communities, such as persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and religious minorities who face compounding barriers of discrimination?

Please provide details.

As noted in question 11, the TSB has limited ability to monitor 2SLGBTQIA+ factors within its workforce. That being said, the TSB supports diversity in all forms and has been clear with all staff that discrimination / harassment in any form will not be tolerated. As noted in the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk a series of Safe Space sessions were offered to all staff to encourage open discussions across the organization.

Question 13

In your first year of implementing the forward direction of the Call to Action, what impact has this work had on the culture of your organization?

Please provide the two or three most important impacts. 

As a small department faced with ongoing challenges of staff turnover, and despite the fact that the Call to Action has helped to raise general awareness in our organization of the importance of mitigating biases, improving representation, and ensuring that our workplace is safe and inclusive for all, the organizational challenges characterized in the EE Plan and in the TSB’s 2021 update to the Clerk persist. While we have experienced successes in terms of closing gaps, they have been short term in nature, and have been eroded due to departures often linked to retirement and/or the realities of a competitive labour market. We continue to make efforts to raise awareness, understanding, and acceptance of staffing strategies, mechanisms, and established tools and practices aimed at addressing representation challenges.