ARCHIVED - Call letter to deputy heads and heads of human resources – small, medium, and large organizations (11-11)

Notice

The Public Service Commission has moved since this document was first published and therefore the address and telephone numbers indicated may no longer be accurate. Please consult the Contact Us page for up-to-date contact information.

The PSC Refines the Staffing Management Accountability Framework and reduces reporting burden on organizations for the 2011-2012 reporting cycle

Letter to heads of human resources are available via an RSS Feed .

2011-05-31

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is providing you with the Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF) and its indicators for the 2011-2012 reporting cycle. Please note that recent amendments were made by the PSC to the SMAF both to refine the SMAF indicators and to reduce reporting burden on organizations.

The Departmental Staffing Accountability Report (DSAR) continues to be based on the SMAF and on its indicators that measure performance under the Public Service Employment Act. As was the case last year, the 2011-2012 DSAR evaluates progress in consideration of key success factors and improved outcomes. For organizations being audited, the PSC will continue to coordinate its internal approach to minimize reporting requirements.

The amendment to the SMAF indicators consists of the addition of one indicator under the element of Fairness (FAIR-5). This indicator is being introduced to measure how organizations are respecting priority entitlements in staffing. It will be based on two statistical measures using data retrieved from the PSC’s Priority Information Management System (PIMS) and will not require organizations to generate any additional data.

During this transitional year while the five year review of the SMAF is underway, some reporting relief will be provided to reduce organizations’ reporting burden. Specifically, four indicators that previously required evidence will become self-reporting indicators if a rating of "acceptable" was received in 2010-2011 reporting cycle for those indicators. These are:

  • DEL-1 – Mechanisms in place to ensure that sub-delegated managers comply with their sub-delegated authorities;
  • DEL-3 – Appointment policies are current;
  • PLN-2 – Extent to which expected results for staffing are assessed; adjustments made as required;
  • SUP-3 – Participation in continuous learning by staffing advisors. 

Organizations that received either a rating of “opportunity for improvement” or “attention required” for any of those four indicators will need to continue to report on the relevant indicator in the 2011-2012 reporting cycle. If an organization wishes to be considered for a “strong” rating for any of these indicators, it would also need to report and provide evidence.

Some leading indicators will continue to be evaluated based on statistical data and the results from the Managers’ and Candidates’ Surveys of Staffing (SOS). Organizations whose SOS indicator results are in the 4th or 5th quintiles for a second year in a row should demonstrate their follow-up on commitments made in the 2010-2011 DSAR. The PSC will flag results to the forty percent least positive-performing organizations for discussion and input into the final ratings.

The PSC expects you to continue to demonstrate the accuracy of your reports and your commitment to merit, non-partisanship and the staffing values by signing a management representation statement. In fall 2011, the PSC will provide a call letter with Assessment Guidelines and the DSAR template. To better align with the SMAF and to provide input into deputy heads’ performance evaluations (if applicable), the PSC asks that your final DSAR, including the management representation statement, be received by my office on or before Friday, February 17, 2012.

The PSC requests that you report on the application of the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (PSOLEAO) within your organization at the same time as your DSAR. Should you receive additional PSOLEAO information after February 17, 2012, you may provide the PSC with an update before Friday, March 30, 2012.

As in the past, our oversight analysts will be visiting your organization to share information with your staff about your organization’s results for the 2010-2011 assessment and to provide guidance for the 2011-2012 reporting cycle. We strongly encourage you to present your interim DSAR to your oversight analyst as soon as it is available.

I appreciate your continued commitment and support in ensuring the integrity of the appointment process in the public service.

Maria Barrados, PhD

Page details

Date modified: