2018-19 Departmental Plan

ISSN: 2371-8021

President’s message

I am pleased to provide Parliament with the 2018-19 Departmental Plan of the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC). This year marks the 110th anniversary of the PSC and its predecessor organizations. While the composition of the PSC has changed over time, promoting and safeguarding a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service remains our key focus.

The PSC’s Departmental Plan reflects a significant change for our organization. It is the first to be prepared under our new Departmental Results Framework. We have established the following three departmental results which incorporate all of our activities. Details and performance indicators for each are outlined in the pages that follow.

1. The public service efficiently hires the workforce of the future that is capable and ready to deliver results for Canadians.
2. The public service reflects Canada’s diversity.
3. Canadians are served by a politically impartial public service.

The new Departmental Results Framework helps us focus our work on clear priorities. It also introduces a concept that has the PSC establish performance indicators for the public service staffing regime, instead of just our organization. For example, we have established targets for the maximum number of days to complete a recruitment process, the percentage of new hires under age 35 and the maximum number of cases where an employee was found to have engaged in improper political activities. Under the public service’s delegated staffing model, success on these fronts can only be achieved through solid partnerships with departments and agencies.

In July 2017, Oxford University and the Institute for Government in the United Kingdom released their first International Civil Service Effectiveness Index. The Index brought together data from 31 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia to assess how a country’s central government civil service is performing when compared with others from around the world. The Index ranked Canada first in civil service effectiveness.

I believe that one of the reasons for this ranking is that Canada has a public service built on the foundation of merit and non-partisanship. I trust that achieving the results contained in this Departmental Plan will go a long way to helping Canada’s public service remain at the top of this international index.

I look forward to having an open dialogue with Parliament, and Parliamentarians, throughout the year about the result indicators contained in this Departmental Plan and to reporting on the results that we achieve. I will not shy away from sharing our experiences, even if we do not always obtain the planned results. It is through experimentation and innovation that real change happens. I believe that the recipe for success is to develop solid risk mitigation strategies that allow us to try something new, evaluate it, refine it and then try it again. The true risk to progress is being so afraid of failure that we never experiment or push our limits.

This is an important year for the PSC as we continue to support the renewal of the public service for coming generations. Commissioners Susan Cartwright, Daniel Tucker and I are fully committed to delivering on these results for Parliament, for Canadians and for Canada.

Patrick Borbey
President
Public Service Commission of Canada

Plans at a glance

The PSC’s enduring function is defined under its single Core Responsibility, which is to promote and safeguard a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service that delivers results for all Canadians. Through policy direction and guidance, the PSC supports departments and agencies in the hiring of qualified individuals into and within the public service, helping to shape a workforce reflecting Canada’s diversity. (See the “Planned results” section for the full definition of the PSC’s Core Responsibility.).

2018-19 Priorities

For 2018-19, the PSC has identified the following priorities to achieve its Core Responsibility:

1. Provide leadership and support in efficiently building a diverse and highly competent public service.

Through regulations and policies, the PSC will provide government-wide direction on staffing to support the hiring of qualified individuals into and within the public service to help departments meet their business needs. The PSC will support departments in experimenting and innovating staffing approaches and supporting strategies.

2. Promote and safeguard the integrity of the staffing system and the non-partisan nature of the federal public service.

The PSC will use various monitoring and oversight activities to monitor organizational compliance with staffing legislation, regulations and policies. It will also identify areas for improvement to ensure the non-partisanship of the public service. The PSC will provide departments and Canadians with an informed view of the dynamics of public service hiring.

3. Contribute to the development of a competent and professional public service through the provision of high quality services.

Through outreach and the use of modern tools, online systems and technology, the PSC will identify and reduce barriers to improve access to public service jobs. It will support departments in hiring qualified individuals and help to shape a workforce reflecting Canada’s diversity.

4. Support a high-performing workforce through the promotion of a healthy, respectful and modern workplace.

The PSC will improve its internal services to develop a diverse, inclusive and agile workforce to meet current and future organizational needs. More specifically, the PSC will support mental health and workplace well-being through learning activities that promote respect, well-being and foster pride. Modernizing information technology products and services will also provide PSC employees with the support they need to deliver programs and services.

Together, these priorities will help the PSC reach its objective: to efficiently hire the workforce of the future, one that is capable and ready to deliver results for Canadians, while insuring that Canadians are served by a politically impartial public service that reflects Canada’s diversity.

For more information on the PSC’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Planned results” section of this report.

Planned results: what we want to achieve this year and beyond

Core Responsibility

Public Service Hiring and Non-partisanship

Description

The Public Service Commission (PSC) promotes and safeguards a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service that delivers results for all Canadians.

Through policy direction and guidance, the PSC supports departments and agencies in the hiring of qualified individuals into and within the public service, helping to shape a workforce reflecting Canada’s diversity. The PSC delivers recruitment programs and assessment services supporting the strategic recruitment priorities of the Government of Canada and the renewal of the public service, leveraging modern tools to provide Canadians with barrier-free access to public service jobs.

The PSC oversees public service hiring, ensuring the integrity of the hiring process. The PSC provides guidance to employees regarding their rights and obligations related to political activities and renders decisions on political candidacy, respecting employees’ rights to participate in political activities, while protecting the non-partisan nature of the public service.

Planning highlights

The PSC’s 2018-19 planning highlights provides the plan to achieving its Core Responsibility. This year, through experimentation and innovation, the PSC will seek out new approaches to further modernize the staffing system and address key challenges in staffing and recruitment.

1. Support organizations in leveraging the New Direction in StaffingFootnote 1   to effectively achieve their individual hiring needs.
   
   
2. Provide policy direction and guidance to build understanding and ensure that public service appointments are merit-based and non-partisan.
   
3. Collaborate with central agencies and stakeholders to advance experimentation and innovation to enhance diversity and create inclusive and efficient staffing practices.
   In 2018-19, a key focus of innovation and experimentation will be on reducing the time and effort to staff, while maintaining an emphasis on the quality of hire. For example, the PSC will pilot greater flexibility in second language evaluation by giving hiring managers the option of using their own assessment methods. Other explored approaches include partnering with organizations to pilot projects like an employee referral program for difficult to staff jobs.
   
4. Conduct outreach to reinforce the PSC’s role regarding the political impartiality of the public service and to ensure that public servants understand their rights and responsibilities regarding engaging in political activities. This includes using a variety of innovative and effective means of communication (including social media) to reach a diverse and multi-generational public service.
   
5. Conduct effective oversight activities that support integrity, learning and ongoing improvement of a merit-based and non-partisan public service. The PSC will strengthen its intelligence gathering and analytical capacity to better inform and support organizations. For example, the PSC will process the answers from the redesigned survey on staffing and non-partisanship and share its results with organizations to help improve staffing policies, practices, and better focus efforts to safeguard merit and non-partisanship within the public service.
   
6. Recruit talented and diverse candidates through outreach, promotion and delivery of targeted programs and services to meet the evolving needs of job seekers and federal organizations. The PSC will work to increase the hiring of Indigenous students in all regions of Canada. A new inventory which allows them to obtain work experience close to where they live and go to school as well as onboarding and retention strategies to strengthen the relationship with managers are currently underway.
   
7. Modernize recruitment and assessment tools, and streamline program delivery and supporting IT systems to increase system accessibility and improve the quality of staffing services. The PSC is exploring ways of delivering standardized tests through remote supervised testing and unsupervised internet testing. Experimentation is also embedded in the PSC’s embrace of a “design thinking” methodology which involves co-creating with the users of the Public Service Resourcing System to develop and validate effective staffing approaches and practices. In addition, the PSC will seek creative solutions to improve accessibility for Canadians who search for and apply to jobs in the public service.
   

To achieve a public service that reflects the broad diversity of Canada, the PSC has been proactive in performing its activities through the lens of diversity and inclusion. Its 2018-19 planned results include targeted percentages of public servants from various diversity groups. The PSC will also promote the government’s priority of strengthening diversity and inclusion in the public service by implementing a framework to formally integrate Gender-based Analysis Plus into its activities and business processes. The “plus” highlights the fact that gender-based analysis goes beyond sex and gender. It examines how sex and gender intersect with other identities such as: race, ethnicity, religion, age and mental or physical disabilities. The framework will help managers and human resource advisors integrate intersecting identity factors when developing policies and programs or exercising advisory functions.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the PSC’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; and Acquisition Services.

Planning highlights

To advance the continuous improvement of Internal Services, the PSC will:

1. Aim to be a model organization in supporting mental health and workplace well-being.
2. Provide PSC employees with the support they require to deliver programs and services and achieve the organization’s results.
3. Implement mandatory requirements and government-wide initiatives.

In 2018-19, the PSC will continue its efforts to energize its workforce by promoting a healthy, respectful and modern workplace. Internal Services will contribute by delivering learning activities to increase awareness of mental health issues. It will also develop tools, such as surveys, to gather employees’ opinions about their workplace and how it could be improved.

The PSC will also seek new ways to recruit talent to support renewal. The recruitment innovations and initiatives led by the PSC to support departments and agencies in achieving their hiring needs will be experimented internally. For example, internal services will partner with organizations to explore the possibility of creating an employee referral program to help attract qualified people in difficult-to-staff positions. This experimentation will help ensure that the PSC has the expertise to deliver its programs. In addition, it will contribute to advancing the PSC’s priorities by partnering with other organizations on new ways of staffing.

The PSC is planning to modernize its information management and information technology (IT) products and services with new cloud infrastructure, the use of open standards and partnerships with digital professionals from the private sector. This work will directly support IT-enabled projects identified in priority 3 under our Core Responsibility.

Spending and human resources

Planned spending

Expenditure highlights

The expected increase in spending from 2016-17 to future years is mainly due to retroactive salary payments and higher salary rates following the implementation of new collective agreements in 2017-18. About 80% of the Public Service Commission's annual expenditures are for salary-related costs.

Planned human resources

To further innovation and experimentation, the PSC is increasing its capacity throughout the organization. Developing and improving products and services, and adapting to the needs of organizations and the public requires making investments to support PSC programs and their expected outcomes, especially in the area of technology. In addition, participating in government-wide initiatives for centralized solutions results in an increased need for resources within the different Internal Services functions during both the implementation and transition period.

Estimates by vote

For information on Public Service Commission’s organizational appropriations, consult the 2018–19 Main Estimates.

Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations

The Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of the PSC’s operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management.

Because the Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations is prepared on an accrual accounting basis, and the forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis, amounts may differ.

A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the PSC’s website.

The single largest factor contributing to the expected decrease in net cost of operations from 2017-18 to 2018-19 is an expected increase in revenues. Revenues are forecasted to increase in 2018-19, returning to levels more in line with multi-year trends observed prior to 2017-18.

Supplementary information

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Patrick Borbey, President

Ministerial portfolio: The Public Service Commission of Canada is part of the Public Services and Procurement Canada portfolio

Enabling instrument: Public Service Employment Act (S.C. 2003, c.22. 12, 13)

Year of commencement: 1908

Other: sources:

• Public Services and Procurement Canada website
• Public Service Commission of Canada website

Raison d’être, mandate and role

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the Public Service Commission’s website.

Operating context and key risks

Information on operating context and key risks is available on the Public Service Commission’s website.

Reporting framework

The Public Service Commission Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2018-19 are shown below:

Supporting information on the Program Inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the Public Service Commission’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the PSC’s website:

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• Gender-based Analysis Plus
• Planned evaluation coverage over the next five fiscal years
• Upcoming internal audits for the coming fiscal year

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address:

Public Service Commission

22 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M7

Email address: psc.infocom.cfp@psc-cfp.gc.ca

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Core Responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of appropriated departments over a three-year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

Departmental Result (résultat ministériel)

Any change or changes that the department seeks to influence. A Departmental Result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by Program-level outcomes.

Departmental Result Indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a Departmental Result.

Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

The department’s Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on the actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision-making, by learning what works and what does not.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. Full-time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical process used to help identify the potential impacts of policies, Programs and services on diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people. The “plus” acknowledges that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences to consider multiple identity factors that intersect to make people who they are (such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability).

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2018–19 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government;  A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada's Strength; and Security and Opportunity.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations, through an approved funding agreement, work toward achieving clearly defined shared outcomes, and which has been designated (by Cabinet, a central agency, etc.) as a horizontal initiative for managing and reporting purposes.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

priority (priorité)

A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Departmental Results.

Program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

Program Alignment Architecture (architecture d’alignement des programmes)^{Footnote 2} 

A structured inventory of an organization’s programs depicting the hierarchical relationship between programs and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

Strategic Outcome (résultat stratégique)

A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.

sunset program (programme temporisé)

A time-limited program that does not have an ongoing funding and policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made whether to continue the program. In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, Program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.