Meeting between Patrick Borbey, PSC President, and Paul Ledwell, Deputy Minister, Veterans Affairs Canada

*Information valid as of July 2021

Introduction

Deputy Head

Paul Ledwell was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) on May 25, 2021. Paul Ledwell is exercising the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) authority for the first time as Deputy Head (DH). A copy of the New Direction in Staffing (NDS) highlights for DHs is attached as Annex A.

Organizational Context

Mandate

Canada's development as an independent country with a unique identity stem partly from its achievements in times of war. Veteran Affairs Canada (VAC) exists to assist and help those whose courageous efforts have given us this legacy and have contributed to our growth as a nation. VAC's mandate stems from laws and regulations, including the Department of Veterans Affairs Act.

The organization meets its responsibilities through the delivery of various programs. These include programs for disability pensions, allowances, pension advocacy, health care and commemoration. They provide compensation for hardships arising from disabilities and lost economic opportunities, innovative health and social services, professional legal assistance and recognition of the achievements and sacrifices of Canadians during periods of war and conflict.

VAC’s mission is to provide exemplary, client-centered services and benefits that respond to the needs of Veterans, other clients and their families, in recognition of their services to Canada; and to keep the memory of their achievements and sacrifices alive for all Canadians.

Challenges

VAC conducted an Audit of Human Resources (HR) Staffing and Pay, as part of its 2018-2023 Risk-Based Audit and Evaluation Plan. The objective of the audit was to provide assurance to senior management on the adequacy of organizational staffing and pay processes, as well as the effectiveness of systems in place to deliver HR staffing and pay-related services.

The team noted good practices throughout the audit of staffing and pay, including:

• HR plans were developed as part of the integrated business planning process.
• HR advisors were in place and provided advice to managers on HR staffing activities.
• Guidance on HR staffing and pay processes, including the VAC Compensation Guide, was documented and readily available on the intranet.
• Service standards were established for HR staffing and pay.
• Dashboards and reports were developed to track HR staffing and pay actions.

VAC’s HR function has undergone major changes over recent years, including the transfer of pay services to Public Services and Procurement Canada. As a result, there was a reduction in the number of employees in the HR Division.

VAC’s HR Division also undertook an HR Excellence initiative to place a greater emphasis on improving its strategic advisory capacity, leveraging self-service functionalities, and implementing additional monitoring and reporting.

The following are some of the challenges that were shared by VAC’s HR with their Staffing Support Advisor (SSA) in preparation for this visit:

• The location of VAC’s headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), has impacted the organization’s ability to increase its Official Languages capacity and to meet some of its Diversity and Inclusion hiring strategies. In addition, many Veterans are reluctant to relocate their families to PEI.
• Supporting a bilingual workplace represents an ongoing challenge and has contributed to linguistic insecurities for some linguistic minority communities.
• Post pandemic, VAC will explore options from a future of work standpoint, such as how to implement possible remote work concepts and the application of existing policies in this new context.
• The organization is seeking solutions related to the collection of self-identification information of employment equity (EE) sub-groups that also considers retention, talent management and organizational needs to better support diversity and inclusion objectives.

The SSA continues to work collaboratively to support VAC in relation to these and other issues.

Experimentation

VAC has recently implemented a new Equity, Diversity and Anti-Racism taskforce and Accessibility Readiness taskforce to develop policies and practices to assist it in identifying and removing barriers.

Population

VAC is a large-sized organization that had a population of 3806 employees as of March 31, 2021.

Please refer to Annex B for additional details.

Staffing Activities

In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, VAC completed a total of 2057 staffing actions:

• 917 appointments to the public service (including casual workers and students):
• 154 casual workers
• 124 students
• 303 promotions
• 459 acting appointments
• 378 lateral and downward movements

Please refer to Annex B for additional details on staffing activities.

Time to Staff

VAC has a median time of 160 days for internal appointments, which is lower than the median of the public service, which is 208 days. VAC has a median time of 384 days for external appointments, which is 54% higher than the median of the public service of 250 days.

Please refer to Annex B for additional details.

Staffing Framework

New Direction in Staffing Implementation

VAC has implemented all mandatory requirements related to the NDS prior to the April 1, 2016 deadline and the appointment framework was shared with the SSA. Having access to this framework has allowed the SSA to better understand of the organization’s challenges and to support the identification of solutions as issues arise.

In 2019, VAC was one of the first organizations to show interest in offering NDS awareness sessions for its union representatives and employees. These sessions were jointly delivered by VAC HR and the SSA. They took place in Montreal and Charlottetown in fall 2019.

Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument Annex D Reporting

Use of the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order and the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulations

VAC reported that the organization made no use of the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (PSOLEAO) and the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulations (PSOLAR) for the period of April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. However, the organization reported exclusions under the PSOLEAO and PSOLAR that were still within the initial two-year period of the agreement to become bilingual.

Approved Deputy Head Exceptions to the National Area of Selection Requirements for an External Advertised Appointment Process

VAC reported that the DH had not approved any exceptions to the National Area of Selection during the period of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Results of Organizational Cyclical Assessment

VAC has not conducted a cyclical assessment since the implementation of NDS. The deadline for their organizational submission is October 1, 2021.

Inquiries and Trends

Since April 1, 2019, the SSA received 122 inquiries. This volume is consistent with similar--sized organizations. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the organization’s inquiries were related to the PSC’s temporary measures giving flexibility in assessing second language qualifications.

Many discussions with VAC’s Corporate Staffing representatives have taken place over the past year regarding PSC requirements for cyclical assessments and VAC’s review of its staffing monitoring framework. In addition, VAC recently reviewed its staffing sub-delegation instrument in consultation with the SSA.

In recent years, many outreach activities were delivered at VAC by the SSA. These include various staffing scenarios sessions with the Corporate and the Operational staffing teams. The most recent event took place virtually in winter 2021. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the SSA delivered in-person presentations in Charlottetown to Staffing Advisors and hiring managers.

Oversight

Audits

Past Audits

VAC was among the departments and agencies selected for the pilot System-Wide Staffing Audit (SWSA) that was published in 2018.

The SWSA was a review of system-wide compliance in staffing. In all, 25 departments and agencies participated in the audit, providing a sample of 386 appointments; 20 of these appointments were from VAC.

VAC was also among the 30 organizations that participated in the Audit of Employment Equity Representation in Recruitment published in January 2021. Of the 181 appointment processes examined as part of the audit, 7 were from VAC.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the four designated EE groups were proportionately represented in recruitment processes and to identify key factors that influence representation in the appointment system among the four designated EE groups.

As a component to our follow up to the audit, the PSC’s audit team plans to develop an audit program for departments and agencies interested in conducting their own audits on EE representation in recruitment. This will be ready in fall 2021.

VAC’s participation in these audits was greatly appreciated.

Current Audits

VAC is not included in any of the PSC audits that are underway.

Investigations

The following table outlines the different investigations by the PSC for VAC, between May 2018 and May 2021.

Table 1 - Investigations

Nature of Issue	Cases Received	Cases Referred by Organization	Closed - Not Accepted	Completed Unfounded	Completed Founded	Ongoing
s.66 External Appointments (Merit, Error, Omission, Improper Conduct)	5	0	5	1	0	0
s.69 Fraud	1	1	0	0	1	0
s.118 Improper Political Activities - Employees	3	0	0	0	1	1
Total	9	1	5	1	2	1

Note: The numbers may not add up as discontinued cases, cases resolved via early intervention and rare cases (s.119, s.67.1) are not included in this table.

Note: Each column is an independent calculation of the others. Cases received are cases received in the period, cases completed are those completed in the period, not necessarily cases completed out of those received.

Founded investigations

From May 2018 to May 2021, there were two founded investigations.

In the first case, an employee committed fraud in an appointment process at VAC when they asked another individual to review and to make modifications to their answers in their take-home exam, knowing that obtaining assistance in the completion of the exam was not allowed.

The ordered corrective action included, for a period of one year, that the employee must notify the Commission before accepting any position or work within the federal public service and complete the Values and Ethics Foundation for Employees course offered by the Canada School of Public Service, followed by a discussion with their director, if they join the public service within the next year.

In the second case, an employee at VAC was not in compliance with subsection 114(1) of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) when they sought nomination as a candidate in a provincial election prior to having requested and obtained the Commission’s permission.

The ordered corrective action included that the employee participate in an individual awareness session on the political activities regime applicable to federal public servants and that a letter be sent by the PSC to the employee to inform them that they failed to comply with subsection 114(1) of the PSEA and to remind them of their obligations.

Community of Practice for Investigators

Currently, no VAC employees are members of the Community of Practice. The PSC is offering information sessions and customized workshops to organizations to help prevent staffing irregularities and detect them when they occur. To book a session, VAC can contact Investigations at CFP.Enquetes-Investigations.PSC@canada.ca.

Staffing and Non-Partisanship Survey Results

Overall, VAC’s Staffing and Non-Partisanship Survey (SNPS) results are comparable with other large-sized organizations and the public service. An exception is the lower results relating to hiring manager’s perception that NDS improved the way they hire and appoint persons to and within their organization

Below are key findings from VAC’s 2018 SNPS results:

• 51.9% of employees indicated that people hired in their work unit can do the job, as compared to 52.3% in similar size organizations and 53.8% across all organizations in the federal public service.
• 51.9% of employees agreed that people hired can do the job, compared to 52.3% in organizations of similar size, and 53.8% in the federal public service.
• 90.3% of managers agreed that appointees meet the performance expectations of the positions for which they were hired, as compared to 91.5% in similar size organizations and 91.9 across all organizations in the federal public service.
• 22% of managers felt a sense of personal indebtedness to one or more employees, as compared to 19.2% in similar size organizations and 18.9% across all organizations in the federal public service.
• 62.6% of managers indicated that they understand the NDS, as compared to 60.1% in similar size organizations and 61.4% across all organizations in the federal public service.
• 50.6% of managers agreed that the NDS has improved the way they hire and appoint persons to and within their organization, compared to 54.4% in organizations of similar size, and 56.1% in the federal public service.
• 90.5% of managers agreed that within their organization, the administrative process to staff a position is burdensome, compared to 88.6% in organizations of similar size, and 87.9% in the federal public service.

Diversity Profile

Table 2 - Diversity Profile

Designated Group	Representation across the Public Service of Canada	Workforce Availability (WFA)	Veterans Affairs Canada (2019-2020)	Veterans Affairs Canada (2018-2019)
Women	55.%	52.7%	72.6%	73.0%
Indigenous peoples	5.1%	4.0%	4.2%	4.1%
Persons with Disabilities	5.2%	9.0%	7.1%	7.7%
Members of visible minorities	17.8%	15.3%	8.9%	9.1%

Sources:

Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada 2019-2020, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada 2018-2019, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Analysis – Employment equity

• VAC is above the representation for women at 72.6% and Indigenous peoples at 4.2%.
• VAC is below the workforce availability for:
• Persons with disabilities, who represent 7.1% of its workforce, while the WFA is 9.0%; and
• Members of visible minorities, who represent 8.9% of its workforce, while the WFA is 15.3%.
• The organization should take action to close these representation gaps and continue to make merit-based appointments of members of the designated groups when required to ensure ongoing representativeness of its workforce.

Strategic Staffing Solutions – Employment Equity

The following array of solutions may be useful as VAC continues to build a representative and diverse organization:

• The PSEA includes provisions that enable managers to:
• Target designated group members through the area of selection for advertised appointment processes.
• Establish and apply an organizational need to appoint designated group members.
• Use external and internal non-advertised appointment to appoint designated group members.
• The PSC offers recruitment solutions that target designated group members:
• Request referrals of designated group members when using student programs such as the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) and Post-Secondary Co-op and Internship Program, with a plan that could include eventually recruiting students into the public service.
• Advertising through the student program Research Affiliate Program to recruit students of designated group members.
• Request referrals of designated group members when using certain inventories, such as Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR).

The Clerk of the Privy Council asked senior leaders to commit to making measurable change to the diversity and inclusiveness of the public service which includes the creation of staffing plans to close representation gaps for EE groups. The targets below highlight the current gap in representation of persons with disabilities and the estimated level of recruitment required to close this gap within the next five years, taking into consideration factors such as attrition.

• Closing the gap: Persons with disabilities population increase required to reach workforce availability over 5 years: 52
• Closing the gap: Recruitment of persons with disabilities required to achieve population increase over 5 years (estimate): 95

Priority Entitlements and Veterans

Appointments of Persons with a Priority Entitlement

From April 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, VAC has appointed 12 persons with a priority entitlement (PPE) indeterminately.

Appointments of Persons with a Canadian Armed Forces Priority Entitlement

Since the coming into force of the Veterans Hiring Act on July 1, 2015 until May 31, 2021, VAC has made 41 appointments of persons with a Canadian Armed Forces Priority Entitlement.

Table 3 - Priority Entitlements and Veterans

Fiscal year	Attributable to service (statutory)	Not attributable to service (regulatory)	Total
July 1, 2015 - 2016	1	5	6
2016 - 2017	9	5	14
2017 - 2018	2	2	4
2018 - 2019	4	1	5
2019 - 2020	7	0	7
2020 - 2021	5	0	5
April 1, 2021 - May 31, 2021	0	0	0
Total	28	13	41

Source: Priority Information Management System

Priority Clearance Requests

From April 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, VAC submitted 950 priority clearance requests.

Table 4 - Priority Clearance Requests

Priority Clearance Type	Number	Percentage of Total Number
Internal advertised processes Internal advertised (X) Appointment from a previously established pool (X) Employment Equity (EE) process (X)	65 30 1	10.11%
Internal non-advertised processes	149	15.68%
External advertised processes External advertised (X) Appointment from a previously established pool (X) EE process (X)	310 109 2	44.32%
External non-advertised processes	233	24.53%
Appointment of persons with a priority entitlement (includes term and indeterminate appointments)	28	2.94%
Student bridging	23	2.42%
Section 43	0	0%
Total	950	100%

Source: Priority Information Management System

COVID-19 Related Priority Clearance Requests

Since the Priority Entitlements Policy Division began monitoring priority entitlement clearances related to Covid-19, VAC has submitted 12 requests to the PSC.

Persons with a Priority Entitlement

As of June 1, 2021, VAC had 14 active PPEs in the Priority Information Management System.

Non-Partisanship in the Public Service

Since 2015, the PSC has received 6 requests for permission by an employee of VAC to seek nomination as, and be, a candidate in an election. This includes 5 at the municipal level and 1 at the provincial level.

In the last 3 fiscal years, there were 3 investigations of allegations of improper political activities related seeking nomination prior to receiving the permission from the PSC. Two are now closed and the latest one that was launched on May 25, 2021 is ongoing.

In the 2018 Staffing and Non-Partisanship Survey:

• 2.5% of VAC respondents indicated that they engaged in political activities (other than voting or seeking political candidacy) between January 1 and December 31, 2017, which is slightly above the public service in general (2.4%).
• 79.5% of VAC respondents indicated that they are aware of their rights and obligations for engaging in political activities to a moderate and great extent, which is slightly below than the public service in general (80.1%).

VAC’s Designated Political Activities Representative (DPAR) is Anita Singh, Safe Workplace Advisor, Human Resources Division. The DPAR acts as a liaison with the PSC on matters related to political activities and non-partisanship. General awareness sessions on political activities and non-partisanship for employees can be delivered upon request. As a reminder, deputy heads may not engage in any political activity other than voting in an election.

Recruitment Programs

Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities

VAC is not currently participating in the Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities. The first year of the program resulted in 20 interns hired by 8 organizations, the program is on track to hire 55 interns, in collaboration with 28 organizations, for Cohort Two.

This program is an excellent initiative to contribute to the Government of Canada’s Accessibility Strategy which aims to increase the economic inclusion of women, men and gender-diverse persons with disabilities who have limited work experience, by developing key skills for future employment. The program also offers a 50% salary reimbursement to hiring departments for the duration of the internship period. It also provides managers and interns with career coaching services and tools to support the interns’ development, such as training offered by the Canada School or Public Service.

There will be additional qualified candidates, at the AS-01 group and level, from Cohort Two that will be available to hiring organizations in the coming months. Cohort Three will be launched in the fall of 2021.

Should VAC wish to hire interns, they may contact the PSC at: cfp.diversitedetalent-talentdiversity.psc@canada.ca.

Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities / Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity

VAC submitted 14 requests for referrals for Students with Disabilities and 24 for Indigenous Students through FSWEP between April 30, 2020, and April 30, 2021.

The Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities (EOSD) and Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity (ISEO) initiatives are excellent recruitment options to increase diversity in the workplace by hiring students living with disabilities and indigenous students.

Hiring managers and students are provided with resources, such as onboarding tools, training, and networking events, including mentoring and meet and greets.

Candidates are available year-round through the FSWEP ongoing inventory.

• The number of available students in EOSD is 4,222.^{Footnote 1}
• The number of available students in ISEO 2,002.^{Footnote 2}

Federal Student Work Experience Program

VAC has submitted 93 requests for referrals through FSWEP between April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2021. Moreover, VAC has hired 758 students through the FSWEP program in the last 4 years. The number of students currently available in this program is 68 918.^{Footnote 3}

Post-Secondary Recruitment

VAC has submitted 3 requests in the 2020-2021 fiscal year for referrals from existing PSR inventories to staff a total of 3 positions in the CR, IS and PE categories.

Participation in Initiatives Related to the Hiring of Indigenous Peoples

The Personnel Psychology Centre (PPC) has been providing consultation services to HR at VAC regarding an upcoming external EE process for EX feeder groups at the EX minus 1 and EX minus 2 levels. The process will target applicants who self-declare in the following EE groups: Indigenous persons, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities. VAC is exploring methods to assess the Key Leadership Competencies, with a particular interest in the PPC’s tailored tools such as the Leadership Achievement and Simulations Assessment.

The Indigenous Career Pathway (ICP) is an initiative that may also be of interest to VAC for the hiring of Indigenous People. VAC may wish to contact the Aboriginal Centre of Expertise for more information.

ICP provides managers and human resources specialists with expertise and support in the area of Indigenous recruitment and combines two tools:

• Inventory of Indigenous applicants:
• 10 graduates currently available.^{Footnote 4}
• The phase 2 of the inventory is underway which includes an updated list of graduates and will extend to Indigenous candidates qualified in various Government of Canada pools such as PSR.
• Indigenous recruitment toolkit:
• The first phase of the toolkit focuses on the Indigenous hiring process and consists of tools and resources that already exist. The second phase of the toolkit focuses on helping departments to increase the engagement of Indigenous candidates. For example, sharing best practices, such as gathering knowledge and advice from departments on conducting outreach.
• The toolkit includes a survey to assess its efficiency and find areas for improvement.

More information on Indigenous recruitment programs is available on the Indigenous recruitment–Information for hiring managers website.

Participation in Initiatives Related to the Hiring of Persons with Disabilities

The PSC, in collaboration with the Human Resources Council, has developed 2 initiatives to contribute positively to EE representation, time to staff, candidate and hiring manager experience:

1. On March 31, 2021, 2 inventories were created for persons with disabilities in the fields of Data and Policy in the Economics and Social Sciences Services (EC) group and Digital Technology for positions in the Computer Systems (CS) group.
• Each inventory has been successful in attracting and recruiting over 150 candidates with disabilities since its launch.
• These inventories are expected to be ready for candidate referrals this summer and organisations are encouraged to reach out to the PSC to discuss ways in which they can contribute to the success of these initiatives.
• Based on the current success, additional inventories are planned in the coming months in the areas of finance and sciences.
2. In collaboration with organizations, the working group is establishing a centralized repository of assessed and qualified candidates with disabilities who are ready to be hired in current external advertised departmental pools. 
• By participating, candidates would be considered for job opportunities across the public service without having to reapply. 
• This repository will be available to all organizations as a quick and efficient staffing option.

Staffing Support

Public Service Commission Representatives and Organizational Contacts

The SSA assigned to this organization is Simon Lachaine, the primary organizational contact is Isabelle Dubé, Director, Corporate Resourcing. The Head of Human Resources at VAC is Nancy Pike, Director General, Human Resources.

PREPARED BY:

Simon Lachaine
Staffing Support Advisor

APPROVED BY:

Lynn Brault
Director General, Staffing Support, Priorities and Political Activities Directorate,
Policy and Communications Sector

Gaveen Cadotte
Vice-President, Policy and Communications Sector

Annexes:

Annex A – The New Direction in Staffing (NDS) highlights for DHs
Annex B - Data on Population and Staffing Activities

Annex A

Highlights for Deputy Heads

A New Direction in Staffing – A Merit-Based System That is Effective, Efficient and Fair

Appointment Policy

New focus on core requirements to provide sub-delegated persons with greater discretion in making an appointment

• One Appointment Policy, no duplication of legal requirements
• Broader focus on values-based system, away from rules-based system
• Appointment Policy supported by streamlined guidance:
• A roadmap to the legislative, regulatory and policy requirements
• Options and considerations for decision making where there is discretion
• Clear expectations for priority entitlements
• No restrictions on assessment methods for EX appointments
• Exceptions to National Area of Selection approved by deputy head

Delegation

• New ability to customize organizational staffing system based on unique context and evolving business needs
• Deputy heads establish a direction on the use of advertised and non-advertised appointment processes
• Deputy heads to establish requirement(s) for sub-delegated persons to articulate, in writing, their selection decision
• Clarity on requirements related to investigations
• Attestation form to reinforce the accountabilities of sub-delegated persons

All PSC monitoring and reporting requirements now found in the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument

Monitoring and Reporting

Monitoring built by organizations, targeted to their needs

• Annual Departmental Staffing Accountability Report no longer required
• Annual reporting to the PSC limited to:
• Use of Public Service Official Language Exclusion Approval Order
• Exceptions to the National Area of Selection approved by the deputy head
• Results of any internal investigations
• Actions taken following any PSC investigations or audits.
• Deputy head responsible for ongoing monitoring of organizational staffing system based on the organization’s unique context
• Assessment of adherence to requirements, based on organization’s own risks, every five years, at a minimum.

PSC Oversight

System-wide focus

• Government-wide compliance audit every two years
• Renewed Survey of Staffing administered in alternating years with government-wide audit
• System-wide effectiveness and efficiency reviews to support continuous improvement
• Targeted PSC audits as a result of identified system-wide or organizational risks or at the request of deputy head
• Investigations conducted when there is reason to believe there was political influence, fraud or improper conduct in an appointment process

This document should be read in conjunction with the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Employment Regulations, the PSC Appointment Policy and the PSC Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument.

Annex B

Population by tenure as of March 31

Population by language requirements as of March 31, 2021

Population by occupational group as of March 31, 2021

Population by region as of March 31, 2021

External indeterminate hires by occupational group, 2020-2021

Staffing by region

* Regional distribution excludes unknowns

Staffing by process type

• Includes indeterminate and specified term appointments
• Excludes lateral and downward movements, deployments and acting appointments of less than 4 months
• Includes only appointments where the staffing process type is known (71% to 83% of appointments)

Staffing by appointment type

Staffing by tenure

Key findings - Staffing and non-partisanship survey (2018)

• 51.9% ofemployees agreed that people hired can do the job, compared to 52.3% in organizations of similar size, and 53.8% in the federal public service
• 50.6% of managers agreed that the NDS has improved the way they hire and appoint persons to and within their organization, compared to 54.4% in organizations of similar size, and 56.1% in the federal public service
• 90.5% of managers agreed that within their organization, the administrative to staff a position is burdensome, compared to 88.6% in organizations of similar size, and 87.9% in the federal public service.

Student program hires

Post-Secondary Recruitment Program and former student hires

*Hiring of former students includes indeterminate and term hires with experience in a federal student recruitment program within the last 10 years.

Internal time to staff

External time to staff

Technical Notes:

• The Time to Staff - Internal Appointments (TTS-IA) is the median number of calendar days between the opening date of an internal advertisement and the date of the first Notice of Appointment or Proposal of Appointment (NAPA) from the Public Service Resourcing System for internal term and indeterminate positions. As NAPAs are not required for all internal staffing actions, this measure is limited to reporting on internal promotional appointments
• Only estimated term and indeterminate appointments/notifications are included (deployments, casual and acting appointments are excluded)
• The Time to Staff - External Appointments (TTS-EA) is the median number of calendar days between the opening date of an external advertisement and the date of the first estimated appointment of an individual from outside an organization subject to the Public Service Employment Act for term and indeterminate positions. Only estimated term and indeterminate appointments/notifications are included (deployments, casual and acting appointments are excluded)
• Because data between systems is linked using a deterministic match, errors in data linkage are a potential source of measurement error

Sources:

• Hiring and staffing activities data are derived from information received from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Incumbent File.  The Incumbent File is extracted from the Public Services and Procurement Canada’s pay system.  The data constitutes an estimate of hiring and staffing activities to and within organizations
• Information from the Priority Information Management System and the Public Services Resourcing System is also used to determine if staffing actions are advertised or non-advertised as well as for calculating time to staff
• The data are not expected to match an organization’s human resources data, due to methodology and timing differences