Public Service Commission Notes Growth in Public Service and the Need for More Care in Senior Level Hiring in Government

• Press Release
• Source: Public Service Commission of Canada
• On Tuesday December 2, 2008, 11:50 am EST

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(MARKET WIRE)--Dec 2, 2008 -- The Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) today tabled in Parliament its 2007-2008 Annual Report and a Report on Investigations, as well as two audits: Government-wide audit of executive (EX) appointments and Follow-up audit of the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP. The PSC also released three studies: Study on mobility of public servants; The educational profile of appointees; and Appointment under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) following participation in federal student employment programs.

The Annual Report presents the results of the PSC's oversight of the integrity of the staffing system and non-partisanship in the federal public service during the fiscal year 2007-2008. In this year's Annual Report, the PSC assesses the overall picture of performance in the staffing system as "acceptable," with few examples of management excellence and some areas that require greater attention.

"Generally speaking, the core values of merit and non-partisanship are being respected but ongoing vigilance is required," said Public Service Commission President Maria Barrados. "There is significant room for improvement in implementing the guiding values of transparency, fairness, access and representativeness."

Four percent growth in the federal public service

In the past year, the public service of Canada, which is subject to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), continued to renew itself, growing to over 195 000 employees. With the ongoing departures of baby boomers and the 4.1 % growth in the public service over the last year, hiring activity increased.

This growth translated into 54 734 new hires to the public service in 2007-2008, an increase of nearly 12% over the previous year. "Increased hiring activity offers opportunities for the public service to recruit people with the kind of skills it needs for the future and to compete more effectively with other sectors," added Maria Barrados.

Improvement needed in senior-level appointments

"One area that requires further attention is the executive-level hiring process," said PSC President Maria Barrados. "Executive appointments should be made with particular care as their leadership role affects employees, the organization and how the federal public service serves Canadians."

The government-wide audit of executive appointments focussed on EX appointments made from January to December 2006, the first year of implementation of the current PSEA. Under the PSEA, the PSC delegated most of its appointment authority - including EX appointments - to departments and agencies. Before the current PSEA came into effect, the PSC made all executive-level appointments. The audit involved an examination of 100% of appointment processes of executives at levels four and five (assistant deputy minister-level jobs), and 50% of executives at levels one to three (directors and directors general) in 54 organizations.

The audit analyzed 348 advertised and non-advertised appointments. Half of the appointments were well done, while there were varying degrees of problems with the other half. The more serious cases were called "unsatisfactory." The PSC identified 47 unsatisfactory cases (13.5%) that raised significant concerns about respect for the appointment values. In such cases, appointees appeared not to have met the essential qualifications at the time of appointment, a preferred candidate seemed to have been chosen before the assessment or key assessment documents were either missing or blank.

The unsatisfactory cases will be further examined to determine what corrective action is warranted. The PSC plans to do a follow-up audit in two years.

Mobility affects staffing in the public service

In its 2006-2007 Annual Report, the PSC identified the level of movement within the federal public service as a challenge. This year, the PSC undertook a study on the mobility of public servants to better understand this trend over the past 11 years. Mobility has increased generally in the last four years, from 30% in 2004-2005 to 42% in 2007-2008. Increases in the number of retirements, which quadrupled over the study period, as well as increases in internal promotions and lateral movements, contributed to this trend.

 

The PSC also took a number of steps to ensure greater inclusiveness in the
hiring system.

- Canadian Forces reservists: The PSC worked closely with Human Resources
  and Social Development Canada to ensure that public service organizations
  reintegrate reservists into their jobs when they return from a leave of
  absence to take part in military activities and operations in Canada and
  abroad.

- Spousal priority: The PSC is working on a priority entitlement for
  external appointments for surviving spouses of members of the Canadian
  Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, public service employees and
  reservists whose death was attributable to service or work.

- National area of selection: Full implementation of a national area of
  selection (NAOS) will begin on December 31, 2008. The PSC has taken a
  multi-phased approach to implementing its area of selection policy for
  all groups and levels of positions and in all regions of the country.
  This expansion of the national area of selection began in 2001 for
  executive and senior-level officer jobs open to the public. NAOS was
  expanded in April 2006 to include officer-level jobs (scientific,
  professional, technical and administrations positions) in the National
  Capital Region and then applied nationally to such jobs in April 2007.
  Starting December 31, 2008, NAOS will extend to non-officer jobs
  (administrative support staff) and externally advertised positions more
  than six months in duration, as well as to students taking part in the
  Federal Student Work Experience program. More information on NAOS is
  available at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/frame-cadre/policy-
  politique/naos-zns-eng.htm .

Report on Investigations

This year the PSC has tabled a separate Report on Investigations for 2007-2008 into allegations of appointments involving fraud and improper federal, provincial or territorial political activities by public servants.

High level of interest in public service jobs

Response to the Public Service Commission's recruitment campaigns continued to show the high level of interest in federal public service jobs. The www.jobs.gc.ca Web site received 22.4 million visits in 2007-2008. More than 279 000 job seekers sent in about 1 million applications in response to about 5 000 advertisements posted on the jobs site - an average of 200 applications for each posting.

The Public Service Commission is an independent agency that reports to Parliament. It is mandated to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system and the political neutrality of the public service. The PSC also recruits qualified Canadians from across the country through the Web site www.jobs.gc.ca

The PSC's 2007-2008 Annual Report, the Report on Investigations, the two audits and three studies, as well as highlights and a backgrounder on National Area of Selection, are available on the PSC's Web site at: www.psc-cfp.gc.ca .

     Contacts:
     Public Service Commission
     Marilyne Guevremont
     Media Relations
     613-947-7269
     media@psc-cfp.gc.ca
     http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca