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2000 December Report of the Auditor General of Canada

December 2000 Report—Chapter 21

Appendix B—Summary of the Report of COSO's Subcommittee on Recruitment, July 2000

Most departments believe that they are facing a significant recruitment challenge over the next five years, as they prepare for the retirement of an aging work force. Some departments are conducting leading-edge recruitment, and others know they have to act. Departments need to play a more corporate role in sharing innovative approaches to develop more strategic recruitment practices for the future.

While departments expect to make increasing use of the Post-Secondary Recruitment program, the program accounts for only one percent of new appointments each year in the professional categories. The Management Trainee Program and other corporate initiatives exist and are used, but it is not clear that these are linked to concrete, strategic human resources plans.

The subcommittee recommended that public service leaders do the following:

  • offer permanent jobs, where appropriate, to qualified new recruits and assess their potential during the probationary period, instead of using term assignments to determine their suitability;
  • make human resource planning an integral part of business planning and align recruitment with future business direction;
  • inform the President of the Public Service Commission of any barriers to recruitment that need to be eliminated; and
  • challenge departmental corporate services to support innovative approaches.

The subcommittee also recommended that human resource specialists do the following:

  • ensure that recruitment managers have the support to effectively recruit, orient and retain new employees; and
  • provide strategic advice and guidance on how to recruit the right people for the right place at the right time.

The subcommittee mentioned that the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board Secretariat have made an important contribution to moving forward on recruitment, and they are committed to going even further. The central agencies submitted an action plan, Meeting the Recruitment Challenge. The action plan sets out recruitment priorities, including the following:

  • There will be more use of the Post-Secondary Recruitment program and attention to current occupational shortages.
  • A pool of generic positions will be created into which young professionals can be hired.
  • Workplace-of-choice efforts will centre on promoting the public service among potential recruits, especially on university campuses.
  • Strategic planning will help to clarify recruitment needs for the next three to five years, with specific business cases for key recruitment challenges. Over time, this initiative will lead to recruitment planning as an integral part of doing business for all managers.

Here are some of the short-term deliverables from the central agencies' action plan:

  • For strategic planning, recruitment forecasts will be submitted by April 2001 and April 2002.
  • For market analysis, research and review to support forecasting/demographic modelling and work force studies will be ongoing in 2001 and 2002.
  • For information on progress, results and accountability, a Post-Secondary Recruitment Partnership Agreement will be signed with departments in 2001 and 2002.

On February 2000 the Clerk of the Privy Council requested deputy ministers to provide information on their department's plan for recruitment. The following reflects some main points of the executive summary:

  • It is not clear from the replies received that the sense of urgency has reached the level of hiring managers.
  • Most departments are in the planning phase of recruitment and are developing recruitment strategies. There is little information on the specifics of what is planned.
  • There is less clarity on what needs to be done for general recruitment across the public service.
  • Several departments signalled the need to move to "overstocking" (recruiting more employees than actually needed to prevent major recruitment in the future) for a specified period of time to bring in and develop successors and help address the workload.
  • A one-size-fits-all employment package will not meet the diverse needs of functional communities and regions.
  • Some departments are experienced recruiters and would be a source of practical expertise.