Personnel
Management Monitoring, Audit and Evaluation
The
Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission have delegated to deputy heads
substantial personnel management authority in order to facilitate effective
management of departmental programs. It is intended to extend such delegation as
far as practicable.
By
virtue of Agreements signed in 1982 between the Treasury Board Secretariat and
the Public Service Commission, responsibility for auditing a number of personnel
functions has been delegated to the Public Service Commission, while
responsibility for evaluating certain staffing policies has been delegated to
the Treasury Board Secretariat. In this way, responsibility for personnel audit
is centralized in the Commission and responsibility for personnel policy
evaluation is centralized in the Secretariat.
The
monitoring, audit and evaluation of personnel management policies and practices
provide assurance to deputy heads and the central agencies that the policies and
practices are achieving their intended results, are effectively applied and that
delegated personnel management authority is properly exercised.
This
chapter outlines the policy of the Treasury Board and the Public Service
Commission on the monitoring, audit and evaluation of personnel management
policies, practices and delegated authority as part of the overall process for
the effective control of personnel management by both the central agencies and
departments.
This
policy is applicable to those parts of the Public Service listed under Part I,
Schedule I of the Public Service Staff Relations Act and to those exercising
authority delegated by the Public Service Commission.
The
following definitions have been developed in conjunction with the Office of the
Comptroller General:
Monitoring:
the ongoing and recurring review by the manager of activities and operations
against plans, procedures or performance standards to determine whether they are
being performed or are functioning as intended and are producing the desired
results. The intent is to determine at regular intervals (for example weekly,
monthly, quarterly) the level and quality of performance and results and, when
required, to take corrective action.
Monitoring
of personnel management activities and operations will take many forms. In
staffing and classification, for example, it would include the review of a
sample of staffing or classification decisions and records to determine the
quality (correctness) of decisions made in accordance with staffing or
classification standards, directives and guidelines. It would also include a
review of departmental staffing or classification policies and procedures and a
check of their implementation. Finally, it would gather and analyze data to
identify results, turnaround time and workload.
Audit:
the systematic, independent review and appraisal of all departmental (personnel)
operations, to determine the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the
departmental (personnel) management practices and
controls.
Audits
of personnel management as a function would normally be conducted once ever
three to five years by the departmental internal audit group and by the central
agencies. The audits by the internal audit group would focus on the adequacy of
all personnel management controls (including the monitoring activities), the
extent of compliance with legislation central agency and departmental personnel
management policies and directives, and on the efficiency, effectiveness and
economy of personnel management. Treasury Board Secretariat and Public Service
Commission audits would determine the extent of compliance with legislation and
service-wide personnel management policies and practices and,in classification
and staffing, how well formally delegated authority is being
managed.
The
scope of these audits by departments and the central agencies would include
Human Resources Planning, Staffing, Classification, Pay and Benefits, Staff
Relations, Training and Development and all other personnel-related
activities.
Personnel
management at the Responsibility Centre level would be audited each year by the
internal audit group as part of individual audit of departmental
operations.
Evaluation:
the periodic, independent review and assessment of personnel management policies
to determine whether the intended results are being achieved and are making the
expected contribution to the achievement of the public service personnel
management objectives.
In
accordance with the 1982 Agreements between the central agencies referred to
earlier, evaluation of service-wide personnel management policies, including
certain policies in the area of staffing, will normally be conducted by the
Treasury Board Secretariat. In certain circumstances, such evaluations may be
conducted jointly by the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Public Service
Commission.
Examples
of policies which are evaluated by the Treasury Board Secretariat are Training
and Development, Performance Pay, Occupational Health and Safety, Human
Resources Planning, Staffing Delegation, Probation and Transfers. Evaluations of
particular policies usually occur ever three or four years but could be
undertaken more often, if necessary.
It
is the policy of the Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission to monitor
and audit the implementation of personnel management policies, practices and the
management of delegated authority, and to evaluate the effectiveness and
appropriateness of personnel management policies. In carrying out these
activities, data available from audits conducted by departmental internal audit
groups will be used to the fullest extent possible in order to minimize on-site
activities and the disruption of departmental operations.
This
policy is intended to achieve the regular and efficient measurement and
assessment of the quality and effectiveness of personnel management policies and
practices in individual departments and across the Public
Service.
Treasury
Board Secretariat
The
Secretary of the Treasury Board is accountable to the Treasury Board of Canada
for ensuring that personnel management policies and practices in the Public
Service are achieving their intended results, are effectively applied, and that
delegated personnel management authority is properly
exercised.
Public
Service Commission
The
Public Service Commission is accountable to Parliament for ensuring that
staffing policies and practices in the Public Service are achieving their
intended results, are effectively applied and that delegated staffing authority
is properly managed.
Departments
Departments
are responsible to the Treasury Board for implementing and ensuring adherence to
service-wide personnel management policies and practices and exercising
delegated personnel management authority in accordance with the conditions of
delegation.
Likewise,
departments exercising staffing authority delegated by the Public Service
Commission are accountable to the Commission for implementing and ensuring
adherence to service-wide staffing policies and practices and exercising
delegated authority in accordance with the conditions of
delegation.
Responsibilities
for the administration of the policy
The
Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for:
- monitoring
the implementation of personnel management policies and practices;
- auditing
departmental operations in the various components of personnel management;*
- evaluating
the effectiveness and appropriateness of Public Service personnel management
policies;
- advising
departments regarding appropriate data collection methods, techniques and
criteria for use in personnel management audits;
- co-ordinating
its activities with the Office of the Comptroller General, the Public Service
Commission, departmental internal audit groups, and other agencies.
The
Public Service Commission is responsible for:
- monitoring
the implementation of staffing policies and practices;
- auditing
staffing operations in departments;
- evaluating
the effectiveness and appropriateness of Public Service Commission policies;*
*Note:
Under the 1982 Agreement between the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and
the Public Service Commission, responsibility for auditing certain personnel
policies has been delegated from the Treasury Board to the Public Service
Commission.
- providing
advice regarding data collection methods, techniques and criteria for staffing
audits;
- co-ordinating
its activities with those of the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Office of the
Comptroller General, departmental internal audit groups, and other agencies; and
- including
the results of its audit activities in its Annual Report to Parliament.
Departments,
in accordance with the policies, directives and standards of the Office of the
Comptroller General, are responsible for:
- establishing,
for monitoring purposes, performance standards and measurements for their
personnel management activities and operations;
- monitoring
the activities and operations of their personnel management function;
- auditing
the adequacy of their personnel management controls and monitoring activities;
- auditing
the extent of compliance with legislation, Treasury Board and Public Service
Commission personnel management policies and delegated authority, and
departmental policies and directives, and the efficiency, effectiveness and
economy of personnel management in the department;
- providing
the results of their audits to the Treasury Board Secretariat or the Public
Service Commission, as appropriate.
(Note:
The use by departments of an OCG and TBS/PSC approved personnel audit
methodology will reduce the number of personnel audits conducted by the
Commission.)
The
results achieved by this policy, both intended and unintended, and its continued
appropriateness will be evaluated, as part of the approved Long-term evaluation
plan of the Personnel Policy Branch.
