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Initial Scoping Report for the Study on Mobility of Public Servants
A Report by the Public Service Commission of Canada
March 2008
Public Service Commission of Canada
300 Laurier AvenueWest
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M7
Canada
Information: 613-992-9562
Facsimile: 613-992-9352
This paper is also available on ourWeb site at www.psc-cfp.gc.ca
Cat. No. SC3-129/2008
ISBN 978-0-662-05561-7
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Public Service Commission of Canada, 2008
Table of Contents
Background
About the Public Service Commission
The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent agency reporting to Parliament, mandated to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system and the political neutrality of the public service. In addition, the PSC recruits qualified Canadians from across the country. The PSC develops policies and guidelines to ensure that appointments are made according to the principle of merit and respect the staffing values. The PSC conducts audits, studies and investigations to confirm the effectiveness of the staffing system and to make improvements when necessary. The PSC also provides staffing and assessment services to departments and agencies on a discretionary basis.
Public Service Commission issues of concern
In the 2006-2007 Annual Report, we identified the level of movement within the federal public service as a challenge. Based on preliminary analyses in the 2006-2007 Annual Report, employee movement was estimated at 40%, up from 35% the year before, and 30% the year before that.
The Annual Report also noted that employee movement varied across occupational groups. The Personnel Administration Group (PE) represented the highest rate of movement at 76% over the last year. This is followed by the Economics, Sociology, Statistics Group (ES) at 65%. The Executive Group also experienced a high movement rate at 58%. Figure 1 outlines the movement rates among the major occupational groups.
In the 2006-2007 Annual Report, we expressed concerns that these levels of movement translate into a large proportion of public servants being new to their jobs. This could result in challenges, including the need for adequate recruitment, succession planning and proper training for those who may be new to their jobs. In addition, we committed to collaborating with organizations and central agencies to better understand these trends and to assess the need for new strategies.Figure 1: Major Occupational Groups in Terms of Employee Movement 2006-2007
Source: Job-Based Analytical Information System (JAIS)
Movement in the public service
Employee movement can be described as follows:
- Intake is composed of recruitment and term to indeterminate appointments. Recruitment is the hiring from outside the public service1;
- Internal movement, which is composed of appointments associated with movement within the public service such as lateral and downward movements, acting appointments and promotions; and
- Separations, which are departures from the public service, including retirements, voluntary departures (e.g., resignations), involuntary departures (e.g., layoffs) and deaths.
Figure 2: Appointments and separations contributing to movement of indeterminate employees, 2006-2007
Source: JAIS
In addition, employee movement can be examined from different perspectives:
- Occupational movement involves appointments leading to movement within the occupational group (promotion, lateral and downward movement) as well as across occupational groups (e.g., from PE to ES). Employees may move from one group to another in order to expand their skill sets or to pursue a different career path.
- Interdepartmental/interagency movement involves appointments leading to movement of employees from one department or agency to another. This can be a lateral and downward movement or a promotion.
- Geographic movement involves appointments leading to movement of employees between the regions and the National Capital Region.
Demographic pressures
Demographic pressures underpin many of the opportunities for employees seeking career advancement and movement. Survey research collected in 2006 by the Conference Board of Canada points to the high rate of baby boomer retirement set to peak over the next three to five years, with serious implications for succession planning and developing talent to fill this widening gap. "Bench strength" demographics (employees at levels just below senior management who would be called upon to fill these vacancies) are not much better: the median age of this group is 50 in the public sector, just two years younger than the median age of senior executives2.
Study objectives
The objectives of the study are threefold:
- to describe the nature and level of appointments leading to movement in the federal government;
- to examine the underlying causes and main drivers of employee movement; and
- to identify lessons learned and areas for improvement.
Planned approach
Overview
The study includes: a statistical component to describe trends in appointments contributing to employee movement in the public service and a qualitative component (i.e., case studies) to assess the underlying causes and drivers, identify lessons learned and provide suggestions for improvement.
The combination of quantitative and qualitative lines of inquiry will provide a comprehensive understanding of both the trends observed and the potential factors contributing to these trends.
Statistical component
The statistical component will include descriptive statistics on appointments leading to employee movement into, within and outside the indeterminate workforce over a 10-year period (from April 1, 1997 to March 31, 2007). The descriptive analysis will examine employee movement from interdepartmental/interagency, occupational and geographical perspectives as well as from an overall government-wide perspective. It will include all organizations subject to the PSEA.
Qualitative component–case studies
The qualitative component will analyze trends in appointments associated with employee movement and supplement these analyses with case studies involving approximately eight organizations. The qualitative component of the study involves the use of multiple lines of evidence, including interviews with managers at various levels and with stakeholders, and file/document review within selected departments and agencies. Departments and agencies will be contacted for access to supporting documents and the conduct of interviews, as appropriate.
The study will explore the extent to which drivers such as separations, senior management movement, growth and reorganizations, employee engagement and career progression and labour market conditions (or other significant drivers as identified throughout the study) have affected the levels of appointment and subsequent employee movement in the public service.Separations and recruitment strategies
Employee separations due to the pursuit of other job opportunities, personal or family reasons, or due to illness, death or retirement are a natural part of organizational life. However, as the current boomer cohort reaches retirement age, separations due to retirement have become a major driver of employee movement. Although recent growth in hiring has begun to rebalance the age distribution, the public service retirement rate is already on the rise, reaching 3.3% in 2006-2007, up from 1.6% in 1999-2000.
Depending upon the human resources recruitment strategy adopted, this type of movement could have various impacts. For example, if a mid-level external recruitment strategy was adopted, then these vacant positions would be directly staffed and the impact to the system would be minimal. However, if an internal recruitment strategy to staff the mid-level positions was adopted, this could have a ripple effect and lead to a greater number of appointments and subsequent movement throughout the system.Senior management movement
An important consideration is the impact of senior management appointments on the subsequent movement of employees in their organizations.
The average duration of Deputy Minister assignments has decreased to 2.7 years per department or agency in 1997-2007, down from four years in the period 1987-1997, and a high of 8.7 years during the early part of the century (8.7 years in 1917-1947)3. Deputy Minister movement may trigger further movement between and within organizations by increasing the number of subsequent Executive appointments as well as appointments at other levels.
Growth/reorganizations
Organizational growth and structural change can be strong drivers of appointments and subsequent employee movement. Since the beginning of the millennium, internal and external pressures have sparked the creation of a number of new organizations in the federal public service, including Public Safety Canada, the Office of Infrastructure Canada, the Canada School of Public Service and the Canada Public Service Agency. As expected, young or growing organizations experience high rates of appointments as they recruit to fill newly created positions. Post-recruitment, internal movement can remain high as the organization adjusts to its expanded capacity and moves employees to positions best suited to their skills.
Over the same years, the federal public service has been subject to considerable reorganization in some of its more established departments and agencies, most notably the separation and subsequent re-integrations of the Departments of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Such major restructuring can have a dramatic effect on employee movement, as new business lines emerge, reporting hierarchies shift and employees are called on to assume new or expanded responsibilities.Employee engagement and career progression
Employee movement can also be examined as a function of overall employee engagement and satisfaction. The lack of options for career growth and development are some reasons for low employee engagement.4This is an important attitude now found in the workplace, especially among employees in younger age cohorts (in their twenties and thirties). Given higher educational backgrounds and shifting attitudes towards career flexibility and work/life balance, employee engagement is very sensitive to employee movement and perceptions of available opportunities for career growth and enhancement.
Labour market conditions
The wider labour market from which the public sector draws its talent is also creating upward pressures on employee movement. In some regions of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia), the unemployment rate is below the national average, and voluntary turnover rates have increased. Advances in technology and management practices overall contribute to a tight labour market, where the top talent pool (those with the skills most in demand) is shrinking.
Communication and report timelines
We will work collaboratively with departments and agencies in planning, conducting and reporting on the study.
The study is expected to be published in the fall of 2008.1 For the purpose of this study the public service is defined as those organizations whose appointments are made pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). Return
2 Conference Board of Canada, "The Strategic Value of People: Human Resource Trends and Metrics", July 2006. Return
3 Public Policy Forum ,"Is Deputy "Churn" Myth or Reality?", November 2007. Return
4 Conference Board of Canada, "The Strategic Value of People: Human Resource Trends and Metrics", July 2006. Return