Tag Archives: process

Great practice from PHAC on HR notices

PolyWogg.ca
January 1 2022

If anyone has read my HR guide, you already know that there are notices of appointments that go up on the Jobs.gc.ca portal. When it is a non-advertised appointment, and it says promotion, you really have almost no idea why the person is being promoted. It just says “non-advertised” and “promotion”.

Common rationales for non-advertised appointments

From a process perspective, a non-advertised appointment is a perfectly valid tool to be used by any manager. The requirement isn’t to assess everyone everywhere in the world for the position, nor even to choose the best candidate available, it’s to demonstrate that the person being appointed meets all the merit criteria.

One rationale (A) for that appointment might be that they were in the job for 2 years on an acting basis, have clearly demonstrated they meet all the requirements for the job, and are performing at-level for the position. The manager could run an open competition, and lots of people would say that was the fairest option, but the likely result is the person will make the pool and get selected. There might be people with better qualifications, but not better experience than the person doing the job already. One might quibble about how they got the acting in the first place, but that’s a separate issue.… Read the rest

Demonstrating merit, non-advertised appointments, and frustration as a manager

PolyWogg.ca
October 27 2021

Normally when I write about HR, I do so as a public servant talking to other public servants on how to prepare for competitions. I might draw on my own experiences competing or running processes from the other side of the table. But rarely do I write as simply a manager talking about my job. Today, I’m frustrated with the tools available to me as a manager for a specific type of non-advertised appointment process. I apologize for the upfront context, but it takes a bit to get us to where the problem comes up. If you already know all about non-advertised appointments, you can skip to the “But what if…” heading below.

Quick context

Most managers know that all PS staffing, maybe even all of HR outside of leave and benefits, is about “demonstrating merit”. Performance measurement, documentation, competitions i.e., selection processes, it almost all comes down to how we demonstrate merit.

In staffing, we generally have a matrix combining the elements to be demonstrated down the vertical axis while across we have a box for the lines of evidence. In most processes, we have:

  1. Basic eligibility for status and location of work (i.e., some jobs are restricted to internal candidates only or regional areas)
  2. Education;
  3. Experience;
  4. Knowledge;
  5. Abilities;
  6. Personal Suitability;
  7. Expanded eligibility for security and language profile; and.
… Read the rest

Understanding “surplus” designations for federal public service…

PolyWogg.ca
January 23 2012

So, the federal Public Service is downsizing. Which means they are going to cut staff. And like all large bureaucracies, there are bureaucratic terms to understand what it means if you get “laid off”, so to speak. But wait, you say you have a letter appointing you in the first place to an indeterminate position, presumably “permanent”? Except that isn’t what “indeterminate” means. It means of “undetermined length of time”. Now, they’re telling you the real length of time. So you’re done sometime perhaps soon. Or are you?

How do you get downsized? Well you can be subject to “workforce adjustment” if the government decides to:

  • cut your position due to lack of work (i.e. they cut your job’s functions, often by cutting your program);
  • they’re moving the job somewhere else and you refused to go; or,
  • they’re implementing an alternative delivery initiative (usually contracting it out or automating, but not always).

So, you are workforce-adjusted, and you fall into one of three new status categories:

  1. “Affected” — this means you’ve got a letter that says your services MAY NOT be required…think of this as a “warning shot”. The good news is that it allows you to be put on “priority” lists within a department to allow you to apply for other jobs;
  2. “Surplus” — this means you’ve got a letter that says your services WILL NOT be required…direct hit.
… Read the rest