Guidance on Staffing
Table of content
- Introduction
- Choice of Appointment Process
- Articulation of the Selection Decision
- Acting Appointments
- Staffing Documentation
Introduction
This document is intended to provide guidance and a consistent approach for sub-delegated managers and Human Resources (HR) Advisors when conducting staffing activities.
The Deputy Minister's accountabilities for staffing are outlined in the Public Service Commission's Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI). Sub-delegated managers must exercise staffing related authorities in accordance with the ESDC's Table of HR Authorities. Some staffing actions may require Workforce Management Committees (WMC) approval as per the Departmental Parameters for WMC.
Roles and responsibilities for sub-delegated managers and HR Advisors are defined in the Staffing Accountability Framework.
Appointment decisions must consider the values of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), which are merit and non-partisanship (core values), as well as fairness, transparency, access and representativeness (guiding values).
In case of any discrepancy, the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Employment Regulations, the Public Service Commission's Appointment Policy and other applicable legislative provisions will take precedence.
Choice of Appointment Process
(Advertised or Non-advertised)
Decisions regarding the choice of appointment process must allow for the achievement of a highly functioning workforce, focusing on efficiency, quality of hiring and the integrity of the staffing system. There is no preference for one type of appointment process over the other.
When choosing between an advertised or non-advertised process, sub-delegated managers are expected to make informed risk based decisions by considering a range of immediate and future business and workforce factors, including the career opportunities available to, and aspirations of, employees. Sub-delegated managers are encouraged to work in collaboration with their Human Resources Advisor to support them in identifying the range of flexible staffing options and the potential impacts to support values based decisions that best enable the achievement of their business and workforce outcomes. Ongoing dialogue and transparent communication with employees regarding staffing regardless of the choice of appointment process is highly encouraged.
The following factors can have a bearing on the choice to proceed with an advertised or non-advertised appointment process and can guide managers in making values/compliance based decisions that best suits their current and future business and workforce needs.
Considerations include, but are not limited to:
An advertised appointment process is an appointment process posted on the Government of Canada public service resourcing website, where persons in the area of selection are informed of and can apply to an appointment opportunity. Refer to the PSC Appointment Policy for requirements when advertising.
A non-advertised appointment process is an appointment process that does not meet the conditions for an advertised appointment process. The hiring manager will then determine who and how many candidates will be considered.
Potential Reasons for Choosing an Advertised or Non-Advertised Appointment Process
Advertised Appointment Process
Advertised Appointment Process
- Career opportunities / mobility
- Access to career opportunities and increase mobility within the organization.
- Workforce renewal
- Building a workforce that is agile, inclusive, and equipped to meet current and forecasted organizational needs and operational requirements.
- Need for multiple positions
- The need to staff multiple similar positions now, and in the future, has been identified through workforce planning.
- Generic skills set
- The position being staffed requires a generic skill set for which a reasonable pool of candidates that possess the skills and competencies required for the position can be identified.
- High turnover rate
- The position being staffed has a high turnover rate where the existence of pools or continuous intake processes that can meet staffing needs in a timely manner is necessary to provide an efficient means of staffing.
Non-Advertised Appointment Process
Non-Advertised Appointment Process
- Student Bridging
- Appointment of a person who was previously hired through a recognized student employment program in the Federal Government.
- Difficulty to staff
- The position has been difficult to staff – for example :
- It requires highly specialized skills to perform the duties;
- It is located in a geographically remote area;
- It has a high turnover rate;
- It has a linguistic profile that increases the level of staffing difficulty;
- Recent process produced a limited number of qualified candidates.
- Qualified for a similar process / position
- Appointment of a person who qualified in an advertised process for a position that requires similar qualifications (process within ESDC or another federal organization).
- Stabilization/Regularization of a term employee
- Stabilization/Regularization of a term employee that is not related to the conversion of status under the TBS Directive on Term Employment (3 years roll-over).
- Recruitment Event
- Offer made during or following a career fair, speed staffing or targeted recruitment event.
- Employment Equity
- Appointment of a person who self-declares as a member of one of the four designated employment equity groups (Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women), where current or forecasted workforce gaps have been identified.
- Acting appointment of 4 months or more
- Acting appointment of 4 months or more where a non-advertised appointment is deemed to be the most appropriate staffing option.
- Reclassification
- Reclassification of an employee in their substantive position.
- Immediate Need
- Project / program / business continuity could be compromised if the position is not staffed immediately with a qualified person who knows the current work context.
- Talent Management
- Retention or indeterminate promotion of a high performing employee. Could be part of an identified branch/regional talent management process, or linked to a talent management plan.
- PSC or ESDC approved Developmental Program
- Initial appointment and/or promotion of an employee under a public service Developmental Program or an organization-approved Developmental Program (Public Service Commission e.g. FORD/IARD or an ESDC approved Developmental Program), as per ESDC's Table of HR Authorities.
- Hiring of a former public service employee
- Appointment to re-employ (call back) a former employee to perform the same or similar work.
- Employee from an organization named in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act, or another federal organization where deployment is not possible
-
Transfer or non-promotional appointment of an employee from an organization named in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act, or another federal organization where a deployment is not possible.
Consult the Eligibility for job opportunities in federal organizations for additional information.
- Workforce adjustment situation or avoid a priority situation
- Appointment of an employee affected by a workforce adjustment situation, or to avoid a priority situation.
- Departmental emergency situation
- Departmental emergency situation (e.g. health, security).
Articulation of the Selection Decision
The articulation of the selection decision is a sub-delegated manager's unbiased, fact-based explanation of why a candidate was selected for appointment. Sub‑delegated managers are accountable for their selection decision and are responsible for preparing a written articulation for each appointed candidate in the following types of staffing actions:
- Acting appointments of 4 months or more
- Indeterminate appointments (advertised or non-advertised)
- Term appointments (advertised or non-advertised)
The selection decision must be in writing and should include sufficient information to be able to explain the decision to a third party in the event there is an informal discussion, a staffing complaint or a request for investigation following an appointment.
For elements to include and to generate the selection decision, sub-delegated managers may use the Articulation of Selection Decision template or another format (e-mail, note in the HRSC portal, etc.).
As per the Public Service Commission's (PSC) Appointment Policy, the articulation of the selection decision must be documented and accessible for a minimum period of 5 years after the last administrative action for each appointment.
Acting Appointments
Acting appointments are an effective staffing option to meet temporary operational needs to ensure that short-term operational requirements are addressed. Acting appointments may be used to ensure the continuity of business operations pending the outcome of an appointment process (or a staffing strategy) to fill a vacant position or when the incumbent of a position is temporarily absent. Acting appointments may also provide employees with access to development opportunities to support future career progression.
The following factors should be considered when proceeding with an acting appointment:
- Communication with employees on how staffing will be conducted;
- Possibly offering acting appointments on a rotating basis in order to foster the professional development of employees;
- Possibly offering an acting appointment based on talent management;
- The short and long term needs of the vacant position (e.g. need to stabilize the position on an indeterminate basis);
- Risks associated with longer term acting appointments: lack of workforce stability, negative impact on the work environment (i.e. other employees' morale), and long-term actors developing a sense of ownership to the acting position and creating an unfair advantage for possible indeterminate opportunities in the position;
- Offering an acting under 4 months to employees who do not meet essential requirements (e.g. linguistic requirements) may create false expectations since an extension (4 months or more) is subject to merit, requiring them to meet all essential qualifications.
In accordance with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), acting appointments of 4 months or more shall be made based on merit and are subject to recourse. To be appointed, persons must meet the essential qualifications required for the work to be performed, including official language proficiency, any other merit criteria applied in the selection decision (i.e. asset qualification, operational requirement or organizational need) and conditions of employment.
In some situations, acting persons can be exempted from having to meet the proficiency requirement in his or her second official language:
| Period of acting appointment | Vacant bilingual position | Encumbered bilingual position | Bilingual position while incumbent on language training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative period of acting appointments of all persons acting in the position is less than 4 months |
If management is unable to fill the position with a person who meets the language requirements of the position, the person can be exempted.Footnote * (PSER 14(1) & 14(2)(a)) |
The candidate is exemptedFootnote * from meeting the language requirements of the position. (PSER 14(1)) |
The person is exemptedFootnote * from meeting the language requirements of the position. (PSER 14(1)) |
| Cumulative period of acting appointments of all persons acting in the position is 4 months or more but less than 12 months |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 14(2)(b)) |
If management is unable to fill the position with a person who meets the required language requirements of the position, the person can be exempted.Footnote * (PSER 15(1)) |
If management is unable to fill the position with a person who meets the required language requirements of the position, the person can be exempted.Footnote * (PSER 16(1)) |
| Cumulative period of acting appointments of all persons acting in the position is 12 months or more but less than 18 months |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 14(2)(b)) |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 15(2)) |
If management is unable to fill the position with a person who meets the required language requirements of the position, the person can be exempted.Footnote * (PSER 16(1)) |
| Cumulative period of acting appointments of all persons acting in the position is 18 months or more |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 14(2)(b)) |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 15(2)) |
The person must meet the language requirements of the position. (PSER 16(2)) |
Staffing Documentation
Sub-delegated managers are accountable to document information related to appointments in accordance with ESDC's Managers Guides and Required Documentation.
The Annex B of the Public Service Commission's (PSC) Appointment Policy indicates that staffing information must be accessible for a minimum period of five years after the last administrative action for each appointment.
Prepared by: Workforce Strategies, Human Resources Services Branch
October 1st, 2020