Should the federal government eliminate employment groups?

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Confidential Public Service is A column of tips at work for federal civil servants. The next question was edited for clarity and length.

Dear Confidential Public Service,

I am a civil servant with an indefinite position. The reason I got the position I had now was because I was working as a consultant in the department, who eventually hired me, and the director told me that I have to be in a employment basin.

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My main understanding are the processes within the Government as a whole – and, in particular, the recruitment processes. I found them that they are completely disconnected from the job or team that does the job. The teams come from the recruitment basins that have no position at all. Recruitment in the way we do in the government leads to weak results and low productivity.

Could the Government solve this problem by escaping the archaic verification recruitment process and would it allow normal recruitment based on merits or matching?

Sincere,

A civil servant who becomes slightly stuck with less and less ambition

Thank you for your letter.

The competitive process to select an individual candidate in the public service is long. Some managers may consider it more effective to attract a qualified candidate from a group. While a competition can take place for a specific job, groups are a very legitimate means of staff positions, provided they are created according to the rules. Both are competitive processes based on merits and both have advantages and disadvantages.

The federal government hires through groups of good years, and its processes have evolved in this area. The Canada Public Services Commission offers guidance to departments and agents on how to use groups properly.

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As you probably know, in order to enter a group, the candidates must go through a formal competitive process in several stages, which involve screening, interviews, reference checks and often language exams. It may take some time for workers to complete this process, but groups save time for hiring managers, as they offer a list of pre-veritous candidates. The alternative can be started for months.

Despite the administrative efficiency of the groups, there may be disadvantages of their use, as you point out. Of course, there are ways to improve these processes.

If groups continue to be a favorite option for committing civil servants, departments could provide regular status reports that indicate if they intend to be staff from the pool, how many positions could be occupied and during what time.

The requirements that restrict employment groups only for internal employees exclude good candidates from outside the public service. This can block a new new talent. Also, pre -existing groups can deny opportunities for qualified internal candidates. Moreover, although all the appropriate rules are respected, perceptions may appear that a selected candidate in the group is not an obvious immediate match, especially those refusing the chance to compete.

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To solve this, departments could consider setting sub-polls, which would ensure more accurate matches for vacancies.

Federal departments and agencies could also use a strategy to create open and internal groups regularly. A government level approach can also work for certain professional groups.

All these steps could help the public service to use the benefits of hiring groups, respecting the time and aspirations of job applicants. But, of course, change takes time.

Meanwhile, I understand your frustration. You certainly have the right to look for a career that will value your contribution, allowing the job growth and satisfaction. Maybe you would help to take a course on how staff works in the public service, such as those offered by the Canada Public Service School. Having a deeper understanding of these processes could mitigate your exasperation.

Finding a mentor or career trainer can also help you navigate to some of your frustrations. Someone with human resources expertise can help you fully understand the process as you build your career of public services.

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When a new job is posted for your unit, you and some of your colleagues you could approach management as a group to say that you would feel better served if there was a competition directly reflecting the unique nature Your unit is a legitimate management request that staff would like to compete for direct jobs. At least, an argument can be made for creating a sub-pole.

Once again, thank you for the question.

– VC from the rounds, Confidential Public Service

A person of indigenous origin, VC from Ronde worked in the federal public service for 25 years in a variety of roles and departments. She was a mentor and a role model for dozens of employees and associates, both in public and public service. He is a martial arts teacher, holds a teacher in Yoga, has completed two diplomas of law and is a motivational speaker. She did all this while dealing with the loss of vision since her adolescence.

Are you a civil servant with questions about the job? Write -ne anonymous to [email protected] And we will choose our favorites to send to an expert chronicler. No flu is too small. No topic is too big.

The Confidential Public Service is a column of advice, written for the citizen of Ottawa by the guest contributors Scott Taymun, Yazmine Laroche, Daniel Quan-Watson, VC from Ronde and Chris Aylward. The information provided in this series is not legal consultancy and should not be interpreted as a legal consultancy.

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