Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Updates from the HRC – January 25, 2023

Human Resources Council. Today's Talent. Tomorrow's Sucess.

In this Issue

Did You Know?

Human Resources Council (HRC)

Deadline Extension – Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Awards

The nomination process for the 2022 Michelle C. Comeau Human Resources Leadership Awards is in full swing! The nomination guidelines and forms can be found on the HR Council’s GCXchange page and GCconnex page.

The deadline to submit nominations has been extended to Monday, February 13, 2023.

For any questions, please contact the Human Resources Council.

Reminder – HRC GCXchange Page

The HRC GCXchange page is now available! To join the GCXchange site for the HR Community, please follow these five steps.

If you encounter any issues or have questions about GCXchange, please email support-soutien@gcx-gce.gc.ca.

APEX

Canada School of Public Service (CSPS)

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Call for Nominations for the 2022 Public Service Award of Excellence

The nominations for the 2022 Public Service Award of Excellence (PSAE) are now open. The PSAE provides the opportunity to recognize outstanding federal public service employees who have demonstrated excellence, professionalism, and innovation in their work on behalf of Canada and Canadians. We encourage you to visit the PSAE GCpedia page for more information on how to nominate a candidate, and to access the updated 2022 nomination form. The nomination period will close on February 20, 2023. Please send your completed nominations, as well as your letters of support, to PSAE–PEFP@tbs-sct.gc.ca. Please note that this is a firm deadline, and there will be no extension granted.

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO)

Message from the Chief Human Resources Officer, Christine Donoghue

Supporting Official Languages Training for Racialized Federal Public Service Employees

As we continue to advance our efforts in support of the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service and increase diversity in our organizations, I want to remind you of existing resources available to help create a culture of inclusion, whereby all employees are supported to develop their potential in the public service. In the same vein, I would also appreciate your help in fulfilling the Treasury Board mandate commitments to advance work to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce by ensuring the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse talents throughout the public service.

We have heard from employment equity and equity seeking groups via consultations, reports and through the 2019 Public Service Employee Survey results that the lack of access to language training remains a barrier to career progression for racialized employees. As such, I encourage you to actively offer opportunities for official language training programs for racialized employees in your organizations. This will help ensure these employees can enhance their skills and, in turn, help the Government of Canada retain and promote diverse talents throughout the public service.

Several departments, including Public Services and Procurement Canada and Health Canada, have innovative practices in place such as offering bursaries and other support to racialized employees to improve their official language skills. Employment and Social Development Canada is currently evaluating their pilot project on official language training for Indigenous employees. I encourage you to develop your own strategies to prioritize official language training and define indicators to measure your success.

Lastly, I invite you to consider setting aside time and resources for students in your organization for their language development. This will help to proactively reduce barriers to recruitment into the federal public service, and further contribute to the vitality of Canada’s linguistic duality.

There are several resources available to aid in your efforts:

By addressing barriers faced by employment equity and equity seeking groups, we continue to support a culture of belonging, inclusiveness and diversity and creating a public service that is representative of the population it serves.

Employee Relations and Total Compensation (ERTC)

Update – Improvements and Changes to the Public Service Health Care Plan

Effective July 1, 2023, improvements and changes will come into effect for all Public Service Heath Care Plan (PSHCP) members.

Suspension of the Verification Requirement of the Policy on Vaccination in the Federal Public Service

On June 14, 2022, the government announced that as of June 20, 2022, the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration (CPA) Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Policy) was suspended, but the verification requirement as per the Policy remained.  

The 6-month review of the Policy has been completed. The decision has been made to continue with the suspension of the Policy and the verification requirement of the Policy is now also suspended effective immediately (January 17, 2023).

Deputy Heads must ensure that their COVID-19 preventive measures are well communicated to employees. Employees must follow their employer’s occupational health and safety program, including COVID-19 protocols, and are encouraged to remain up to date with their vaccinations. Vaccines continue to provide strong protection against serious illness.

People and Culture (PC)

Centre of Expertise on Mental Health

As more employees return to the worksite over the coming weeks, please remember to consult and promote these important mental health resources in your departments via newsletters, committees, management and executive networks:

Key Resources

2023-23 Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) Talent Management Exercise

As of January 9th, 72% of ADMs have submitted their completed Talent Management Questionnaires (TMQ) to OCHRO. Please ensure to close inactive TMQs or those not participating this year – these remain “open” and impact completion rates.

Information and guidance were shared with Deputy Heads and Heads of HR in December regarding the current cycle. A reminder that ADMs identified as “Ready for Advancement” must be deemed ready immediately, in particular EX-05s ready to advance to the deputy level.

The deadline to submit names of high potential ADMs identified for accelerated development was January 18, 2023, including nil responses. High-potential ADMs have the potential for growth and to perform at the EX-05 or Associate DM level(s) when developed on an accelerated timeline of 12 to 24 months.High-potential ADMs identified from the summer mid-cycle touchpoint will be included in the winter discussions as well as any additional names identified by the deadline.

Deputies will be required to speak to the developmental plan of high-potential ADMs at the discussions and provide the plans of newly identified ADMs at a later date.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to Mélanie Laflèche, Executive Director, Enabling Talent Programs, or Kristine Letendre, Director, Talent and Performance Operations and Systems.

Strategic Directions and Digital Solutions

Reminder – Communications on the Common Hybrid Work Model

Reminder – Public Service Employee Survey

The 2022/2023 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) is a unique opportunity to share employee experience, including your own and to help shape the way forward and build a better federal workplace. This year’s survey will run until February 5, 2023, and includes questions on workplace well-being, including sharing lived experiences on government priorities like the hybrid workplace and equity and inclusion. The PSES takes about 30 minutes to complete. Every opinion matters. For more information, including how to complete the survey if you haven’t received a link, visit your departmental intranet and the StatCan webpage.

Public Service Commission (PSC)

Diversity and Inclusion

As part of its efforts to assess the federal public service staffing system’s performance with respect to diversity and inclusion, the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) has recently completed several analyses to explore factors which may have an influence on the representation of employment equity groups.

The following studies are now available in both official languages on the Open Government Portal:

  1. Employment equity promotion rate study, three-year update.
  2. Non-advertised appointments by employment equity designated group: 2020-2021 update.
  3. Citizenship of applicants and external appointments, period of 2015-2016 to 2020-2021.
  4. Separation trends for employment equity designated groups from organizations subject to the Public Service Employment Act for fiscal year 2020–2021.

Other HR-Related Content

HR-Related Content That Caught My Attention: 2023 HR Trends, Priorities and Predictions

What’s Coming Up

HRC

  • January 31, 2023 – HRC SmartShop: Equipping Employees in a Hybrid Environment. Join us as we explore how various considerations such as Occupational Health & Safety, Duty to Accommodate, Accessibility and Material Management play a role in equipping employees for a hybrid workforce. The agenda is now posted on GCconnex / GCXchange.
  • February 7, 2023 – HRC Executive Committee Meeting
  • February 21, 2023 – HRC Meeting (Hybrid)
  • February 22, 2023 – HR Community Engagement Hub Meeting
  • May 25, 2023 – Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Awards Ceremony – Save the date!

APEX

CSPS

HRC Meeting – January 17, 2023

Item 1: Opening Remarks

Nancy Pike, HRC Executive Committee member and Head of HR at Veterans Affairs Canada, introduced and welcomed newly appointed Heads of HR to our community:

  • Marie-Flore Baptiste, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.  Head of HR on an interim basis following the departure of Holly Flowers Code.
  • Holly Flowers Code, Canada Border Services Agency.

The following important days of remembrance or events to come were underlined:

Nancy also reminded Heads of HR that the nomination deadline for the 2022 Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Awards has been extended until February 13, 2023. It is a great opportunity to recognize colleagues or teams who have demonstrated outstanding excellence and leadership in HR.

Item 2: Amendments to the Public Service Employment Act – Implementation

Guillaume Fontaine and Jennifer MacDonald, both from the Public Service Commission (PSC), provided an update on the upcoming amendment to the Public Service Employment Act.

Guillaume indicated that two provisions remained to be implemented: one relating to the expansion of investigative authority and another relating to the method of evaluation.

The coming into force date of these provisions is scheduled for May 2023. By the end of January 2023, the PSC will send a communication to Heads of HR explaining what they will need to do to prepare and provide them with tools to support them in implementation. 

The revised Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI) and Appointment Policy will come into force on the same date as the remaining provisions of the PSEA come into force. A copy of these two documents clearly indicating the changes will be attached to the communication.

In preparation for the implementation of the remaining two provisions, Heads of HR will need to determine who in their organization will conduct the assessments and update the organizational delegation instruments and associated internal policies and procedures.

Guillaume clarified that changes have been made to Appendix C. New individuals to be sub-delegated will have six months after the coming into force of the new Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument to sign the attestation form.

Jennifer adds that tools, as well as training sessions (including a workshop-in-a-box) starting in February, will be available to help designated officials review their organization’s assessment methods and application. She reiterated that the PSC’s staffing advisors remain open to answering questions from organizations and providing assistance as needed.

She invites Heads of HR whose organization does not have a designated person responsible for the file (i.e., an ambassador) to encourage their staffing advisors to participate in the training sessions that will be offered.

For additional information, please refer to the PowerPoint presentation on GCconnex and GCXchange.

Item 3: Developing A Government-Wide Skills Strategy

Liz Hardy and Jason Fox from the Strategic Direction and Digital Solution Sector at OCHRO provided an overview of the Government-Wide Skills Strategy Project.

The current context is marked by many changes at various levels, including competition between departments and with the private sector.

The President of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has been mandated to implement a government-wide skills development strategy that will apply over the long term. It focuses on the ability to serve Canadians in an ever-changing world. This is not an HR process, but a strategic planning exercise that will focus on digital skills, which are so important for the future.

The future skills for the public service can be understood through four lenses: enterprise-wide; related to mandate and mission; functional community-specific and individual. The Skills Strategy will leverage and complement public service key initiatives that are already in motion such as:

  • New Public Service Leadership Profile;
  • Digital talent and skills;
  • Community, Departmental and Targeted tailored, innovative and scalable initiatives and practices.

Skills management involves many actors, including central agencies and functional communities. It is important that their roles are well integrated to ensure the success of the strategy.

The strategy for establishing an integrated, flexible and coherent framework for long-term skills management will focus on the adoption/implementation of the following:

  • common language to describe skills;
  • system for obtaining useful and timely data;
  • reliable, valid and iterative analysis method to identify emerging and in-demand skills and gaps;
  • coordinated, targeted, whole-of-government solutions to close gaps; and
  • clear roles and horizontal integration.

OCHRO is working towards the end of this fiscal year to have an overall proposal and will then refine it for implementation.

Additional information may be found in the PowerPoint presentation on GCconnex and GCXchange.

Item 4: Update on the New Leadership Profile for the Public Service

Natasha Parriag, Acting Executive Director from the People and Culture Sector at OCHRO, provided an update on the New Leadership Profile for the Public Service.

Highlights of the feedback received on the initial version of the New Leadership Profile through a series of 50+ engagement sessions held in the fall of 2022 with diverse networks and groups throughout the public service included the following:

  • the model is too complex;
  • its implementation is coming too quickly;
  • there is not enough emphasis on anti-racism and reconciliation; and
  • character attributes do not resonate with all.

To address feedback received to date, OCHRO developed a version 2.0 of the model, which is presented in the form of a leadership compass. The character attributes have been taken off the compass for now.

OCHRO will present version 2.0 of the model to the Public Service Management Advisory Committee (PSMAC) in March 2023. This will give OCHRO the time to further develop the definitions and integrate the character attributes with labels that will better resonate. The Profile would be introduced in the Fall as a self-assessment tool with the Canada School of Public Service and later applied on the performance management front in 2023-2024.

Natasha invited Heads of HR to provide their feedback for upcoming tools and learning to support the development of the Profile attributes.

A special HRC Meeting will be held in the future to further discuss this initiative.

Further information may be found in the PowerPoint presentation on GCconnex and GCXchange.

Item 5: Common Approach to Hybrid Work

Jean-François Fleury, Senior ADM, Strategic Directions and Digital Solutions Sector, OCHRO, thanked the Heads of HR for submitting their questions on the common hybrid work model for the federal public service.

He then offered a general view and feel of the discussion that is going on at PSMAC about the common approach to hybrid work.

The Senior ADM reminded Heads of HR of the rationale behind the decision and reiterated that none of the overarching management rules have been changed. OCHRO is currently looking at exceptions keeping in mind that the spirit and intent of the direction is to comply with it.

A Question-and-Answer evergreen document is currently being developed to support organizations. The document will not be overly prescriptive, but helpful as managers have the flexibility to manage their employees.

Jean-François offered to meet more regularly with Heads of HR at HRC or Special HRC Meetings so they can be as prepared as possible for the implementation by end of March.

Item 6: Updates from the Central Agencies

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO)

Employee Relations and Total Compensation (ERTC)

Charles Vézina, from the Employee Relations and Total Compensation Sector at OCHRO provided information and updates on the following topics:

Common Approach to Hybrid Work

Heads of HR are asked to consult with the Employer Representation in Recourse team at OCHRO should their organization explore the disciplinary route in cases of noncompliance of the guidance on common approach to hybrid work.

Use of 699 Leave Code

Departments are reminded to report monthly on the use of 699 leave code to OCHRO, who must in turn report monthly to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. Nil responses must also be shared with OCHRO.

Policy on Vaccination

The Policy remains suspended until further notice.

Collective Bargaining and Strike Readiness and Contingency Planning

Charles provided an update on collective bargaining and mentioned that a strike-management information session will be offered in the morning of January 26. Guidance, tools, and resources will also be released shortly, including a strike management guide and a separate document on how to manage strikes in hybrid environments.

Accelerated Adjudication Process – Phoenix Grievances

In the upcoming weeks, Heads of HR will be provided with information and training on how to manage Phoenix grievances, using the accelerated adjudication process.

People and Culture Sector

Employee Self-ID Questionnaire

Marie-Josée Kabis, from OCHRO’s People and Culture sector, indicated that OCHRO aims to launch the new employee self-identification form by February 27, 2023, but that the launch may be delayed by a week.

OCHRO will send an information package to Heads of HR to facilitate implementation.

Organizations will be required to continue to work in both systems for a while, ensuring that the transition is successful.

Mock-up dashboards will be shared with organizations as part of the upcoming package.

Bell Let’s Talk

Mary Anne Stevens, from the People Management and Community Engagement Sector at OCHRO confirmed that the Government of Canada (GoC) will once again be partnering with Bell on this initiative. However, unlike previous years, a GoC-only signature panel will be presented in February in lieu of a joint event.

Duty to Accommodate

Mary Anne announced that a revised version of the Duty to Accommodate: A General Process for Managers has been posted on Canada.ca. This guidance document supports a positive, collaborative, and where possible, informal approach to accommodation and includes a manager’s guide on the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport.

OCHRO hopes that this revised material will assist organizations in the core public administration in meeting the requirements outlined in the Policy on People Management and the Directive on the Duty to Accommodate.

OCHRO remains available to assist with policy interpretation questions related to the duty to accommodate. Policy interpretation questions related to the duty to accommodate may be sent by corporate functional specialists to wpp-ppt@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

HRC Planning Calendar

Please see the HRC Planning Calendar for upcoming meeting dates.

Contact Us

HRCouncil/ConseilRH@tbs-sct.gc.ca

GCXchange Page

GCconnex Page

Subscribe to the Updates from the HRC!

[]
Date modified: