Corporate Management and Direction

Expected Result - Enhanced human resources management, which contributes to a knowledgeable and skilled workforce in the right place at the right time

The workforce is knowledgeable, skilled and representative

To ensure that our employees receive the right training at the right time, the CRA provides a blend of learning solutions including classroom training, on-the-job training, e-learning and coaching. To provide employees with the flexibility to learn anytime and anywhere, for the second year, we renewed our partnership with Campusdirect, a library of online courses available to employees. In 2004-2005, the employee subscribership rate for this service increased by 30%. Our most recent data, from 2003-2004, indicate that, for 94% of the completed courses, users reported that the course met their learning objectives. To further develop a skilled and knowledgeable workforce, we provided an average of nine days of training to employees, and an average of seven days of training to managers.

Based on a needs analysis, we designed an enhanced leadership program with two key learning components. The first is a core program for newly appointed managers, piloted this past year. The second is a continuing development program for experienced managers, now under development and scheduled to be implemented in 2005-2006.

For 2004-2005, we received a “Good” rating on the inaugural Report Card from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The report card mentioned three strengths: effective complaint resolution and follow-up procedures; the use of an accountability framework, action plan and reporting mechanism that place importance on official languages; and the Quality Management System - Official Languages, which promotes the use of both languages in the workplace and has become a best practice in the federal Public Service. At the same time, the report card noted weaknesses in the active offer of services, and in the quality and availability of services in the minority language. To improve performance in these areas, reminders about the active offer of services were distributed to employees serving the public.

The CRA is recognized for its policies and best practices in successfully creating an inclusive work environment and achieving employment equity goals. In 2004-2005, we continued to demonstrate solid representation results on a national level for all four designated groups (Women, Visible Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, and Aboriginal Peoples), surpassing or equalling the labour market availability of these groups (see Figure 37). In 2004-2005, for the third consecutive year, we exceeded our internal performance target with a 28% representation rate for visible minorities in management development programs.

Figure 37 Employment Equity: Representation of Designated Groups within the CRA (as of March 31, 2004)

CRA workplace policies and practices support workforce well-being and sustainability

The CRA supports the well-being of its employees and strives to improve the working environment through ongoing programs such as the Employee Assistance Program, Employment Equity Program and Recognition Program. As well, we have an Office of Dispute Management to support managers and employees in preventing and resolving workplace conflicts through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). We continue to be recognized across the federal Public Service as a leader in ADR. Although our most recent data are from 2003-2004, we believe our results show that we are on the right track with using ADR as a course of action for CRA employees. In 2003-2004, there was a 39% increase in the number of interventions, compared with the previous year.

With the increasing levels of retirement eligibility in the CRA management and executive communities, succession planning is important to us. We continue to develop a corporate approach to succession planning for our executive cadre, where we have identified key positions along with possible successors, their readiness for promotion and their development needs. Our management development programs are used to select and develop high potential employees. In 2004-2005, for the second consecutive year, about 80% of the graduates of management development programs were working at or above their target levels.

There is also evidence that the CRA continues to be an employer of choice:

• the CRA maintains a high retention rate, which has consistently been over 96% for the past three years;
• the CRA Employee Survey (last administered in 2002) ¹ , found that the majority of respondents agreed with the statements “My organization is a good place to work” and “I am strongly committed to making my organization successful”; and
• the CRA is a leader in creating an inclusive work environment and consistently achieves its employment equity goals.

In 2003, to support our renewed business direction and address the sustainability of our workforce, we developed a workforce change strategy. The strategy assists with managing the human resource impacts of business changes, such as the Government-wide expenditure review and the insourcing of work from other government departments and other levels of government.

A working group was established, which continues to address issues and promote horizontal, integrated and strategic human resource planning to manage the ongoing change process. As an example, in 2004-2005, our human resource function developed a strategy for integrating Social Development Canada's collections employees into the CRA.

Continue to implement the HR Strategy, which includes the HR Reform and Renewal (HRR&R) initiative and the results of the “Taking Stock and Moving Forward” review

In 1999, the CRA developed a Human Resources Reform and Renewal (HRR&R) strategy to modernize HR in the CRA in order to respond in a timely and effective manner to the changing needs of the business. This new regime and modernization agenda have not yet been fully completed. Our “Taking Stock and Moving Forward” review reported in June 2004 that significant progress had been made to develop the new regime. The review recommended some improvements in our HR regime to effectively support the CRA.

Of note, the review recommended improvements in the area of Competency-Based Human Resources Management system (CBHRM) to deal with delays and facilitate comprehensive implementation. To address these issues, an Integration Project Team focused on identifying gaps in the framework, developing a blueprint to address them, and establishing a clear vision for the CBHRM.

Deliver ongoing HR activities, and complete the implementation of competency-based Staffing, Competencies, Classification, and Compensation Initiatives

This past year, the CRA continued to develop and improve our Pre-Qualification Process (PQP) for staffing, emphasizing the most frequently staffed positions, where efficiency gains will have the greatest impact--for example, jobs in auditing, program administration and information technology. The expectations for this program have not yet been fully realized. Significant work remains to be done to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of pre-qualification processes across the CRA, and plans are in place to address the weaknesses in this area.

We are working at improving the process and the technology that supports our staffing, in response to recommendations made in a September 2004 internal audit and program evaluation. In 2004-2005, plans were made to introduce “ eResourcing ” and replace the internal CRA Careers website by 2007; this will automate many of the staffing-related administrative transactions. The eResourcing solution will allow applicants to manage their applications online, managers to access applications online, and our human resource function to automate the pre-screening of education, area of selection, time of submission and language.

In 2004-2005, as part of our plan to modernize employee compensation services, we consolidated our regional and local compensation offices into two Compensation Client Service Centres, one in Ottawa and the other in Winnipeg. The Winnipeg site is expected to be operational in 2005-2006. As well, we implemented self-serve technology to help employees and managers administer time and activity transactions, as well as to help meet our sustainable development commitments. In response to concerns from employees, the speed of the system portal has been increased, information in the self-service tutorials has been updated, and the availability of support services from change agents has been extended.

In 2004-2005, we completed a study to move forward with the streamlining of our classification program. The Agency Classification Standard (ACS) conversion project will allow us to use one standard instead of the 16 classification standards currently in use. This conversion to the new standard will be a major undertaking for the CRA, since it will apply to about 20,000 employees. It is expected that the conversion process will begin in 2006.

In 2004-2005, after a brief labour disruption, the CRA reached a four-year collective agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). In compliance with the Public Service Staff Relations Act, we continued negotiations with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), successfully reaching a four-year agreement in July 2005.

It is the CRA's goal to optimize union-management relations and workplace wellness by creating a partnership between management and unions, based on respect, understanding and co-operation in managing conflict through the use of alternative dispute resolution. We are proceeding with the national implementation of an alternative dispute resolution model that builds on the success of the CRA Atlantic Union-Management initiative.

¹ The CRA Employee Survey, conducted every three years, is administered by Statistics Canada. In 2002, the survey's response rate was about 60%.

Date modified:

2005-10-26