Innovation (cont'd)

Advancing Change Objective 2

To foster human resources reform and renewal by making the Agency's new HR regime fully operational

All major components of the CCRA's unique HR system will be in place by the end of 2004-2005. Our aim is to remain competitive as an employer.

The effective management of our large workforce is a top priority for the CCRA. We are therefore continuing to push ahead with the transformation of our HR function, targeting key areas such as staffing, recourse, learning, labour relations, and classification as we incrementally phase in a new system. All major components of this HR system will be in place by the end of 2004-2005. Our aim is to help our organization remain competitive as an employer, attracting and retaining skilled and knowledgeable people and, at the same time, put more decision-making in the hands of our managers.

Our program of reform will enable us to realize our vision of a system driven by values rather than rules. By 2004-2005, the amount of time that managers devote to HR transactions will have been significantly reduced, freeing up more time for program delivery, problem solving, and communicating with employees. Innovations such as pre-qualified pools will streamline staffing transactions. A new classification process with streamlined policies for classification and related grievances will have eliminated the current backlog. Enhancements to administrative systems will provide more accurate, reliable HR information, improving human resource management and planning. A performance management program will also be in place that stresses people management and includes a performance pay component.

In becoming an agency, we adopted eight staffing principles:

• Non-partisanship
• Representativeness
• Competency
• Fairness
• Transparency
• Efficiency
• Adaptability
• Productiveness

We will continue our efforts to build a skilled and knowledgeable management cadre, another key area for realizing our innovation agenda. We will make larger investments in the CCRA's learning fund, more effectively integrating individual employee learning plans and coaching and mentoring in the human resources renewal program. We will continue to promote the use of both official languages in the workplace, with a particular focus in 2002-2003 on language training for CCRA executives. We will also complete the update of our labour relations policies and carry out action plans to respond to the issues employees raised in the 1999 Public Service Employee Survey. We anticipate making investments in excess of $16 million in 2002-2003 to advance HR reform and renewal initiatives.

A fundamental underpinning of the cultural change we are seeking is leadership. In 2001-2002, we created an expanded Management group comprised of approximately 2,500 managers. Working within the parameters set in the recent Public Service Staff Relations Board decision on CCRA bargaining units, our Management group will play an increasingly pivotal role in advancing cultural change, taking ownership and accounting for decisions and connecting with front-line staff.

With respect to employment equity, we will move beyond being fully representative in every employment equity occupational group to being fully representative in every regional, provincial, and census metropolitan area. We are working toward a recruitment target for Aboriginal peoples of 2.5% by 2003-2004, and a target for participation of visible minorities in the Executive Development Program of 20% by 2003-2004. In pursuing these efforts, we will be guided by the eight staffing principles that we adopted in becoming an agency and separate employer.

Date modified:

2002-03-21