Audit of CFIA's Staffing Framework - Audit Report
4.0 Appendices

Appendix A: Audit Criteria

The criteria were developed from key controls set out in the Institute for Internal Auditors Research Foundation's handbook Auditing Employee Hiring and Staffing, the Public Service Commission of Canada's Staffing Management Accountability Framework Indicators 2014-2015 and the Office of the Comptroller General's Audit Criteria related to the Management Accountability Framework: A Tool for Internal Auditors.

The audit criteria are organized under the lines of enquiry below:

Line of Enquiry 1: The staffing values are embedded in all aspects of staffing including policies, practices, tools, training and communications.

1. Staffing values are sufficiently defined and communicated and respect for them is reinforced and monitored for compliance.

Line of Enquiry 2: Efficiency and effectiveness in staffing are achieved through planning, resourcing and monitoring.

2. Staffing plans exist and are aligned with corporate business plans and objectives, updated as required, communicated and implemented.

3. A performance measurement framework is in place to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of CFIA staffing.

4. Effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place to provide management with accurate, relevant and reliable information for decision making.

Line of Enquiry 3: The implementation of the staffing framework was planned and managed in manner that ensures successful understanding, acceptance and adherence by stakeholders.

5. A project plan was established for the implementation of the 2013 staffing framework that outlined phases, resources, stakeholders, key activities and timelines. Progress against this plan is monitored and course adjusted, as needed.

6. Governance and risk management frameworks support the design and implementation of the staffing framework.

7. Clearly defined roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for staffing have been established and communicated.

8. Staffing policies, guidelines, tools, training and HRB resources are in place to ensure stakeholders effectively carry out their staffing related responsibilities and accountabilities.

Appendix B: Organization Chart Illustrating Staffing Related Functions

Description for photo - Organization Chart Illustrating Staffing Related Functions

• The CFIA Staffing Framework organizational chart illustrates the organizational structure of the CFIA in regards to staffing related functions. The chart also illustrates the staffing related responsibilities within each branch.
• At the first level, which is the top of the chart, there is a dark blue rectangular box which represents the President of the CFIA.
• At the second level of the organizational structure, there is a dark blue rectangular box below the President of the CFIA box, which represents the Vice President of the Human Resources Branch. There is a line connecting this box to the President of the CFIA box to illustrate the reporting relationship between the two.
• The Vice President of Human Resources box has three dark blue rectangular boxes below it, which make up the third level of the organizational structure. They are: 1) Human Resources Services Directorate, 2) Agency Transformation Human Resources and 3) Business Line Support Directorate. There is a line connecting the Vice President of Human Resources Branch box to each of these three boxes to illustrate their relationship.
• For each of the three boxes at the third level, there is a slightly overlapping light blue sub-box with a description of the responsibilities within each branch. They are as follows:
  • For 1) Human Resources Services Directorate, the light blue box reads "Responsible for human resource policies".
  • For 2) Agency Transformation Human Resources, the light blue box reads "Responsible for transforming HR to align with Agency Transformation".
  • For 3) Business Line Support Directorate, the light blue box reads "Responsible for providing services to Agency Branches".
• Underneath the Human Resources Services Directorate box, there are three dark blue rectangular boxes which are at the fourth level of the organizational structure. These three boxes are: a) HR Systems, b) 1-888-HR and c) Staffing Division. There is a line connecting the Human Resources Services Directorate box to each of these three boxes to illustrate their relationship. Also, there are light blue sub-boxes with descriptions of the responsibilities for each of these units. They read as follows:
  • For a) HR Systems, the light blue box has three bullets. The first bullet reads "Manages staffing databases and HR systems". The second bullet reads "Manages some tools for HR such as Express Lane staffing" and the third point reads "Work with IMIT on reporting tools for HR systems".
  • For b) 1-888-HR, the light blue box has four bullets. The first bullet reads "Responsible for letters of offer for acting, reclassification, term extensions, assignment outside of CFIA, hiring students and student extensions". The second bullet reads "Writing letters of offer". The third bullet reads "Help with data entry for priority appointments" and the fourth bullet reads "Responsible for HR processing".
  • For c) Staffing Division, the light blue box has two bullets. The first bullet reads "Corporate staffing (policies, responsibility for Merlin information Express Lane Staffing module)". The second bullet reads "Strategic group rather than processing group."
• Moving back up to the third level, for the Business Line Support Directorate box, there are five dark blue rectangular boxes below it which are at the fourth level of the organizational structure. These boxes are: a) Executive Group Services, b) Strategic HR Services – Operations Branch, c) Strategic HR Services-Policies and Programs Branch, d) Strategic HR Services – Science Branch and e) Strategic HR Services – Corporate (CMB, IRS, AEB, CPA). There is a line connecting the Business Line Support Directorate box to each of these five boxes to illustrate their relationship. Also, there are light-blue sub-boxes with descriptions of the responsibilities for each of these units as well. They read as follows:
  • For a) Executive Group Services, the light blue box reads "Works with EX hiring managers to develop letters of offer, memos to the President, staffing competencies and interview material".
  • For b) Strategic HR Services-Operations Branch, the light blue box has five bullets. The first bullet reads "Provide HR guidance and direction to Branch management". The second bullet reads "Strategic workforce planning". The third bullet reads "Planning and Talent Management". The fourth bullet reads "Advice/support on staffing processes" and the fifth bullet reads "HRB Liaison".
  • For c) Strategic HR Services-Policies and Programs Branch, the light blue box has three bullets. The first bullet reads "Align HRB initiatives with PPB". The second bullet reads "Provide advice to PPB on HR matters" and the third bullet reads "Provide advice to management".
  • For d) Strategic HR Services Science Branch, the light blue box has four bullets. The first bullet reads "Strategic workforce planning". The second bullet reads "Planning and talent management". The third bullet reads "Helping clients with staffing processes" and the fourth bullet reads "Provide advice to Science on HR matters".
  • And for e) Strategic HR Services – Corporate (CMB, IRS, AEB, CPA), the light blue box has two bullets. The first bullet reads "Manage budgets" and the second bullet reads "Liaise with Branch heads on HR matters".
• In addition, moving back up to the second level of the organizational structure, which is right below the President of the CFIA box, there is a dark grey box to the side of the main structure. This dark grey box represents the Chief Redress Officer of the Integrity and Redress Secretariat. There is a line connecting the President of the CFIA to this box to illustrate the reporting relationship.
• Below the Chief Redress Officer box, there is another dark grey box below it, which is at the third level. This box represents the Office of the Staffing Ombudsman. There is a line connecting the Chief Redress Officer to this box to illustrate the relationship. For this box, there is also a light blue box sub-box with the description of the responsibilities of the Office of the Staffing Ombudsman.
  • There are two bullets in this light blue box. The first bullet reads "Provides venue for employees to discuss concerns in confidence" and the second bullet reads "Determines if staffing decisions in question respect CFIA Values and Ethics".

Appendix C: Management Response and Action Plan

Recommendation 1: The Vice-President of HRB should ensure that core management controls are in place to support the Agency's staffing framework. The staffing policy suite should be updated, and agreement should be reached on roles and responsibilities for staffing throughout, including accountability, oversight/monitoring and record keeping for staffing in CFIA.

Recommendation 2: The Vice-President of HRB should implement a risk-based monitoring system to provide oversight on compliance with the Agency's staffing framework.

Recommendation 3: The Vice-President of HRB should continue efforts to promote branch strategic HR planning as well as consolidated HR planning at the Agency level to provide insight on CFIA's overall HR needs, important skills gaps, supply and demand of essential talent, and targeted resourcing strategies.

Recommendation 4: The Vice-President of HRB should ensure that information and mechanisms are easily accessible to provide comprehensive and straight-forward guidance, including record keeping requirements, for HR practitioners and managers in applying the Agency staffing framework.

Recommendation 5: The Vice-President of HRB should develop and implement a formal performance measurement framework (PMF) to assess how well the staffing framework is meeting its objectives. The PMF should include indicators with targets and timelines, measurable performance data, and processes for monitoring and reporting.