National Audit of DFO Staff Relations Function

Recommendations	Planned Action	Actions Completed	Actions Out-standing	Estimated Completion Date
SERVICE DELIVERY
1. The SR division update its organizational charts to show all SR service providers, where they are located and which client groups they serve.	See Annex A Section #1 – Service Delivery	Action completed on April 19, 2004 – see attached memorandum and organization chart
2. C&A Region be supported in adopting a service delivery in which HRAs are fully trained in staff relations (including the standard two-week SR course provided by PSC and on-the-job training under the guidance of an experienced SRA). Priority should be given to training the C&A HRAs (based on a specific training plan and strategy), so that there is more than one source of SR advice.	See Annex A Section #2 – Learning Organization (Training)	To be completed with the appointment of the Regional Team Leader		March 31, 2005
3. To the extent possible, SR service delivery should be on site, to ensure face-to-face advice and maximum understanding of local client needs and work environment.	See Annex A Section #1 – Service Delivery	To be completed with the appointment of the Regional Team Leader position in all regions		March 31, 2005
LEARNING ORGANIZATION
4. SR division undertake an analysis of the reliability of the data contained in PeopleSoft, and take measures to ensure that the system is kept up-to-date, and communicate the importance of data quality, reliability and consistency to all SRAs and HRAs, and to any support staff who enter the data in the system.	See Annex A Section #4 – Data Management	We have been working since late 2003 at enhancing the reliability of the PeopleSoft Data concerning grievances.  Regions have been provided with periodic reports for correction, which served in the production of the Spring 2004 Labour Relations report.  This process has however been hampered to some degree by the conversion to PeopleSoft Version 8, which required a repeat correction exercise.		Ongoing in consultation with PeopleSoft – significant improvements expected during 2005.
5. SR management and the PeopleSoft Division provide PeopleSoft training and access to more staff. This will ensure that there are sufficient numbers of people available to generate both canned and ad-hoc reports not only on a regular basis, but also at any time upon request from SR management or clients.	See Annex A Section #2 – Learning Organization (Training)	PeopleSoft has been advised that Labour Relations wish to be included in the preparation of the training package as it pertains to the Labour Relations module.		To be established in consultation with PeopleSoft.
6. SR division seek information from their clients regarding what types of data or trend analysis would be useful for them. SR division begin regular data tracking and trend analysis. This type of tracking can be promoted to senior management and clients as a valuable management tool to guide decision-making and SR strategies and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SR function.	See Annex A Section #2 – Learning Organization (Training)	This has been addressed through the production of the bi-annual Labour Relations reports. A copy of the most recent report is attached.		Completed but ongoing.
UNION MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
7. SR division be accountable for the filing of the core documentation on the grievance files such as; the original grievance, the grievance presentation form, transmittal forms for each level and decision document\letter for each level, and that the importance of thorough grievance documentation be highlighted and communicated to all SRAs ,HRAs and management.	See Annex A Section #3 – Staff Relations Process Improvements			This action will be completed by December 2004.
8. SR division begin tracking the progress in grievance files more closely, and produce narrative reports on issues, trends and possible action plans to increase the efficiency of the grievance process.	See Annex A Section #3 – Staff Relations Process Improvements	This is work that will form a part of the responsibility of the Team Leader, Labour Relations Strategy to be staffed before the end of October 2005 and will be undertaken in consultation with regional Team Leaders.		June 30, 2005
9. That management establish standards for its practices regarding UMCCs, and monitor its adherence to those standards.	See Annex A Section #3 – Staff Relations Process Improvements	Input has been provided to the general Public Service-wide guidelines on UMCC’s that will apply to DFO.		This item is part of the HR Modernization initiative and is scheduled to be discussed at the October 14, 2004 NUMCC.
10. That management, SR division and unions discuss together possible ways to improve the efficiency of the grievance process, and draft an action plan.	See Annex A Section #3 – Staff Relations Process Improvements	This is work that will form a part of the responsibility of the Team Leader, Labour Relations Strategy to be staffed before the end of October 2005 and will be undertaken in consultation with regional Team Leaders.		March 31, 2005
11. RDGs consider sub-delegating authority to hear grievances and render decisions, keeping in mind the conditions unions would expect of the delegate, so that grievance timelines can be shortened and the process can become more efficient.	See Annex A Section #3 – Staff Relations Process Improvements	Same response as # 10 above.		March 31, 2005
MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK
12. DFO’s SR division put in place its own management and control frameworks to govern SR-related areas covered by TBS policies, and that these guidelines be communicated clearly throughout the organization.	See Annex A Section #1 – Service Delivery	Same response as # 10 above.
13. SR increase its visibility among clients by offering to meet with management teams to present its role and responsibilities, as well as the types of services and guidance it can provide to management teams. SR can follow the example of the ECR office, as its strategy to make presentations to various management teams has resulted in many managers and SRAs recommending ECR as a first step in conflict situations.	See Annex A Section #1 – Service Delivery	This has been undertaken through the establishment of the DFO Labour Relations Symposium held last December, 2003. This will be an annual event to be held again in December 2004. Also presentations have increased to DMC and to various other Departmental management teams.		Considered completed but ongoing.
14. SR division develop plans to offer SR training to client managers. SR should consider joint training with unions – i.e., SR courses or information sessions could be developed in conjunction with union representatives.	See Annex A Section #2 – Learning Organization (Training)	This is being incorporated in part into our DFO Learning Strategy. Further follow-up is to take place with our office of Learning and Recognition.		March 31, 2005

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Annex A – MANAGEMENT RESPONSE TO ACTION PLAN

INTRODUCTION

The audit of the staff relations function at DFO has been reviewed carefully and a management action plan to deal with the recommendations flowing from this audit has been developed based on the major findings as follows:

1. SERVICE DELIVERY / MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK
2. LEARNING ORGANIZATION (TRAINING)
3. STAFF RELATIONS PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS / UNION MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
4. DATA MANAGEMENT

A detailed outline of the action to be taken under each of these headings has been established with the input of employees and managers involved in the delivery of the staff relations function in the regions and in headquarters.

1. SERVICE DELIVERY / MANAGEMENT CONTROL FRAMEWORK

The audit notes that there are significant differences in the ways that staff relations service is delivered across DFO and that this has a negative impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the staff relations function.

The action that is proposed to deal with this issue is directly related to the work being undertaken on staff relations renewal. More specifically, the renewal initiative will examine the current staff relations capacity and establish the approach that will optimize the delivery of high quality staff relations service to clients. This work will take into account:

• the current staff relations capacity in regions and in headquarters and the capacity needed to deal with workload
• the viability of delivering staff relations service through staff relations specialists versus HR generalists or some combination of the two
• reporting relationships of those providing staff relations services.
• the desirability of face-to-face service to clients and the need to balance this against the limited resources providing staff relations service across regions with several hundred different locations
• the characteristics and needs of each of the regional offices

This work will be undertaken with input and feedback from staff relations stakeholders.

The specific result or action to be implemented to deal with this issue consists of:

1. an update of the organization chart for the staff relations function identifying all service providers with clear indication of roles and responsibilities
2. presentations to outline and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the restructured staff relations function to all clients, managers and employees to ensure there is a good understanding of the assistance and support that is available in staff relations

This response incorporates recommendations 1, 3, 12 and 14 of the audit.

This work is targeted for completion by March 31, 2003. The responsible officer is Joe Grebenc, Director, Staff Relations.

2. LEARNING ORGANIZATION (TRAINING AND SUPPORT)

The recommendations relating to education, or training and development in staff relations are found in various parts of the report. This issue refers to the education of those delivering staff relations services as well as managers and employees. Key observations in this area include the following;

• meeting with management teams to discuss staff relations role and responsibilities, types of services and guidance that is available
• staff relations training or information sessions to client managers including joint training with union representatives
• training or development of staff relations service providers, including guidance from experienced staff relations officers
• PeopleSoft training of staff relations service providers to generate reports required or useful to clients and those delivering staff relations services. It should be noted that this training is dependent on the introduction of a report generating capacity in PeopleSoft. Currently, this does not exist. Action related to this training is dependent on changes being introduced to PeopleSoft.

The specific action to be implemented to deal with this issue includes:

1. establishment/identification of clear training programs/information sessions required for clients and specialized training for certification of staff relations staff using available programs (with modification, as necessary)
2. prioritization of training based on budget and resource availability
3. delivery of training beginning with highest priority

This response incorporates recommendations 2, 5, 6, and 13 of the audit.

The identification and prioritization of training programs is targeted for completion by March 31, 2003. Delivery of priority training (subject to budget availability) will be initiated by September 30, 2003. The responsible officer will be identified upon completion of the update of the organization chart identified in the previous section of this action plan. Until this work is completed, the responsible officer is Joe Grebenc, Director, Staff Relations.

3. STAFF RELATIONS PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS / UNION MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

This part of the proposed action plan focuses on a number of observations made in the audit concerning various staff relations processes and practices. The major finding is that the main channels by which union/management relations are built show weaknesses that can affect their efficiency and effectiveness. The specific areas requiring attention, as outlined in the audit are the following:

• staff relations review of the management of the grievance process to ensure a minimum of delay and keep management abreast of grievance proceedings and progress, or delays in timelines (this includes a review of sub-delegation, as necessary, to avoid lengthy delays in responding to grievances)
• the establishment and monitoring of standards with respect to minimizing delays or rescheduling of union management consultation meetings, sending replacements to meetings, timely attendance of participants and follow-up on issues brought to these meetings (this involves regional/local and national consultation meetings)
• the need to track data and monitor statistics on a regular basis for the purpose of guiding management decisions
• a requirement for checklists, management tools, documentation to assist those providing and receiving staff relations advice

Although some of the work recommended on this issue has been undertaken, the following additional action will proceed to deal with these findings:

1. the grievance processes will be reviewed in consultation with clients and regional staff relations officers and managers to deal with issues identified
2. discussion will be undertaken with regional participants and those involved in the union management consultation process to implement changes to the operation of committees consistent with the audit findings
3. statistics and data important to management will be identified and tracked with regular communication (semi-annual reporting) to managers
4. specific management tools such as checklists will be identified to aid managers and employees in understanding staff relations processes

This response incorporates recommendations 7 through 11 of the audit.

The specific needs associated with the above actions are targeted for precise identification by March 31, 2003. Implementation of actions is targeted for completion by June 30, 2003. The officer responsible for implementing the changes will be identified upon completion of the update of the organization chart identified in the previous section of this action plan. Until this work is completed, the responsible officer is Joe Grebenc, Director, Staff Relations.

4.  DATA MANAGEMENT

The audit identifies the need to capture and manage data in ways that would support monitoring of trends or statistics for management level decision making. This includes tracking and developing reports on such issues as the total grievances received and the levels at which they are resolved (in cases where there is a resolution), average time taken to resolve grievances, trends in grievance subject matter, sector comparisons, grievances proceeding to adjudication, trends in adjudication decisions. The audit goes further to propose more sophisticated information collection dealing with client satisfaction, interdepartmental comparisons and so on.

This recommendation notes some difficulties with data management given limitations associated with the use and maintenance of the current HR information system (PeopleSoft). The following action is proposed to deal with this issue:

1. identification with the clients, of the data or trend analysis that would be useful to clients
2. review the ability of PeopleSoft to capture and maintain the data (including the requirement for confidentiality) and the measures needed (including resource implications) to keep the system current and to produce the reports with proper analysis and distribution.
3. identification of what is needed to upgrade the capture and dissemination of data with specific identification of "who is accountable for what" (corporate staff relations, regional staff relations, PeopleSoft)
4. development of required reports in conjunction with the clients, and based on client needs, with necessary analysis, including promoting and demonstrating the usefulness of the information, in keeping with the objective of a more proactive or strategic approach to dealing effectively with staff relations issues.

This response deals with a number of references made in the audit in relation to data tracking and management as well as recommendation 4 that deals specifically with this item.

Working in consultation with our regional colleagues and PeopleSoft staff, the identification and review of data (first two actions identified above) are targeted for completion by March 31, 2003. Implementation of the third and fourth action items is dependent on the findings of the first two items and is tentatively targeted for completion by June 30, 2003 and September 30, 2003, respectively. The officer responsible for implementing the changes will be identified upon completion of the update of the organization chart identified in the previous section of this action plan as well as the third action item identified above. Until this work is completed, the responsible officer is Joe Grebenc, Director, Staff Relations.