SIRC Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF)

1 Introduction

SIRC appointments are made under SIRC’s founding authority, the CSIS Act, and through the appointment authority in a TB Decision in January 1985 and amendment in January 1990.

SIRC supports and upholds the appointment values of the core Public Service, including the belief that the Public Service should aim for excellence in all that it does and that, as the Clerk of the Privy Council has noted, the Public Service thrives where “resources, human or fiscal, are harnessed and shared.” SIRC is committed to learning from best practices in appointment accountability from other government departments and to implementing those practices in support of flexibility, efficiency, and fairness in its Human Resources management.

2 SIRC’s Staffing Values

SIRC upholds the core appointment values of merit and non-partisanship, and the guiding values of fairness, access, transparency and representativeness. SIRC applies these values as follows:

2.1 Merit

Every person appointed to SIRC meets the essential qualifications of the position, including official language proficiency, as established by the hiring manager in consultation with the Corporate Services Manager.

2.2 Non-partisanship

Appointments and promotions to and within SIRC are done objectively and are free from political influence.

2.3 Representativeness

Appointment processes at SIRC are conducted without bias and do not create the kinds of systemic barriers that might prevent the organization from striving to represent the Canadian population it serves.

2.4 Access

Canadians, regardless of their geographic area of origin, have a reasonable opportunity to apply for a position at SIRC, and to do so in the official language(s) of their choice.

2.5 Fairness

Decisions concerning appointments and promotions to and within SIRC are made objectively and are free from political influence or personal favouritism; Persons have the right to be assessed in the official language(s) of their choice in the appointment process.

2.6 Transparency

Information about staffing strategies, decisions, policies and practices is communicated in an open and timely matter (e.g. SIRC’s Staffing Policy will be maintained on the organization’s external web-site).

3 Accountability Indicators

SIRC protects the health and integrity of the organization’s appointment system through the following mechanisms:

3.1 Infrastructure

Although SIRC is a micro-organization, with a very limited staff complement (currently 21 FTEs), it employs its own Corporate Services Manager to provide organizational human resources support, including professional advice to SIRC hiring managers; oversight of the Staffing System from within the organization; and planning for staffing actions and monitoring of results.

3.2 Accountability Framework

Appointment strategies at SIRC are designed to support organizational staffing priorities and to align with current and future needs. All SIRC appointment processes are subject to the “Terms and Conditions of Employment for the Employees of the Security Intelligence Review Committee.”

3.3 Alignment with Appointment Measures in the core Public Service

SIRC has adopted a classification and salary structure that mirrors that of the core Public Service. SIRC's processes for appointment also mirror those of the core Public Service: we post our appointment notices on the PSC website and our appointment practices follow PSC models.

3.4 Controls on Executive Appointments

The staffing authority SIRC possesses under decisions in January 1985 and January 1990, permits SIRC to create new positions only up to the EX-1 level. To create new EX positions above that level requires TBS approval. The creation of all new positions, below the Senior Management levels, requires the review and approval of the PCO Classification Officer.

3.5 Planning for Staffing and Monitoring of Results

Planning, with respect to SIRC staffing, is directly linked to SIRC’s legislated duties concerning reviews and complaints under the CSIS Act. SIRC identifies and reports its staffing performance needs and expectations through measurable expected results and performance indicators in its Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports.

3.6 Staffing Accountability Toolbox

Although a separate employer, SIRC attempts to mirror PSC-approved approaches for ensuring organizational accountability for results. SIRC’s staffing accountability toolbox currently includes this Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF) through which SIRC can assess, and seek to improve, its staffing systems; and the use, as required, of contracted, external HR specialists selected from the PWGSC standing offers for HR processes: for example, to provide oversight of external competitions and internal processes for advancement.

3.7 Policy Development in “People Management”

SIRC is committed to regularly assessing its internal policies and procedures as part of strategic exercises in “policy suite” renewal, including analysis of its HR policies to assess which areas may require the drafting of new or revised internal policies.

3.8 Managing Risk

SIRC employs external consulting firms to assess organizational risk, including the health of its staffing systems. SIRC’s Senior Management Committee has expressed its ongoing commitment to acting on identified areas of organizational risk and to monitoring areas of current or future risk.

3.9 Continuous Learning and Change

SIRC’s Values and Ethics statement includes a commitment to “professional development.” SIRC managers draft individual learning plans with their employees, and the organization also supports continuous learning through staff attendance at seminars and conferences on the security intelligence environment. SIRC’s efforts in this area aid recruitment and retention, and the organization’s operational priorities.

3.10 Mechanisms for Interchange and Deployment

SIRC supports knowledge and skill exchanges with the core Public Service by using “Interchange Canada” to bring employees from the core Public Service temporarily into the organization and to share the expertise of our employees temporarily with other government departments. SIRC also regularly deploys employees from the core Public Service into our organization, who often later return to the core Public Service, bringing the specialized learning acquired at SIRC with them, thus contributing to the enrichment of the Public Service as a whole. SIRC currently seeks, through consultation with the PSC, to establish mechanisms that would promote greater sharing of skills and resources by enabling SIRC employees to deploy into the core Public Service.

3.11 Managing for Results

Through a variety of internal mechanisms, such as review of our HR policies, consultation with other government departments, oversight of the appointment system by SIRC`s Corporate Services Manager, and communication with management and staff, SIRC continuously strives to improve and strengthen its appointment strategies – including strategies for recruitment, succession planning, and retention – and to find ways of adding more flexibility and efficiency to our appointment practices.