ARCHIVED - Official Languages Program in Organizations Subject to the Act: Appendix (Audit Guide) - March 1996

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APPENDIX G - Evaluation Questionnaire for Managers

N.B.: This questionnaire is primarily designed to be used by managers to help them quickly assess the official languages situation in their organization. It may also be used by persons responsible for official languages who want to get a snapshot of the official languages situation. Internal auditors may also find it useful when developing their audit program or when planning their audits to identify areas on which to focus their official language audits.

Introduction

The purpose of this questionnaire is to enable line managers and those responsible for official languages in the departments and agencies to quickly evaluate on their own the overall official languages situation in their area of responsibility. It consists of a series of questions which managers can ask themselves in order to assess the performance of their organization/unit in terms of its official languages responsibilities. In light of this self-evaluation, it will then be up to managers to take any measures necessary to correct or improve the situation.

The questionnaire is divided into four parts:

I     service to the public;

II     language of work;

III    equitable participation; and

IV    program management.

Managers are invited to complete the parts of the questionnaire relevant to their specific situation, that is, in light of their official languages obligations. For example, a manager responsible for a unit mandated to serve the public in both official languages should complete parts I, III and IV, while a manager of a unit which is also mandated to serve the public in both official languages and is located in a region designated bilingual for language of work purposes should complete part II as well. Similarly, a manager may wish to evaluate only program management or a support measure such as language training. Only the relevant part need then be completed.

Managers play a crucial role in the area of official languages. They are the ones who have to translate official languages legislation and government policy into reality. It is through their activities and what they do on a daily basis that their institution can determine whether it is meeting its obligations regarding service to the public and language of work, and whether it is meeting the government's commitment regarding equitable participation.

"The Act and the Regulations made thereunder give effect to the language guarantees in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The challenge for managers is to implement these provisions in a fair and reasonable way. They must pay particular attention the obligations regarding service to the public and language of work. In possible cases of non-compliance, the Act provides recourse, first to the Commissioner of Official Languages, then, if necessary, to the Federal Court of Canada."

Part I - Service to the public

Under the Official Languages Act and Regulations and the policies made thereunder, managers must ensure that their offices provide prompt, courteous service of comparable quality in both official languages at all times everywhere in Canada where they are required to do so. More specifically, in offices and service points that are obligated to provide their services in both official languages, managers must ensure that the public are able to communicate with these offices and receive services in the official language of their choice at all times. It is also the responsibility of the managers of these offices to provide an active offer of service in both official languages and to inform their clients of the location of these offices and of the availability of the service in the official language of their choice in these locations.

		Yes	No
1.	What are my unit's language obligations regarding service to the public?
-	What measures are in place for meeting these obligations?
2.	Am I able to offer service of comparable quality in both official languages at all times?	____	____
-	Is back-up always available in order to provide this service?	____	____
-	If not, have I made temporary administrative arrangements?	____	____
3.	Do the employees assigned to provide service to the public have sufficient language proficiency to ensure that my clients' needs are met, given the nature of the institution's activities?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	determining whether the linguistic profile of the positions assigned to provide service to the public and the linguistic skills of the incumbents of those positions were adequate?	____	____
·	planning language training?	____	____
·	using translation services?	____	____
·	using staff deployments or assignments?	____	____
·	using imperative staffing (first see conditions for use of imperative staffing, Chap. 4-2, Part I, "Official Languages" Volume, Treasury Board Manual)?	____	____
·	using third parties, for example, contract employees?	____	____
·	reallocating resources?	____	____
·	making temporary use of certain administrative arrangements, such as using automated systems, entering into service agreements with other federal offices in the region that have satisfactory bilingual capacity, or implementing other measures?	____	____
4.	Have I informed my employees of their official languages responsibilities?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:	____	____
·	setting official languages objectives when preparing annual plans or reminding employees of the existence of such objectives?	____	____
·	incorporating service to the public in both official languages in performance appraisals?	____	____
·	organizing information sessions and making employees aware of the importance of service in both official languages?	____	____
·	discussing possible improvements with employees?	____	____
·	distributing information documents, brochures, memorandums, directives, etc.?	____	____
·	including the "official languages" aspect in my service standards?	____	____
5.	Is service of comparable quality in each official language?	____	____
-	What quality control measures are in place?
-	What do they reveal about the comparable quality of service in both official languages?
-	Do I conduct regular inspections (or follow-ups, controls, evaluations, etc.)?	____	____
-	What are the results of my observations?
-	Do I conduct regular surveys?	____	____
-	Do these surveys also deal with the quality of service in the minority official language?	____	____
-	What are the clients' reactions? Are they satisfied with the quality of service in each language?	____	____
-	Do I rely primarily on complaints to form an idea of the quality of service?	____	____
-	What does an analysis of complaints reveal?
-	What conclusions can I draw from my meetings with minority official language groups?
6.	Do I ensure that services are actively offered in English and French at all times?	____	____
-	Are the following elements present:
·	official languages symbol?	____	____
·	notices and signs in both languages?	____	____
·	bilingual in-person reception?	____	____
·	bilingual telephone reception?	____	____
·	access to automated services and availability of these services in both official languages?	____	____
·	bilingual public messages (oral and written)?	____	____
·	availability of publications in both official languages.	____	____
-	What steps have I taken to ensure this?	____	____
-	Are they really sufficient?	____	____
7.	Are all the employees assigned to provide service to the public able to refer clients to bilingual employees or employees proficient in the other official language?
	Have I considered:
·	whether employees who can provide services in both official languages are present at all times?	____	____
·	language training and alternative interim arrangements?	____	____
·	using special measures when bilingual employees are absent?	____	____
·	using third parties?	____	____
-	If not, what options are available to me and what specific steps should I take?
8.	Have I clearly identified who my clients are?	____	____
-	Am I aware of their needs, expectations and specific characteristics?	____	____
-	Am I able to take these into account and respond to them?	____	____
-	Do I keep abreast regularly of changes in the needs of my clients and of minority clients?	____	____
9.	Is it clear to our clients that we offer our services in both official languages at all times?	____	____
-	How are our clients made aware of this?
-	For example, have I considered:
·	using the official languages symbol?	____	____
·	prominently displaying the official languages symbol in strategic locations?	____	____
·	displaying signs in both official languages?	____	____
·	displaying publications in visible locations giving equal prominence to each official language?	____	____
·	publishing announcements and printing publications in both official languages?	____	____
·	meeting with representatives of associations of official languages minority communities?	____	____
·	reminding employees assigned to provide service to the public that they are required to answer the telephone in both official languages?	____	____
10.	Are operations organized in such a way that services and the resulting communications are always provided in the language chosen by the client, either orally or in writing?	____	____
11.	Are official languages complaints resolved satisfactorily and as quickly as possible?	____	____
-	For example, what steps should be taken:
·	to inform employees of the nature of the complaints received?
·	to involve employees in the development of corrective measures?
·	to follow up on complaints (contact the client again, check that the situation has been corrected)?
-	Do I compile data on the type, nature and frequency of complaints?	____	____
12.	In the case:
a)	of services provided in partnership with other institutions, have I ensured that my institution's language obligations were met?	____	____
b)	of organizations which receive grants and contributions, have I ensured that the services provided by these organizations were available in both official languages where required by legislation?	____	____

Part II - Language of work

In the National Capital Region and in the bilingual regions designated in the official languages policies, managers must ensure that the work environment is conducive to the use of both official languages and accommodates the use of employees' official language of choice in their work. To this end, they must: ensure that personal and central services and regularly and widely used work instruments provided to their employees who work in bilingual regions are available in both official languages; provide supervision in both official languages for their employees who work in bilingual regions, in keeping with the linguistic designation of their positions; ensure that the members of the EX group, as a whole, are able to function in both official languages; ensure that information technology goods and services are acquired and are usable in both official languages; ensure that meetings at which members of both linguistic groups are present are conducted in both official languages and that those present can participate in the official language of their choice; ensure that training and development courses are available and offered in both official languages; and ensure that grievances are handled in the official language in which they are presented. Elsewhere in Canada, the language of internal communications shall be English or French, depending on the language which predominates in the region in which the organization is located. The manager must ensure that the treatment of both official languages in a minority situation is comparable from one unilingual region to the other. Irrespective of the region in which the employee works, his or her official languages rights must not prevent the organization in which he or she works from meeting its other language obligations, notably and especially regarding service to the public and/or services to other employees.

		Yes	No
1.	What rights do employees have regarding language of work?
-	What specifically are my responsibilities regarding language of work?
2.	Are my employees aware of their official languages rights and responsibilities?	____	____
-	What steps have I taken to inform them of their rights and responsibilities:
·	distributing the official languages policy on language of work?	____	____
·	distributing various brochures on language of work?	____	____
·	holding information sessions?	____	____
·	organizing meetings with those responsible for official languages in the organization, the institution, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages?	____	____
·	holding periodic discussions of the situation with employees?	____	____
·	including the "official languages" aspect when welcoming new employees?	____	____
·	other steps?
3.	Have I clearly informed my employees that they can file their grievances in the official language of their choice?	____	____
-	Have I ensured that their union representatives and their supervisors know this?	____	____
-	Have I taken steps to ensure that grievances are handled in the official language in which they were presented?	____	____
-	What steps have I taken in this regard? Are they sufficient?	____	____
	Bilingual regions :
4.	Have I asked my employees who hold bilingual positions and who work in bilingual regions which official language they prefer to work in?	____	____
-	How did I do so?	____	____
-	Was this sufficient to give me a true indication of which official language they prefer to work in?	____	____
5.	Do my employees who work in bilingual positions and who work in bilingual regions really have the opportunity and the possibility of working in the official language of their choice?	____	____
-	What steps have I taken to give them the opportunity and the possibility of doing so:
·	in my written and oral communications, do I regularly invite and encourage them to use either official language?	____	____
·	do I take the necessary steps to ensure that the training and development courses they are required to take are in fact offered in both official languages?	____	____
·	do I ensure that supervisors are aware of employees' language-of-work rights and of ways of creating and maintaining work environments conducive to the use of both official languages?	____	____
·	do I ensure that regularly and widely used work instruments provided to them are available in both official languages?	____	____
·	when I acquire or order information technology goods and services, do I ensure that they will be available in both official languages?	____	____
·	when assigning work, do I make it clear to employees that they can work in the official language of their choice and if deadline or workload constraints prevent me from doing so, do I arrange for the work to be done in the employee's official language of choice as much as possible, or take appropriate measures, such as using translation when documents must be available in both official languages?	____	____
·	do I set an example by clearly indicating that they can use their language of choice in meetings and by asking supervisors to adopt the same approach?	____	____
·	do I encourage an attitude that is open and receptive to the use of both official languages?	____	____
·	do I ensure that unilingual employees of the majority official language and supervisors have a positive and open attitude toward the routine use of the minority official language and that they encourage its use in the workplace?	____	____
6.	Do my employees who work in bilingual regions have access at the same time in both official languages to the work instruments required in the performance of their duties?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	having them translated, in the case of instruments for internal use?	____	____
·	directly acquiring regularly and widely used work instruments in both official languages?	____	____
·	adopting interim measures, such as pooling or exchanging bilingual work instruments with other federal offices in the region?	____	____
·	developing a plan and strategy for making work instruments available in both official languages, with objectives, timetables and follow-up?	____	____
·	reminding the units responsible for acquiring and distributing work instruments about my requirements for bilingual work instruments?	____	____
7.	Do the regularly and widely used information technology systems, especially the software, available in my organization enable my employees to use the official language of their choice?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	taking the necessary steps to acquire bilingual information technology systems?	____	____
·	adopting interim measures, such as installing temporary stickers on keyboards?	____	____
·	drawing up a plan and strategy for making information technology systems available in both official languages, with objectives, timetables and follow-up?	____	____
·	signing contracts with third parties, acquiring software in each language?	____	____
·	reminding the units responsible for purchasing and distributing information technology systems of my requirements for bilingual information technology systems?	____	____
·	specifying official languages requirements when indicating training needs for new systems and software?	____	____
8.	Are meetings that are attended by members of both linguistic groups conducted in both official languages?	____	____
-	Are employees aware that they can express themselves in the official language of their choice? Were they clearly informed?	____	____
-	Are agendas, presentations and minutes drafted or distributed in both official languages?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	making it clear at the start of meetings that participants are free to use the official language of their choice?	____	____
·	addressing employees in the official language of their choice?	____	____
·	distributing agendas, minutes and other documents in both official languages?	____	____
·	clearly indicating in agendas and notices of meetings that the meetings will be bilingual?	____	____
·	speaking in the official language least used during the meeting?	____	____
·	other measures such as alternating the official language in which the minutes and agendas are prepared?	____	____
·	reminding my supervisors of their responsibilities at meetings held in both official languages?	____	____
9.	Do I consider the language preferences and skills of my employees who hold bilingual positions when assigning them projects or duties?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	encouraging them to work together in the official language of their choice?	____	____
·	encouraging employees to maintain and improve their second language proficiency?	____	____
·	making revision or writing assistance services available to employees?	____	____
·	acquiring machine translation software in order to enable employees to read information for internal use in the official language of their choice?	____	____
10.	Are employees who hold bilingual positions supervised and evaluated in the official language of their choice and other employees in the language in which they are required to perform the duties of their positions?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	reminding my supervisors of their obligations and employees of their rights in this regard?	____	____
·	using temporary measures such as translation or assistance from fellow supervisors?	____	____
·	encouraging supervisors to become bilingual or to upgrade their language skills?	____	____
·	allowing employees to choose the language in which they will be evaluated?	____	____
11.	Are the training and development services and personal and central services provided to my employees available in both official languages?	____	____
-	Are they of comparable quality in each language?	____	____
-	Are they available at the same time in each language without having to be requested?	____	____
-	Is the necessary equipment and documentation available in both official languages?	____	____
-	What steps did I take to ensure that this was the case?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	asking the employees?
·	asking the units responsible for providing these services to take the necessary steps to correct the situation?	____	____
·	encouraging employees to exercise their rights in this regard?	____	____
12.	If I supervise EXs in the NCR or bilingual regions, have I identified their positions bilingual?	____	____
-	If not, why not?	____	____
-	Have I drawn up a plan and objectives to enable EXs to attain level CBC by March 1998?	____	____
-	Will I meet the March 31, 1998 objective?	____	____
-	If not, what steps should I take?	____	____
-	Am I monitoring the situation regularly?	____	____
-	If not, have I considered:
·	reminding EXs of the important role they play in creating and maintaining work environments conducive to the use of both official languages and the example which they must set for their employees?	____	____
·	encouraging EXs to practise their second language daily in order to maintain their proficiency?	____	____
·	setting an example myself through my attitudes and conduct?	____	____
	Unilingual regions :
13.	Is the situation of the minority official language in my administrative unit comparable to that of other units in my institution in other unilingual regions?	____	____

-	How did I ensure that this was the case?
-	Do I have regular contacts with my counterparts on this subject?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	placing this item or having it placed on the agenda of meetings with my counterparts?	____	____
·	comparing the situation regarding work instruments and information technology systems in my administrative unit with the situation in other unilingual regions	____	____
14.	If I provide personal and central services or training and development services to employees working in bilingual regions, are these services:
·	offered in both official languages?	____	____
·?	available in each language at the same time	____	____
·	of comparable quality in each language?	____	____
-	How did I ensure that this was the case?
-	Have I instituted measures to ensure quality control of these services in each language?	____	____
-	Do I conduct periodic checks?	____	____
-	Do I merely monitor the number of complaints received?	____	____
-	Do I conduct regular surveys on my clients' satisfaction with the official language in which services are provided?	____	____
-	Have I included the "official languages" aspect in my service standards?	____	____
15.	If my office or organization has authority either to direct or to provide services to other offices of my institution or other federal institutions, do I ensure that communications from my organization respect the language of work of these other offices?	____	____
-	What steps have I taken to this end?
-	How do I ensure that this is the case?
-	Do I occasionally monitor communications between regions, for example, by means of observation, review of files, surveys, etc.?	____	____
-	Do I receive any complaints about this?	____	____

Part III - Equitable participation

Under the Official Languages Act, the federal government is committed to ensuring that English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians, without regard to their ethnic origin or first language learned, have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in federal institutions and that the composition of the workforce of federal institutions tends to reflect the presence of both official languages communities in Canada, taking into account their mandates, the public they serve and their location. Federal institutions and their managers therefore have a duty to support this commitment by ensuring that employment opportunities are open to all English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians.

		Yes	No
1.	Does the workforce of my administrative unit reflect the presence of both official languages communities in the region (or regions) in which it is located?	____	____
-	Do English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in my administrative unit?	____	____
-	To ensure this, do I rely solely on the proportion of members from each linguistic group in my unit and on the fact that it is the same as at the national level?	____	____
-	Do I also take into account my unit's mandate and location and the public it serves?	____	____
2.	Is the presence of both official languages communities reflected in all occupational groups?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	assignments and deployments?	____	____
·	analysing how the resources in my administrative unit are organized and reallocating them?	____	____
-	Have I questioned whether the organization of work within my unit might be an obstacle to the recruitment and advancement of both linguistic groups?	____	____
-	What steps should I take to correct the situation?
3.	When I staff a position, do I take the necessary steps to attract candidates from both linguistic groups?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	providing the necessary documentation in both official languages at the same time?	____	____
·	announcing competition notices in both official languages even if the position is unilingual?	____	____
·	expanding the area of competition?	____	____
·	setting up bilingual selection boards, i.e. whose members are able to function in both official languages?	____	____
·	contacting educational institutions of the minority official language community?	____	____
·	publishing notices in minority groups media?	____	____
·	using imperative staffing only when this is necessary for performance of the duties of the position?	____	____
4.	Do I use training and development programs to broaden the pool of qualified individuals from each official language group in a particular work sector?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	offering professional development courses in both official languages?	____	____
·	setting career goals in performance appraisals?	____	____
·	drawing up a human resources plan?	____	____
·	drawing up training plans?	____	____

ATTENTION, some measures are UNACCEPTABLE:

-	Do I:
·	set recruitment quotas?	____	____
·	identify the language requirements of positions based on the linguistic group I want to reach?	____	____
·	use unacceptable methods or imperative staffing to reach my equitable participation target?	____	____
-	If I answered yes to any of the above questions, the steps I am taking are totally inappropriate and unacceptable and I should reread the policy on equitable participation since I am not providing equal opportunities for employment and advancement to the members of both linguistic groups.

Part IV - Program management

Managers are responsible for managing measures which support the official languages program, namely: i) the bilingualism bonus; ii) language training; and iii) translation. They are also responsible for determining the language requirements of positions in their unit.

		Yes	No
1.	Do I ensure that employees who are entitled to the bilingualism bonus receive it, especially in the case of employees hired for terms of three months or more, including students?	____	____
-	Do I know the conditions under which eligible employees can receive the bilingualism bonus?	____	____
-	Do I ensure that employees who are receiving the bilingualism bonus continue to meet the language requirements of their bilingual position?	____	____
-	If there are doubts about employees' language skills, do I take the necessary steps to have them retake the SLE?	____	____
2.	Do my employees who are required or who are eligible to take language training really have access to this training?	____	____
-	Have I instituted mechanisms to ensure that the training is received and provided in a timely manner?	____	____
-	In particular, have I considered:
·	drawing up a language training plan?	____	____
·	monitoring the language training plan?	____	____
·	analysing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of training (disturbing employees on training as little as possible and avoiding unnecessary costs by cancelling courses at the last minute)?	____	____
-	Do I take the necessary steps to ensure that they are able to attend this training regularly? For example:	____	____
·	adopting measures so that the work can be done when employees are absent on language training (for example, reorganizing duties, contracting out, acting appointments).	___	____
3.	Do my employees have the opportunity to maintain their language skills after they return to work?	____	____
-	Do I give them the opportunity to practise what they have learned?	____	____
-	Do I encourage employees whose first official language is the second language of employees who have returned from language training to provide their colleagues with opportunities to practice their new language skills?	____	____
-	Do I pair employees from the two linguistic groups?	____	____

-	For example, have I also considered:
·	encouraging oral and written communications with employees in their second official language?	____	____
·	instituting innovative approaches for practising second language skills (bilingual coffee breaks, working with colleagues who are proficient in the second language, etc.)?	____	____
·	encouraging employees to take advantage of all opportunities to use their second official language?	____	____
4.	Do I have all documents translated which should be translated?	____	____
-	What criteria do I use to determine whether a document should be available in both official languages?
-	Do these criteria comply with the policy on producing texts in both official languages?	____	____
-	Do I have sufficient bilingual capacity within my organization to have short, non-technical texts translated and revised?	____	____
-	Is this a cost-effective practice for my organization?	____	____
-	Would it be less expensive to use translation services?	____	____
5.	Have I taken steps to ensure that the quality of each version is comparable?	____	____
-	What are those steps?
-	What are my quality criteria?
-	Do they depend on the topic and intended audience of each document?	____	____
-	Do the steps taken provide sufficient assurance of quality?	____	____
-	For example, have I considered:
·	comparative readings of samples from each version?	____	____
·	using the central writing assistance or revision services available within my institution?	____	____
·	using writing or revision service contracts?	____	____
6.	Do I ensure that the most efficient and economical translation services provider is chosen?	____	____
-	What are my criteria in this regard?
7.	Do the language requirements of the positions in my organization correspond to the work required and are they based on actual needs?	____	___
-	Do I review them and set them objectively before filling positions?	____	____
-	Do they take into account the language obligations of my organization?	____	____
-	Do I use imperative staffing within the limits set out in the policy on staffing bilingual positions?	____	____
-	Do I know the rights of unilingual and bilingual incumbents of positions whose language requirements or linguistic profiles have changed?	____	____

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