Integrated planning guide

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Note: The integrated planning guidebook is an evergreen document.

April 2007

Introduction

Integrated planning is the foundation for assessing and understanding the current and future needs of departments, agencies and the Public Service as a whole.

Integrated planning is central to the successful implementation of the Public Service Modernization Act and to the promotion of healthy organizations that retain competent, committed and engaged employees across the Public Service.

Integrated planning is an important building block in continuously improving and building the human capacity of the Public Service to deliver services to Canadians (Results for Canadians). Integrated, rigorous planning can mitigate risks associated with aging workforces, tight labour markets, technological change, and so on. Integrated planning can help identify optimal strategies and activities for such important HR management components as recruitment, retention, learning, development, employee engagement, promotion, succession, employment equity and official languages.

Some departments and agencies are recognized as having taken innovative approaches to planning. Overall, however, there is widespread recognition at all levels of government that over the last ten years, the HR planning capacity across the Public Service of Canada has diminished. The time is right to rigorously rebuild capacity in HR planning. The need for sound integrated planning with business planning, has never been more important.

Why integrated planning?

It aligns an organization’s workforce with the government’s priorities, and the organization’s mission, strategic plan and budgetary resources;
It is central to the successful implementation of modern HR management as referenced in the Public Service Employment Act;
It supports HR strategies (e.g. training, career development, organization design and classification) that are tailored to meet the current and future needs of the organization;
It supports the achievement of business excellence by promoting initiatives to attract and retain an engaged, sustainable, competent and diverse workforce;
It leads to a supportive workplace and continuous learning culture through planning efforts associated with both employee and organizational learning;
It informs the development of business cases to justify resources identified through current and future HR needs analysis;
It assists managers in realigning their workforce (e.g. reduction, expansion, change in business lines);
It ultimately helps managers meet their responsibilities and accountabilities;
It helps develop and ensure sustained, strong leadership across the Public Service; and
It facilitates performance improvement and reporting through the development of performance measures, which is an important aspect of any planning-related

Defining HR planning

HR planning is defined as follows:

Human resources planning is a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an organization to achieve its goals. Human resources planning should serve as a link between human resources management and the overall strategic plan of an organization.

Integrated planning principles

Some key principles of integrated planning are as follows:

Planning takes place at all levels: Reflecting business needs and strong people management practices, rigorous, integrated HR and business planning takes place in all organizations and at all levels across the Public Service.
Planning is information driven: Planning processes and decisions are based on factual and timely information on current and future needs (demographic data, environmental scans, employee feedback, labour market information, etc.).
Planning identifies risks and challenges: Planning processes identify challenges and key risks in delivering on priorities, and outlines options to mitigate critical issues.
Planning is transparent, values-based and well communicated: Plans are communicated to employees and stakeholders.
Regular reporting on integrated planning takes place: Planning efforts and results are reported on annually by all organizations.
Planning efforts are monitored, measured and evaluated: Processes are established in all organizations to monitor performance and progress in achieving HR objectives outlined in the integrated plan.

The integrated planning environment chart has been created to illustrate the links between the drivers, processes and tools that contribute to the development and implementation of integrated planning within the Public Service.

Section 1: Legislative base and other drivers of integrated planning

Legislative base

The coming into force of the Accountability Act established a broad legislative context for Deputy Head accountabilities with regard to the performance of any assigned duties in relation to the administration of departments/agencies. Departmental administration includes the management of the organization’s human resources and part of that function involves integrated planning.

The legislative base for HR planning is the Financial Administration Act and the Public Service Employment Act contained in the Public Service Modernization Act . Other related Acts include the Employment Equity Act and Official Languages Act.

The Public Service Modernization Act (through the Financial Administration Act and the Public Service Employment Act), clearly establishes the Employer’s responsibility to identify the current and future needs of the Public Service; to determine the human resource requirements of the Public Service; and to provide for the allocation and effective utilization of human resources within the Public Service – all of which are key to the integrated planning process.

For additional information visit the Public Service Modernizations Act on the Agency website.

Other drivers

Guidance for Deputy Ministers, an important document issued by the Clerk of the Privy Council, is intended to clarify how Deputy Ministers fulfill their role in the Government of Canada. The document sets out the key elements of responsible government as a backdrop for understanding the individual and collective responsibility and accountability of Ministers. It further sets out the responsibilities of Deputy Ministers and their accountabilities, including the management of human and financial resources.

Guidance for Deputy Ministers signals that, “Effective departmental management requires careful integration of human resources management planning with the planning of departmental activities.”

For additional information visit this guidance for deputy ministers link.

The Clerk’s Corporate Priorities reinforced the concept of integrated human resources and business planning, with one of the priorities relating to the implementation of the Public Service Modernization Act, including the strengthening of human resources planning.

For additional information visit this clerk’s priorities link.

The Auditor General’s Findings related to Human Resources Planning (1999 to Today) are also a driver that strongly identifies planning as a central function to the healthy management of an organization. It speaks to the lack of human resources planning in the entirety of the Public Service and more specifically, of the lack of efficiencies and effectiveness incurred by the lack of integrated planning.

The Management Accountability Framework flows from Results for Canadians and the Comptrollership Modernization initiative. It establishes the framework of accountability for Deputy Heads - also establishing a close link to the responsibilities and accountabilities of Deputy Ministers as defined in Guidance for Deputy Ministers - to ensure that the conditions for good management are set in place in order to achieve Results for Canadians. It includes performance measures and indicators for ten identified outcomes. One of the outcomes is the People Component which relates to the management of people, and aims at measuring an organization’s human resources capacity including having a workforce that is renewable and affordable over time - again emphasizing the need for good integrated planning and effective management of resources.

For additional information on the Management Accountability Framework, visit the Treasury Board Secretariat Web site: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/maf-crg/index-eng.asp

The Staffing Management Accountability Framework comprises part of this accountability suite. It establishes the Deputy Minister’s accountabilities to the Public Service Commission with regard to staffing systems and delegated staffing authorities.

For additional information on the Staffing Management Accountability Framework, visit the Public Service Commission Web site: http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/frame-cadre/acco-resp/smaf-crgd-eng.htm

Together, the legislation and drivers described above set the direction for Deputy Heads and senior managers to inculcate good management practices through integrated planning in order to meet their corporate objectives.

Section 2: integrated planning principles and process

Six principles of integrated planning

At the heart of integrated planning are the six guiding principles. These principles form the basis on which planning activities and processes are to be developed and implemented.

Integrated planning calendar

Based on the Six Principles of Integrated Planning, the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada has developed an integrated planning calendar. The Calendar illustrates a four-phase approach to aligning human resources and business lines to achieve integrated planning. It also provides approximate timeframes for each of the four phases.

Five-step approach to determining and building for current and future needs

A five-step approach to determining and building for current and future needs was also developed to guide organizations in their efforts to implement integrated planning. The Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist is a “how to” model, and provides some important questions for managers to consider as they develop their plans. More specifically, the five steps include:

Step 1 determining your business goals;
Step 2 analyzing your environment to see if you have the right mix and complement to meet your current and future needs;
Step 3 assessing the gaps in your workforce - what are you missing from a human resources perspective in order for you to achieve your goals;
Step 4 taking action and initiating strategies to close the gap and help obtain the required resources; and
Step 5 reviewing, monitoring and measuring whether efforts were successful.

Together, the six principles, the planning calendar, and the five-step approach outlined above form the basis from which planning activities, tool and instruments should be derived.

Section 3: integrated planning tools

Having set in place the main elements of the integrated planning process, departments and agencies can then use a variety of instruments or tools to help them fulfill their operational requirements. The last section of the Integrated Planning Environment Chart outlines a number of tools that have been developed by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada to assist departments with procedures leading to the formulation of integrated plans.

These tools are evergreen and complement the original Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Tool Kit that was issued in November 2004. These tools are available for use by Deputy Ministers and Senior Managers, Managers and Human Resources professionals either as is, or for tailoring to specific departmental/agency needs.

Specifically, the tools include Integrated Planning – A Handbook for Deputy Ministers and Senior Managers, the Succession Planning and Management Tool, the Succession Planning and Management Tool for Senior Managers, and the Succession Planning and Management Tool for Managers. Also under development are Integrated Planning Templates (refer to Annex 1), which will provide departments and agencies with easy to follow instructions in applying the five-step approach in their organizations. The tools noted above are available on the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada Web site.

Integrated planning tools table

Text Version

Integrated planning guidebook: integrated planning in a delegated environment chart

People component of the management accountability framework

Management Accountability Framework	Departments and agencies have the people, work environment and focus on building capacity and leadership to assure success and a confident future for the Public Service of Canada.
Outcomes	WORKPLACE A workplace that is fair, enabling, and healthy and safe in order to provide best service to Canadians. Fair The workplace exhibits fair employment and workplace practices and effective labour relations. Enabling The workplace exhibits clear direction, collaboration, respect and support for employees' linguistic rights, diversity and personal circumstances in order to enable them to fulfill their mandate. Healthy and safe The workplace is a healthy and safe physical and psychological environment.			WORKFORCE A workforce that is productive, principled, sustainable and adaptable in order to provide best service to Canadians. Productive A committed workforce with the size, mix of skills and diversity of backgrounds to competently perform its duties. Principled The workforce is reflective of Canada's population, is respectful of Canada's official languages and performs its duties guided by the values and ethics of the Public Service. Sustainable A workforce that is renewable and affordable over time. Adaptable A workforce that is versatile, innovative and engages in continuous learning.
Key Success Factors	Leadership	Employee Engagement		Collective Responsibility		Continuous Improvement
	Policies and Instruments				Information
Supporting infrastructure	Health and Safety HR Planning Labour Relations Leadership Development Employment Equity Learning Informal Conflict Management		Performance Management Official Languages Organization Design and Classification Compensation Resourcing Values & Ethics Workplace Well-being		Regular public service-wide employee surveys Human resources management information systems Research and analysis Current and future human resources needs
Accountabilities	Central Agencies: Provide the leadership and human resources management principles, mechanisms, tools and the necessary support; assist departments and agencies in achieving workplace and workforce outcomes; monitor and assess departmental performance; report on HR outcomes and management to Parliament. Deputy Heads: Advance achievement of workplace and workforce outcomes in their departments/agencies and provide the necessary support; contribute to the development, implementation and improvement of government-wide human resources management; report on HR outcomes and management to central Managers: Lead and manage to ensure workplace and workforce outcomes; support Deputy Heads' accountabilities. Human Resources: Support managers and employees through the provision of strategic advice, policies and services to help them deliver on workplace and workforce outcomes.
Reporting/ Accountability Mechanisms	Report on Plans and Priorities Departmental Performance Reports Annual Reports on HR Management			Management Accountability Framework Results for Canadians Performance Management Agreements

Integrated Planning Calendar

Discussing strategic direction: April - June
Getting the priorities right: July - September
Detailed work planning: October - December
Reporting and readiness: January - March

Fiscal year 2, implement steps 1 to 4 and begin new planning cycle

Fiscal year 3, report on previous fiscal year, implement year 2 plan, and begin new planning cycle

Responsibilities of key partners in effective planning

Align priorities
Share information

Managers

Proactively inform HR of risks
Plan resource allocation ($ and people)
Integrate HR into business planning

Human resources

Proactively advise management on HR issues, risks, decisions and policies
Provide HR tools to managers
Support efforts to mitigate risks

Corporate planners

Guide/facilitate planning process (RPP/DPR)
Communicate approaches to planning
Include HR requirements in relevant call letters to branches/regions

Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist

A five-step approach to determining and building for current and future needs

The following steps are widely recognized as key to integrating HR and business planning. They reflect national and international research into the practices of leading public and private sector employers.

Moreover, they have been validated in the PS by way of extensive consultation across the country with stakeholders. Line managers, HR professionals, bargaining agent representatives, as well as functional community representatives and other stakeholders all contributed to this model.

STEP ONE: Determine your business goals

A solid understanding of your business goals is critical for integrated planning. Ask the following questions:

What are your key goals and deliverables for the next fiscal year?
Do you foresee any changes in direction that might have an impact on your business goals or HR requirements?
Who are the strategic partners you need to work with to achieve your goals?

For additional information on step one, have a look at the document entitled “Supplement to the Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist”.

STEP TWO: Scan the environment

A) Workforce Analysis

A key component of HR planning is understanding your workforce and planning for projected shortages and surpluses in specific occupations and skill sets. By way of example, has the following workforce information been analyzed for various occupational categories in your team?

Demographics and employment characteristics (eligibility for retirement, vacancy rates, turnover rates, internal staff mobility such as deployments, promotions, secondments)
Skills/competencies (e.g. training/learning data, performance management data, language competencies?)

B) Internal Scan

It is important for line managers to identify factors internal to the organization that may affect the HR capacity of their teams with regard to meeting projected goals.

Have you considered, for example…
Potential changes in program and/or service delivery
Management-union relations that might affect your team
Anticipated changes to funding levels
Changes in leadership & priorities
Client satisfaction

C) External Scan

Are external environmental factors expected to affect workforce capacity, given known operational and HR priorities and emerging issues.

Have you considered, for example

Demand and supply of employees with the skills you need
Sources of recruitment

For additional information on step one, have a look at the document entitled “Supplement to the Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist”.

STEP THREE: Conduct a gap analysis

Based on an analysis of your business goals, as well as your understanding of environmental issues and your workforce, what do you see as your key current and future HR needs?

Examples of Considerations:

Do you have any immediate hiring needs?
Based on projections, do you foresee a skills shortage in specific occupational groups on your team?
Will changes in program delivery require the acquisition of new skills on your team?
Do you have enough qualified people on your team ready to fill key vacancies in the event of unexpected departures? If not, are you aware of where you can go to attract the right people?
Have official language and employment equity obligations been met?
Have you conducted a risk assessment on HR issues critical to your team's success?

For additional information on step one, have a look at the document entitled “Supplement to the Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist”.

STEP FOUR: Set HR priorities to help achieve goals

Based on the organization's goals, environmental scan and gap analysis: 1) What are the major HR priorities; and 2) What strategies will achieve the desired outcomes? Work plans may include strategies on:

Recruitment/ Staffing, Mobility/Redeployment, Employment Equity, Official Languages training, Training and Development, Corporate knowledge Retention and sharing and Workplace well-being

For additional information on step one, have a look at the document entitled “Supplement to the Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist”.

STEP FIVE: Measure, Monitor and Report on Progress

Measuring, monitoring and reporting is key to assessing progress.

Does your team have clear and measurable HR-related goals?
Are the HR performance measures aligned with indicators in the TBS Management Accountability Framework?
Do you have a mechanism to track performance outcomes?

For additional information on step one, have a look at the document entitled “Supplement to the Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist”.

Determine your business goals

A solid understanding of organizational priorities and the business planning cycle is critical for effective alignment of human resources (HR) and business goals. As you begin your integrated HR and business planning, ask the following questions:

What are the government's key priorities (e.g. Clerk's priorities, Speech from the Throne)?
What are your organization's ongoing HR and business priorities?
Have you reviewed the call letter on the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report?
What emerging directions and changes will have an impact on HR issues?
What legislative reforms relevant to your mandate need to be considered (e.g. HR modernization)?
Have all necessary strategic partnerships been established to facilitate your integrated HR and business planning efforts (e.g. corporate or program sector)?
Are you developing your plan in consideration of accountability requirements and HR supporting material (e.g. TBS Management Accountability Framework, People Component of the Management Accountability Framework, the Integrated HR and Business Planning Calendar)?

Scan the environment

Workforce Analysis

A key component of integrated planning is understanding your workforce and planning for projected shortages and surpluses in specific occupations and skills sets.

Has the following employment information been analyzed for various occupational categories or functional communities?

Demographics and employment characteristics (e.g. employment equity (EE) designated groups, official languages (OL), age profile, average age of retirement, and years of service, employment type, leave usage, reasons for leaving, absenteeism, grievances, use of Employee Assistance Program)
Skills/competencies (e.g. training/learning data, performance management data, language competencies)?
Internal workforce trends (e.g. eligibility for retirement, vacancy rates, turnover rates, internal staff mobility such as deployments, promotions, secondments)

Internal Scan

Identify factors internal to the organization that may affect HR capacity to meet organizational goals. Have you considered…?

Changes in legislation, policy platform, program delivery
Labour management relations
Changes to collective agreements
Employee engagement
HR Initiatives (e.g. EE)
Anticipated changes to funding levels
Changes in leadership & priorities
Organizational re-structuring
Corporate culture change
Client satisfaction
Capacity and quality of information systems
Health and Safety

External Scan

Determine the most important environmental factors expected to affect workforce capacity, given known operational and HR priorities and emerging issues. Have you considered…?

Current workforce trends (e.g. retirement patterns, growing occupations)
Demand and supply of employees in growing occupations
Current and projected economic conditions
Technological advancements which may make certain occupational positions obsolete or create new employment
International policies that may affect your workforce capacity
Immigration and/or regional migration patterns that may affect your workforce capacity
Sources of recruitment
Federal, provincial, regional realities

Examples of Considerations

Have you considered your contingent workforce in your workforce analysis (e.g. casuals, students)?
Have you consulted documents such as audit reports, employee survey findings, HR annual reports (e.g. OL, EE, staffing), Departmental Performance Report, Report on Plans and Priorities, etc?
Have you checked with functional community secretariats for information relevant to your department/agency?

Conduct a gap analysis

Based on an analysis of the environmental scan and business goals, what are the organization's current and future HR needs?

Examples of Considerations:

Based on projections, do you foresee a skills shortage in specific occupational groups?
Will changes in program delivery require the acquisition of new skills?
Do you have enough qualified middle managers to feed into the EX group?
Have OL and EE obligations been met?
Have you conducted a risk assessment on elements of the scan critical to your organization's success (i.e. probability of occurrence and their projected impact)?

Set HR priorities to help achieve business goals

Recruitment/Staffing
Retention
Mobility/Redeployment
EE
OL
Classification/Organizational Design
Change Management
Systems Capacity
Leadership Development
Learning, Training and Development
Performance Management
Competency/Skills Development
Succession Planning and Management and Contingency Plans
Corporate Knowledge Retention
Health and Safety
HR Planning
Employee Engagement
Reward and Recognition
Workplace Well-being
Workplace Accommodation
Labour Management Relations
Values and Ethics
Organizational Development
Disability Management

Examples of Considerations:

Are the HR priorities and key planning issues included as part of the Report on Plans & Priorities?
Are budgetary considerations factored into the work plan/strategy?
Is it possible to leverage expertise through partnerships with other organizations (e.g. Federal Regional Councils, Functional Community Secretariats)?
Are you incorporating the research from “promising practices” into your work plan/strategy?
Are you taking advantage of your departmental/agency staffing program and tools?
Is the work plan/strategy being cascaded to organizational units?
Are strategies effective and efficient in achieving objectives?

Measure, monitor and report on progress

Measuring, monitoring and reporting HR performance outcomes is key to assessing progress in target areas, organizational learning and improvement and determining future priorities.

Does the organization have clear and measurable HR-related goals?
Are the HR performance measures aligned with indicators in the TBS Management Accountability Framework and the People Component of the Management Accountability Framework?
Are systems in place to track performance indicators and analyze cost benefit?
Do results from your performance indicators inform your priority setting for the next fiscal year?
Does your Departmental Performance Report include a section on the degree of success of your integrated planning and management-related efforts?
Have you analyzed data elements that are included under formal reporting requirements (e.g. EE, OL)?

STEP 1 - determine your business goals

A solid understanding of organizational priorities and the business planning cycle is critical for effective alignment of human resources and business goals. As you begin your integrated HR and business planning, ask the following questions:

What are the government’s key priorities (e.g. Clerk’s priorities, Speech from the Throne)?
What are your organization’s ongoing HR and business priorities?
Have you reviewed the call letter on the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report?
What emerging directions and changes will have an impact on HR issues?
What legislative reforms relevant to your mandate need to be considered (e.g. HR modernization)?
Have all necessary strategic partnerships been established to facilitate your integrated HR and business planning efforts (e.g. corporate or program sector)?
Are you developing your plan taking into consideration the accountability requirements and HR supporting material (e.g. Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework, People Component of the Management Accountability Framework, the Integrated HR and Business Planning Calendar)?

In this step, managers review business objectives in light of any issues likely to impact the business (e.g. government priorities, legislative reform, etc). As key input to the process, HR provides information regarding legislative and/or labour market data affecting the workforce.

In order to assess whether there is sufficient capacity (including skills, competencies and resources) to deliver on the business, it is first necessary to have a clear understanding of where the organization/region/branch is headed. In addition to knowing the strategic priorities at both the organization and branch/regional level, it is important to take into consideration government-wide priorities (e.g. Speech from the Throne, Clerk’s priorities) since they may well have an influence on the business priorities.

Supporting points to consider in determining your business goals

What are your vision and goals for your branch/region/directorate/unit?
Are they linked to:
- Clerk’s priorities;
- Speech from the Throne;
- Department/Agency’s priorities;
- Your mandate;
- The performance agreement of your manager?
What emerging directions and/or changes to your business will have an impact on HR issues?
What impact will your vision and goals have on your finance, HR and information technology needs?

Additional information:

The organization’s strategic direction, mission and objectives are typically found on the organization’s intranet site.
The Clerk’s priorities
The Speech from the Throne
The Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework

STEP 2 - scan the environment

Workforce analysis

A key component of planning is understanding your workforce and planning for projected shortages and surpluses in specific occupations and skill sets. Workforce analysis is an important element in the planning process. This section of the kit discusses nine areas that managers may consider in an effort to better understand their workforce.

Skills and competencies
Learning, training and development
Employment type and resourcing
Separation
Organization structure
Employment equity
Official languages
Workplace well-being
Values and ethics

Analysis in these areas can include both quantitative and qualitative data.

A discussion of each of these areas follows.

A) Skills and competencies

The skills and competencies of the workforce (or team) are important contributing factors to organizational capacity. Key terms used to define an organization's capability are “competencies” and “skills”.

Competence is a combination of knowledge, skill, understanding, ability, application, behaviour, aptitude, attitude and performance. Skill is the practised application of a topic, technique or concept.

Information on skills and competencies could include the education profile of employees (e.g. major field of study, degree attained) and the skills, competency levels and learning/development required.

Questions to consider:

Have you developed a profile of the knowledge, skills and competencies that you will need to achieve your business objectives, now and in the future?
Based on the skill requirements of your key positions, do you have/foresee any gaps and if so, is there an appropriate course of action from a readiness perspective?
Do you know what the skills and competencies are of key feeder groups?
Do the employees have the tools to self-assess against the competencies of their positions?
Do the members of your team meet the language requirements? Are the results accurate and are any changes foreseen?
Am I using performance management and employee learning plans to the greatest extent possible in support of skills and competencies development?

Additional sources of information:

To obtain additional sources of information for the following documents, visit the Canada Public Service Agency Web site:

The Public Service Commission Web site has several articles and publications on skills and competencies. Use the search engine and type in competencies for a full listing: http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca.

Your departmental/agency staffing program and supporting tools.

B) Training, learning and development

Training, learning and development can be important tools in ensuring effective integration of HR and business planning.

The Government established a Policy on Learning, Training and Development (which, on January 1, 2006, replaced the Policy for Continuous Learning in the Public Service). The objective of the policy is stated as follows: “…to help build a skilled, well-trained and professional workforce; to strengthen organizational leadership; and to adopt leading-edge management practices to encourage innovation and continuous improvements in performance.”

The Public Service Learning Policy Centre has identified core learning needs and requirements through the establishment of a Library of Common Knowledge for managers of the Public Service. It covers the ten key elements of the Management Accountability Framework and supports the objectives of ensuring a highly competent, bilingual, and representative Public Service. The Library has served as a solid foundation for the curriculum review undertaken by the Canada School of Public Service.

Questions to consider:

As part of the integrated planning process, and based on the priorities/business objectives, what are the training, learning and development requirements of your team?
Are employees’ training, learning and development requirements taken into account in light of anticipated changes to programs and/or services?
Do members of your team have up-to-date learning plans that identify current and future training, learning and development needs and are they reviewed regularly?
Are employees’ training, learning and development requirements discussed during employee performance reviews?
What are the planned efforts towards fostering a continuous learning culture?
How are you supporting the career goals of your team members?
Have you made budget provisions to meet the training, learning and development needs of employees as well as their career goals?
What are the completion rates of the team learning plans?
What is the impact of the training, development and learning on performance and results?

Additional sources of information:

Consult your internal learning specialist for information on training, learning and development options (e.g. employee orientation, courses).

C) Employment type and resourcing

Employment type distribution (e.g. term, indeterminate, casual, etc.) gives you important information on the stability and sustainability of your workforce and can help inform short and long-term staffing decisions and actions that may be required.

Examples of employment type:

Term employment (less than and greater than three months); indeterminate employment (full time and part time); sunset; casual; seasonal; assignment; interchange; secondment; development programs (e.g. Career Assignment Program, Management Trainee Program); other (students, co-ops, Financial Officer Recruitment Development Program, etc.)

Questions to consider:

How stable and sustainable is your workforce? What is the split between term and indeterminate employees?
How many acting assignments do you have in place and what are the lengths of those assignments?
How many term employees will soon be eligible for conversion to indeterminate status?
Are the term employees clustered in a particular occupational group?
What are the staffing practices with respect to term employment?
What impact do the staffing practices have on organizational health and employee morale?
Is there an equal dispersion of ages at the various employment levels?
What are your current and projected (mid- and long-term) vacancies (e.g. retirements, maternity/parental leave, disability leave, language training)?
What recruitment sources and staffing processes are you using to hire new employees (e.g. pre-qualified pools, apprenticeship programs)? Are there other avenues for you to explore?
Is there/will there be a sufficient pool of candidates, including bilingual candidates, from within to fill these vacancies? If not, how do you anticipate filling the vacancies? Is there a sufficient pool of potential candidates external to your organization? Do you need a succession plan?
What resourcing strategies will best meet your current and future needs?

D) Separation

The literature suggests some organizations have used an annual attrition assumption of 4.5% as normal. Of course, this varies depending on the size and nature of your organization, hiring freezes, downsizing, restructuring and economic and political changes.

Attrition that exceeds normal patterns can result in unnecessary costs to the employer from lost productivity, workload related to staffing positions, training for new employees, etc. Answering some of the questions outlined below should help you develop plans for stabilizing and sustaining staffing levels, inform succession plans, and focus your training, learning and development.

Questions to consider:

Are there certain occupational groups with increasing employee attrition?
Which occupational groups have high levels of attrition?
Do you know why employees are leaving (e.g. results from exit interviews)?
Can the factors influencing attrition be identified? Alternatively, is there anything you can do to influence the attrition rate?
Has attrition reduced capacity in a certain occupational group?
Will your organizational structure require changes to recruit qualified replacements?

E) Organizational Structure

The Deputy Head or Chief Executive Officer is responsible for ensuring that the organizational structure in their department or agency is appropriate for the delivery of the departmental or agency program. The structure is formed by organizing work into functionally related units, such as branches, sectors, and divisions.

Within these branches, sectors, divisions and so on, managers design their own organizational structures, and organize and assign the work to the positions in the structure. The manager describes the work of each position in a work description, which is allocated to an occupational group and evaluated, using the appropriate classification standard, to determine its classification level.

Appropriate decisions on organization design and the assignment of work are all part of sound HR management. These decisions affect the long-term ability of departments and agencies to deliver programs and services, and to compete for resources and retain competent staff.

Managers are accountable for assigning or reassigning work in a timely and systematic manner and for analyzing the short- and long-term consequences of their decisions, within the context of effective integrated planning; otherwise, these decisions could inadvertently change the level of positions, impact on career mobility and employee productivity and/or increase the cost of the Public Service. In addition, being unaware of the impacts or waiting too long to take action could result in considerable salary liability for the department, and in some cases, the entire Public Service.

Questions to consider:

Does the organizational structure meet your operational needs now and in the foreseeable future? Is there a need for a change?
Can your current organizational structure support anticipated changes in program delivery?
Is all the work performed in your unit clearly and explicitly identified?
Does all the work performed in your unit facilitate the achievement of your business objectives?
Are the functions of each unit within the organizational structure clearly established? Are they evenly distributed?
Are the lines of authority and accountabilities clearly indicated so that overlap and duplication of effort are avoided?
Is each manager’s span of control reasonable?
Does your resource allocation and your organizational design mesh effectively and efficiently? Is a more efficient and effective organizational design possible?
Does the number of levels in your unit permit you to manage effectively?
Is the allocation of work effective and balanced? Is the workload evenly distributed?
Are services provided to your unit at the appropriate level in your organizational structure (e.g. administrative services)?
Are existing work descriptions and organizational charts accurate, up-to-date?
Are work descriptions free of gender bias?
Do all titles designate the work performed by that job clearly, and explicitly?
Does your organization allow you to recruit and train new employees as needed (levels, work descriptions, institutional linguistic capacity)?
Does your organizational structure allow for career progression?

Additional sources of information:

To obtain additional sources of information for the following documents, visit the Canada Public Service Agency Web site:

Tip

During your re-organization efforts, involve classification advisors at the front end so they can highlight organizational impacts.

F) Employment equity

The purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to correct conditions of disadvantage in employment faced by Aboriginal persons, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities and women by removing barriers to employment and using positive measures. Departments and agencies are required by the Employment Equity Act to conduct a workforce analysis and develop an Employment Equity plan to address under-representation of designated group members. It is recommended that you review the departmental Employment Equity plan. Your own plan should in turn reflect the department’s or agency’s Employment Equity goals as highlighted in the departmental Employment Equity plan.

The data you receive on Aboriginal persons, visible minorities and persons with disabilities are based on those employees who have self-identified. Information on women is retrieved from the pay system. Employment Equity data covers all indeterminate employees, employees with terms of three months or more and seasonal employees.

As a manager, you will want to use this information to assess designated group representation in different employment categories and levels, set goals and monitor progress in reaching those goals.

Questions to consider:

Are designated group members well represented at senior levels and at all levels in all employment categories? (Note: Representation should be measured against workforce availability and should be compared to the department’s national targets.)
How stable is the representation? For example, what percentage of designated group members are term employees?
What percentage of designated group members are eligible to retire over the next five years?
What are the separation rates of designated group members versus the recruitment rate?
Does your plan address corporate priorities for building a representative and inclusive institution, such as implementation of the Embracing Change Action Plan?
Does your plan address the results of the departmental Employment Equity audit conducted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission?
The workforce analysis under the Employment Equity Act is designed to identify areas of under-representation of designated group members in the department’s or agency’s workforce (gaps). Does your plan incorporate Employment Equity considerations/requirements and identify ways to address gaps in participation?
Is Employment Equity a factor in any proposed recruitment or development programs? For example, what selection/advertising/recruitment and development processes (e.g. pre-qualified pools) will be used to increase representation of designated group members?
Are there plans for outreach activities to reach designated groups and achieve Employment Equity goals?
Does your plan include measures and costs to accommodate employees in accordance with the Canadian Human Rights Act and the policy on the Duty to Accommodate?

Additional sources of information:

Check your departmental/agency Employment Equity plan for additional information, your branch Employment Equity workforce analysis as well as the Canada Public Service Agency Web site:

Tip

If there is an under-representation, you may want to include in the plan the measures you will take to close the representation gap.

G) Official languages

Equal opportunities: Members of both official language groups have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in federal institutions.

Workforce composition: The composition of the workforce of federal institutions tends to reflect the presence of both the official language communities of Canada.

Language skills: English and French are the official languages of federal institutions. Members of the public have the right to communicate with federal institutions and receive services from them in their preferred official language at designated offices. In regions designated as bilingual for language-of-work purposes, both official languages are the languages of work. In other regions, the language of work is generally the one that predominates in the province or territory.

As a manager in a designated bilingual office for service to the public, it is important that you identify and maintain the necessary language capacity to provide quality services in both official languages.

As a manager in bilingual regions for language-of-work purposes, it is important that you create and maintain a work environment conducive to the use of both official languages, and ensure that employees can exercise their right to choose either language as it pertains to supervision, training, tools, meetings, documents, or personal and central services.

Questions to consider:

Do English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities to obtain employment and promotion within the institution?
Are English- and French-speaking Canadians well represented at senior levels and at all levels in all employment categories? How stable is the representation?
What percentage of members of each official language group are eligible to retire over the next five years?
Are there enough bilingual positions with the right language requirements to provide good service to the public in both official languages, and to respect language-of-work rights?
Do the employees meet the language requirements of their positions?
Have you made budget provisions to meet the language training needs of employees?
Do the personal language training plans of employees address current and future language skill requirements and career aspirations?
What is the impact on organizational performance?

Additional sources of information:

Canada Public Service Agency's Official Languages site

H) Workplace well-being

Organizations that create an “HR dashboard” to monitor key indicators of workplace well-being and employee engagement are better equipped to develop integrated HR and business plans that contain meaningful actions aimed at specific areas of improvement. Employee engagement lies at the heart of both performance and retention; it is based on job satisfaction and rational and emotional commitment to the workplace. It is therefore important to develop both objective (quantitative) and subjective (qualitative) indicators to allow organizations to have a full picture of how “well” they are doing.

Workplace well-being is a holistic approach to creating high performance organizations through establishing the right workplace conditions to generate high levels of employee engagement. It assumes that achieving high levels of organizational performance depends on employees who are strongly committed to achieving the goals of the organization and who show this through their actions. This behavioural objective is influenced in turn by levels of employee satisfaction and by supportive, respectful and healthy work environments. Workplace Well-Being is connected to physical health and wellness but primarily emphasizes the social and psychological dimensions of three inter-related elements: the workplace, the workforce, and the work people do.

Questions to consider:

What is the state of employee engagement and how willing are employees to strive to achieve the results at which the organization aims?
What drives employees' decisions to volunteer extra effort on the job?
How committed are employees to their job, team, manager and organization?
What is the level of job satisfaction and how does it influence employee commitment?
Are managers evaluated for how well they lead their team?
Does your organization have a way to set targets for employee engagement and workplace well-being, track improvements and hold managers accountable?
What is done to facilitate employee career development and a meaningful work/job fit?
How well is workload managed?
Number and nature of conflicts, time resolved and trends?
What are the unscheduled absenteeism and long-term disability rates and trends?
What are the leave and Employee Assistance Program utilization rates and trends?
What are the number of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims filed and WSIB premiums paid/trends?
What is the return to work success rate/trend?
What workplace arrangements are in place (e.g. part time, compressed, telework, accommodation of Employment Equity designated group members) and how successful are they?
Is the workplace (in bilingual regions) conducive to the use of both official languages?
Is there sufficient infrastructure in place (e.g. equipment, office space, technical aids, employees returning from long-term disability leave) to accommodate all employees in your unit?

Additional sources of information:

To obtain additional sources of information for the following documents, visit the Canada Public Service Agency Web site:

I) Values and Ethics

Enhancing and maintaining public trust in the institutions of government is a fundamental element of the work of the Public Service of Canada. Managers have a key role in ensuring that all their responsibilities – whether for people, money or programs – are carried out in such a way that the values of the Public Service are upheld, and that all employees maintain high ethical standards in their actions and decisions.

To guide public servants in upholding the organization’s values and to foster public confidence, the Treasury Board adopted the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service (the Code) in September 2003. It is a condition of employment in the Public Service. It contains a statement of Public Service values and ethics, developed following extensive consultation with public servants, which highlights four fundamental families of values: democratic, professional, ethical and people values. The Code also contains conflict of interest and post-employment measures, and provides avenues of resolution if there are perceived breaches to the Code or in cases of disagreement about its interpretation. Deputy heads are accountable for ensuring the Code is implemented in their organizations, and for decisions made under the Code. Managers will need to familiarize themselves with this and other related, important policies such as the Policy on the Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace (IDP) and the Policy on the Prevention and Resolution of Harassment in the Workplace, as part of their own responsibilities to provide sound ethical advice and guidance to employees.

Managers, whose responsibility it is to exemplify Public Service values, must strive to create and maintain a work environment that encourages dialogue on organizational values and on the ethical dilemmas unique to their operations. As part of their planning, managers are encouraged to assess employees’ level of awareness and understanding of the Code and related policies, as well as the extent to which staff feel the Code is upheld and their degree of comfort in raising concerns or ethical dilemmas within the organization. Managers should also contact the senior official responsible for the Code within their department or agency to familiarize themselves with the organizational plan of action on values and ethics or for help determining appropriate initiatives for their own work units.

Questions to consider:

Are all employees aware of the existence of the Code and other related policies? Do they know that the Code is a condition of employment? How do you know whether they know? What assessment instruments or procedures are in place?
What do you or your organization have in place to ensure new employees are aware of the Code and its significance to them as public servants? Is the Code integrated into all orientation materials, procedures and events for new employees?
Do employees perceive that the organization’s values are practiced and standards are applied fairly to everyone? How do you know? Do you have mechanisms or procedures to obtain staff feedback on organizational performance against Public Service values and ethics?
Do you have sound advisory and recourse mechanisms in place, where employees can receive advice on ethical dilemmas or where they can make disclosures about such things as wrongdoing or harassment in the workplace?
Are employees comfortable raising ethical dilemmas or making disclosures within your organization? Do they know what mechanisms exist and whom to approach within the organization when they are faced with an ethical dilemma? Are they comfortable coming to you? How do you know? What measures are in place to assess staff awareness and comfort?
What initiatives could be undertaken within your branch and/or the organization to assess awareness of Public Service values and ethics and perceptions of values and ethics in the workplace?
Does your organization supplement the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service with its own customized code or guidelines, reflecting the specific challenges and dilemmas of your workplace? If not, why not?
What measures could be taken to increase familiarity and understanding of the Code and related policies among employees? What orientation, learning and other tools are in place?
What do you personally do as a manager to strengthen Public Service values and ethics as a reality of practice and behaviour in your organization? How do you measure progress?
Does your organization set targets and measure progress for workplace well-being, including such things as employee satisfaction and commitment?
As a manager, are you familiar with the Code, including its objectives, and are you ready to help others better understand and apply its principles in their daily work? Are you confident that your behaviour and conduct would be seen by your colleagues and employees as embodying Public Service values and ethics? How do you know? What assessment procedures or techniques do you use?
Are you aware of the information sources and tools that exist to help you in these responsibilities?
Do you have a branch action plan that fits in with the organizational plan? Does your plan include a series of goal levels, planned follow-up and mechanisms to measure actual results in values and ethics, including from the point of view of stakeholders and employees?

Additional sources of information:

To obtain additional sources of information for the following documents, visit the Canada Public Service Agency Web site:

Tip

Work with the senior official for the Code in your department or agency to further integration initiatives, including employee surveys, branch meetings, retreats, etc.
Undertake dialogue with management and other colleagues to compare experiences and brainstorm ideas for initiatives with potential long-term positive effects.
Review and become familiar with the departmental/agency values and ethics integration plan

STEP 3 – conduct a gap analysis

Based on an analysis of the environmental scan and business goals, what are the organization’s current and future HR needs?

Examples of considerations:

Based on projections, do you foresee a skills shortage in specific occupational groups?
Will changes in program delivery require the acquisition of new skills?
Do you have enough qualified middle managers to feed into the EX group?
Have Official Languages and Employment Equity obligations been met?
Have you conducted a risk assessment on elements of the scan critical to your organization’s success (i.e. probability of occurrence and their projected impact)?

Supporting points to consider in the gap analysis

At this point, you will have completed Step 2 and have an analysis of those areas that are having an impact on the HR capacity to deliver on your business objectives. This may include how your branch/region/directorate/unit is designed, the people you have to do the work, the necessary skills and competencies, the workplace (equipment, tools, etc.) to get the job done and the cost implications.
At this stage in the planning process, you will want to conduct a gap analysis of the shortages and surpluses, identify the gap(s) and determine the extent of the impact/risk. You may want to review your department’s or agency’s corporate risk profile for additional information on key risk areas, risk tolerance of stakeholders, etc.
You can use the worksheet below to assist in this exercise or use any other process to support you.

**Worksheet - Sample gap analysis**
What are my business objectives?	What are the HR requirements to deliver on the business objectives?	Gap - Do I have what I need to carry out my activities or business objectives (yes/no)?	What is the outcome of not addressing the gap	Potential solutions/strategies to address the gap
Example: Technology launch	Technical Staff trained to install and maintain technology	No	High	Include training in employee learning plans Work with internal learning specialists to explore in house training options Examine change delivery mechanisms

STEP 4 – set HR priorities to help achieve business goals

Based on the organization’s goals, environmental scan and gap analysis:

What are the major HR priorities?
What strategies will achieve the desired outcomes?

Work plans may include strategies on:

Recruitment/Staffing, Retention, Mobility/Redeployment, Employment Equity, Official Languages, Classification/Organizational Design, Change Management, Systems Capacity, Leadership Development, Learning, Training and Development, Performance Management, Competency/Skills Development, Succession and Contingency Planning, Corporate Knowledge Retention, Health and Safety, HR Planning, Employee Engagement, Reward and Recognition, Workplace Well-being, Workplace Accommodation, Labour Management Relations, Values and Ethics, Organizational Development, Disability Management

Examples of considerations:

Are the HR priorities and key planning issues included as part of the Report on Plans & Priorities?
Are budgetary considerations factored into the work plan/strategy?
Is it possible to leverage expertise through partnerships with other organizations (e.g. Federal Regional Councils, Functional Community Secretariats)?
Are you incorporating the research from “promising practices” into your work plan/strategy?
Are you taking advantage of your departmental/agency staffing program and tools?
Is the work plan/strategy being cascaded to organizational units?
Are strategies effective and efficient in achieving objectives?

Supporting points to consider in priority setting and strategy development

It is now time to prioritize the gaps based on the relative importance of carrying out your programs/activities and/or business objectives.

As part of integrating human resources with business planning, when describing the business objectives, you may want to include the HR strategies and explain how their implementation will be funded and how they will achieve the results.
Successful approaches to prioritizing and strategy development include:
- consulting with HR, business planners, unions, clients, and employees;
- capitalizing on knowledge gained in “best practice” research, as well as exemplary practices used in other departments and agencies. You can find out what other departments and agencies are doing to improve HR management by reviewing the most recent publication of Promising Human Resources Practices in Times of Change – 5th edition. There may be strategies that can be easily adapted to meet your needs;
- working horizontally and developing partnerships with other branches/regions, councils, networks;
- “right sizing” the plan and covering only those areas where it can have a significant impact (Keep it Simple!); and
- consulting your department’s or agency’s staffing program and supporting tools.

N.B. When setting HR priorities and strategies, it is important to introduce an integrated risk management approach to the process. For more information, please visit the Treasury Board Secretariat Web site:

Federal Regional Councils have good examples of carrying out horizontal initiatives. For example, under the mandate of the Quebec Regional Council, the Quebec Region Interdepartmental Committee of HR Directors has developed a horizontal approach to developing HR initiatives. For additional information, please visit the Federal Regional Council site at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/fcer-cfre/index-eng.asp

STEP 5 – measure, monitor and report on progress

Measuring, monitoring and reporting HR performance outcomes is key to assessing progress in target areas, organizational learning and improvement and determining future priorities.

Does the organization have clear and measurable HR-related goals?
Are the HR performance measures aligned with indicators in the Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework and the People Component of the Management Accountability Framework?
Are systems in place to track performance indicators and analyze cost benefit?
Do results from your performance indicators inform your priority setting for the next fiscal year?
Does your Departmental Performance Report include a section on the degree of success of your integrated planning and management-related efforts?
Have you analyzed data elements that are included under formal reporting requirements (e.g. Employment Equity, Official Languages)?

Supporting points to consider for measuring, monitoring and reporting

The ability to measure progress on priority areas is critical to continuous organizational improvement.
Results from program performance-related data can assist in the determination of future priorities and inform decisions on the allocation of resources, as well as decisions regarding the continuation of programs and activities. Performance-related data can be at the Public Service-wide, departmental and/or local level.
The plan should be considered a "living document" and be subject to review. If an organization/region/branch/unit does not regularly review its planning efforts, it runs the risk of failing to respond to unanticipated changes or changing circumstances.

Consequently, you may wish to establish a process that allows for a regular review of planning efforts in order to:

review performance measurement information;
assess what is working and what is not working;
adjust the plan as necessary and advise your senior managers accordingly; and
address new HR issues that occur.

The following considerations support the questions outlined above in the Checklist and may help determine whether or not your plan needs revisions (Note: Most of these questions will become relevant after you are fairly far along in implementing your strategies.)

Is the plan accomplishing what is needed? For example, are the people, skills and jobs appropriate to ensure that your objectives can be achieved in the short-term, medium-term and long-term?
How are you evaluating your progress against your timelines and milestones?
Have conditions changed such that strategies need to be revisited?
Are the assumptions used in both the current and future needs analysis still valid?
What is working well? What is not?
What adjustments to the plan will be made, and how will you communicate any changes to your stakeholders (where required), or alternatively, how will you involve them in the process?
Are you gathering the information you need to determine priorities and meet formal reporting requirements?

Tip

In deciding on what to measure, it is important to consider:

the effectiveness of HR activities in supporting the achievement of key business objectives;
indicators in the Management Accountability Framework and the People Component of the Management Accountability Framework;
formal reporting requirements (Employment Equity, Official Languages);
published research on HR metrics.

Demographic information is a key component in the integrated planning process. The links provided below on demographics are intended to serve as a support to your department’s or agency’s planning efforts. It is recognized that many organizations already have procedures in place to capture demographic information.

The following information can be found on-line on the Canada Public Service Agency website

Federal Public Service Employment Statistics

The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada provides on-line access to a range of information on employment in the Public Service. The site contains aggregate, statistical data relating to departments and agencies.

Public service demographics and surveys
- This Canada Public Service Agency site provides a repository of information devoted to demographic analysis.
Public service commission annual reports
- The Public Service Commission annual reports provide information on the health of the PS staffing system and provide assessments of the staffing performance of departments and agencies that are governed by the current Public Service Employment Act.
Employment Equity information
- The Employment Equity annual reports provide statistical highlights on Employment Equity designated group members across the Public Service.
2001 and 2006 Census of Canada
- The Census of Population provides information on population and dwelling counts not only for Canada, as a whole, but also for each province and territory, and for smaller geographic units such as cities or districts within cities. The census also provides information about Canada’s demographic, social and economic characteristics.
Social Development Canada – Labour Market information
- This site provides facts and figures about the labour market.
Integrated planning guidebook: public service commission statistical information site
- The PSC Statistical Information Site is called the statistical “Cube” because of its ability to drill down and sideways simultaneously, allowing for more precise data analysis. The “Cube” will help departments and agencies in preparing various types of reports, such as departmental trends in hiring and staffing activities and in making comparisons between HR activities in departments and agencies.

Public Service Commission role:

Official reporter of hiring and staffing activities data and Employment Equity data related to staffing activities (recruitment, promotions, lateral and downward movements, etc.).

Target audience:

Departments and agencies that staff under the Public Service Employment Act.

Contents of the statistical tool:

Data: Hiring and staffing activities - Hiring of casuals - Hiring of students
Definition and notes: Glossary – Department and agency acronyms and description - Occupational groups and description
Variable list: List of variables available in the tools.
Related links
Tutorial: The “Tutorial” located on the side bar, will provide you with sufficient information to use this tool with ease and to start creating your own reports.

The Canada School of the Public Service offers key courses to departments, agencies and central agencies on integrated planning.

P100 Integrated Planning and HR Management is currently being revised. This course takes the “essentials” of PSMA one step further by helping managers and HR professionals learn how to integrate HR and business planning, the Management Accountability Framework and Modern Comptrollership.

The CSPS also offers a dedicated four-day course: P702 Human Resources Planning. The course provides participants with the fundamentals of this important discipline within the federal Public Service context. Participants have the opportunity to learn and practice using the basic tools needed to provide advice and service in this field.

Content: Human Resources Planning (P702)

vision of HR management in the federal Public Service
the Management Accountability Framework and planning cycle of the Treasury Board Secretariat
analysis of the environment, the organization and the workforce
techniques for data collection and analysis
gap analysis
development of HR planning proposals and recommendations

Location: HR planning courses are offered in regions and in the National Capital Region.

Typical participants: HR professionals new to HR planning and those who may be asked to provide advice and guidance to managers on this topic.

Access the course description and register for the HR planning course via the Canada School of the Public Service Web site.

Canada School of Public Service : www.myschool-monecole.gc.ca

These publications can be found on-line on the Government of Canada Web site: http://canada.gc.ca/home.html

Government of Canada:

Other sites of interest:

The Institute of Public Administration of Canada: www.ipac.ca
Office of Personnel Management – The United States Government’s Human Resources Agency (available in English only): www.opm.gov

1) What is integrated HR and business planning?

Integrated HR and business planning is the process of:

determining your business goals;
analyzing your environment to see if you have the appropriate complement to meet your current and future needs;
assessing the gaps in your workforce-what are you missing from an HR perspective in order for you to achieve your goals;
setting priorities, taking action, and initiating strategies to close the gap and help get the HR you need (your HR advisors can help you here); and
reviewing your efforts and assessing if you were successful in integrating HR and business planning.

2) We already do some HR planning. Is it mandatory for us to use the tools in this kit?

Departments and agencies are free to adopt the processes in this kit, or to use them as a complement to existing planning practices should they wish to do so.

Even if departments and agencies are well along the road in integrating HR and business planning, the information in this kit can provide useful benchmarks and checklists that can augment existing practices across departments and agencies.

3) I'm a line manager and I am very busy. I already know my team well. Will this work really help me?

Most good managers address HR planning intuitively, and we know that some organizations are already quite advanced in this area. However, we also know that improvement is needed, Public Service-wide, and it is considered a priority among senior decision makers across government.

The tools in the Integrated Planning Guidebook are generic enough that managers in any organization can use them to help them think through how they can best integrate HR and business planning.

4) From a line manager's perspective, what is the most important document in the Integrated Planning Guidebook for me to work with?

The document entitled Integrated HR and Business Planning Checklist outlines for you the steps that are commonly accepted as central to integrating HR and business planning. Organizations noted for good HR planning typically follow these steps or a slight variation thereof.

If you work through these steps and ask yourself the questions that fall under each heading you may well get some ideas on how you can better integrate HR and business planning and improve your team's capacity to deliver.

It is possible that after you work through this methodology you may only focus on two or three HR strategies. That is fine.

5) What do I need to know before I start the integrated planning process?

Understanding your business goals and deliverables is central to integrating HR and business planning. Although it is recognized that in government, as elsewhere, priorities change, most line managers, after receiving strategic direction, can determine with some accuracy a reasonable course of action for consideration and approval by more senior levels.

6) How can I do an integrated plan in instances where it is unclear what my final budget will be?

It is recognized that sometimes managers do not have all the details at their fingertips that they would like as they work through the planning process. There is always an aspect of risk and uncertainty in any environment.

However, line managers are in the position where they must:

look at the direction they are receiving from their manager(s);
think through where they are in terms of ongoing priorities;
look at the budget they had the previous year, and incorporate any information they might have on the coming year's budget for their team;
outline what they believe to be the key emerging issues; and
come up with proposals on both ongoing work and other potential business deliverables and take into consideration their HR capacity to achieve results.

Talk to your immediate manager and get as clear an idea as possible of what the business priorities are for the coming year.

7) How do I integrate HR planning with staffing?

Integrated HR and business planning is fundamental to taking advantage of the opportunities available to you under the Public Service Employment Act. Integrated HR and business plans can provide you with the solid foundation you need in order to make staffing decisions. Here are some examples of new staffing possibilities:

you will be able to make projections of, and base staffing decisions on, current and future needs to meet business goals;
the definition of merit allows the flexibility to more closely align HR with business needs. For example, you are no longer required to “rank order” candidates. You will, however, need to justify your decision and demonstrate that the person you choose for a job meets all the qualifications of the job. You should base your staffing decisions on your integrated HR and business plan, thereby achieving fairness and transparency; and
problems could be solved informally during a staffing process, avoiding the need for more formal recourse process.

8) How are the reporting requirements, such as the Report on Plans and Priorities, Departmental Performance Report and annual reports, linked to integrated HR and business planning process?

All departments and agencies are subject to traditional reporting requirements such as the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report. Line managers at various levels typically contribute to the process of preparing these documents.

Integrated HR and business planning in the context of preparing these reports is important. For example, the Report on Plans and Priorities outlines what organizations plan to do, so it is important to ensure you have the human capacity to achieve your goals.

However, integrated HR and business planning should not be considered as an exercise exclusively designed to meet reporting requirements. Integrated HR and business planning should be an ongoing process whereby managers are regularly thinking about their work in the context of the people, learning and human development needed to meet their goals.

9) What support is available to help departments, agencies and line managers integrate HR with business planning?

The information in the Integrated Planning Guidebook is designed to transcend the planning-related specifics of any particular department or manager, and provides a model and checklists that can either be adopted outright or adapted to complement existing planning practices.

The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada also offers help and support to departments and agencies. The Planning Directorate can be contacted by calling (613) 946-9303.

HR advisors, HR planning specialists and corporate planners in departments and agencies can provide support to managers. The HR Planning Interdepartmental Network (HRPIN) meets regularly to discuss HR planning issues. This is an open forum where those interested in HR planning issues can attend and participate.

10) How is Public Service-wide Renewal linked to Integrated Planning?

One of the biggest challenges the government is currently facing deals with attracting, recruiting, training and retaining talents in a highly competitive national and international context for this vital resource. Renewal is about ensuring excellence in all that Public Service does in the future. Renewal encompasses both how business is done and the people who do it. This means that every manager in the Public Service must plan for his/her business and for the associated people requirements, know existing and forecasted talent strengths and gaps, effectively align resources (including people) to deliver results and use planning to engage employees and achieve traction.

Integrated planning Guidebook: Annex 1

Integrated planning: working through the five-step approach

Foreword

The planning templates contained in this document were developed based on numerous requests from a variety of departments and agencies in the Public Service for more information on the integrated planning process.

In a recent address to Deputy Ministers, the President of CPSA stated that:

“…Planning, and more specifically Integrated Planning – that is the integration of human resources and business planning - has been identified as one of the key pillars of Public Service Renewal by both the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Public Service and the Deputy Minister’s Sub-Committee on Public Service Renewal.”

The Clerk of the Privy Council has identified planning, recruitment, development and enabling infrastructure to be the 4 pillars of Renewal, and as such, Public Service Renewal has become one of our top priorities at the Canada Public Service Agency.

Integrated planning is the primary basis for assessing and understanding the current and future human resources needs of departments and agencies.
Integrated planning forms the framework which enables recruitment and retention of people needed to meet business requirements and also from which employee development and succession plans are established; and
Integrated planning is one of the key drivers of an enabling infrastructure in that we need to have processes and systems in place to support effective integrated planning.

From “Determining your Business Goals” to “Measuring, Monitoring and Reporting on your Progress”, these templates were developed to help you in your ongoing efforts to implement and improve integrated planning, and they can be used in whole or in part to supplement your organization’s existing planning processes.

We hope these tools are useful and we welcome your feedback on them.

We would like to thank the organizations below who contributed to the development of these templates: Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Citizenship and Immigration, Industry Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Transport Canada, Service Canada, The Small Agency Transition Support Team (CPSA), Natural Resources Canada

How to use this tool

Templates and/or worksheets have been created to follow the Five-Step Approach of the integrated human resources and business planning checklist. The Five-Step Approach is a guide to integrating human resources and business planning. As you proceed through the process you may find that some steps can be worked concurrently or in a different order than what is indicated. All templates and worksheets are supported by a list of suggested Considerations, Documents to Consult and Roles and Responsibilities. Templates and worksheets were developed in Excel 9.0.

Step 1: Determine your business goals

Two spreadsheets have been provided for your use.

The Worksheet may be used for regional-, sector-, or branch-level organizations. In keeping with the Program Activity Architecture policy, we have allowed space to include sub-activities and activities.

The Template may be used at the higher Branch or Department/Agency level to allow for roll-up of the regional worksheets. Space is also provided at this level to include Branch activities.

Step 2: scan the environment

Three worksheets; one for Key Positions, one for determining Employment Equity and one for Training and Development supports the Current Workforce Analysis template.

As well, templates are available for Internal and External Analysis and provide space for Risk Analysis, Mitigation Strategies and could assist you in the beginning of a human resources plan.

Two additional, separate templates are available for forecasting Future Workforce Needs (short term and long term), which summarizes the current Workforce Analysis, and Internal and External Analysis templates.

Step 3: conduct a gap analysis

One template is provided to help summarize the gap analysis between your current workforce, future workforce and your business goals. This template provides space to indicate some strategies to meet the gap and gives you an opportunity to conduct a risk assessment.

Step 4: set HR priorities to help achieve business goals

Taking into consideration the gap analysis of Step 3, Step 4 provides a template to summarize your strategies linked to the gap analysis and business goals. This template could be considered as an action plan as you move forward to developing the Staffing Plan. An additional template is provided to help draft the Staffing Plan.

Step 5: measure, monitor and report on progress

Step 5 provides both a worksheet for Regional, Sector or Branch level organizations and a template for roll-up to a higher level to assist in measuring the progress against your priorities. The worksheet provides for an at-a-glance view of the status of activities in the organization.

Please note that these templates and worksheets may contain sensitive information once completed, and should therefore be marked PROTECTED

Date modified:: 2007-04-19

We are currently moving our web services and information to Canada.ca.

Integrated planning guide

Archived information

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why integrated planning?

Defining HR planning

Integrated planning principles

Section 1: Legislative base and other drivers of integrated planning

Legislative base

Other drivers

Section 2: integrated planning principles and process

Six principles of integrated planning

Integrated planning calendar

Five-step approach to determining and building for current and future needs

Section 3: integrated planning tools

Integrated planning guidebook: integrated planning in a delegated environment chart

People component of the management accountability framework

Integrated Planning Calendar

Responsibilities of key partners in effective planning

Managers

Human resources

Corporate planners

Integrated Human Resources and Business Planning Checklist

STEP ONE: Determine your business goals

STEP TWO: Scan the environment

A) Workforce Analysis

B) Internal Scan

C) External Scan

STEP THREE: Conduct a gap analysis

STEP FOUR: Set HR priorities to help achieve goals

STEP FIVE: Measure, Monitor and Report on Progress

Determine your business goals

Scan the environment

Workforce Analysis

Internal Scan

External Scan

Examples of Considerations

Conduct a gap analysis

Examples of Considerations:

Set HR priorities to help achieve business goals

Examples of Considerations:

Measure, monitor and report on progress

STEP 1 - determine your business goals

Supporting points to consider in determining your business goals

Additional information:

STEP 2 - scan the environment

Workforce analysis

A) Skills and competencies

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

B) Training, learning and development

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

C) Employment type and resourcing

Examples of employment type:

Questions to consider:

D) Separation

Questions to consider:

E) Organizational Structure

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

Tip

F) Employment equity

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

Tip

G) Official languages

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

H) Workplace well-being

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

I) Values and Ethics

Questions to consider:

Additional sources of information:

Tip

STEP 3 – conduct a gap analysis

Examples of considerations:

Supporting points to consider in the gap analysis