Frequently Asked Questions on EX Talent Management

1. What is executive talent management?
2. What is the Executive Talent Management System?
3. What is the link between executive talent management and the Performance Management Program?
4. What is the link between executive talent management and leadership development?
5. What is the link between executive talent management and Interchange Canada?
6. Why is the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer launching a public service–wide initiative?
7. Who can use the Executive Talent Management System?
8. Where do I find the Executive Talent Management System?
9. Is the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire mandatory?
10. Who developed the Executive Talent Management System?
11. Who is responsible for executive talent management in the public service?
12. How has the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire changed?
13. Why should executives complete the online Executive Talent Management Questionnaire?
14. What does senior management do with the talent management information?
15. How will my personal information be protected?

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General

1. What is executive talent management?

Talent management is about ensuring that people are matched to the right job for their skills, competencies and career plans. Through dialogue, feedback, career support and individually tailored learning, the potential of employees can be fully realized, organizational priorities can be met, and public service excellence can be supported.

Executive talent management is designed to support the ongoing development and retention of executives while supporting current and future departmental business goals. It helps build sustained excellence in public service leadership by maximizing the contribution of every executive.

Managing the talent of executives is a shared responsibility among executives, managers, HR professionals, deputy heads and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Executive talent management incorporates related HR initiatives such as the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire, the Performance Management Program, and leadership development (including Interchange Canada).

2. What is the Executive Talent Management System?

The Executive Talent Management System (ETMS) is an online system housed on a secure database that, when completed, will integrate the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire and the Performance Management Program and leadership development (including Interchange Canada executive assignments).

The ETMS will provide enhanced, real-time efficiencies when collecting, accessing, and analyzing strategic information about executives. It will help leaders to better know their executive community, manage talent, and build a stronger public service.

The ETMS will also further enable in-depth analysis to identify demographic trends and gaps, which will result in improved succession planning, timely knowledge transfer, and more strategic leadership development plans. Having this information provides a solid context to support talent management discussions between executives and their managers.

It will also benefit executives by offering them a comprehensive personal overview of their performance, career aspirations and developmental needs all in one place.

The goal is for deputy heads to have the information needed to match the right executives with the right skills to the right position to deliver results to Canadians and support public service excellence.

3. What is the link between executive talent management and the Performance Management Program?

Talent management focuses on the future and is designed to ensure that executives are properly matched to the right job for their skills, experience, competencies and career plans.

The Performance Management Program focuses on the past, as it evaluates executives’ achievement of results based on the performance of the previous year.

Talent management and the Performance Management Program are linked because deputy heads consider past performance when determining talent potential.

The Executive Talent Management System creates the ability to house these two related HR initiatives in one location.

4. What is the link between executive talent management and leadership development?

Leadership development focuses on training that provides opportunities for employees to learn and grow. The goal is to provide opportunities for individuals to gain the skills required to function effectively within the organization.

Leadership development and talent management are linked because leadership development is one of the outcomes from the talent management dialogue.

The Executive Talent Management System creates the ability to link the information from the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire on an executive’ s aspirations, goals, strengths and weaknesses to a database containing learning and development options. Data is efficiently matched and brokered to support executives.

5. What is the link between executive talent management and Interchange Canada?

Interchange Canada is a skills-exchange program with a developmental focus between the core public administration and organizations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada and internationally.

Talent management and Interchange Canada are linked because executives who have the potential or desire for this type of learning experience can participate in an Interchange Canada assignment to acquire specialized competencies and practices while gaining exposure to and understanding of other sectors (public and private).

The Executive Talent Management System will link talent management information and leadership development requirements by connecting those executives identified for this type of learning with possible assignments to improve and round out their professional careers. This link will happen through the leadership development component of the Executive Talent Management System.

6. Why is the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer launching a public service–wide initiative?

In collaboration with the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO), departments have created an integrated online talent management system called the Executive Talent Management System.

This system was developed to further support deputy heads in managing their executive community.

OCHRO provides direction, guidance and support for the collective management of assistant deputy ministers (ADMs). The Executive Talent Management System is a vehicle that will help better support the management of the both the ADM community and the overall executive community across the public service.

Collecting and analyzing data on the public service executive community provides deputy heads with additional strategic information on their executives such as demographics trends, talent gaps and the succession landscape. The desired goal of this process is to maximize the potential of executives to ensure they are ready and capable of handling the current and future needs of the public service. This ensures that the public service will have the right people in the right place at the right time.

7. Who can use the Executive Talent Management System?

Employees who are part of the EX community and those who have EX-equivalent positions are eligible to use the Executive Talent Management System.

8. Where do I find the Executive Talent Management System?

The Executive Talent Management System is available on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website.

9. Is the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire mandatory?

The completion of the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire is mandatory for assistant deputy ministers (EX-04 to EX-05).

The completion of the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire is not mandatory for EX­01 to EX-03s.

Directors and directors general are encouraged to take advantage of the many benefits of the ETMS. Using the system allows them to access all of their career information in one location. They will have access to their history with the Performance Management Program and talent management and leadership development files. This will help them as they manage their individual careers by reviewing their accomplishments, aspirations and planned learning side by side.

This also supports discussions between managers and executives by adding more structure and rigour to the career discussions and increasing executive engagement.

By using the ETMS, executives are also introducing new benefits to the strategic planning of their respective departments. With a full complement of EX data, departments can carry out meaningful research and analysis on departmental trends. Benefits can be further extrapolated to the entire public service, as the value of a comprehensive database on all executives would permit key strategic public service–wide trend and gap analysis.

10. Who developed the Executive Talent Management System?

The Executive Talent Management System was designed collaboratively between departments and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer to respond to public service–wide and organizational needs to support the management of the executive cadre.

Executive Talent Management

11. Who is responsible for executive talent management in the public service?

Deputy heads are responsible for managing the talent of executives who are at levels EX-01 to EX-03.

The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO) is responsible for collectively managing the ADM community (EX-04 and EX-05s) and for providing the Committee of Senior Officials (COSO) with information on the executive cadre for review.

OCHRO also plays a role in supporting deputy heads in the management of the executive community by offering guidance and tools on the management of executive talent.

The Executive Talent Management System integrates the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire, the Performance Management Program and leadership development.

OCHRO will use data from this system to analyze the entire executive community to identify trends and gaps and to support direction setting for the public service.

12. How has the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire changed?

The questionnaire has been simplified, improved and moved online. Benefits are as follows:

• Efficiency—The questionnaire reduces manual data entry because the questionnaire information only has to be updated each year and not completely re-entered.
• Accuracy—Performance management results, second language results, etc. come from the source.

13. Why should executives complete the online Executive Talent Management Questionnaire?

The Executive Talent Management System (ETMS) gives executives access to all of their career information in one location. By using the ETMS, they will have access to their history with the Performance Management Program and talent management and leadership development files. This will help them as they manage their individual careers by reviewing their accomplishments, aspirations and planned learning side by side.

This also supports discussions between managers and executives by adding more structure and rigour to the career discussions and increasing executive engagement.

By using the ETMS, executives are also introducing new benefits to the strategic planning of their respective departments. With public service–wide EX data, departments can undertake meaningful research and analysis on departmental trends. Benefits can be further extrapolated to the entire public service, as the value of a comprehensive database on all executives would permit key strategic public service–wide trend and gap analysis.

14. What does senior management do with the talent management information?

By using the Executive Talent Management System, participating organizations receive executive profiles as well as aggregated departmental and public service–wide data reports of the executive talent pool (EX-01 to EX-05). Senior management reviews will vary according to each organization, but all should include the following:

• Determination of the most appropriate and feasible training and/or developmental opportunities for executives within the context of current and future business requirements;
• Discussion about their executive talent and the proposed recommendations for each within the context of organizational needs;
• Identification of departmental skill shortages, gaps and review of critical positions, with special attention to those that do not have succession plans in place;
• Selection or nomination of executives for key development opportunities such as leadership development programs or courses; and
• Determination of the appropriate talent map placement for the employee.

This increases the capacity of senior leaders’ knowledge of the executive community to identify trends and critical gaps unique to their organization or the public service and will support strategic decision making.

Completed ADM (EX-04s and EX-05s) talent management information also forms the basis of ADM talent management visits with deputy heads by the Chief Human Resource Officer and the ADM of Executive Policies and Talent Management and presentations to the Committee of Senior Officials (COSO).

15. How will my personal information be protected?

Personal information is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act. A notice appears at the top of the Executive Talent Management Questionnaire informing participants of the intended use or disclosure of the personal information collected.

Access to collected information is restricted to selected personnel for the purposes of data analysis at the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer or within departments.
In addition, all organizations handling personal information are required do so in accordance with protected security requirements.