Audit of Atlantic Region Governance

3.0 Observations et recommandations

3.1 Processus de gouvernance

The audit examined five areas of core management controls:

• Governance and strategic direction
• Accountability
• Public service values
• Results and performance
• People

We expected to find that a clearly articulated plan was in place for the Atlantic Region; that accountabilities were appropriate; that values and ethics were promoted; that information on results was gathered and analysed, used for decision making and adequately reported; that roles and responsibilities were clearly delineated, and that learning plans supported employees’ and management’s goals.

Overall, the governance processes in place in the Atlantic Region partially met our expectations.

3.1.1 Governance and strategic direction

In reviewing governance and strategic direction, we had the following expectations:

• Operational plans are in place to achieve objectives.
• Communication protocols exist for key internal and external stakeholders.

Our expectations were partially met.

While the Region has a business plan, there are no formal operational plans to support it. Operational plans are usually established to help achieve objectives set by management. Although national headquarters did not require that the Region produce operational plans for the period under review, such plans would have facilitated management’s overview of program and service delivery.

The business plan sets out the mandate and operational context of the Atlantic Region. We found that the identification of internal and external contexts was useful to management in determining relevant strengths and weaknesses and in identifying opportunities and threats. Also, the business plan identifies risks, describes the potential impact of those risks, and outlines a mitigation strategy for each. Three of the six risks identified for the Region are in line with the new Corporate Risk Profile, which is part of the Integrated Corporate Plan.

Although the Region’s business plan includes relevant sector milestones and key commitments, and incorporates some milestones and commitments particular to the Region, the plan is not a substitute for operational plans. While performance indicators are identified for some milestones (e.g. “number of decisions” and “deal quickly”), few state actual benchmarks or targets. These key commitments and milestones are in line with the outcomes set in the Report on Plans and Priorities and in the Integrated Corporate Plan, and are related to the six strategic goals established at the departmental level.

Operational plans that identify specific targets and include accountabilities across all functional and office levels in the Region would be useful for management. Operational plans would enable the Region to measure all activities (including support functions and the various business lines), to communicate expected outcomes to staff, and to monitor those outcomes against pre‑defined expectations. Operational plans would also support future decision making. The Region has already set local office targets for permanent immigration levels, established plans for monitoring contribution agreements, and started to measure results and performance of a wider range of activities, all of which could form part of these plans.

Unlike other regions, the Atlantic Region has no regional Intranet to disseminate information to its staff. Although an Intranet might be useful, management does not feel that the Region has the resources needed to implement such a tool at present. It remains a possibility for the future. Meanwhile, the Region is considering an alternative such as CIC Wiki to help disseminate information internally. A newsletter providing staff with regional news and information was abandoned in 2004 because of a lack of resources; however, a human resources newsletter was reintroduced in June 2010 and provides information to staff about changes at local offices, positions available, recognition awards, and career development.

The main means of internal communication are management committees, management meetings, staff meetings, and email. The Region has appropriate communication protocols in place for internal and external stakeholders, and is taking steps to improve them.

For external partners, information‑sharing protocols are either in place or are in the process of being implemented following discussions by a regional working group. A memorandum of understanding with a partner is in place and has led to the creation of a regional working group. The group, which meets quarterly, has the mandate of maintaining formal consultations to ensure consistency in the people doing processing in all service deliveries points in the Region. At the working level, communication revolves around staff involvement in working groups. Also, federal‑provincial framework agreements for cooperation on immigration are in place with two provinces (Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island). Agreements on provincial nominees are also in place with all of the provinces in the Atlantic Region.

Recommendation 1

The Atlantic RDG should develop operational plans to support the Region’s business plan, which should be reviewed at appropriate intervals.

Management response

The Region recognizes and appreciates the importance of operational planning. A renewed focus on planning allows us to deliver solid results because we are clear about what we are trying to achieve. In turn, our evolving performance measurement and reporting regime enables us to monitor progress and adjust as necessary in order to assess progress against each milestone. 

Although no local operational plans have existed in the Region in the past, operations directors and managers have fully participated in the development (and approval) of the regional business plan and were strongly encouraged to adhere to that plan in meeting operational objectives and mitigating risks. The Region agrees, however, that local operational plans would help support the Region’s business plan. We have begun the process to develop such plans and have requested a few local operational plans from colleagues in other domestic regions. We will use the structure and substance of those plans in the developing local plans in our region. We will continue to consult with colleagues, including those at headquarters, as we develop these plans. We anticipate that there will be a plan in place for 2010–11.

Local plans will be developed in a facilitative manner, being informed primarily by the regional business plan, and will be reviewed and updated annually.

3.1.2 Accountability

In reviewing accountability, we had the following expectations:

• Processes exist to ensure that accountabilities and responsibilities are clearly delegated and communicated, and are adequately discharged.
• A clear organizational structure is established and documented.

We reviewed the processes and structures in place to support accountability, including those of two committees. We found that the Region met our expectations in this area.

The Atlantic Management Committee (AMC) comprises the RDG, and the directors or managers at each inland office and regional headquarters functional area (see Appendix D for a list of members). The role of the AMC, which meets every two weeks, is to provide a forum for information sharing, discussion and decision making.

The Atlantic Region Management Team (ARMT) comprises regional program advisors, supervisors, a financial advisor, and the members of the AMC (see Appendix D for a list of members). The role of the ARMT, which meets twice a year, is to provide a more practical view of programs, focusing on regional planning. It is a forum for high‑level discussions on operations in the Atlantic Region. Its meetings include presentations and Q&A sessions by team members and sometimes by staff from national headquarters. Some decision making takes place, but decisions are generally referred to the AMC for approval. The ARMT fosters information sharing among members and facilitates informal training.

We reviewed minutes of meetings of both the AMC and the ARMT and found that these bodies are the main mechanism for reviewing results and ensuring accountability. Although no formal terms of reference were available, both bodies have an appropriate structure in place to support regional operations.

The Region has organizational charts that are clear, well documented, and structured appropriately to support its operations. Staffs are informed of their responsibilities through the departmental Intranet, new employee checklists, job descriptions, team meetings, and charts of roles and responsibilities.

As discussed in Section 3.1.1 - Governance and strategic direction, the Region has no operational plans. Such plans would help ensure that accountabilities and responsibilities are clearly delegated and communicated, and that they are adequately discharged.

The Region generally met our expectations in this area as it has an appropriate structure in place to support its operations locally.

3.1.3 Public service values

We expected to find that management promotes and reinforces public service values.

The Region partially met our expectations. We found little evidence of formal methods to support and promote values and ethics in the Region. No regional policy was established, and no clear means of communication existed, although the Region has a values and ethics champion, who also sits on the AMC. We reviewed AMC meeting minutes for evidence of discussions of values and ethics and found none.

During our interviews, management informed us that values and ethics are promoted in the Region by means such as providing the departmental Code of Conduct to new staff, sending notifications from human resources on procedures relating to gifts, and encouraging managers and supervisors to discuss issues with staff. Values and ethics are also covered in some of the mandatory training for new staff. Discussions about ethical issues occur as required.

There is insufficient evidence to determine whether values and ethics are promoted adequately in the Region. Strengthening the framework would help clarify the role of management and would ensure that values and ethics are reinforced appropriately.

3.1.4 Results and performance

In reviewing results and performance, we expected to find that processes exist to ensure that:

• Processes exist to ensure that planned results and outcomes are linked to organizational objectives.
• Management has identified appropriate performance measures that are linked to planned results.
• Management monitors actual performance against planned results and adjusts as required.

In this area of the audit, the Region met our expectations.

The Department introduced a requirement for quarterly reporting along with the new planning process for 2010–11. The Atlantic Region reported against the milestones of the Operations Sector plan that applied to it. This information is included in the Sector’s report in the quarterly review process led by national headquarters.

The Region also prepares monthly reports on citizenship and immigration case processing, as well as on settlement and resettlement contribution funding (including monitoring activities) for management use and discussion.

At the time of our review, the Halifax office was piloting a tool that would provide quantitative information to management on a wider range of work. This tool will enable tracking of file status and other activities that are not directly related to processing (for example, time spent on enquiries).

AMC regularly monitors the number of citizenship and immigration cases processed in the Region. Because of the way in which applications are received and because of external factors affecting the number of applications, no levels are set for most business lines; however, progress is monitored against anticipated processing volumes. In addition, progress against established levels is monitored for permanent resident cases and for contributions funding agreements.

The development of operational work plan(s) as recommended above (see Recommendation 1) would improve the Region’s ability to monitor results and performance.

3.1.5 People

In the area of people management, we had the following expectations:

• Staff are informed and aware of their roles and responsibilities.
• Employees have appropriate tools and training to carry out their responsibilities.
• Learning plans are in place and support employees’ and management’s goals.
• Processes are in place for assessing employee performance.

The Region partially met our expectations. No formal human resources (HR) plan exists to support the regional business plan.

One of the foundations of people management is an HR plan that ensures that the Region has the people and work environment in place to support its activities locally. An HR plan would address the Region’s challenges and realities. The Region has developed some tools to monitor HR activities, but those tools do not replace a cohesive HR plan.

An HR plan should include the following:

• An analysis of current and future resource and competency needs to manage each program at each regional office and internal services throughout the Region
• Key positions and succession plans or plans for short‑term replacement
• A definition of responsibilities, skills requirements and tasks, and the degree of usage
• A training and development plan that supports the business plan (as mentioned in Recommendation 1)

Staff are properly informed of their roles and responsibilities. They receive that information from their manager, supervisor or regional program advisor, or from colleagues who have held their position in the past. They also learn about their roles and responsibilities through mandatory training.

There is no learning strategy in place to support staff development. Because of budget limitations, the Region focuses on mandatory training. Because staff are dispersed throughout the Region and only a few people need training at the same time, mandatory training often needs to be given outside the Region, which increases the costs of training because of the costs of travel. The Region has no clearly established training or workshop schedule, although the HR unit has published a newsletter listing courses that have been offered in the past. A schedule would make staff aware of future courses so that they have time to register and could also be used as a reminder. A learning strategy that forms part of the HR plan described above could address some of these issues. Management currently monitors training registrations and expenses to ensure that staff take the necessary training for their development, within budget restraints.

An adequate performance evaluation process is in place. Objectives and expectations are discussed and agreed upon in order to meet the obligations that are set for the Region.

People management in the Atlantic Region could be improved through the development of an HR plan, which would ensure that the Region has the people and work environment in place to support its activities.

Recommendation 3

The Atlantic RDG should develop an HR plan, including a learning strategy to support employees’ and management’s goals outlined in the Region’s business plan.

Management response

The management team agrees that an HR plan would be useful, not only to outline short‑term goals to support the objectives outlined in the business plan, but also to set a strategic direction over the three‑year planning cycle.

The HR manager, in consultation with the AMC, will incorporate current forecasting (i.e. staffing template), measurement (i.e. regional training template) and evaluation tools into a broader regional HR plan and will make any necessary modifications to those tools. HR planning information posted on the Intranet will be used as an initial reference, and the HR manager will consult with colleagues across the country in developing the plan.

The plan will be guided by the HR Branch priorities and plan, and will support the objectives outlined in the Region’s business plan. It will be in place by April 2011.

3.2 Risk management

As part of this audit we also examined the adequacy of risk management processes and practices in place to support the achievement of the Region’s objectives.

We had the following expectations:

• Processes are in place to identify, assess, mitigate and monitor risks.
• Management appropriately communicates risks and risk management strategies to key stakeholders.
• Planning and resource allocation consider risk information.

The Region met our expectations with respect to risk management processes and practices.

Based on the Integrated Risk Management Framework produced by the TBS and on the Integrated Risk Management Reference Guide produced by CIC, managers are expected to do the following:

• Identify – Identify risks and opportunities in the environment.
• Assess – Assess the risks in order to estimate the probability of occurrence and the likely impact.
• Prioritize – Rank the risks so that the organization can set risk‑tolerance levels and identify when management action is required.
• Mitigate – Develop an action plan to reduce risks in areas that exceed risk‑tolerance levels.
• Monitor and review – Ensure that risk information is current.

The Atlantic Region has identified and assessed risks and has developed mitigation strategies as part of its business planning process. For each risk identified, the Region has assessed the probability that it will occur, has anticipated the potential impact on program and operations management, and has developed mitigation strategies.

Some risks identified are linked to the Corporate Risk Profile 2010–2013; however, most risks involve the ability to manage operations. The corporate risks are higher‑level areas that must be managed in order for the Department to achieve its corporate objectives.

As a result, risk management information is communicated to internal stakeholders through the regional business plan. The Region also provides input as part of a quarterly review of corporate risks for which the Operations Sector is accountable, and periodically reports on the achievement of processing results against targets and resulting mitigation measures to ensure that annual targets or anticipated processing volumes can be achieved as planned.

Although mitigation strategies are in place, there is little evidence of ongoing monitoring beyond some discussion of risk at the AMC. The risks identified this year are similar to those identified last year: only one risk was added, and no changes were made to assessments or mitigation strategies. Setting milestones and target dates for mitigation strategies could further integrate risk management into operational planning and resource allocation and could facilitate monitoring.

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