From Posts to Pools: New Approaches to Talent Management at UNDP

1. From Posts to Pools: New Approaches to Talent Management at UNDP Michael Emery

2. What is the Current Situation • For 100 Series Posts – the QUARRY • 200, 300, SSAs, SCs – delegated to the field and hiring units with little corporate oversight • Currently advertising over 500 positions per month • Only 1/3 of applicants are women • UNDP is having increasing difficulty in filling ‘core’ posts, in particular Country Director positions

3. What’s Good about the Current Situation? • It has created a more flexible and responsive workforce • It has allowed those traditionally on the margins of the workforce to compete for core positions • Allowed greater career progression (compared to the Secretariat) for GS staff • With QUARRY, has allowed greater oversight of Bureau decisions and led to increased number of women being selected for core positions. • With the corporate website, has significantly improved UNDP corporate branding • Has brought new talent into UNDP

4. What’s not so good? • The process is considered reactionary (post becomes vacant, then advertise) • Staff are staying less time in core posts because they don’t want to run the risk of being displaced • Over-reliance on networking to secure next position – rather than on merit • Little oversight over shortlists and interviewing standards • Considered very time consuming with interview panels, AB, AP etc. • Little safety net for unassigned staff • Acts as a disincentive for staff to go on interagency exchange or SLWOP

5. What are the external tensions also affecting the recruitment domain? • The UN reform agenda calling for a more mobile (between organisations) Civil Service • Retirement (and significant knowledge loss) of the Baby Boomers. (UNDP 24% of senior management in the next 3 years) • Significant competition for our core business. • Significant shifts in sources of labour (college graduates this year US 1.3 million, India, 3.1 million, China 4.9 million) • Decline of the nuclear family • The rise of Generation X and their expectations • Rigid ICSC and eroding conditions of service

6. So: How does UNDP marry this new career paradigm with its current situation? From Post to Pools • We move from advertising individual posts to creating talent (or candidate) pools • Rather than react to a vacancy, we anticipate vacancies, and prepare staff to assume that role well in advance

7. How will the pools work? • Firstly we need to refine our regulatory framework (Recruitment Framework and Mobility Framework) • We need to populate the pools (transitional measures and regular measures) [2 for 1] • Focused on core business of the Organisation, but may be expanded at a later date • Very strong linkages to learning for those in the pools and those aspiring to be in the pools • Several tiers within each pool (currently Senior Programme, Programme and Operations)

8. UNDP’s candidate pools RR/RC D-2 Senior Programme Pool D-1 P-5 Programme Pool Operations Pool P-4 P-3 National Officers ALD’s/L’s LEAD JPO’s

9. What are the advantages of the pools? • Allows much better attention to succession planning, allows UNDP to anticipate vacancies before they become critical, is forward looking • Allows UNDP to better address corporate priorities • Advantages those on the margins of the workforce • Allows much stronger career development within defined career paths • Provides a better safety net to unassigned, those returning from SLWOP and interagency exchange • [hopefully] much less administrative work.

10. How do staff get into a talent pool? • Staff who hold 100, 200, or 300 series contracts may be nominated through the RCA/CRG process • Once nominated, OHR will employ a variety of assessment tools to ascertain if they are ready for the pool, and if so at what level. • Testing will/may include performance reports, technical testing, 360 degree assessment, face-to-face competency interview and one-on-one with an organisational psychologist. • Candidates will be either ‘fully ready’, ‘ready with development needs’ or not ready. • If selected, Candidates will go into Tier A or B

11. What happens once in a pool? • Candidates that are in ‘Tier A’ may bid for posts that come out twice yearly • If no suitable candidates in Tier A, we may go to Tier B • Candidates in Tier A include those ready for reassignment in the next 12 months, those currently unassigned, and those returning from SLWOP or interagency exchange • A corporate panel (the QUARRY Review Group) will look at nominees holistically • Candidates may be offered a post that they did not apply for (following consultation)

12. What posts go into a candidate pool? • All international rotational 100 series posts will go into the pools. • This will require a re-thinking of what really is rotational (i.e. replicable in several geographic locations) • It will include ‘like’ positions at HQ, for example Programme Advisor at a regional Bureau will be in the Programme Pool • In order to have sufficient ‘bench strength’ there will be double the number of persons in each pool as posts. • Staff will exit he pool (if they wish) by writing to OHR or if they retire, separate etc.

13. What about non-rotational positions? • Non-rotational positions will be advertised individually • The thinking (at this stage) is to advertise them during the first two weeks of each month (so that staff know when to look for them) • They will be subject to the same oversight and approvals as is currently the case with QUARRY positions. • Over time, OHR may expand the pools to include other functions, especially administrative functions.

14. Questions?