2. Functions included in the OUSG are Strategy, the IASC secretariat, and strategic communications;
3. There is a formal reporting relationship between HoOs, regional bureaus, and headquarters;
Given the size of the reporting under coordination we think under this option, there would have to be a more formal regional reporting structure;
4. The structure of coordination function in the field is as follows:
a. Coordination is integrated in the field across response, preparedness and partnerships;
b. Coordination support and global partnerships are separate from response and preparedness; and
c. Functional support aligned by region, but reports to headquarters;
5. Corporate level functions are clustered by Core Function; and
6. There is a single headquarters location, with physical presence in New York and Geneva.
A variant of this structure would have a response support function reporting into the USG and not to Coordination.
20160527_Final Report Figures v7.pptx
Option 4: Elevated programmatic and administrative functions
85 Recommendation: Option 1 - OCHA structures its organization around two senior roles – one focused on the field and another on central support covered by ASG
Two senior roles with a senior leader, specifically an ASG, covering a complex span of functions – while not solving all of OCHA's problems – produces the best outcomes of the organizational structures we examined. Option 2, which groups all coordination functions, risks creating a significant disconnect between field coordination and the rest of OCHA. It also magnifies the imbalance of control present in the organization today. Options 3 and 4 are attractive because they create more balanced reporting to the USG, but the high number of reports is challenging given the USG's ERC responsibilities. Both options risk the USG being spread too thin, or functions and regions being denied the oversight and support required to perform effectively. On the other hand, Option 1 involves a manageable number of direct reports for the USG and creates greater organizational balance, allowing one senior leader to specialize on field response while the ASG specializes in global and support functions and covers the deputy ERC role. This organizational design provides the strongest foundation for OCHA's
performance across its broad mandate. Over time it might be an option to further balance across these two senior leaders by having the field response role as an ASG.
86 VI.4. People and Staffing
VI.4.i. Introduction
People are OCHA’s strategic asset
Many organizations in the public and private sector assert that people are their most important asset and then behave in ways that contradict that statement. For OCHA, such statements have to be true. People are really all that OCHA has to offer. It does not deliver goods directly to others, it is not a donor organization50 and it does not have formal authority it can use to ‘command and control.’ Rather, OCHA has people with the motivation, commitment and expertise to persuade a very diverse and complex set of actors to cooperate, to carry out needs assessments, to share information, to mobilize and to allocate resources together. We heard over and over again that “People make the difference.”
And we heard over and over again that it was the quality of these people, and not their number, that made the difference—whether they were in the field or in HQ.
Conceptual framework
The discussion of people and staffing in this chapter is underpinned by a conceptual framework that has four key elements: staffing strategy, job design, workforce planning and human resources
management.
A staffing strategy is derived from the organization’s role, operating model and organizational design (see earlier chapter). An effective strategy helps an organization describe the vision for its global workforce, foresee needs, keep abreast of relevant changes in the labour market and establish internal processes for obtaining talent as efficiently as possible. A staffing strategy also attempts to provide predictability and stability. For instance, an organization that has a high percentage of staff retiring in a similar time frame should be asking what the strategy for managing these individuals is, whether they will be replaced or their jobs reoriented, or whether any funds released will be used for emerging, more critical functions.
A staffing strategy is a strategic approach to managing a workforce—an integrated and proactive system for addressing an organization’s staffing needs. Instead of reactively filling vacancies as they come up with ‘more of the same,’ organizations with a staffing strategy continuously scan their
environment to assess the changing nature of the work they do, the work of others in the same sphere, and of course the impact of technology on the work and the way it is done. OCHA’s Functional Review provides a perfect opportunity to examine the staffing strategy OCHA needs.
The overarching goal of a staffing strategy is, as the often-quoted phrase puts it, to get “the right people, with the right skills, to the right place, at the right time.” Concretely, this means defining who the
‘right people’ are, determining where to find them, clearly identifying the ‘right skills’ and deciding where those skills need to be placed and for how long.
The staffing strategy provides the framework for job design: the key functional categories for staff which are then, separately, developed into job profiles. The job profile defines the core purpose of the job, the main roles (which are derived from the strategic roles and operating model in the preceding chapter) and the core competencies. The job profile is eventually translated into the traditional and more administrative job descriptions.
The staffing strategy and the job profiles together enable OCHA to carry out workforce planning (which is also called staff or human resources planning). In essence, workforce planning is the process whereby the organization decides on the numbers, categories, and grades of staff in each country office, regional office, liaison office and HQ unit. The staffing strategy provides strategic and policy guidance and is complemented by workforce planning on precisely what staff will be placed where and
50 OCHA does, however, make and manage grants from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Country-based pooled funds (CBPFs).
87 under what contract conditions. Workforce planning therefore results in staffing tables, which are an intrinsic part of the budgeting process.
Implementing the workforce plan consists of identifying, selecting, recruiting and deploying staff in accordance with the staffing strategy and the job profiles. These are classic human resources management (HRM) functions.
Central to all HRM processes are the leadership, managerial, supervisory and administrative roles of line managers. These managers are supported by what we have called HRM services, i.e., the units that provide HRM services to managers and staff. HRM services provide essential support as senior management takes decisions on the staffing strategy, job profiles and workforce plans. HRM services carry out key management and administrative functions to support both staff and managers at all levels.
OCHA’s human resources environment is extremely complex
Managing human resources is always important, but it is doubly important for OCHA because the asset is so strategically valuable. Making this challenge even more daunting is the reality that OCHA’s human resources functions must navigate an extremely complex environment. OCHA is a department in the UN Secretariat and is therefore subject to Staff Rules and Staff Regulations of the United Nations,51 which are largely geared to slow-moving, predictable operations and programs.
HRM services in OCHA are provided by the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) in New York, the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG), OCHA’s Human Resources Section in Geneva, a staffing unit in the Coordination and Response Division (CRD) in New York and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) for national staff. The financial component of many HRM processes is handled by the Administrative Services Branch (ASB) in OCHA and the UN administrative services.
OCHA has also grown in recent years, largely in response to an unprecedented number of L3 emergencies. This growth, and the accompanying increase in complexity, has placed additional pressure on the organizational design and on all the management systems, especially HRM.
Frustrating delays in vitally important HRM processes and related administrative procedures have led to morale issues and resulted in some short term solutions that ignored or even exacerbated deeper problems in the HRM systems.
The challenge is systemic
The problems in HRM at OCHA are systemic. And systemic causes need systemic solutions. One, or a few, initiatives by themselves—for example, procedures, a new unit, training—can never shift a complex system. There has to be a holistic and comprehensive effort to drive change in the HRM system.
The key to this change is a cohesive and effective senior leadership team that is committed to people management. By building such a team and ensuring that it works together, OCHA can resolve many of its HRM problems and create a vital working environment that fosters high performance and attracts, retains and develops the best staff.
Content of this chapter
In the pages that follow, we will describe and present observations on and recommendations about OCHA’s management of human resources. We will discuss, among other things, its staffing strategy and workforce planning, its recruitment and on-boarding, its performance management and the HRM services themselves.
There have been many reviews of HRM and many unsuccessful attempts to reform and strengthen HRM in OCHA.52 We do not necessarily have a lot of new analysis or new recommendations. Most
51 Staff Rules and Staff Regulations of the United Nations, ST/SGB/2014/1.
52 A number of assessments and audits have been critical of the way OCHA manages its people. For example, the 2011 Enterprise Risk Assessment identified HRM as one of OCHA’s most prevalent and least
88 things have already been said or written. The challenge is to bring about systemic and cultural change.
The recommendations that we present in this chapter will lead to such change.
Structure of this chapter
This chapter covers the following aspects of people and staffing at OCHA:
Staffing Strategy and Workforce Planning;
Recruitment and On-Boarding;
Surge Capacity and Deployment;
Development and Learning;
Performance Management; and
Human Resources Management Services.
The theme of line managers’ commitment to, and competency in, the management of their staff occurs several times in this chapter. It also appears in the chapters on the management model and organizational culture.
effectively controlled risks. Similarly, the more recent audit of the management of human resources in OCHA by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) noted that OCHA needed an adequate workforce planning strategy led at the senior management level. The audit also pointed out that there was no data for OCHA as a whole on post incumbencies and vacancies for the 2,200 budgeted posts in the 2014-2015 program budget; this means the organization could not globally track recruitment timelines, staff movements, incumbencies and vacancies.
89 VI. 4. ii. Staffing Strategy and Workforce Planning
VI. 4. ii. A. Context
For OCHA, the staffing strategy must be about of “getting the right people, with the right skills, to the right place, at the right time” to carry out OCHA’s strategic roles and priorities. The staffing strategy must set out OCHA’s vision for its global workforce, lay out policy ratios to achieve the desired diversity and range of expertise, look at career aspirations and paths, specify the conditions under which one contract modality or another is used, outline policy on the “generalist versus specialist” debate, and indicate how to address key staffing challenges, for example, how to handle “surge” demands in times of crisis.
Workforce53 planning is, for OCHA, the process of deciding on the profiles, numbers, categories, and grades of staff in each location—country offices, regional offices, liaison offices and HQ units—as well as the appropriate contract modalities.
VI. 4. ii. B. Current State
OCHA does not have an explicit staffing strategy or a comprehensive workforce plan. OCHA also does not have up-to-date, comprehensive baseline data on the current workforce.54
We have not therefore presented an overview of the current staff profile from a global perspective, nor at the country, regional and HQ levels.
Many key OCHA documents contain strategic or policy statements that relate to staffing strategy.
For example, OCHA’s Management Plan for the years 2014 – 2017 has a strong focus on staffing issues. Its first management objective is OCHA is staffed with the right people at the right time, and the plan specifies three subordinate outcomes: Stabilize OCHA field capacity, Promote a diverse and versatile workforce and Progress towards gender equality.
Similarly, the 2014 – 2017 Strategic Plan includes putting “the right leaders in the right places at the right time” among its subordinate objectives for the period:
OCHA will ensure that highly experienced and qualified leaders are in place at the right time, particularly in complex situations requiring effective leadership, expertise and coordination capacity. It will identify, prepare, guide and help to mentor high-calibre future humanitarian leaders through inter-agency mechanisms such as the HC pool, while aiming for more balanced geographical, gender and institutional representation.55
VI. 4. ii. C. Findings
Finding: OCHA does not, at present, have a staffing strategy
While there are several strategic and policy statements, there is no actual staffing strategy in place at the present time. As the recent Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) audit of the management of human resources at OCHA pointed out:
OCHA needed a workforce planning and human resources management strategy led at the senior management level (page 4)
OCHA did not develop a workforce planning and human resources management strategy that supported the Policy Instruction on Emergency Response together with other corporate policies for rapid deployment of critical positions identified in the pre-approved cost plan modules. (para 18)
53 Staffing and workforce are often used interchangeably. We have chosen to differentiate the two by using staffing for the strategic perspective and workforce for the planning perspective.
54 Considerable data on the workforce became available toward the end of the report-writing phase of the Functional Review. Umoja was the main source for the data we received.
55 OCHA Strategic Plan 2014 – 2017, p. 16.
90 OCHA should develop a workforce planning and human resources management strategy that matches the Policy Instruction on Emergency Response and other corporate policies to effectively deliver the OCHA mandate. (para 24)
Although efforts have been made to set staffing targets, for example, on diversity, policies on the shape and evolution of the global workforce (HQ and field) in the broader sense are not yet reflected in the workforce itself. In particular, we received considerable feedback about the lack of geographical and gender diversity in HQ (for example, a common refrain was “too white and too male”). Even those who noted some shift in geographical diversity in HQ stated they found OCHA driven by a mono-cultural, i.e., Western approach. Of particular concern to some staff is the configuration of the new Executive Management Committee (EMC) with respect to gender and diversity.
There is also a strong sense among field staff that some parts of HQ are not sufficiently grounded in field realities and that they are not willing to get field experience beyond the occasional short mission.
This results in a serious divide between the field and HQ, has a negative impact on organizational culture, and reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of OCHA’s work.
Finding: OCHA has Policy Instructions for workforce planning at the country level but much remains to be done globally
The Policy Instructions (PIs) for the field offices are comprehensive and appear to correlate broadly with the organizational charts we have reviewed. The PI for regional offices (ROs) sets out the roles and responsibilities of the offices, as well as the generic terms of reference for Humanitarian Advisor Teams (HATs). The PI also makes clear that ROs are expected to have regional office results frameworks, regional strategies, work plans and cost plans.
For their part, country offices (COs) are expected to complete a country strategy and a performance framework, and there are standard organizational charts for small, medium and large offices in the PI for COs. The charts are intended to fast-track establishing and organizing these offices, and most interviewees felt that it was good to not reinvent the wheel every time. However, some told us that “a cookie cutter” approach does not suit OCHA’s work, that the distinction by office size is not particularly helpful and that the context varies so much and the needs evolve so rapidly that OCHA requires a more flexible approach to staffing. We heard more than once that “context is everything.” This comment does not undermine the need for policies but argues implicitly for policy frameworks rather than policy
blueprints.
We also understand that the management team of the Coordination and Response Division (CRD) has regular meetings to review the workforce plans for ROs/COs and the situation of individual staff.
However, we have not seen such plans for other units in HQ and we are unclear about the extent to which staffing needs and demands are coordinated across the organization. By and large, in HQ, it appears that individual managers identify and seek to recruit their immediate staffing needs with little or no consideration of the impact on the overall workforce plan or broader organizational priorities. This results in, and may even be caused by, lack of confidence and collegial spirit, a silo mentality, a lack of attention and care, as well as frustration for all the different actors involved in workforce planning and recruitment. This in turn creates a negative spiral and increases the focus on individual solutions or special conditions.
Finding: OCHA does not have comprehensive baseline data on the current workforce
OCHA’s current systems do not have the capacity to produce an accurate, comprehensive
snapshot of the workforce. The systemic weaknesses are exacerbated by a culture in which information is not easily shared with, or available to, other parts of the organization.
This means that OCHA is missing baseline data about its workforce, an essential decision-making tool for senior management.
For OCHA, a comprehensive snapshot of the workforce should include:
Projected retirements;
91
Gender;
Nationality;
Length of service;
Length of time in current post—for HQ and field;
Length of time in sequential hardship duty stations;
Type and length of contract;
Turnover;
Levels (USG/ASG, D2, D1, P5-P2, G7-G1) by organizational unit/section in both HQs;
Levels by Liaison Office (LO), RO, CO, Humanitarian Advisory Team (HAT);
Appointment type (fixed term, service contractor, continuing, UN volunteer, etc.);
Staff on loan or secondment outside OCHA;
OCHA staff seconded from elsewhere;
Posts with liens and number of liens; and
Span of control.
As mentioned above, not all the key baseline data is available at the present time, and what is available is difficult to access and to verify. Consistent with this finding and similarly detrimental to effective planning is the absence of a skills database. As one interviewee put it, “We don’t know what skills we have; we don’t even know how many French speakers we have.”
Finding: OCHA’s approach to job titles and job design is neither coherent nor consistent
As part of the UN Secretariat, OCHA uses job families, job profiles, functional titles and posting
As part of the UN Secretariat, OCHA uses job families, job profiles, functional titles and posting