PROGRAM 23 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM 23 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS IN 2014

1. 
   The year 2014 was the first year of implementation of the Human Resource (HR) Strategy that was approved by Member States in 2013, providing the basis for the short- and medium-term HR plan of action for the 2014/15 biennium.
   

2. 
   In 2014, progress continued to be made on mainstreaming organizational design and workforce planning as fully integrated key business activities. Achievements in 2014 included: (i) increased manager engagement through delivery of introductory workshops on workforce planning and the development of related guidelines; (ii) development of 2014/15 workforce action plans for each organizational unit to capture and record key HR-related actions to meet business needs; and (iii) closer alignment of job descriptions and annual workplans. As part of the workforce planning exercise managers were encouraged to consider the optimal mix of resources to efficiently address their business needs.
   

3. 
   In August 2014, WIPO issued its first Policy on Gender Equality, which included a time-specific goal to achieve gender balance in staffing.  While the percentages of women at P4 (44.4 per cent) and P5 (34.4 per cent) levels as of December 2014 showed only a slight increase as compared to 2013 (43.4 per cent and 34.3 per cent respectively), they nevertheless represented the highest ever in WIPO’s history.  To support the Policy objective related to the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in WIPO’s work Gender Focal Points were appointed in each Program.
   

4. 
   Efforts to improve geographical and gender diversity in staffing were redoubled. Changes to the Staff Regulations and Rules were introduced as of November 1,2014 requiring Appointment Boards to draw up a list of recommended candidates with the rationale for the recommendation rather than selected names in order of preference, thus allowing the Director General to exercise his discretion in filling posts to address gender and diversity imbalances. The engagement of Member States was sought and WIPO External Offices were also proactively encouraged to raise awareness of WIPO as an ‘employer of choice’. To this end, an information stand and session were organized during the Assemblies. A diversity candidate roster was established, providing pre-screened, qualified candidates from unrepresented Member States for temporary and fixed-term positions. In addition, WIPO continued to strengthen its outreach through campaigns and social media (e.g. LinkedIn). Other initiatives included a WIPO career website, which is still under development, and the introduction of a more user-friendly recruitment tool.
   

5. 
   The regularization process for long-serving temporary employees (LSTEs) was completed in 2014, with 31 LSTEs on continuing functions regularized following a competition. The regularization of the remaining 66 temporary positions with functions of a continuing nature approved by the Member States will be completed in 2016. In 2014, some 23 posts were published for external competition.
   

6. 
   The year 2014 also witnessed significant recruitment activity, with 97 competitions for fixed-term posts and 37 for temporary positions, representing an increase of 26 per cent over 2013. In 2014, the recruitment lead time for fixed-term posts was on track to meet the target (19 weeks), at 14.7 weeks. It should be noted, however, that due to the unusually high number of posts advertised, 20 of the selection processes for fixed-term posts were still not completed at the end of 2014, and the recruitment lead time for all competitions published in 2014 is expected to increase significantly.. Of the 97 fixed-term posts, 57 were in the Professional and 40 in the General Service categories. In total, some 12,587 applications were received.
   

7. 
   The first phase of the ERP aimed at strengthening the integration of data and processes, both within HRMD and in relation to other WIPO administration and management functions. Since mid-2014, after a period of stabilization, the development of the “Business Intelligence” HR management dashboard was initiated, and the staff self-service functions were activated. 
   

8. 
   A tender for employees’ insurance was also completed resulting in a new insurance contract with lower premiums for health, accident and loss of earnings insurances. 
   

9. 
   In 2014, WIPO continued to further develop its Performance Management and Staff Development System (PMSDS). The existing PMSDS Guidelines were replaced by a new Office Instruction (OI) and related PMSDS Handbooks to separate regulatory provisions from guidance. In addition, changes were introduced to align PMSDS with the Staff Regulations and Rules, and related OIs, and to provide additional clarification on PMSDS-related matters based on experience gained through the application of the system. Compliance with the system continued to be very high, with 93.1 per cent of staff covered by PMSDS evaluated against individual objectives and competencies.
   

10. 
    With respect to the WIPO Rewards and Recognition Program (RRP) – Pilot 2013, an all-staff ceremony was held to announce the award winners in March 2014. After the RRP ceremony, a preliminary lessons-learned review was conducted with selected individual and team beneficiaries of the program. Based on the positive and encouraging outcome of the first assessment, it was decided to extend the pilot program in 2014. A more comprehensive evaluation was conducted towards the end of 2014, and a final Rewards and Recognition Policy is planned to be issued in 2015.
    

11. 
    In 2014, implementation of a new Learning and Development Policy started to facilitate staff development and reduction of skills gaps. In addition to regular training activities, new initiatives on conflict resolution, stress management, quality management, accreditation of prior learning and project management were launched in order to increase the managerial capacity of the Organization. Also, the WIPO training catalog was reworked, and new training evaluation tools were introduced.
    

12. 
    The Staff Regulations and Rules on the new internal justice system entered into force on January 1, 2014, and six OIs were issued to provide the accompanying policy framework. Staff briefings were held to facilitate staff understanding and acceptance of the new system.   In order to strengthen and streamline grievance and dispute resolution mechanisms, two advisory bodies, the Joint Grievance Panel (workplace-related grievances) and the Joint Advisory Committee (disciplinary cases), were abolished, and a new WIPO Appeal Board was established with increased capacity.  While promoting informal conflict resolution mechanisms, HRMD has become responsible for the management of formal complaints of harassment and discrimination, as well as rebuttals of performance appraisals, and has also taken a more prominent role in requests for review of administrative decisions and disciplinary cases.
    
13. 
    The new Joint Advisory Group (JAG), for which HRMD provides the secretariat, was established in June 2014 to advise the Director General on personnel or administrative matters. Staff may directly petition the JAG, creating an additional channel of staff-management communication.
    
14. 
    In terms of policy development, the National Professional Officer (NPO) category was incorporated into the Staff Regulations and Rules to meet the needs of the WIPO External Offices. 
    
15. 
    Some 20 HR policy-related OIs were issued in 2014, including on outside activities, home leave, mobility and hardship, termination for reasons of health, employment of retirees, sick leave, delegation of authority and reserve lists, to ensure that WIPO has a modernized, cost-effective HR policy framework, meeting the standards of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and best practices in the UN common system. Furthermore, ICSC standards of conduct continued to be incorporated in all WIPO contracts, and the Roster of Consultants (ROC) presented at CDIP/3, which was integrated within the Intellectual Property Technical Assistance Database (IP-TAD) in the last biennium, continued to be regularly updated in 2014.
    

PERFORMANCE DATA

RESOURCE UTILIZATION

Budget and Actual Expenditure (personnel and non-personnel)

A. Budget after Transfers 2014/15

16. 
    The overall increase in the Budget after Transfers 2014/15 is primarily due to (i) the funding of temporary resourcing solutions to cover for long-term absences, (ii) increased costs of UN shared activities, (iii) strengthened capacity of the WIPO Appeal Board, (iv) the launch of new initiatives including the WIPO Rewards & Recognition Program, and (v) increased insurance costs for delegates and participants in WIPO meetings
    

B. Budget utilization 2014

17. 
    Budget utilization is within the expected range of 40-60 per cent for the first year of the biennium and is on track.