IBPS Clerical recruitment exam 4-12-2011 December 2011 Solved paper with answer key.pdf
Note on the Recruitment of Staff in the Professional ... · 12. The problems to be solved and the...
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JIU/NOTE/77/1 Note on the Recruitment of Staff in the Professional Category in the United Nations System i Prepared by M. Bertrand Joint Inspection Unit i Joint Inspection Unit Geneva June 1977
Transcript of Note on the Recruitment of Staff in the Professional ... · 12. The problems to be solved and the...
JIU/NOTE/77/1
Note on the Recruitment of Staff in the
Professional Category in the United Nations System
i
Prepared by M. Bertrand
Joint Inspection Unit
i
Joint Inspection Unit
Geneva
June 1977
JIU/NOTE/77/l
NOTE ON THE RECRUITMENT OP STAFF IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
prepared by M. Bertrand
Joint Inspection Unit
Geneva June 1977
CONTENTS 1. Purpose of the present note 2. Plan of the note
I. THE NEED FOR AND POSSIBILITY OF REFORM
3. Statistical information 4. Total number of staff 5. Total number of external recruitments 6. The distribution by grade 7. The distribution by occupation category 8. The situation with regard to geographical distribution 9. The need for reform - defects of the present methods 10. Possible ways of effecting improvements - consultation of the organizations 11. Analysis of the replies received 12. The problems to be solved and the possibility of defining a recruitment policy
or policies
II. THE POSSIBLE CONTENT OF A REFORM
13. General plan 14. Need for consistency 15. The distinction between the two recruitment methods; definition of
occupation categories 16. Forecasting of recruitment needs; its value in practice 17. Recruitment by competitive examination; the "reserve list" system 18. Organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination;
the necessary legal arrangements 19» Organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination;
practical arrangements 20. Modernization of the traditional system of recruitment
III. SUMMARY AND PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONS
21. Summary 22. Principal recommendations
JIU/NOTE/77/l GE.77-6539
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NOTE ON THE RECRUITMENT OF STAFF IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY III THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
1. Purpose of the present note
The purpose of this note is to examine the problems of recruitment of staff in the Professional category in the various organizations of the United Nations system and to endeavour to make recommendations for improvement of existing methods and for the development of a genuine overall recruitment policy, l/ This note, prepared by a member of the Joint Inspection Unit, is intended primarily for the International Civil Service Commission, to assist it in preparing the recommendations it has to make to the organizations on:
"(a) standards of recruitment;
(b) the development of recruitment sources, including the establishment of central rosters of qualified candidates, particularly at junior entrance levels;
(c) the organization of competitive examinations or alternative selection procedures". (Article 14 of the Statute of the Commission)
This note will also be circulated to all the organizations and does not prejudge any recommendations the Joint Inspection Unit may have to make in later official reports.
2. Plan of the note
This note will consist of two parts:
I. The need for and possibility of reform
II. The possible content of a reform.
I. THE NEED FOR AND POSSIBILITY OF REFORM
3. Statistical information
In annexes I to V will be found the statistical data which could be compiled from the organizations' replies to the questionnaire which was sent to them in late 1976.
The following appear to be the principal figures, obtained from the available data, that should be taken into account.
1/ The term "recruitment" is used here as meaning external recruitment, i.e. the initial recruitment of staff by an organization. The recruitment of staff in the General Service category and of field experts is not dealt with here. This does not mean, however, that some of the findings of this study may not be applicable to recruitment of such personnel.
- 2 -
4. Total number of staff
The total number of staff in the category under consideration in all the organizations reviewed was approximately 10,000 at the end of 1976 l/ (see table, annex I, giving the breakdown of this figure by organization). The United Nations itself and its related programmes account for a little less than half this total (4,866). The four largest organizations after the United Nations together account for about 45 Per cent of the total, each having from 800 to 1,330 staff in the Professional category. The remainder are divided among the eight other organizations, IAEA and ICAO being at the top of the list.
5« Total number of external recruitments
The total figures for annual external recruitment are currently as follows:
The organizations as a whole have been recruiting for several years now approximately 9°0 to 950 staff members annually (including language staff not subject to geographical distribution).
Of this total:
- the United Nations itself accounts for between 300 and 400 posts (400 in 1974 and- 1975» including language posts);
- UNDP accounts for approximately 75 posts;
- the four large specialized agencies (FAO, UNESCO, ILO, WHO) recruit on a much less regular basis between 30 and 100 staff members annually, the average, based on a period of several years, being 60 per agency per year, making a total of 240 for the four agencies;
- IAEA recruits approximately 60 staff members annually;
- ICAO recruits between 25 and 30 Professional staff members annually;
- GATT recruits about 20 staff members annually;
- the remaining agancies, taken as a whole, account for about 25 recruitments yearly.
6. The distribution by grade
The available statistics indicate that the proportions in which staff are recruited to the different grades are fairly constant. In this respect, the situation is particularly stable in the United Nations where, depending on the year, 67 to 69 per cent of the Professional posts to be filled were at grades P-l to P-3. The percentage is 43 Vex cent if only grades P-l and P-2 are considered.
In the large specialized agencies, the proportions are both smaller and more variable. The average percentages are as follows:
For recruitment to grades P-l to P-3:
- ILO, 48 to 68 per cent of the total;
- UNESCO, 40 to 50 per cent;
l/ The exact figure for 1976 is 10,145 for the 11 organizations participating in the Joint Inspection Unit and 10,331 for the 13 organizations applying the common system.
- 3 -
- FAO, 30 to 50 per cent.
It is estimated that, on average, for the system as a whole, the number of recruitments to grades P-l and P-2 is about 300 per annum out of a total of 900, while the number of recruitments to grades P-l, P-2 and P-3 is approximately 500.
The large proportion of recruitments into these grades and the characteristics of the posts, explained below, suggest that it is not impractical to establish a special recruitment policy for these grades.
7. The distribution by occupation category
The problem of "occupation categories", however, is much more difficult for the simple reason that the organizations of the United Nations system have not yet institutionalized this concept or adequately harmonized their methods, and because the distinctions between occupation categories have in many cases been somewhat arbitrary. The statistical data provided in the annexes to this note show that:
- the organizations have agreed, on the whole, to group all their Professional officers according to a list of identical or comparable occupation categories (see annex IV (A));
- a number of these occupation categories are common to all the agencies and there is quite a considerable amount of annual recruitment for the more important ones, and often, for all of them.
The following may be classified among these common occupation categories:
- all those coming under the heading of "administration", i.e.:
general administration
external relations
finance
personnel
organization and methods;
- those involving similar kinds of work performed by:
public information officers
jurists
specialists in political science;
- lastly, all the social affairs officers and statisticians:
economists
sociologists
statisticians.
There are thus, in the various organizations, about a dozen occupation categories with more or less similar characteristics. The other groups included in the list (agricultural officers, educators, engineers, scientists, etc) are representatives of highly diverse categories of speciality.
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- 6 -
- The links between job classification and recruitment and the qualifications required of candidates;
- Methods of publicizing vacancies and methods of storing information on the candidates (rosters);
- The possibility of adopting common forms of tests and competitive examinations.
On the last point in particular, the respondents were asked whether a generalized system of tests or competitive examinations for all P-l to P-5 posts might be considered (the practical steps that would then have to be taken were described in the paper).
It emerges from the written and oral comments we received that those responsible for personnel administration and the departmental heads, although they emphasize that it is not possible to extend the competitive examination method to all posts, would not be opposed to the application of recruitment methods of this kind for "junior" posts in a number of areas of activity not requiring very advanced specialization. This appeared to us to be the most important and most encouraging fact indicated by the replies received. Furthermore, for the occupation categories which are comparable in all the agencies, inter-agency co-operation under the auspices of the International Civil Service Commission would be viewed favourably. The idea of establishing recruitment rosters also appears to meet with favour.
Annex VI gives in detail the observations made on all the other points, comments which we have taken carefully into account in preparing the various proposals in this note.
12. The problems to be solved and the possibility of defining a recruitment policy or policies
While these may constitute the facts of the problem, an attempt to define a recruitment policy for the United Nations system as a whole does not appear to be a very easy undertaking.
In the first place, the current methods do not appear to form a starting point for any new thoughts on the matter. There is at present nothing in the nature of a recruitment policy, either at the level of the individual organizations or, a fortiori, at the system level. Recruitment is carried out on an ad hoc basis, influenced by the most varied considerations, doubtless including-the recommendations of the governing bodies concerning geographical distribution or the methods to be used, but, in practice, no specific guideline is followed. There can thus be no question of improving or modernizing methods which do not exist. If a recruitment policy is to be determined, this will mean starting from scratch.
It must be recognized however, that the ad hoc methods may so far appear to have been justified by the very facts of the problem. Although the number of professionals to be recruited each year is fairly large at the system level, it is quite small - except in the case of the United Nations - at the level of the individual organizations. Each recruitment can call, moreover, for certain features from among a great variety of characteristics, depending on the grade and the type of post and because of the individual requirements of a very large number of jobs and the requirements of geographical distribution. Furthermore, the concepts hitherto applied very often lead departmental heads to draw up very detailed job
- 7 -
descriptions which over—individualize the posts to be filled. It may therefore appear quite natural for the agencies to take the view that they should not have a recruitment policy, since every case they have to deal with is a special one. Thus, apart from three recent cases of competitive examinations held by the United Nations in Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan, very rarely have attempts been made to carry out recruitment operations for several' posts at one and the same time.
It is true that the characteristics of the existing posts, combined with the absence or unreliability of job classification systems, makes it difficult to envisage the use of methods as "industrial" as those that can be employed by large national administrations which have to recruit thousands of employees annually. In their case, groups of several hundreds of posts may have the same characteristics as to grade, type of work, career offered, etc.
Such large numbers are not needed, however, in order to attempt to define a policy. The statistical data on the 900 "to 950 posts to be filled each year therefore had to be examined in order to determine whether any rationalization of the recruitment methods used is possible. The statistical information collected would seem to indicate that suGh an undertaking is not impossible. All that is necessary in fact is to make a distinction between the recruitment of specialists having qualifications needed for a small number of posts only, and recruitment for types of work in which there are a large number of posts for which very comparable qualifications or general knowledge in a specific area are required (lawyers, administrators, public information, etc).
The figures quoted in paragraph 7 above show that, for occupation categories involving the same types of work and requiring the same type of qualifications in all the agencies, it would be necessary to recruit annually about 25O professionals to meet the present needs in the case of grades P-l to P-3 and 130 to 140 if we take only grades P-l and P-2. These are sizeable figures which make it possible to apply collective selection methods.
The two conditions that must be met for such an undertaking to be possible are obviously the institutionalization of the occupation category concept in all the organizations, and a willingness on their part to co-operate in recruitment operations. At first sight the fulfilment of these conditions can scarcely be said to be impossible.
Admittedly, the development of a recruitment policy for these types of posts at the level of the United Hâtions system would solve only a part of the problem: a considerable proportion of the staff - particularly in certain agencies, such as WHO, for example, which recruits the greater part of its professional staff above the P-4 level - could not be included in such a policy. This means that it is both possible and desirable to envisage that, for these categories of staff, the organizations would develop their own individual recruitment policies. The present note simply draws attention to the existence of this problem, but it will make a number of proposals for improvement of certain aspects of the existing methods.
A last observation which seems essential is that the need to develop an entirely new policy will call for the use of new methods and concepts. It will be necessary to devote special attention to one of these, the "reserve list" system for posts to which staff are recruited by competitive examination, a system both distinct and different from the conventional method of recruitment rosters.
II. TBE POSSIBLE CONTENT OF A REFORM
13. General plan
If the principle of the reform is distinguishing between posts to be filled by competitive examination and posts to be filled by direct recruitment, the over-all plan should include:
(1) A definition of the "occupation categories" common to all the organizations, the institutionalization of this concept for recruitment purposes, the organization of competitive examinations and the establishment of very specific regulations distinguishing between the two categories, i.e. posts to be filled by competitive examination and other posts;
(2) A clear definition of methods, procedures and institutions for each of these categories:
A. For the posts to be filled by competitive examination, it would be necessary to establish:
- a simple forecasting method for determining the approximate number of posts to be filled for one or two years in the occupation categories in question;
- criteria for the qualifications required of candidates;
- an information system for candidates;
- special appointment machinery, including, in particular, a system of "reserve lists" containing the names of persons who have passed the competitive examinations and from which it would be compulsory to select the staff to be recruited for vacancies in the corresponding occupation categories in all the organizations. This "reserve list" method, the only one which provides the necessary flexibility for effective co-operation among organizations and even among departments within organizations, will need to be very clearly described (see paragraph 17 below);
- the necessary machinery for the holding of the competitive examinations: a system for the selection of candidates and examiners, the preparation and correction of the test papers and the physical organization of the examinations;
- however, with this type of recruitment, it would be possible to dispense with the machinery which now exists: recruitment officers, interviews, posting up vacancy notices, distribution of descriptions of vacancies to recruitment sources, evaluation of applications by requesting departments and personnel departments - in the United Nations, the intervention of the Appointment and Promotion Board, etc.
B. In order to modernize the current methods of filling posts by direct recruitment, special attention might be paid to the following points:
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- the system for forecasting requirements;
- the definition of the qualifications required and their relationship to the post classification system;
- the system of publicizing vacancies;,
- the storage of the results of such publicity in up-to-date rosters of candidates;
- the traditional method of selecting from among the eligible candidates.
14. Need for consistency
It is important to note that there would thus be two different methods of recruitment, each one requiring a special type of organization. In both cases, however, the need for consistency in the various parts of each organization cannot be overemphasized.
The various attempts at modernization which have been made here and there do not seem to have taken account of the need for consistency in recruitment activities. Thus, attempts have been made at medium-term forecasting of recruitment needs by establishing rosters and at development of a better post classification system, but, in the United Nations in particular, these efforts do not always seem to have been clearly linked together as part of a recruitment policy. Similarly, experiments with recruitment examinations (in Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan) were not combined in serious fashion with general recruitment activities. These various attempts and experiments were probably made during the transition period when an awareness of recruitment problems was developing. It is necessary, however, to move beyond this phase as rapidly as possible because considerable savings can be made and the effectiveness of present efforts can be considerably increased if the relationships between the components of a recruitment policy are considered in advance and if over-all consistency is ensured. Consequently, after describing the ways in which a distinction may be made between the two different methods of recruitment, the present paper will define the necessary components of each method and the necessary liaison between the two.
15. The distinction between the two recruitment methods; definition of occupation categories
In order to identify the posts to be filled by competitive examination, it is essential that the "occupation category" concept be officially accepted and introduced in all the organizations.
The definition of an "occupation category" does not seem to present any particular difficulty but it is not easy to define it abstractly in any altogether satisfactory way. It is generally recognized to be based on comparable types of functions or activities requiring similar academic and professional qualifications, but the difficulty lies in determining maximum levels of specialization.
It becomes progressively more difficult to formulate an abstract definition as the degree of specialization increases.
This difficulty might, however, be overcome if, for the time being, it was decided not to try to define occupation categories for the posts of specialists recruited at the P-4 level and above.
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It would then be necessary to establish definitions of occupation categories for posts at the P-l to P-3 grades and, in particular, for the posts of generalists and specialists at a low level of sophistication which would have to be filled by examination. Here it is necessary to explain that the term "occupation category" is meaningful only if it is restrictive. Officials recruited for a specific post must not be entitled to be transferred to posts in another occupation category unless, for example, they can demonstrate, by taking a professional examination, that they have acquired the necessary qualifications. At present, a person cannot be appointed as a translator in the United Nations without having passed the competitive entrance examination for this type of work. The same should be true for the occupation categories it is decided to establish (legal officers, administrative officers, economists, etc.). An occupation category could, however, include a range of related specializations which require the same basic training. For example, an administrative officer might be a specialist either in personnel management or in budgetary questions.
Occupation categories should therefore have the following two characteristics:
(1) they should be as broad as possible in order to permit maximum mobility and career possibilities within each group and to avoid the drawbacks which too specific a definition would create for personnel management;
(2) the boundaries between groups should be sufficiently clear-cut for it to be impossible for a staff member to transfer from one group to another without providing evidence that he holds the necessary qualifications.
On this basis, occupation categories might be defined as "groups of posts involving functions of a similar kind and requiring comparable academic and, where necessary, professional qualifications". Each occupation category might be divided into sub-groups, but it does not seem necessary, at this stage, to define these in detail. At the P-l to P-3 level, the qualifications required, the general nature of the work to be performed and the adaptability of young staff members should make it possible to assign them to all posts included in a particular occupation category.
It should thus be relatively easy to draw up a list of occupation categories for grades P-l to P-3 which would be the same in all the organizations of the system and for which recruitment would have to be by competitive examination. It would then be necessary to define the requisite minimum academic and professional qualifications needed for, and the general functions of, each occupation category.
The following list might serve as a basis for an inter-agency list of occupation categories:
- administrative officers (divided into the following sub-groups:
personnel officers finance and budget officers external relations officers organization and methods officers, etc.)
- economists (possibly divided into the following sub-groups:
development economists econometrists)
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- statisticians
- sociologists
- legal officers
- public information officers
- political affairs officers.
Additional occupation categories might be created to meet the particular needs of one or more organizations (such as "labour relations officers" in the ILO or "agricultural scientists" in FAO).
Naturally, recruitment at the P-l to P-3 levels for posts not included in any of the above-mentioned occupation categories could continue to be carried out by the traditional methods (although it is to be hoped that such exceptions would be kept to a minimum).
Such a definition would make it possible to organize two separate types of recruitment:
- one for posts at the P-l to P-3 levels falling within the occupation categories with recruitment by competitive examination; l/
- the other for posts regarded as calling for specialists (not belonging to the preceding category). In this case there would be direct recruitment.
16. Forecasting of recruitment needs; its value in practice
Recruitment forecasting methods should be adapted, for both forms of recruitment, so as to meet actual needs. Before any complex operations are undertaken, it is necessary to ascertain what use may be made of the information that will be obtained.
Medium-term forecasting of recruitment needs has been carried out in a relatively systematic way by two organizations, the United Nations and UNESCO, following recommendation No. 2 of report JIU/REP/71/7. This forecasting has taken the form of long-term (or medium-term) recruitment plans, which are documents providing fairly detailed statistical information that have been submitted for the approval by the governing bodies of these two organizations. 2/ While these efforts were praiseworthy, they did not, for several reasons, result in any rationalization of recruitment methods.
l/ Language officers, such as translators, interpreters and precis-writers, would of course all belong to the group of occupation categories recruited by competitive examination, as is the case at present.
2/ United Nations plan: A/8836, 13 October 1972. UNESCO plan: I8/C/59, 20 September 1974-
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These exercises were in fact based on a rather academic and over-refined approach. They led to the production of documents which came before the deliberative bodies but they did not correspond to the actual needs. In some cases the criteria adopted were not such as could have been used for the practical definition of a recruitment policy. It must also be recognized that, having regard to the present methods, five-year forecasts qf recruitment needs are of no real value. Their only practical use could have been in connexion with methods of correcting deficiencies in geographical distribution, which undoubtedly call for medium-term action, but the action taken in this connexion seems inadequate.
It would therefore seem necessary first of all to determine the utility of such forecasting. In the case of the competitive examination method of recruitment, it would be desirable to know how many vacant posts would require to be filled by that method over a certain period - say one or two years. Extreme precision is not essential, however, since, as will be seen later, a somewhat greater number of places than there are vacant posts can be offered for competition, if the reserve list system is used. Moreover, it is not essential to have very precise figures where recruitment needs are found to arise with a fair degree of regularity. On the basis of the statistics annexed to this note, it will be seen that it is already possible to estimate the order of magnitude of the annual needs. Forecasting should therefore consist only in determining whether the figures for the various occupation categories will remain stable or are likely to be substantially altered by various factors.
In the case of the direct recruitment method, too, forecasting for about a year ahead will clearly be adequate, although in this case it will have to be concerned not with total numbers but with individual posts. With such forecasting it should be possible to give more effective advance notification of vacancies and so reduce the delays in filling posts which are so prejudicial to the smooth running of departments. Nevertheless, in this case too, a simplified method could be employed to produce usable information. The International Civil Service Commission could be instructed to collect each year the forecasts for the following year and to publish a document on "annual recruitment forecasts".
17. Recruitment by competitive examination; the "reserve list" system
In the case of the competitive examination method of recruitment, what we propose to call the "reserve list" system is fundamental to the operation of the whole scheme and is also relatively new (it is already used in some international organizations but not in the United Nations system). It therefore seems necessary to provide some explanation of the system.
The proposal is to give the name "reserve list" to lists of persons who have passed the competitive examinations to be held.
Inclusion in* the list would not give those who passed the examination an absolute right to recruitment. This would be made quite clear to candidates in the information material issued to them on the subject of the examinations. It might even be mentioned in the title - "Competitive examination for inclusion in the reserve list" - so as to draw attention to the point.
It would, however, be decided that only persons whose names were in the list could be recruited to fill vacant posts at the P-l to P-2 level in the occupation categories for which competitive examinations would be held. Furthermore, after a period of transition, promotion to P-3 posts in an occupation category would be reserved for staff members at the P-2 level in the same categories who have passed the competitive examination. Another possible approach would be for the competitive examination to cover grades P-l to P-3 inclusive.
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Consequently, executive heads and the department heads to whom they may have delegated their recruiting authority would be obliged to choose candidates from this list when filling vacant posts at grades P-l and P-2 (or P-l to P-3) in the corresponding occupation category. It should, however, be decided that they would not be bound in their choice by any particular ranking order, and would be able to take into consideration various factors, such as the interests of the service or geographical distribution. They would not, in any case, have to justify their choice.
As a counterpart to this obligation the principal departments of each agency should be entitled to be represented on the examining panels, which would give them the opportunity to have more direct knowledge of the successful candidates. This point will be reverted to later on.
The number of successful candidates placed on the list could be greater than the estimated number of posts to be filled in the course of a year. In the systems whose operation has been studied, it is usual to provide for a list with approximately twice as many names as there are posts to be filled in the year. The list, however, remains valid for two years.
There are many advantages in such a system:
- Once the competitive examination has been held, there is available a pool of potential professional officers who have been carefully selected and whose competence can be relied on;
- The department heads retain some freedom of choice. They have only to consult the list (which would normally include the candidates' personal histories) to pick the individuals they wish to recruit. They are relieved of the difficult searches they now have to undertake whenever any further recruitment in those grades is needed;
- As soon as a post falls vacant, it can be filled without delay. In the United Nations, for example, it would be possible in particular for the selection to be made without any checking by the Appointment and Promotion Board, since the examining panel has already carried out that task;
- There is no need to have made precise forecasts of the number of vacancies that will occur before deciding on the number of posts to be opened to competition;
- Lastly, the system can easily be adapted to aid in achieving equitable geographical distribution: all that is needed is to provide in the organization of the competition for the assignment of a larger number of places for under-represented countries or geographical areas. Consideration might even be given to limiting the competition, at least for a certain period, to under-represented countries. In this way it could be ensured that the list would contain only the names of persons whose competence had been proved and whose recruitment would assist in overcoming the delay in achieving the desired geographical distribution. Similarly, with regard to the recruitment of female staff, the reserve list system would enable immediate preference to be given to successful women candidates, without any need to take the ranking order into account.
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The only drawback to the system is that it might in some cases be misunderstood by successful candidates who were not in the end employed. If, however, it was made clear in advance that success in the examination would not give absolute entitlement to recruitment, this drawback could be reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, inclusion in such a list would in itself be a qualification which could be used in seeking employment outside the United Nations system.
18. Organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination; the necessary legal arrangements
The organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination would call for the establishment of certain arrangements of a legal nature entailing modification of the staff rules of the various organizations. The necessary provisions would include in particular the following:
- "Occupation categories" are groups of posts involving similar functions and requiring comparable academic and professional qualifications;
- Staff members recruited for a certain category may be promoted only within that category. To transfer from one occupation category to another it is necessary to produce evidence of having obtained the required qualifications;
- All posts in the following specialities are classified as falling in the "occupation category" indicated (the text of the rules would contain at this point a list similar to the one in paragraph 15 of this note);
- All P-l to P-2 posts in this occupation category may be filled only after a competitive examination had been held. P-3 posts of the same categories are reserved exclusively for promotion of grade P-2 staff members recruited by competitive examination;
- The qualifications required of candidates for these competitive examinations shall not be lower than academic qualifications of the B.A. level in the United Kingdom or the licence in France. In addition, the International Civil Service Commission shall decide what further academic qualifications it may consider necessary for each competitive examination;
The competitive examinations shall be organized by ICSC with the help of the organizations;
- The names of candidates passing the competitive examination shall be placed on a reserve list; the placing of a candidate's name on this list shall not entitle him to recruitment. However, no appointment to a P-l or P-2 post in the occupation categories listed may be made from outside the list of names on the reserve list;
- Such appointments shall be made on the sole decision of the executive head of each organization or of the persons vested with appointing authority by the executive heads. In the United Nations, the Appointment and Promotion Board shall simply be informed of the appointments made;
The Appointment and Promotion Board shall, however, continue to decide on promotions from P-2 to P-3 posts in these occupation categories, it being understood that only P-2 staff members who have passed the competitive examination shall be eligible for P-3 posts in the same category.
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These proposals have not been made in .sufficient dotai" for triem to breincorporated in their present form into th« vai- -••>.;: sets of staff rules. A more comprehensive legal study of the problem snould be carried out if decisions of principle are taken on the points indicated. The purpose of this paragraph has been simply to draw attention to the matters that should be the subject of additions to or changes in the existing rules.
19. Organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination; practical arrangements
The organization of the system of recruitment by competitive examination will involve a number of practical measures.
(a) The selection of geographical areas for the holding of the competitive examinations. Under the system of "reserve lists", which may be formed by the aggregation of lists of successful candidates in several successive competitive examinations held in different geographical regions, the examinations can be organized in a flexible manner. It is therefore possible to envisage the holding of a series of competitive examinations involving similar tests, each examination being arranged for a particular geographical area. For example, if there are 200 places in the reserve list to be filled (these 200 places being subdivided by "occupation category"), 70 places may be allocated to one geographical region, 60 to another, 3° "t° a third and 40 to a fourth. This system makes it possible to organize the written tests in the mother-tongues of the candidates, which is a more reliable and more equitable way of assessing their Intellectual capacity. Spanish-, French-, English- or Russian-language zones could thus be covered by regional competitive examinations. It might also be possible to organize competitive examinations specifically for one particular large country. More places might be allocated to countries or zones which were under-represented than to other zones, in order more rapidly to achieve an equitable geographical distribution. A plan of the organization of the competitive examination with information concerning the number of places offered in particular zones or countries might thus be proposed for approval by the General Assembly, should this be deemed necessary.
(b) The selection of the type of competitive examination. Although separate competitive examinations would have to be envisaged for different geographical regions, it does not seem necessary to set different competitive examinations for each "occupation category". Since the material organization of a competitive organization entails a considerable amount of work, it seems preferable to organize a single competitive examination for all the various occupation categories. Such an arrangement would not present any special difficulty. For example, the written tests in a competitive examination might in principle include:
- a "general culture" test;
- one or two technical tests;
- a language test.
Under such an arrangement, it would obviously be possible to differentiate the technical tests, giving an appropriate specialist character to the test for each occupation category(legal tests for jurists, economic tests for economists, etc.), and consequently plan a single competitive examination for all the occupation categories envisaged. The structure of the oral tests could follow the same kind of pattern.
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(c) The preparation of papers for the written tests. This task should be entrusted to carefully selected experts who would be paid for their services. It might, for instance, be possible to call upon university teachers who could be recruited as consultants whom the International Civil Service Commission would brief on the types of papers desired. It is important that this function of preparing the papers should be treated as a separate activity. The examining panels appointed should not have to think up subjects for the examination papers, but merely to make a choice from among the papers which would be submitted to them. This would ease their task considerably and expedite their work.
(d) The organization of the examining panels. The composition of the examining panels for the competitive examinations must satisfy several requirements. It is necessary, for example, to ensure the competence of the persons selected, representation of the organization and the substantive divisions concerned with the recruitment and representation of the countries in which the competitive examinations are held. Meeting these last two requirements might result in very large examining panels. However, it would seem that these difficulties might be solved by having on each examining panel a team of four or five persons who would supervise all the test papers and specialist units for the various disciplines corresponding to the occupation categories. Thus the various organizations concerned or the largest departments within each organization could be represented, at least in rotation.
(e) The marking of the written tests. The written tests must, quite obviously, be marked under the supervision of the examining panels. However, since there may be a very large number of candidates at the various competitive examinations, and, consequently, a large number of papers to mark, the examining panels should be able to call upon a certain number of persons to mark the papers, who would be specially recruited and remunerated and might, for instance, be selected from among university teachers in the countries where the examinations were held, at least for the technical test papers. In the case of the general culture test paper, it would be desirable to include United Nations officials among those designated to mark them. The recruitment of specialists to mark the papers would seem particularly necessary since, for reasons of equity and security, it seems preferable to adopt the system of dual marking (each paper being marked by two different readers).
(f) The practical organization of written tests in a large number of centres. Since the geographical areas for the competitive examinations would be likely to encompass only a certain number of countries situated in a given region (in the global sense), it would seem that the written tests could easily be organized in the following manner:
- Arrangements should be made to assign responsibility for the material preparation of the premises, invigilation and the convening of the candidates to a certain number of offices of organizations of the United Nations system in those countries (headquarters or regional headquarters of organizations; offices of UNDP Resident Representatives or offices of information services);
- Practical arrangements should be made for the test papers and relevant instructions to be distributed under seal to all centres where the tests are to be held;
- More or less simultaneous scheduling of the examinations should be ensured;
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- The candidates' papers (traditional methods being used to ensure anonymity prior to marking) should be dispatched by post to the headquarters of the organization in which the examining panel would be located.
(g) Arrangements for the oral tests. The number of candidates admitted to the oral tests should be very small, usually less than twice or even one and a half times the number of candidates to be finally appointed. This precaution would have the advantage of lightening the burden of the examining panels at the time of the oral tests and of reducing the travel costs which might have to be reimbursed to suitable candidates if they are really to be afforded equal opportunities. Depending on where the competitive examinations are held, it also might be possible to convene the examining panels in places which would involve minimum travel costs. The examining panels should also have the possibility of being assisted by technical staff during the oral tests but the members of the panel should, as far as possible, be present and take part in the tests.
(h) Organization of specialized administrative services for this system of recruitment.Since the competitive examination system (and the reserve list) should function at the inter-agency level, it would seem logical to make ICSC responsible for the general co-ordination of activities in this field. Consequently, a central competitive examinations unit should be established within the Commission's secretariat. The functions of such a unit should Include the following:
- Assembling, on a regular basis, information from organizations relating to the number of posts to be filled in the different occupation categories envisaged and making proposals regarding the number of places to be established in the reserve list, broken down by occupation category;
- Drawing up, in the light of geographical distribution requirements and the instructions given to it by the Commission in this regard, a plan for the holding of competitive examinations in various countries and in various world regions;
- Taking the necessary measures for the establishment of examining panels, recruitment of persons to mark the tests, and the preparation of the test papersJ
- Maintaining the necessary contacts with the examination centres for the material organization of the competitive examinations;
- Publishing and keeping up to date the reserve list and keeping a record of the use which the organizations make of the list;
- Maintaining such contacts with the organizations as are needed to ensure the proper functioning of the system as a whole. In each organization, a professional officer in the Personnel Division should be appointed as ICSC correspondent for all matters connected with the organization of the competitive examinations and the functioning of the reserve list.
20. Modernization of the traditional system of recruitment
The traditional system of recruitment, which will have to be retained for specialists, can, as was mentioned in paragraph 12 above, be improved and modernized. This may be achieved in two different ways. One possibility is for each organization, which is familiar with the problems pertaining to the specialists
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it needs (educators In UNESCO, specialists in the various branches of medicine in WHO, etc.), to define its own policy for its occupation category in so far as it considers this possible. For example, the ILO and WHO have recently studied the possibility of formulating a staff recruitment policy.
This research should be continued and may well yield important results.
At the same time, however, it is also possible to identify elements which might be common to these various policies by devoting special attention to the points listed in paragraph 13 (B) above.
An indication has already been given (see paragraph 16 above) of what practical measures might usefully be taken with regard to the forecasting of recruitment needs. It is also obvious that development of the post classification system, if the latter is introduced, would help considerably in defining the qualifications required of the personnel to be recruited. Post classification systems are in fact either being devised or already being applied in the various agencies (see annex VII). Some harmonization of the systems adopted is desirable and ICSC will certainly have an opportunity of considering the matter. Special attention might be given to this question, to the relationship between the various methods and to the modernization of recruitment systems.
There are, however, two areas in which immediate progress might be made: the notification of vacancies and the question of recruitment rosters. A number of comments may be made in this regard. In the first place, an intensification of the advertising of vacancies and the establishment of rosters are in no way contradictory; publicity should be a means of replenishing the recruitment rosters, but some distinctions should be made between the various types of post according to their degree of specialization.
For very highly specialized posts, of which there may be only one in an organization or even in the whole United Nations system, it seems obvious that advertising is not absolutely essential and that the placing of candidates names in a roster is even less warranted.
On the other hand, in the case of vacancies for specialists with characteristics such that they could satisfy the requirements of several and sometimes even a fairly substantial number of posts, it is obvious that publicity is desirable in order to obtain the largest possible number of applications from suitable specialists and that the placing on the roster of the names of candidates who are not selected but who might be available later is fully justified since the roster can be used whenever the first vacancy in the particular speciality occurs. For posts of the latter type, which are much more numerous, the establishment of a roster of candidates is the best possible means of ensuring the availability of a large number of candidates whenever a vacancy is announced. However, if the roster system is to function smoothly:
- The roster must be replenished with names of suitable and actually available candidates, for all categories of post, by means of the widest possible publicity;
- The list of candidates must be kept regularly and systematically up to date by removal of the names of all those who are no longer available. This implies a very accurate method of checking the active status of candidates at regular intervals;
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- It must be possible for all names on the rosters of each organization to be communicated at any time to the othei organizations. This implies some method of interconnecting the different rosters. It should be possible for ICSC to determine the best means of ensuring such an interconnexion.
With regard to the question of advertising vacancies or, to be more precise, the availability of places on the rosters, it would seem that there should be some co-ordination of efforts, as the current methods are, on the whole, too restrictive. At present, methods of announcing vacant posts vary among the agencies. In general, when a post is open to external recruitment, a document informing of the vacancy (vacancy announcement) is circulated to the delegations of States members of the organization concerned. This document contains a description of the post and indicates the date by which it is to be filled, the salary applicable to the post and the time-limit for applications. In most organizations these documents are:
- posted in the corridors of the organization's premises;
- circulated for similar posting in other organizations of the United Nations system. However, these practices are not always followed and there cannot be said to be any systematic organization of information concerning secretariat vacancies within the United Nations system.
For a certain number of posts, vacancy announcements are sent by the organization to certain national institutions which might be interested (for example, scientific associations, engineering bodies, alumni associations, universities, etc.).
Direct advertising in newspapers, on the other hand, is much more rare. Some organizations, such as the United Nations, resort to this procedure only in extremely exceptional cases (for one or two posts annually at most). Other agencies do so a little more often. But to my knowledge FAO is the only agency which systematically uses press advertisements. These advertisements concern various kinds of posts, but usually technical ones (fisheries' statisticians, poultry market experts, chemists, nutrition experts, etc.), and sometimes also administrative posts (senior personnel manager, accountant) or rather broad professional categories (e.g. economists). These advertisements are placed in some major newspapers (La Stampa, Le Monde) or in the specialized press (accounting or maritime fishing journals). Almost without exception, these are newspapers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Western Europe. However, South American or Far Eastern newspapers are used in some cases. One of the reasons why the personnel administration of FAO can use this type of advertisement is that the cost is covered in the budget in a way which appears to be different from that used in other agencies, since recruitment costs are included in the calculation of "common staff costs". These advertisements very often produce good results in the form of a very large number of candidates. Not infrequently the personnel department receives 100 replies and in some cases many more, but it considers that there are no particular difficulties involved in sorting replies to eliminate the least eligible candidates and arrive at a short list. This short list includes only those candidates who have the most appropriate experience for the job and corresponding academic qualifications. Of those on this short list, only a few candidates selected in agreement with the division concerned are called for interview. The Director of Personnel of FAO is now considering the possibility of using this system of press advertisements more economically by placing bulk advertisements. The bulk advertisement either refers to several posts in the same advertisement or contains a job description which may correspond to several vacancies of the same type.
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Personally, I think that methods of announc:'.n5 all post, vacancies should be developed generally. Budgetary provision will DC required to enable all organizations to finance such efforts: quite modest allocations would suffice and would bring a good return as they are an essential condition for improving the number and quality of applications and thus, in the end, the quality of the personnel recruited.
The form of advertising used should of course be discussed with the Governments of member States to obtain their agreement to its appearance in their countries and the solutions adopted would doubtless differ from country to country. However, direct notification of professional scientific associations, specialist bodies, etc., should be expanded, as should press advertising of the kind used by FAO, extended as far as possible to the press of developing countries. The use of bulk advertisements should be made general, particularly for occupation categories and grades which cover several very similar posts needing to be filled in the same year. It might well be considered most desirable that ICSC itself should have a small advertising budget which would enable it to obtain lists of suitable candidates for the rarest specialities, which it could make available to all the organizations, by means of the interconnected rosters.
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III. SUMMARY AMD PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONS
21. Summary
The first part of this note indicated the nature of the problem and the circumstances which render it both necessary and possible to reform the present system of recruitment of professional staff.
As far as the total number of staff is concerned, the United Nations system recruits annually about 900 professional officers at different grade and speciality levels. The recruitments at the P-l to P-2 level account for about one-third of the total, and those at grades P-l to P-3 for about 55 per cent. The breakdown of recruitments according to occupation makes it possible to distinguish a number of posts with common characteristics as regards the function involved and the qualifications required. These posts, which may be classified by "occupation category", represent, at the P-l and P-2 level, about 140 recruitments per year and at the P-3 level about 250 recruitments per year. On the basis of these various characteristics, it would be possible to carry out a reform which is, in fact, necessary. On the one hand, there is relatively chronic under-representation of a number of countries in most of the organizations of the United Nations system, with the result that it is possible to chart this phenomenon (cf. annex V). On the other hand, the resolutions on the recruitment of female staff need to be translated into practical measures. Lastly, it seems essential to develop a system of solutions that will guarantee more effectively the quality of the staff recruited and modernize and improve recruitment operations so as to make it easier for departmental heads to select their staff. A consultation of the organizations carried out by the Inspector in late 1976 showed that consideration might be given to using the competitive examination method for recruitment to junior posts in such "occupation categories" as administrative officers, economists, lawyers, information officers, etc. Furthermore, it would also seem possible to modernize the methods of recruiting specialists by a more systematic use of advertising and rosters.
The second part of the note explains how recruitment could be reformed by distinguishing between two systems, namely, recruitment by competitive examination for junior posts coming within carefully defined and specified occupation categories, and the traditional recruitment method in the case of specialists. This distinction would make it possible to establish a recruitment policy for the occupation categories at the level of the United Nations system. For specialists, however, the task of working out a specific policy would have to be left to each individual organization, but common methods could be adopted for dealing with specific aspects.
22. Principal recommendations
Among the various comments and recommendations made in this note, the following seem to be the most important:
Recommendation 1: Definition of "occupation categories" in all the organizations
"Occupation categories", i.e. groups of posts involving functions of the same nature and requiring comparable academic and, where appropriate, professional qualifications, should be defined in all the organizations. This concept should embrace - at least in the case of grades P-l to P-3 inclusive - the posts of general administrative officers, economists, statisticians, sociologists, lawyers, specialists in public information and political science and, in some organizations,
- 22 -
other categories as well. The posts of translator and interpreter may already be said to be included. The decision should be male tnat persons recruited into an occupation category can be promoted only within that category and that, in order to transfer to another occupation category, they must pass an examination. It should also be decided that no posts at the P-l or P-2 level within an occupation category may be filled except by competitive examination and that P—3 posts in the same category will be reserved for the promotion of officers at grade P-2 who were recruited by competitive examination. Another possibility would be to extend the competitive examination to all grades from P-l to P-3 (paragraph 15).
Recommendation 2: Distinction between two recruitment methods. Institution of a "reserve list"
The introduction of "occupation categories" for certain types of posts should lead to the establishment of two distinct recruitment methods:
- one reserved for P-l and P-2 posts coming within the occupation categories, consisting of recruitment by means of a competitive examination with written and oral tests; and
- the other reserved for specialist posts which do not come within the occupation categories and, in certain cases, for posts at grades P—4 and above which do come within the occupation categories.
The first method should result in the institution of a "reserve list" from which it should be mandatory to recruit for all P-l and P-2 occupation category posts. The second would make more systematic use of recruitment rosters for which candidates would be obtained by advertising and whicft would be expanded and kept up to date (paragraph 15)-
Recommendation 3 : Forecasting of recruitment needs
A simplified method of one-year forecasting of recruitment needs, based in particular on accurate statistics for previous years, should be developed so as to make it possible, inter alia, to determine the number of places necessary on the reserve list. The ICSC could consider publishing an annual forecast of recruitment needs (paragraph 16).
Recommendation 4; Legal arrangements for the system of recraitment by competitive examination
The ICSC could submit to the General Assembly and the legislative bodies of the various organizations proposals to amend the staff rales. The changes should relate, inter alia, to:
- The definition and listing of "occupation categories";
- Conditions for promotion within the occupation categories;
- The use of competitive examinations for recruitment to P-l and P-2 (or P-l to P-3) posts in the occupation categories;
- The respective roles of ICSC and the organizations in preparing the competitive examinations;
- Definition of the "reserve list" and the manner in which it would be used;
- 23 -
- The manner in which appointing autl- xl ' - - to be e^jrcised in eacli organization (paragraph 18J.
Recommendation 5: Practical arrangements for the system of recruitment by competitive examination
In agreement with the executive heads of the organizations, ICSC could submit to the General Assembly a report giving a detailed description of the practical steps to be taken to organize the competitive examinations. If the proposals in these reports were adopted, it should be possible to take the necessary measures concerning inter alia:
- The preparation and assignment of a plan for the holding of competitive examinations by geographical area or by country;
- The choice of the types of competitive examination and the number and type of written and oral tests;
- The recruitment of specialists (consultants) to prepare test papers for the examinations;
- The organization of examining panels;
- Methods of marking the written papers and the recruitment and remuneration of personnel for this task;
- The practical organization of the written examinations by United Nations offices or offices of the specialized agencies in the various countries;
- Arrangements for the conduct of the oral examinations and possible reimbursement of some travel costs;
- The establishment of specialized administrative units for this system of recruitment, within the ICSC secretariat and elsewhere (paragraph 19) •
Recommendation 6: The traditional recruitment method: intensification of advertising and development of recruitment rosters. Interconnexion of the various rosters
The policy for the recruitment of specialists should be defined by each organization. Nevertheless, consideration should be given to instituting various measures common to the different policies.
In this connexion, provision should be made in particular for the systematic expansion of press advertising for recruitment to categories of specialists with characteristics common to several posts. Special allocations should be made for this purpose in the budgets of the personnel departments of the various organizations and a special appropriation could also be included in the budget of ICSC.
All the organizations should have recruitment rosters for which candidates would be obtained by advertising and which would be kept regularly and systematically up to date.
The ICSC should be given the task of ensuring that the data contained in the various rosters are interconnected so that they- may be used by all the organizations.
- 24 -
ANNEX I
TOTAL NUMBER OF STAFF IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY IN 13 ORGANIZATIONS (INCLUDING LANGUAGE POSTS)
Organization
United Nations ;*/ UNDP UNHCR UNICEF UNITAR UNRWA ITC
Sub-total 1
ILO FAO UNESCO WHO IAEA
Sub-total 2
ICAO UPU ITU WMO IMCO
Sub-total 3
TOTAL for ]1 organizations
31 August 1971
3 021 479 105 205 23 74
3 907
750 1 429 832 820 341
4 172
219 56 177 106 42
600
8 679
31 December 1974
3 253 627 116 301 12 68 63
4 440
764 1 310 1 062 863 358
4 357
248 63
185
ill 54
661
9 458
31 December 1975
3 446 643 149 317 12 68 67
4 702
803 1 348 1 092 1 012 379
4 634
318 66
192 113 60
749
10 085
31 December 1976
3 548 636 169 366
17 62 68
4 866
789 1 335 1 008 1 006
409
4 545
282 62
199 114 77
734
10 145
vrpo
GATT
TOTAL for 13 organizations
-
-
-
109
9 567
56
121
10 262
59
127
10 331
Sources: Personnel Statistics, CCAQ, Secretariat - CCAQ/SEC/403 (PER), 28 March 1977 - CCAQ/SEC/368 (PER)/Add.l, 1 April 1976 - CCAQ/SEC/359 (PER), 14 August 1975
f/ Including ICSC, ICJ, UNIV.
- 25 -
ANNEX II
NUMBER ^F EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS 19b3-3 97b)
Organ iza t ion
United Na t ions*
UNDP
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNITAR
ÜNRWA
S u b - t o t a l 1
ILO
FACW
UNESCO
W1IO
IAEA
S u b - t o t a l 2
ICAO
UPU
ITU
WMO
IMCO
S u b - t o t a l 3
TOTAL 11 o r g a n i z a t i o n s
WIPO
GATT
GRAND TOTAL 13 o r g a n i z a t i o n s
1 9 6 8 ^
287
47
7
18
8
14
381
103
311
69
72
52
607
10
9
13
19
11
62
1 050
-
19
1 069
1969Í /
361
55
8
11
7
16
458
105
305
79
65
65
619
27
3
4
10
1
45
1 122
-
13
1 125
197oi/
341
67
9
17
8
6
448
88
337
80
51
57
613
24
1
21
13
13
72
1 133
-
25
1 158
1972
296
X
X
X
X
X
37
28
60
58
X
X
23
2
4
X
5
X
u 5
X
u
1973
306
8 7
X
X
X
X
X
92
34
87
49
X
X
24
2
12
X
0
X
u 10
X
3 /
1974
596
B
X
X
X
X
X
59
49
66
71
X
X
29
5
5
X
10
X
y
5
X
1/
1975
394
75
X
29
X
X
X
70
97
37
50
X
X
28
2
19
X
7
X
3 /
6
X
11
* Including ICSC, ICJ, UNIV
x Data not available
1/ Report of the Special Committee for the Review of the United Nations Salary System, Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-seventh session, Supplement No. 28 (A/8728)
2/ The information on FAO given m the above-mentioned report is not consistent with that for the other agencies. The error is probably considerable; the order of magnitude of 3C0 that is shown should be brought down to approximately 8O-9O. The over-all result should also be adjusted accordingly.
3/ Figures have not been obtained for all the organizations and the total is not indicated, but the data given show that the order of magnitude j.s tre same as for I970.
- 26 -
AflHEX III
BREAKDOWN OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS BY ORGANIZATION AND BY GRADE (1972)
Organization
United Nations—' (1/7/72-30/6/73)
UNDP
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNITAR
UNRWA
LL02/
FAO
UNESCO
WHO^/
IAEA
ICAO
UPU
ITU
MÍO
IMCO
WIPO
GATT
P- l
20
X
X
X
X
X
3
2
11
X
X
-
-
1
X
-
1
X
P-2
105
X
X
X
X
X
P-3
78
X
X
X
X
X
20 -
5
9
X
X
4
2
1
X
1
1
X
7
10
X
X
8
-
2
X
4
1
X
P-4
46
X
X
X
X
X
8
7
18
X
X
6
-
-
X
-
-
X
P-5
24
X
X
X
X
X
5
2
7
X
X
4
-
-
X
-
2
X
D+
23
X
X
X
X
X
1
5
5
X
X
1
-
-
X
-
-
X
Total
296
X
X
X
X
X
37
28
60
X
X
23
2
4
X
5
5
X
x: Data not available.
l/ Including UNOG, UNIDO, UNEP, the regional commissions and the information centres, but excluding the staff of ICSC, ICJ and UNIV. Figures taken from document A/9120.
2/ UiO: Regular budget only.
3/ WHO: The breakdown by grade for the data in annex II could not be supplied in time.
- 27 -
ANNEX III (continued)
BREAKDOWN OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS BY ORGANIZATION AND BY GRADE (1973)
Organization
United Nations-/ (1/7/73-30/6/74)
UNDP
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNITAR
UNRWA
TU&
FAO
UNESCO
WHC¿/
IAEA
ICAO
UPU
ITU
WMO
IMCO
WIPO
GATT
P-l
16
13
X
X
X
X
10
2
13
X
X
-
-
2
X
-
1
X
P-2
119
22
X
X
X
X
P-3
70
18
X
X
X
X
8 37 8
4
8
X
X
4
l
l
X
-
-
X
9
18
X
X
10
-
7
X
-
6
X
P-4
53
15
X
X
X
X
18
10
30
X
X
7
_
2
X
-
3
X
P-5
28
5
X
X
X
X
8
4
12
X
X
1
1
-
X
-
-
X
D+
20
13
X
X
X
X
3
5
6
X
X
2
-
-
X
-
-
X
Total
306
87
X
X
X
X
92
34
87
X
X
24
2
12
X
0
10
X
x: Data not available
l/ Including UNOG, UNIDO, UNEP, the regional commissions and the information centres, but excluding the staff of ICSC, ICJ and UNIV. Figures taken from document A/9724.
2/ ILO: Regular budget only.
3/ WHO: The breakdown by grade for the data in annex II could not be supplied in time.
- 28 -
ANNEX III (continued)
BREAKDOWN OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS BY ORGANIZATION AND BY GRADE (1974)
Organizat ion
United Nations—/ (1/7/74-30/6/75)
UNDP
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNITAR
UNRWA
n&J
FAO
UNESCO
WHO^/
IAEA
ICAO
UPU
ITU
WMO
LMCO
WIPO
GATT
P- l
21
8
X
X
X
X
2
2
12
X
X
-
-
-
X
-
-
X
P-2
120
21
X
X
X
X
9
5
11
X
X
4
1
-
X
1
1
X
P-3
134
19
X
X
X
X
17
8
6
X
X
11
1
3
X
8
3
X
PT4
60
13
X
X
X
X
20
20
24
X
X
12
-
1
X
1
-
X
P-5
32
5
X
X
X
X
8
8
10
X
X
2
3
1
X
-
1
X
D+
29
7
X
X
X
X
3
6
3
X
X
-
-
-
X
-
-
X
Total
396
73
X
X
X
X
59
49
66
X
X
29
5
5
X
10
5
X
x: Data not available.
l/ Including UNOG, UNIDO, UNEP, the regional commissions and the information centres, but excluding the staff of ICSC, ICJ and UNIV. Figures taken from document A/10184.
2/ ILO: Regular budget only.
3/ WHO: The breakdown by grade for the data in annex II could not be supplied in time.
- 29 -
ANNEX III (continued)
BREAKDOWN OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS BY ORGANIZATION AND BY GRADE (1975)
O r g a n i z a t i o n
U n i t e d Nations—' ( 1 / 7 / 7 5 - 3 0 / 6 / 7 6 )
UNDP
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNITAR
UNRWA
ILC¿/
FAO
UNESCO
WHO^/
IAEA
ICAO
UPU
ITU
WMO
LMCO
WIPO
GATT
P - l
21
16
X
3
X
X
3
3
2
X
X
-
-
1
X
1
-
X
P-2
151
17
X
10
X
X
6
22
4
X
X
4
-
2
X
-
1
X
P-3
97
18
X
6
X
X
28
18
9
X
X
1 1
1
13
X
4
2
X
P-4
71
11
X
8
X
X
18
40
14
X
X
13
-
2
X
1
-
X
P-5
35
6
X
1
X
X
12
12
6
X
X
-
1
-
X
1
3
X
D+
19
7
X
1
X
X
3
2
2 i
X
X
-
-
1
X
-
-
X
Tota l
394
75
X
29
X
X
70
97
37
X
X
28
2
19
X
7
6
X
x: Data not available.
l/ Including UNOG, UNIDO, UNEP, the regional commissions and the information centres, but excluding the staff of ICSC, ICJ and UNIV. Figures taken from document A/31/154.
2/ ILO: Regular budget only.
3/ WHO: The breakdown by grade for the data in annex II could not be supplied in time.
- 30 -
ANNEX IV (A)
BREAKDOWN OF APPOINTMENTS BY OCCUPATION CATEGORY TOR ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS IN 1974
Occupation category
Administrative Off.
External Relations Off.
Finance Off.
Internal Affairs Off.
Personnel Officers
Organization and Methods Off.
Sub-total Administration
Economists
Sociologists
Statisticians
Sub-total
Agricultural Scientists
Educators
Engineers
Labour Relations Off.
Legal Officers
Medical Officers
Nurses
Political Science Off.
Publ. and Printing Off.
Scientists
Tech. Officers
Public Information Off.
Sub-total
Others
Total
Language Officers
P-l
• 13
-
2
1
1
-
il 5
1
2
8
-
2
-
2
-
-
1
7
4
1
5
-
22
2
12
3
P-2
9
1
3
8
2
1
Ik 25
5
2
21 1
5
3
5
8
-
1
5
11
6
10
8
62
19
138
43
P-3
10
4
5
4
2
-
11 32
9
7
¿8
4
2
10
7
4
1
9
3
13
14
3
3
12
31
177
50
P-4
16
3
1
8
3
-
21 17
6
3
la 6
10
13
5
6
45
2
3
3
30
6
8
ill
23
211
14
P-5
4
-
2
7
1
-
M 7
1
4
12
1
4
8
7
5
22
_
2
-
19
1
2
Ü
15
112
-
D-l/D-2
1
-
1
1
4
-
2 13
1
-
iá
3
2
3
3
6
3
-
2
-
3
-
i
26
3
_5_0
-
Total
53
8
14
29
13
1
118
99
23
18
140
15
25
37
29
29
71
13
22
31
73
25
22
221
93
m no
Source: CCAQ, Secretariat Circular Memorandum No. 259 (PER), GB/AD 128/2, Appointments to the Professional Category 1974. English only.
- 31 -
ANNEX IV (B)
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENTS IN THE FIVE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE OCCUPATION CATEGORIES FOR WHICH A COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION CAN BE ENVISAGE
Occupat ion c a t e g o r i e s ( t o t a l r e c r u i t m e n t s P - l t o P-3)
Genera l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
E x t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s
F inance
P e r s o n n e l
I n t e r n a l a f f a i r s
O r g a n i z a t i o n and Methods
S u b - t o t a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
Economis t s
S o c i o l o g i s t s
S t a t i s t i c i a n s
Legal o f f i c e r s
P o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s
P u b l i c i n f o r m a t i o n
T o t a l
Uni te d Na t ions
23
-
8
9
-
4
44
58
22
8
10
5
16
163
ILO
2
1
-
-
-
-
3
7
2
1
7
2
-
22
FAO
5
-
-
2
-
-
7
5
-
1
2
1
4
20
UNESCO
11
-
1
-
-
-
12
-
2
2
-
-
-
16
WHO
5
-
2
2
-
2
11
3
-
-
-
-
-
14
T o t a l
46
1
11
13
-
6
77
73
26
12
19
8
20
235
l / One~year e s t i m a t e ba sed on d a t a cove r ing t h r e e d i f f e r e n t y e a r s :
- Un i t ed N a t i o n s : da t a f o r t h e p e r i o d 1 / 7 / 7 5 - 3 0 / 6 / 7 6 - ILO and FAO: d a t a f o r 1975 - UNESCO and WHO: da t a f o r 1974
- 32 -
ANNEX V (A)
MAP OF GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE FIVE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM (UNITED NATIONS, UNESCO, FAO, ILO, WHO)
Note:
•
Countries under-represented (or not represented) in at least three agencies out of the five (excluding countries under-represented in three agencies but over-represented in one or two agencies)
Countries under-represented (or not represented) in two agencies (provided they are not over-represented in the United Nations)
Countries under-represented (or not represented) in three agencies but over-represented in one or two agencies
This map is based on the data set out in the attached table (annex V(B))C It should be noted that the methods of calculating the quotas for geographical representation are not the same in all the organizations. In the main, the quotas are calculated by means of a formula which takes into account the amount of each member State's contribution to the budget of the organization and the State's population, and this is adjusted by the fact that every member State is entitled to a minimum number of posts. However, the minimum range may vary from one organization to another (e.g. 2-5 in UNESCO, 2-7 in the United Nations). FAO has a special system in which the grades of the posts are also taken into account in calculating the representation.
ANNEX V (A): Map
ANNEX V (B): Table
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- 34 -
ANNEX V (B; (continued)
TABLE OF GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE FIVE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
3IA AND THE FAR EAST AUSTRALIA BANGLADESH BHUTAN BURMA CHINA DEM KAMPUCHEA DEM REP OF KOREA REP OF KOREA FIJI INDIA INDONESIA JAPAN LAO P DEM REP MALAYSIA MALDIVES MONGOLIA NEPAL NEW ZEALAND PAKISTAN PAPUA N GUINEA PHILIPPINES SINGAPORE SRI LANKA THAILAND W SAMOA
UNITED NATIONS
= 0 + -= . . = + + -= + 0 -+ + + 0 + = + + 0
UNESCO
-o
--= 0 = o
+ = --= . 0 -= + 0 = = = = .
FAO
0 . =r
0 0 . + 0 + = _ 0 0 0 0 = + + . + . + + .
ILO
+ . 0 -= o
. 0 + 0 -= + . 0 = + + o
= 0 + = .
WHO
= + . = -0 0 + 0 + + -0 = 0 0 + + + 0 + = +
+
0
EUROPE (EASTERN) ALBANIA BULGARIA BYELORUSSIAN SSR CZECHOSLOVAKIA GERMAN DEM REP HUNGARY POLAND ROMANIA UKRAINIAN SSR USSR YUGOSLAVIA
0 = = --+ = = --+
0 = . = ---— —
= =
0 = -0 . ---. o
+
. + . -0 -=: + --+
0 + ---= -= . -+
- 35 -
ANNEX V (B) (continued)
TABLE OF GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION IN TILE FIVE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
JROPE (WESTERN) AUSTRIA BELGIUM DENMARK FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY, F R OF GREECE ICELAND IRELAND ITALY LUXEMBOURG MALTA NETHERLANDS NORWAY PORTUGAL SPAIN SWEDEN UNITED KINGDOM SAN MARINO MONACO
UNITED NATIONS
+ + = + + --= = = = = = = — -+ + . .
UNESCO
+ + = = + — --= + --= — = + + + 0 =
FAO
+ = + --= 0 + = = = = = = = = + o
.
ILO
+ + + + + = + = + = = = + — -+ = + . .
WHO
+ + = + -+ 0 + -— — = — --= + . 0
LATIN AMERICA ARGENTINA BOLIVIA BRAZIL CHILE COLOMBIA COSTA RICA CUBA DOMINICAN REP ECUADOR EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HAITI HONDURAS MEXICO NICARAGUA PANAMA PARAGUAY PERU SURINAM URUGUAY VENEZUELA
+ + — + + = = = + = + + = -= = = + 0 + -
+ = = = = = -= = -= = 0 + -= 0 = 0 := =
-+ -+ + + 0 0 + = = + = -0 = 0 = . + 0
+ + = + + = = == — 0 + = = -+ 0 + + . + 0
= = -+ + = = = + = = + = -= = = + -+ -
- 36 -
ANNEX V (B) (continued)
TABLE OF GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE FIVE LARGEST ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
[DDLE EAST AFGHANISTAN BAHRAIN CYPRUS DEMOCRAT YEMEN IRAN IRAQ, ISRAEL JORDAN KUWAIT LEBANON OMAN QATAR SAUDI ARABIA SYRIAN ARAB RP TURKEY U A EMIRATES YEMEN
UNITED NATIONS
0 + 0 = + = + 0 + 0 0 -
+ + 0 +
UNESCO
0 = -
=
=
= + 0 + 0 0 0 + = 0 0
FAO
0 + 0 0 + + + -4-
0 0 0 -f
+
ILO
.
= 0 + = + + 0 + .
0 „
-
+ 0 1 0
o i o
WHO
0 =
= + = + + 0 + 0 0 0 + -
0 =
N. AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN BAHAMAS BARBADOS CANADA GRENADA GUYANA JAMAICA TRINIDAD TOB USA
0 =
= -
+ + + =
0 0 = -
= =
= -
.
0
-
= 0 + -
.
0
.
+ + 0 -
0 =
= 0 = =
= -
Sources: United Nations: Data relating to 31 December 1976.
UNESCO: Document 102 EX/31, 31 March 1977-
FAO: Data relating to the month of December 19755 communicated by FAO.
ILO: Data relating to the year 1975> communicated by the ILO.
WHO: Document EB 59/25, 2 November 1976»
- 37 -
ANNEX VI
ANALYSIS OF REPLIES FROM ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ON CERTAIN PROBLEMS OF
RECRUITMENT OF STAFF IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY
1. Possibility of generalizing the competitive examination method
Analysis of the replies on this point revealed, despite a considerable diversity of positions, a tendency in favour of generalizing competitive examinations, at least for certain occupation categories and for grades P-l to P-3« It is also worth noting that even those organizations which are opposed to recruitment by competitive examination recognize, for the most part, that the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) has an important role to play in this field»
UNESCO and FAO do not believe that competitive examinations are a "realistic" method of recruitment, either because the number of non—specialist posts for which this method can be employed is small (FAO) or because competitive examinations might prove to be a source of intellectual uniformity (UNESCO)» The latter organization adds that the experience of the United Nations in this field has been disappointing and it emphasizes the difficulty of designing tests adapted to the socio-cultural background of candidates from a large variety of countries. The argument concerning the cost of travel and per diem of candidates and examiners is also advanced. However, UNESCO recognizes that the views of ICSC and possible action on its part would be very useful in organizing joint competitive examinations for several organizations.
UNIDO is in favour of competitive examinations for grades P-l to P-2 and, in certain cases, for grade P-3« At higher levels, experience counts more than cultural attainment, which is why UNJDO advocates the development of more systematic interviewing techniques for recruitment to those levels. The ILO, which has fairly long experience in this field, is highly interested in the potential results of action in this area, namely, the possibility of competitive examinations becoming the normal method of recruitment for career professional staff, even if this should make for slightly heavier administrative machinery» In its view, ICSC has a constructive role to play in this connexion by organizing, for all the organizations In the United Nations system, joint competitive examinations for which, without specifying in too great detail the professional qualifications required, young university graduates might present themselves, the object being to draw up lists of suitable candidates for recruitment.
In IAEA selection is, in the main, based on qualifications, and even interviews are rather rare» Competitive examinations might possibly be held for young P-ls and P-2s, i.e. in a very limited number of cases» The view of ICAO is that each organization should proceed independently, using its own methods in accordance with its own particular needs. ICAO*s own method of recruitment, however, is not without interest, being based on interviews and tests held simultaneously (or almost simultaneously) at headquarters and regional offices or organized by recruiting missions. ICAO has already organized competitive recruitment examinations by this method for language staff and is willing to give logistic support to the organization of competitive examinations on an inter-agency basis, although such examinations would probably not be applicable to ICAO itself.
- 38 -
ANNEX VI (continued)
As far as UPU is concerned, there is no need for competitive examinations, as most of that organization's officials are, In practice, seconded from national postal administrations and are known to UPU in almost every case before recruitment» For this reason, inter-agency co-operation has little to offer to UPU. The situation is similar at ITU, where recruitment by competitive examination is not possible under the existing regulations. The International Civil Service Commission might play an important role in launching a reform at the inter-agency level, but any decision by ITU to participate in the reform would always be dependent on the legislators.
2. Methods of publicizing vacancies and methods of storing information on the candidates (rosters)
Only two organizations (FAO and ICAO) appear to agree to generalizing methods of publicizing vacancies, particularly with regard to advertising in large-circulation newspapers and bulk advertisements for certain professional categories (administrative officers, legal officers, statisticians, economists, etc.). Other organizations make use of advertising, for the most part in the specialized press, only in exceptional cases, i.e. for posts which are difficult to fill (ILO, IAEA, ICAO). UNIDO and UNESCO express serious doubts regarding this method of publicizing vacancies because of its cost and the difficulty of reaching potential candidates in the developing countries. UNESCO, in particular, rarely resorts to this technique because the best potential candidates do not appear to be those who read the "situations vacant" columns» UNESCO suggests, however, that some daily newspapers might be "persuaded" to publish articles on employment possibilities within the United Nations system.
All the organizations, with the exception of ITU, UPU and WMO, have their own roster system, which is more or less highly developed. The ILO is in process of computerizing its roster; FAO has already done so, and the roster is programmed to cover a considerable number of specializations. The ILO does not regard press advertising as a valid method for drawing up a roster and even considers that there is an "inherent contradiction between the use of a roster and advertising". The idea of an exchange of rosters among organizations appeals to FAO, IAEA and ICAO. FAO adds, however, that this should be done directly, without going through the International Civil Service Commission.
Ln view of their small size, UPU and WMO do not seem to feel any need for rosters or for advertising in the press. The problem is entirely different at the ITU, where a roster would serve no purpose because It is a statutory rule that all candidatures must be submitted by a national Administration (and, if necessary, classified in order of preference by Administrations). There is no publicity outside national Administrations and the posting of vacancy notices In other organizations of the United Nations system.
3. Forecasting of recruitment needs
Although medium-term planning of recruitment needs is a relatively new technique which has been applied in practice by only two organizations (United Nations and UNESCO), the idea seems to have spread and the reluctance to adopt it which is still quite marked in some organizations appears to be waning. Even those organizations which have taken up the strongest stand on recruitment planning (UNIDO, FAO) recognize the theoretical need to develop such a tool, going on to assert, however, that detailed recruitment planning, although desirable, would be impracticable in view of the difficulty of forecasting post vacancies in a large variety of technical disciplines and of the fluctuation
- 39 -
ANNEX VI (continued)
of financial resources (FAO). Moreover, it does iy>t appear tnau recruitment statistics for past years can serve as a basis for predicting recruitment needs, because work programmes change from year to year (UNIDO). The ILO also doubts whether an effort in this field would be desirable in the present circumstances since the medium-term planning of the organizations in the United Nations system does not appear to be precise enough for forecasting recruitment needs. Such forecasts could be made only on the basis of programme budgets, i.e. barely a few months before the effective recruitment date.
The medium-sized agencies (IAEA, ICAO, ITU) generally recognize the need for recruitment forecasting, at least for those posts which do not call for a very high degree of specialization. They wonder, however, whether their turnover level is sufficiently high to justify the cost of such operations. As for the small agencies (UPU, WMO), they do not, of course, feel the need at all.
4. The link between post classification, recruitment and the qualifications required of candidates
While all the international organizations recognize the importance of post classification, there are appreciable differences with respect to the degree of homogeneity and compatibility between the systems of the different organizations. UNESCO, which has long had a post classification plan of the "job ranking method" type, is the only organization to express itself in favour of action by ICSC in this field and the only one to accept the idea of establishing a close link between post classification and the minimum qualifications for recruitment. On the other hand, FAO and, to a lesser extent, the ILO stress that the "American" and "European" approaches would yield different results and that each organization should develop a system adapted to its needs. The ITU, which is currently preparing a new classification system (which is to be submitted to its Administrative Council in May 1977)» appears to be a step ahead of the other organizations in that it emphasizes the close link between post classification and minimum qualifications for recruitment. It considers that these two aspects should form part of a single system, and goes so far as to say that no recruitment system can be effective unless it is based on qualification levels related, not only to posts, but also to the grading of those posts in a compatible or comparable manner for all organizations within the system»*/ The ITU is already using "post-grading standards" which lay down minimum criteria for recruitment to a given grade. FAO and the ILO are less specific on this point; as a general rule, a university degree is required for recruitment to the P category, but exceptions are made for trade unionists or for promotions from GS grades (ILO) or to take account of experience and of the fact that most recruitments are to the mid-career level (FAO).
The more "technical" organizations (IAEA, ICAO), which generally have post classification systems of the "rank in post" type, also appear, because of their highly specialized nature, to attach considerable importance to professional experience. It is clear, however, that in the large majority of cases a high degree of professional specialization is equivalent to a university diploma.
^/ This is not an official view but that of the ITU "post classification specialist".
- 40 -
ANNEX V I I
SOME DETAILS OF PRESENT RECRUITMENT METHODS
1. Relationship between post classification and recruitment
One of the prerequisites for good recruitment is a very exact definition of the posts to be filledo This definition is at present given, in most agencies, in the form of "job descriptions", but these descriptions are usually prepared and amended as requirements dictate, on an ad hoc basis, and in general there are no exact criteria for rational job description.
This situation, which has frequently been criticized (particularly, In the case of the United Nations, in report JIu/REP/71/7) has been under consideration for a number of years in secretariats and some intergovernmental bodies. In general, it seems that there Is an increasing tendency towards the establishment and adoption of post classification systems.
The job classification systems most frequently used ares
- the points method;
- the factor comparison method;
- the job ranking method;
- the benchmark or key job classification method.
Several agencies have already started work on a classification system. They ares
(a) The United Nations, where the Secretary-General, following the General Assembly's approval of recommendation No0 1 (of report JIU/REP/71/7) stated that he:
"agrees entirely with the thrust of the JIU recommendations 1 and 16 to the effect that occupational groups should be identified, and that within each of them, levels of qualifications should be defined and a clear relationship established between level of qualification and grade"
and also approved a supplementary recommendation of the Administrative Management Service that?
"a job classification system be instituted"»
In 1976j a group of consultants started a study on job classification and is likely to make specific proposals in 1978;
(b) WHO, which has carried out a study on this subject and which uses the benchmark or key job classification method;
(c) The ILO, which lias adopted the points method,. It also includes the identification of benchmark positions which are used for comparing groups of posts;
(d) UNESCO, which uses the job ranking method, based on descriptive norms followed for the purpose of determining the grade;
- 41 -ANNEX VII (continued)
(e) ITU, which has requested a consultant to prepare a classification system based on the factor comparison and benchmark methods. Proposals will be submitted to the Union's Administrative Council in May 1977»
(f) a system of this kind does not yet seem to have been studied by FA0o
2. Criteria concerning the qualifications required of candidates
In general, it may be said that any recruitment system comprises two levels:
- the application of "minimum criteria" for candidate eligibility, and
- consideration of candidates' applications.
The stringency of "minimum criteria" tends to increase when there are many candidates for a job and to decrease when it proves difficult to find candidates. Minimum criteria have relatively less importance when the system of consideration Itself is sufficiently rigorous for the level of knowledge and competence of the candidates to be assessed properly. On the other hand, the criteria assume importance when there is no real examination and recruitment is based on "paper qualifications", as is in fact often the case in international organizations.
The present situation differs from organization to organization.
In the United Nations, the secretariat recently specified "minimum criteria" for recruitment in order to establish which grades were open to a candidate. It should be noted, first, that this was done very discreetly through an internal memorandum by the Director of Recruitment and has not been set out in a circular available to all. Moreover, the rules laid down are extremely flexible. A table shows the minimum requirements for university training and experience. This table is reproduced below:
Grade
P-l
P-2
P-3
P-4
P-5
University degree and/or minimum years of professional experience required for
appointment
Ph.D
-
degree only
3
6
11
M.A.
degree only
2
5
8
13
B.A»
2
4
7
10
15
No degree
6
8
11
14
19
- 42 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
The accompanying comments show that the academic qualification requirements are far from being absolute; paragraph 6 of the memorandum states that:
"These standards apply to all posts. However, the minimum academic qualifications required will vary from post to post. Advanced academic requirements should not be required for any post except those whose duties involve research. It is not only necessary but actually inefficient to establish academic requirements that are higher than necessary to perform the duties of the post, and recruitment officers should be careful to see that vacancy announcements do not set unrealistically high minimum standards."
This attitude towards academic qualifications leads to such great flexibility that it actually results in eliminating the concept of academic qualifications, and this seems regrettable when the situation of United Nations staff is known in this regard (see description in chapter II of report JlU/REP/Zl/?)» */ A table showing diploma equivalencies for a number of countries is also attached to the note0 This table is interesting but unquestionably incomplete, and one would have expected that five years after the publication of the above—mentioned report, which recommended the establishment of a seven-level or eight-level nomenclature for the classification of university degrees by occupation category and by country (paragraph 391 of the report), **/ a more specific document would be available. Although they are not official or published, the existence of these criteria nevertheless represents an advance.
In other agencies, more specific details of the qualification criteria required are generally available. These qualification criteria are often diversified according to grades and occupation categories. Unfortunately, their formulation is often inexacto Formulas of the following type are found:
- "level of education equivalent to a college or university degree",
- "good theoretical knowledge of the subject",
- "good knowledge resulting from theoretical training and some practical experience".
Requirements are relatively precise only for specialized occupation categories such as finance officers or accountants ("university degree with specialization in accounting and membership of a professional accountants' body, for example a chartered accountant or certified public accountant").
The definitions of the qualifications required by WHO (and those required by UNESCO, which are quite similar) are generally better formulated. The ITU also has "Post Grading Standards", annexed to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules, which establish with some precision the minimum academic and/or professional qualifications required for recruitment.
^/ Paragraph 51 and annex II.7. Composition of the secretariat by number of years of university education.
*^/ And annex VI06.
- A3 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
In most of the other agencies the provisions are generally even less restrictive than in the United Hâtions. This is true, for example, of PAO and IAEA, where the ahsence of any close correlation "between university degrees and recruitment grades is justified "by the fact that, in highly specialized fields, professional experience counts for more than academic qualifications<>
3. Announcement of vacancies and storage of information on candidates
A» Announcement methods
Methods of announcing vacant posts vary among agencies. In general, when a post is open to external recruitment, a document indicating the vacancy (vacancy announcement) is distributed to the delegations of States members of the organization concerned. This document contains a job description and indicates the date "by which it is to he filled, the salary carried hy the post and the time-limit for applications. In most organizations these documents ares
- posted up in the corridors of the organizations' "buildings;
- distributed for similar announcement in other organizations of the United Nations system. However, these practices are not always followed and it cannot "be said that there is any systematic organization of information on vacancies within the secretariats of the United Nations system.
For some posts, vacancy announcements are sent hy the organization to national institutions which might he interested (for example, scientific associations, engineering bodies, associations of former pupils, universities, etc.).
Direct advertising In newspapers, on the other hand, is much more rare. Some agencies such as the United Nations resort to this procedure only in extremely exceptional cases (for one or two posts annually at most). For two agencies (ITU and UHJ), such a procedure is quite impossible, since recruitments are made direct from national Administrations and are in fact equivalent to secondments0 Other agencies such as the ILO and IAEA use it a little more often, mainly for recruitments which pose problems, i.e. for which it is believed that the above-mentioned practices would not produce results.
It seems that FAO is the only agency which uses press advertisements with some regularity. These advertisements concern various kinds of posts, but usually technical ones (fisheries' statisticians, poultry market experts, chemists, nutrition experts, etc.), and sometimes also administrative posts (senior personnel manager, accountant) or rather broad professional categories (for example economists). These advertisements are placed in some major newspapers (La Stampa, Le Monde) or in the specialized press (accounting or maritime fishing journals)» Almost without exception, these are newspapers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Western Europe. However, South American or Far Eastern newspapers are used in some cases. One of the reasons why the personnel administration of FAO can use this type of advertisement is that the cost is covered in the budget in a way which appears to be different from that of other agencies, since recruitment costs are included in the calculation of "common staff costs". These advertisements very often produce good results in the form of a very large number of candidateso Not infrequently the personnel department receives 100 replies and in some cases many more, but it considers that there are no particular difficulties involved in sorting replies to eliminate the least eligible candidates and arrive at a short list. This short list includes only those candidates who have the most appropriate experience for the job and corresponding academic qualifications. Of this short list, only a few candidates selected in agreement with the division concerned are called for interview.
'continued,
T
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- 45 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
Official applications: Any application from an organ designated by a member State to send the secretariat dossiers that it wishes to have taken into consideration (National Commission, Permanent Delegation, Ministry of Education, etc. ).
On receipt, the dossier is recorded in an alphabetical file in the name of the candidate and an acknowledgment of receipt is sent to the source of recruitment. Once the dossier is made up, it is sent:
- either to the unit responsible for recruiting posts subject to geographical representation, if the candidate is being proposed for a particular post;
- or to the competent programme sector for general evaluation, if the recruitment source is not proposing the candidate for a particular post.
The dossiers on the roster are sorted on the basis of the evaluation gi^en by the sector or sectors concerned and classified in two categories:
- a numerical classification, after codification and incorporation in the computerized lists, if the evaluation indicates that the application can be used later for other posts;
- a chronological classification if it is unlikely that the application can be used later on. The dossiers are destroyed after three years if there has been no correspondence during that time.
The recruitment sources are kept informed by the roster of the opportunities of employment open to the candidates submitted for general evaluation.
Direct applications: All candidates who write direct receive a reply, normally in the form of a roneoed letter. If it does not seem that the candidate can be used, the reply is in the negative; if he can be used, he receives curriculum vitae forms to fill in and the address of the official source of recruitment in his country. If a direct candidate applies for a particular post, he receives three curriculum vitae forms, one of which is returned direct to the Bureau of Personnel in order not to delay the evaluation, and the other two have to be sent through the official source of recruitment.
A number of agencies (ILO, UNESCO, PAO etc.) have already started, or are in the process of starting, to computerize their rosters. PAO, in particular, has adopted a very sophisticated system which enables it to take into account a high number of variables and specializations.
4. Present methods of examining candidates
The methods now used to select candidates for a given post normally comprise two stages:
- selection based on paper qualifications;
- interviews of the candidates included in the "short lists" resulting from the primary selection; candidates are generally interviewed by officers of the personnel services and of the substantive division concerned. This general pattern is sometimes supplemented or modified by various additional processes.
- 46 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
(i) Selection based on paper qualifications. This selection is carried out on the basis of the "job description", which is very often drawn up for the first time or has its earlier wording amended at the time when the post in question becomes vacant. The fact that a job description can be modified or redrafted each time the post becomes vacant introduces a certain flexibility, which may offer advantages, particularly in that it enables the organizational conception of a service to be brought up to date and the job descriptions to be adapted to developments in programmes. Nevertheless, the drawbacks outweigh the advantages. There is a temptation to "personalize" the job description so as to facilitate the recruitment of a particular candidate and, most important of all, the system is incompatible with the application of a genuine staffing policy. At present, when there are enough candidates under consideration to justify establishing short lists, these are not based solely on "criteria", where there are such criteria, but to a very-considerable extent on personal - i.e. arbitrary - assessments by members of the personnel services or substantive divisions.
(ii) Examining methods. Interviews then take place on the basis of these short lists. It would appear that, as a general rule, even fewer candidates are interviewed than are short-listed. The main reason seems to be the travel costs which must be reimbursed to candidates living at a distance from the recruitment centre. In most cases where the posts to be filled are in the headquarters of organizations, candidates living locally or who make their own way to the place and approach the services concerned seem to have a better chance of being interviewed than others and are, in fact, far more frequently interviewed (whatever their nationality). This situation seems almost automatically to exclude suitable candidates and thus runs counter to the principles of a good selection procedure.
An attempt has been made to compensate for the disadvantages of this situation by organizing recruitment missions in a number of countries. These missions are, however, usually limited and are in most cases carried out by representatives of the personnel service who are not qualified to assess the technical value of the candidates (this could be done only by representatives of the substantive divisions or by specialists appointed for the purpose).
Moreover, even where interviews are conducted jointly by the personnel service and the substantive divisions, the methods employed do not appear to be very scientific or very effective. Despite efforts to define and teach rational methods, such interviews are far more often aimless conversations than systematic examinations of a candidate's qualifications.
Nevertheless, it should perhaps be mentioned that, in PAO, written examinations are prescribed for all candidates interviewed (for grades P-l to P-5) to confirm their linguistic abilities. To the best of my knowledge this is the only example of a written method being used to check the qualifications of candidates in a given field.
By way of example, some details are given below of recruitment missions by some of the agencies:
- UNESCO: Many candidates are interviewed every year, by recruitment missions sent by the Bureau of Personnel or by other officials of the organization on mission from headquarters or working at the Regional Bureaux and Centres. In the three years 1973, 1974 and 1975, 248 candidates were interviewed for posts at headquarters, i.e. 201 in the course of 17 recruitment missions, 37 called to headquarters for interviews and 10 who were met at the request of the Bureau of Personnel by colleagues on field assignment or by UNDP Resident Representatives.
- 47 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
These missions visited 16 member States in 1973, 23 in 1974 and 22 in 1975. It is important to note that, in most cases, the officials on these missions also mot a much larger number of candidates for posts in the field (not subject to geographical distribution).
- FAO: About 120 candidates were interviewed in 1974 (13 journeys were reimbursed to candidates, at a cost of $8,000) and about 135 in 1975 (39 journeys reimbursed, at a cost of $23,000). The following recruitment missions have been sent:
- Japan (1974) 4 members, 87 candidates, 3 candidates recruited;
- Poland (1974) 3 members, 34 candidates, 1 candidate recruited;
- United States of America (1975/76), a recruitment officer was posted to the FAO Liaison Office in Washington, D.C., to examine, among other things, the problems of recruitment in North America: 25 candidates interviewed, 2 recruited.
WHO has not arranged any recruitment missions. Nevertheless, the following table gives some interesting information:
1224 1221
1. Total number of candidates interviewed:
- at the initiative of the candidate
- at the initiative of "WHO
2. Number of journeys reimbursed
3. Approximate amount of corresponding costs
4. Number of candidates interviewed "by proxy" 7 10
5. Recruitment missions -
(iii) Special competition methods. A competitive examination system is one of the formulas which has been advocated to counter the defects that have just been described and, more generally, to modernize recruitment methods. A number of experiments have been carried out by the United Nations as a result of Recommendation No. 3 in the report JIU/REP/71/7• ^J Three competitive examinations were organized in Italy (in 1974), the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan (in 1975)« In all three cases, candidates were being sought for P-l and P-2 posts in the administrative officer or economist occupation categories. In all three cases, there were about 10 vacancies, the number of candidates was very large and the standard of the successful candidates excellent. Unfortunately, the necessary arrangements had not been made to ensure rapid recruitment of the successful
351
75
74
$37,000
332
41
38
$24,000
_*/ It should also be pointed out that the competitive examination recruitment method has been used in the IL0 for many years. These competitive examinations, arranged less frequently than in the past, are used both for external recruitments and for internal recruitments, i.e. transfers and promotions.
- 48 -
ANNEX VII (continued)
candidates. Only in the case of the Italian competition were the successful candidates recruited in adequate numbers, after a very considerable delay, namely 14 in August I9760 So far, the competition in the Federal Republic of Germany has enabled only four officials to be recruited for the United Nations and one for UNDP (it would appear that the salaries offered for the posts were regarded as inadequate by the people concerned). The Japanese competition has so far produced only two appointments.
It would appear that the Personnel Division, although it organized the actual tests correctly, did not identify in advance the vacant posts to be filled and did not involve the substantive divisions sufficiently in the organization of the competition itself. This experiment made it possible to gain some experience of the competitive examination method and to demonstrate its usefulness. The method would be difficult to adopt as standard practice, however, since it is only feasible in the case of major countries which are very much under-represented and because making up special examining panels and sending them into the field is an expensive business. Moreover, it could have produced significant results only if the appointment of successful candidates to the vacant posts had been well-organized and if the principal agencies had agreed to be associated with the experiments. Some of these conditions could undoubtedly be met in the future.
