IFADs Strategic Workforce Plan The SWP in IFADs

IFAD’s Strategic Workforce Plan

The SWP in IFAD’s planning and performance management system • The SWP is IFAD’s first exercise in planning human resources from an overall corporate perspective • It is the missing element of a comprehensive results planning and performance management system comprised of: – The results measurement framework – The strategic framework – The medium term plan – The results-based/zero-based budget

The objective of the SWP • To align human resources (numbers, skills and location) with the achievement of the results articulated in the RMF: – Greater development results – Greater institutional efficiency

The approach • Define the current situation of alignment with development objectives and efficiency, taking into account evolving operational requirements • Specify the workforce profile that we need to have to achieve objectives • Lay out the path from where we are to where we want to be

The current situation – operational area • IFAD has: – Increased the total workforce in programmes (to about 63 per cent of the total workforce) – Increased the segment of the operational workforce based in IFAD country offices (about 80 staff today) – Increased functional training and skill development for operational staff

PMD and Non-PMD Workforce FTEs (staff, temporary staff and consultants)

Strategic issues in the operational workforce • Key strategic and medium-term requirements are for: – Further growth in professional staffing in operations (particularly to support the growing programme of work, as well as implementation support and supervision roles) – Greater percentage of professional operational staff to be based in ICOs – Reduced dependence on consultants and temporary staff – More structured careers oriented to learning and skill development

PMD professional staff: HQ and ICO (October 2010)

Priority objectives for the operational workforce • Growth in professional staff in the ICOs (including greater out-posting of country programme managers in ICOs) • Integration of some functions performed by consultants and temporary staff into the regular professional staff cadre • Focus on capacity development capitalizing on rotation among regions and between HQ and ICOs

The non-operational workforce: trends • Size has remained static while operational workforce has increased quickly • The level of support activities provided by this workforce has risen dramatically • IFAD is approaching the RMF target of a maximum of 35 per cent of the workforce in non-operational roles • In many areas the workload is approaching unsustainable levels

Strategic issues for the nonoperational workforce • In spite of high workload, the level of this segment may need to be reduced – – To contain costs – To shift more resources into the operational area • There is an emerging gap between the existing skill mix and the professional requirements of important areas of activity

Issues cutting across both areas • High ratio between general service and professional staff (approximately 1: 1) – (but less if the large professional consultant workforce is taken into account – and if the phenomenon of mis-classification is recognized) • High cost of staff in certain segments – relative to comparators

Priority objectives in non-operational areas • Reduce the ratio between non-operational and operational workforce • Reduce the ratio between general service and professional staff • Improve the skills mix in key functional areas – Financial administration – Human resource management • Contain costs to allow resource shifts to the operational area

Immediate actions in relation to nonoperational workforce and crosscutting issues • Accelerate rotation to better fit skills to corporate requirements (including from nonoperational to operational areas) • Freeze recruitment against general service positions from outside IFAD • Freeze automatic pay increases

Strategic actions in non-operational areas • Reduce the requirement for labour: – Process streamlining – Systematic business process automation • Reduce the unit cost of labour: – Take advantage of decentralization and outsourcing – Better align unit labour costs with comparators • Raise the professional component through rotation, recruitment and re-training

Towards a changed workforce profile

Next steps • Align staffing budgets with general thrusts of strategy • Finalize and approve departmental and divisional level plans (supported by job audits) for: – – Necessary staffing level (with qualifications and location) Rotation Training Recruitment • Ensure compliance of all human resource management actions with approved plans • Implement the Action Plans described in tables 9, 10, and 11 • Use the new human resource management tools to achieve change