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Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Scan of the External Environment
   • Portrait of the Canadian Population
   • Government and Public Service Environment
4. Scan of the Internal Environment
   • IRB Environment
   • IRB Demographic Profile
5. Our Corporate Plan
   • Priority 1
   • Priority 2
   • Priority 3
   • Priority 4
6. Conclusion
7. Annex A

1. Introduction

The full integration of human resources (HR) planning into the business planning process is paramount to the successful achievement of the IRB's mandate. Indeed, as clearly illustrated in the IRB's Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) as well as in the Board's Integrated Business Plan (which can be found in Annex A), strategic priorities and planned activities for 2008-2009 clearly highlight the importance of continuing to build a flexible organization where sound people management is central to our ability to resolve immigration and refugee cases efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.

Work related to integrating human resources and business planning commenced at the Board in the summer of 2006 and continued throughout 2007, with the development of a framework, template and supporting tools to facilitate the development of integrated HR and business plans across the IRB. The development of integrated HR Plans at the Branch and regional levels is now an annual exercise which follows the establishment of business priorities for the year ahead as outlined in the RPP.

Notwithstanding the importance of developing and implementing annual HR Plans, the IRB also needs a broader vision for the management of its people. A vision which can be the backdrop against which all integrated HR Planning unfolds. The purpose of this document is to present that vision.

In that regard, the IRB's Corporate Integrated HR Plan is not intended to be an annual summary of Branch and regional HR plans. Rather, it is intended to provide a multiyear roadmap of the key HR areas that the IRB will focus on in order to facilitate the achievement of its mandate and priorities, as well as meet the federal government's Public Service Renewal objectives. It is based on this roadmap that IRB managers will be responsible and accountable to translate its vision into concrete and measurable activities on a yearly basis which are aligned with business priorities.

The IRB will continue to ensure that the management of human resources remains innovative, relevant and at the forefront of the Board's management agenda. As such, this corporate plan is an ever-green document and will be revisited on an annual basis.

2.  Background

As Canada's largest federal tribunal, the IRB employs approximately 1,000 people at its headquarters and in regional offices. Its strategic outcome is to resolve immigration and refugee cases efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.

The IRB consists of three divisions, each of which has its own mandate under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

• The Refugee Protection Division whose mandate is to decide claims for refugee protection made by persons in Canada;
• The Immigration Division which conducts admissibility hearings and detention reviews;
• The Immigration Appeal Division whose mandate is to hear appeals of sponsorship applications; appeals from certain removal orders; appeals concerning residency obligations; and appeals by the Minister from decisions of the Immigration Division at admissibility hearings.

These three decision-making divisions are supported by a range of internal services that include management and oversight, legal, communications, financial management, human resources management, information technology, procurement and assets management, information management, evaluation, and internal audit services. Together, these provide the IRB with efficient management processes and administrative services while promoting organizational effectiveness.

As a human rights tribunal, the success of the IRB can only be achieved through its personnel. Given the importance of the IRB's mandate, the challenge is to attract, develop and retain the best people possible. With that in mind, the Board implemented its People Management Strategy in 2004, under which several initiatives have been and continue to be implemented in order to ensure that its workplace is fair, enabling and safe while supporting a workforce that is sustainable, innovative and diverse. This is well reflected by the strategic priorities that the IRB has set over the past several years, clearly identifying key priorities in the area of effective human resources management.

3.  Scan of the External Environment

3.1  Portrait of the Canadian Population According to the 2006 Census:

• Between 2001 and 2006, Canada's population grew by 1.6 million to reach 31,612,897, which translates to a growth rate of 5.4%.
• An increase in international immigration was responsible for the acceleration of Canada's growth rate over the last five years. Since 2001, about 240,000 newcomers have arrived in Canada each year, for a total of some 1.2 million immigrants in five years. Roughly two-thirds of Canada's population growth now comes from net international migration. It is expected that net migration may become the only source of population growth by about 2030.
• Recent immigrants born in Asia (including the Middle East) made up the largest proportion of newcomers to Canada, followed by Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa.
• Canada's population is aging due to the nation's low fertility rate and increasing life expectancy. The median age has risen steadily since 1966, reaching 39.5 years in 2006. It is expected to rise in the future and could exceed 44 years by 2031.
• The working-age population (15 to 64 years) is becoming increasingly older. The fastest growing age group between 2001 and 2006 consisted of individuals aged 55 to 64, many of whom are workers approaching retirement. The census counted 3.7 million in this age group, an increase of 28% from 2001. Data also showed that there are barely enough young people entering the working age group to replace those approaching retirement.
• The number of Canadians aged 65 and over increased by 11.5% since 2001. The 65 and over population made up a record 13.7% of the total population of Canada in 2006 (over 4 million). By 2026, one in five Canadians will be 65 years of age or older compared to the current ratio of one in seven.
• Baby-boomers, that is people who were born between 1946 and 1965, comprised 30% of Canadians in 2006 or one out of three Canadians. They begin retiring in 2008.
• In 2006, Anglophones accounted for 58% of the Canadian population compared to 22% for Francophones. The remaining 20% were Allophones, that is individuals whose mother tongue was neither English nor French.

3.2  Government and Public Service Environment:

Overall, the Government of Canada's focus is on:

• Supporting the priorities identified in the October 16, 2007 Speech from the Throne;
• Implementing the Federal Accountability Act;
• All Deputy Heads having an increased focus on the results and cost-effectiveness of programs and activities and on the effectiveness of management frameworks and controls, leading to greater accountability and transparency in government.

In addition, on April 16, 2007, the 14 ^th Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada was released. This report outlines the Privy Council Clerk's vision for the future direction of the Public Service and establishes four priorities for deputy heads with regards to public service renewal. Renewal is a priority today because the Public Service of Canada, like other employers, is facing significant pressures as a result of an aging population, looming high rates of retirements, ever-changing information and communications technologies, a globalized economic landscape and a competitive labour market. With that in mind, the Clerk's four priorities to support ongoing renewal focus on:

• Better human resources planning;
• More effective recruitment;
• More targeted employee development;
• Enabling infrastructures.

For the IRB, these priorities translate into new or enhanced objectives and expectations in all aspects of people management in order to build greater management and organizational capacity internally and, in turn, within the Public Service. These include but are not limited to:

• Fuller integration of the HR and business planning process which is essential for assessing and understanding the current and future needs of the IRB;
• Creating innovative ways to attract and retain a qualified, talented and diverse workforce;
• A more rigorous and holistic approach to performance management at all levels of the organisation, with explicit links to the development and implementation of effective succession planning and talent management; and
• Emphasizing learning and development opportunities (including leadership development) and career enhancement for all personnel.

As indicated in the 2007-2008 Public Service Renewal Action Plan, the Clerk will ask deputy heads to report progress on the key results that have been achieved to advance the renewal priorities within their own department or agency and for the public service overall.

4.  Scan of the Internal Environment

4.1   IRB Environment:

The IRB's strategic direction for 2008-2009 is to pursue its transformation agenda to create a flexible tribunal, where the workforce is integrated, innovative and continues to fulfill its mandate. In supporting this direction, the IRB will focus on the following three strategic priorities:

• Manage the case inventory through innovative adjudicative and case
  management strategies;
• Further integrate the work of the IRB to promote effective management;
• Continue to build a flexible organization with clear accountabilities, ethical behaviour, leadership and operational capacity.

In the implementation of these strategic priorities, the IRB is facing significant challenges including:

• Changing workloads due to the increased numbers of refugee protection claims and immigration appeals and cases becoming more complex;
• A considerable shortfall in the member complement, the loss of senior public service managers as well as experienced members, and shortages in various functional groups such as HR Advisors, Compensation Specialists, Computer and Purchasing personnel;
• Growing inventories in the Refugee Protection Division and the Immigration Appeal Division;
• The potential implementation of the Refugee Appeal Division;
• The need to maintain quality of work despite loss of experience and institutional expertise;
• The continuing requirement to implement innovative and consistent case management and adjudication strategies;
• The need to focus on attracting, developing and retaining talent to ensure people have the necessary skills and competencies to effectively assume their current and future roles at the IRB and within the Public Service.

In support of the Board's priorities, in meeting these challenges, and to ensure the consistent delivery of high quality administrative justice, the IRB has been and continues to pursue several initiatives designed to further its process of organisational transformation, such as:

• Exhaustive review of the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of all senior management positions in the organization;
• Member recruitment and selection efforts to ensure that the Government is provided with a sufficient pool of qualified candidates;
• Further integration of the work of the three Divisions;
• Continuing development and implementation of adjudicative strategies in all three divisions;
• Continuing implementation of the Board's Integrated Case Management System (ICMS);
• Continuing efforts to develop, integrate, implement or maintain innovative and efficient policies and initiatives in the area of people management (such as learning and professional development for all personnel, organizational leadership, organizational well-being, performance management, employment equity and official languages considerations, labour-management relations, recruitment, etc.).

Future years will see the Board continue these efforts, including by consolidating some of the activities initiated in 2008-09, as well as developing new ones that will enable the IRB to make further strides in its transformation agenda. In this respect, the activities proposed in this multi-year corporate HR Plan are those already identified in the Board's Integrated Business Plan, or anticipated in the business plan of subsequent years.

4.2   IRB Demographic Profile

• As of December 31, 2007, the Board's workforce was comprised of 985 people (or 98 GICs and 887 public servants).
• Women accounted for 63% of the total workforce and men, 37%.
• Anglophones represented the majority of our workforce at 63% while Francophones accounted for the other 37%.
• Based on voluntary self-identification, a total of 305 people had self-identified as a member of one of the three designated groups, or 31% of the IRB's workforce. Visible minorities accounted for 22% of our workforce, well above the labour market availability (LMA) of 10.4%. At 6.8%, the representation of Persons with Disabilities was also higher than the LMA of 3.6% while that of Aboriginal Peoples was slightly lower, at 2.1% versus an LMA of 2.5%.
• 58% of our workforce was 45 years of age or older while one out of four employees was 55 years of age or older. For the Executive Group, 59% of employees in that group were over 45 years of age. This proportion increases significantly for the Feeder groups to the EX category, with 71% of feeder group employees being 45 years of age or older.
• The average age of all of our personnel was 47.5 years old. For the Executive Group at the Board, the average was 48.5 years of age as compared to 51 for Executives in Public Service as a whole. Of interest is the fact that the average age for the feeder groups to the Executive cadre was also very high at 48.7 for the IRB and 47 for the Public Service.
• The proportion of employees who were eligible for retirement as of December 31, 2007 was 11% or a total of 108 employees.
• The Board's separation rate for Public Servants from April 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 was 10%. This rate is much higher than the 4.5% recorded for the Public Service overall during the past three years.

5.  Our Corporate Plan

In 2008-2009 and beyond, the IRB will continue to foster an environment where people management is not only valued but in fact recognized as a priority to achieve its business objectives. This is also in line with the priorities of the Government and the Clerk of the Privy Council which have made renewing the public service a priority to ensure a strong, diverse and dynamic workforce that excels in delivering policies, programs and services to Canadians, today and in the years to come. Public Service renewal is about ensuring that all public servants have the support and tools they need to deliver results to Canadians. This translates into an unprecedented focus and interest on people and talent management across the Public Service since each department and agency can only achieve organizational success by attracting, developing and retaining talent.

Given the challenges and opportunities brought forth by the external and internal environments which affect all aspects of people management at the IRB, and in order to achieve our core business goals and to make a positive contribution to the renewal of the Public Service, four key human resource priorities have been identified for the IRB for the next three years. These HR priorities are fully aligned with the three key strategic priorities that are outlined in the IRB's Integrated Business Plan for 2008-2009. While presented as distinct HR priorities, each complement one another and it is in their synergy that the Board will truly achieve its objectives. The four key HR priorities are:

1)  Implementing more efficient and effective recruitment and staffing strategies, policies and tools, including strategic succession plans, for existing employees and for new people coming in the IRB. Enhanced recruitment and succession planning are essential to the achievement of the third IBP strategic priority of continuing to build a flexible organization with clear accountabilities, ethical behaviour, leadership and operational capacity. Indeed, success in recruitment requires effective branding, that is identifying the Board as a career of choice in the minds of both new and existing personnel. Succession planning on the other hand ensures that talent for key positions across the organization is identified, developed and retained in order to achieve our business objectives. The ultimate goal with respect to both recruitment and succession planning is to ensure that the Board has the people and skills it needs now and for the future. This will be achieved by:

• Promoting a clear employee value proposition at the IRB to attract and retain people;
• Developing and implementing succession plans, with an initial focus on the Executive Group and Executive feeder groups;
• Developing strategies to keep experienced members and/or staff longer, in order to effectively manage that talent and transfer their knowledge to their successors;
• Being more timely and effective in bringing new talent into the IRB;
• Using innovative ways to recruit people such as collective staffing processes, post-secondary graduate programs, pre-qualified pools of candidates;
• Defining clear partnerships between HR specialists and managers, including developing and communicating service standards, roles and accountabilities.

2)  Support effective and strong leadership by ensuring that our people (GICs and public service employees) have the skills, competencies and accountabilities they need to be effective as coaches and leaders of both business and people. Enhancing the coaching and leadership capacity within the IRB will promote the transfer of knowledge and ensure that employees who are or aspire to become managers are considered and supported. Supporting effective leadership also translates into a more rigorous performance management approach for all managers, thereby strengthening their accountability of both the delivery of results (the "what"), as well as the effective management of its workforce (the "how"). Since the development of leadership is key in attracting and retaining people as well as for renewing the Public Service, it is essential that our organization's leadership talent be recognized, developed, assessed, and valued. This will ensure that the IRB has sustainable leadership excellence, therefore contributing to the attainment of its third strategic priority (building a flexible organization with clear accountabilities, ethical behaviour, leadership and operational capacity).This will be achieved by:

• Implementing a talent management initiative based on a competency-based approach;
• Establishing a more systematic approach to leadership development to equip current and future leaders for success (the initial focus will be on GIC and public servant managers). This will include continuing with the development of mandatory management and leadership training for managers and integrating it in a curriculum for GICs and PS employees;
• Developing and implementing a more rigorous and holistic performance management program, including establishing accountability-based performance agreements for executives, senior GIC managers, and feeder groups, which will evaluate their performance in the area of people management.

3)  Emphasizing learning and development opportunities and career enhancement for all personnel, which is essential in attracting and retaining skilled and engaged employees. This HR priority not only supports the third strategic priority outlined in the IBP but it is also aligned with the second strategic priority to further integrate the work of the Board to promote effective management, and the activities it contains with respect to learning and development. Indeed, continuous learning for all and individual career development is critical to organizational effectiveness and to individual capacity, as is strengthening sound people management capacity of all managers. This will contribute to establishing a productive and sustainable workforce that delivers the IRB's mandate in an effective manner and for which the skills and knowledge of employees are managed effectively. This will be achieved by:

• Strengthening continuous learning and professional development initiatives for GICs and public service employees, including language training;
• Exploring new ways of facilitating lateral and upward career movement both within the IRB, as well as in partnership with our portfolio partners and/or other federal government organisations;
• The continued implementation of the learning curriculum (including the requirements of the Policy on Required Training and delegation requirements in core management functions);
• Strengthening IRB's learning policies and practices in support of a learning culture.

4)  Create an enabling, fair and safe work environment to generate high levels of employee engagement. For people to be productive and engaged, they must receive the support they need. An important element of that support is the environment in which they work, which encompasses everything from having adequate training, to ensuring access to proper materials and equipment, to having a safe environment, to becoming a truly inclusive employer that reflects the diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic nature of who they serve. This will ensure the IRB has the environment where professional development, people management and diversity are valued as important to the achievement of the Board's goals. This is well reflected in the third IBP strategic priority and several of its activities for 2008-2009, including the following:

• Ensuring the ongoing implementation of the Classification Reform;
• The continued implementation of the three-year Employment Equity Strategy (2007-2008 to 2010-2011);
• Developing and implementing official languages policies and learning initiatives, notably in the area of the administration of justice;
• Implementing additional initiatives or policies to promote and instil workplace wellness (such as the Harassment Policy, Informal Conflict Resolution, Exit Interviews, Awards and Recognition).

6.  Conclusion

By focusing on these areas, the IRB will ensure that it is seen as a dynamic and engaging employer that offers meaningful careers by pursuing new ways to recruit, develop, retain and nurture its personnel and leverage the talented and skilled people who are already part of the workforce. In turn, this will provide opportunities to all personnel to achieve their personal and professional goals while allowing the organization to deliver its core business goals. Moreover, these priorities will contribute to the broader goals of the public service renewal.

The period covered by this plan will be a time of great change and challenge, both outside and inside the IRB. If the Board is to meet these challenges, it will require strong leadership and a sustained commitment to creating a desirable workplace for all. The IRB is already set out on this path and, by continuing in this direction, it is poised to emerge as a strong and effective organization with a solid human resources foundation built on the excellence of its people.

ANNEX A

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