Jersey Appointments Commission: Annual Report 2019 (re-issue)

Annual Report

2019

Jersey Appointments Commission Annual Report 2019

Introduction  

This is my 6th report for the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC). I am pleased to be able to comment on good and improving practice, as well outlining on-going or new issues of concern.

It's been a particularly busy year. There have been22 appointments in tiers 2 and 3 in the civil service (three of which will complete in early 2020 and 19 key appointments in the Independent sector as well as our involvement in the appointment of the senior crown officers). See appendix V and VI

 The Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC was established by the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, to oversee the recruitment of States Employees, appointees and senior members of independent bodies. As the regulator of process our job is to ensure that recruitment is fair, efficient and conducted in accordance with best practice principles and procedures according to the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013, and that appointments are made on merit.

We do this with a team of six commissioners, each assigned to a number of recruitment exercises. The commissioner chairs and oversees recruitment from the start through to the final interview. The commissioner does not vote or take a view on the person selected, where the process has been followed correctly. See appendix I for an overview of the process.

We publish guidelines for departments and for the independent sector which we expect them to follow. We undertake spot check audits on compliance to ensure robust practice and procedures. Adherence to legislation has led to appointments on merit throughout the service.

Some helpful definitions

I thought it might be useful to offer definitions of some of the terms that have been used throughout the year, for example:

• Consultant, interim, by exception, succession planning
• Headhunter or search consultant
• Short-term contract, substantiated
• Recruitment, selection

Some of these terms are often misused or used interchangeably which makes the identification of a breach all the more difficult. During the year we encouraged the change of nomenclature to more appropriately describe the roles undertaken by members of staff in non-permanent contracts. We have provided a summary of definitions in Appendix II

What we don't do/what we are not

It is important to state the independence of our role as a regulator. We are not part of the HR function managed through the Government of Jersey but established by the States to oversee the process and to report on our findings. There are, however, areas where the JAC is asked to comment which are outside of our remit and we do so where we have information that can add to the process. We do not take part in setting salary levels except to ensure that no salary is offered to a candidate, which is outside the salary range published when the post was advertised. We are not responsible for collecting or analysing of HR data. However, we can, and do, comment on our experience and what we have learned form our involvement. Although it is not our role to monitor succession planning, it is worth of noting that a planned programme of mentoring and succession planning is in place and, although it is sometimes difficult for staff to take timeout to be involved, there is active involvement in the programme.

This year we gave evidence to the Gender Pay Gap Review Panel and held meetings for the independent sector and for States members to explain our regulatory role more fully. The JAC does not deal with salary differential but has gathered some anecdotal evidence from applicants about their experience and we can ask questions of those making the appointments to ensure that salaries offered are within the published range and appropriate to the role on offer.

Relationship with the SEB (States Employment Board)

This year we reported to the SEB three times and have been in communication following recommendations in our last annual report. In particular we escalated matters relating to Andium Homes, the process for approvals of interim appointments and the recommendations of the C&AG report. Although we have now approved satisfactory interim governance arrangements for Andium Homes these issues remain an area of concern to the JAC and clarification of the relationship between the independent sector and the SEB would help the JAC in its role.

Implications of the C&AG recommendations for the JAC

We have been encouraged by suggestions from the Comptroller and Auditor General that the JAC be put on a statutory footing as a corporation sole' and that our guidelines become standards. This will require some consideration of sanctions, an issue for discussion with the SEB.

Support needed for the JAC remained an outstanding issue, as did the demands on the time of the commissioners. Earlier recommendations made to the SEB concerning the legal requirement for policy support for the JAC have not yet been delivered which has left the JAC seriously under supported the impact of which was only prevented because of the and flexibility and goodwill of the commissioners and the above and beyond' efforts of their administrative support worker. At the time of writing this report the JAC has no dedicated administrative support in place.

We need to appoint more commissioners, or to increase the time allocated to those already in place, and we need more administrative support. All of this will have financial implications.

What has worked well

We were impressed with the information pack produced by Visit Jersey in their search for a new CEO and by the recruitment campaign for children's social workers - Let's be Honest" - which won the award for recruitment effectiveness at the recent Recruitment Marketing Awards. This award recognised well-planned, well-designed and well-executed initiatives that have helped companies to achieve their talent goal.

We were particularly pleased with the improvement in the oversight of interim appointments and the clarification of the role. This has resulted however in the identification of several historic appointments of which the SEB were not aware and which are now subject to strict monitoring.

We welcomed the involvement of local business and community leaders as panel members in interviews for senior staff. Their recruitment was based on their reputation locally, their experience of recruitment,, their concern about the process and commitment to forming a better understanding of the work. .

Finally, we were encouraged by the establishment of stakeholder panels and in some cases panels of young people (which were supported by the Youth Service) to offer helpful commentary and ideas for further exploration by the recruitment panel. These stakeholder panels have been used to great effect in the recent recruitment of Director of Safeguarding, the DG Children's Services and the Chief of Police.

On-going development

Two difficulties are often raised by the local media: attracting candidates to Jersey, particularly from the UK public sector, and the apparent failure to attract or select significant numbers of Jersey residents and private sector Island candidates. There have, however, been a number of successes attracting Jersey born candidates back to the Island being appointed or reaching the final interview stages. It is clear from individual feedback that these candidates living overseas keep a keen interest on developments and have been encouraged to return to be part of the transformation of public services

The JAC has been careful to ensure that throughout all processes local candidates are considered and treated fairly and that their local knowledge and experience is given due regard. Nonetheless, at times Jersey has needed candidates with broader experience in some of the more senior roles and appointments have been made accordingly. In many cases during the process potentially good candidates from the Jersey civil service have been identified for roles in the future and succession plans encouraged alongside plans for developing local talent agreed by the States in the Government plan 2020 and beyond.

We have been encouraged to see that a number of women have been appointed into senior appointments especially in the independent sector.

The introduction of targeted networks in Jersey including the I WILL' program (See Appendix

III) is also commended as it sets out to activity encourage and support initiatives for gender balance and equality not just in senior positions but across the whole organisation spectrum.

Senior appointments into the government have been hotly contested with all candidates taken through a very robust process. The JAC's oversight has addressed a number of matters in the recruitment into these roles:

• The use of the preferred supplier search company was tested in the appointment of so many and some very specialised senior posts, which resulted in the commissioner needing to occasionally halt the process.
• The necessity to re-advertise and sometimes appoint a different specialist search company or take external advice and revisit the scope of the role
• The consistency of a range of technical interviews and other tests applied to short listed candidates through the management of a rigorous assessment centre in order to ensure the most experienced, appropriate and meritorious candidate were appointed.
• Some local candidates not wanting to go through the monitored and measured tasks withdrawing from the process or simply not applying.
• Attracting candidates from the private sector because of the higher salaries the private sector can offer.
• Reviewing and halting a process where no candidate has been strong enough. Jersey's ambition is to be an employer of choice.
• Ensuring the robustness of the process and that it delivers on merit..

On-going concerns

Our guidelines are clear and, we hope, easy to follow. They outline good practice in recruitment and all departments and state funded bodies are expected to comply. However, there is some evidence that the appointments process is being circumvented, using a procurement process. This may well have contributed to the lack of overall control on the number of interim contracts recorded centrally as some departments have chosen an expediency' back door route rather than a more robust process. There is also some evidence of the movement of interim post holders being transferred to new and different interim roles without due process. While we can understand the desire to move at pace, we are concerned that in some cases corners are being cut.

We have observed a lack of analysis of data collected during the application process. HR departments are not supported by IT systems that make this an easy task, a result of historic underinvestment. We are not sure whether the Shareholder Executive has this information in relation to the Independent ALOs it works with. There seems to be no systematic way of easily assessing the gender balance, residential status, sexual orientation, age, BAME candidates or those with any disability. The effective use of good statistics can facilitate learning and improvement as well as compliance with discrimination laws and robust defence, where warranted, to claims of discrimination in the Jersey Employment Discrimination Tribunal.

There have been a number of delays in recognising the need to recruit, giving limited time for the proper selection and preparation of the recruitment panel. This makes difficulties for the administrative team who then need to coordinate busy diaries and schedules at the last minute. This is sometimes still the case even when an interim has been in place for some time and the need for a permanent appointment has been well known and documented. Often commissioners, who should oversee the whole process, are invited too late to ensure their availability, which is essential.

Some panels are still unbalanced in terms of gender. Commissioners cannot fill the gap, because they are regulators and do not have a vote.

All panel members should be properly trained in recruitment. Sometimes previous experience is used as a substitute, but this is unreliable.. There have been occasions where commissioners have had to intervene to prevent the use of inappropriate comment or questions for some applicants. One example related to questioning a candidate on their child-care arrangements. Training in unconscious bias would be a helpful addition, establishing a pool on which to draw. Training in selection should not be a once and for ever event but should consist of regular refresher programmes as standards improve and take account of new legislation and case-law.

Although the JAC is not directly involved in the appointment of senior positions other than Chair, CEO and sometimes the FD, those with non-executive experience, are likely to form, to a large extent, the pool of talent for future chair appointments. It is vital therefore that people from more diverse backgrounds get experience in these positions if they are to be selectable for the highest roles.

The Chief Minister has made it clear that he would like to end automatic re-appointment, which has become habitual in some independent organisations when the chair has reached the end of their first agreed term. One particular organisation, Andium Homes, which has been the cause of concern to the JAC for some time, has now entered a new period of planning for its permanent lead positions and to help this and as chair of the commission, I agreed a by exception' appointment of a Chair and NED to lead the development of the organisation and the open recruitment of its new Chair for a maximum period of 12 months. In due course the recruitment of a new CEO will also need to be considered.

Once again pan Island arrangements with Guernsey have been of some concern. The appointment of the CICRA chair has not been secured. Pan Island development is challenging with often significantly different legislation and timetables to manoeuvre despite the political will to work together. The past difficulties of a joint information commissioner highlighted this concern and although late plans are now in place for the preparation of a joint plan.

New concerns

The JAC had believed that the annual return presented by GDs in their accountable officer's report would provide assurance of their compliance with JAC guidelines.. However, the question was omitted from the accounting officer report and so we have no way of measuring overall compliance throughout departments in roles where Commissioners are not personally involved. This is of significant concern as inclusion would bind the responsible officer to the practice expected throughout their department and will result in spot check audits during the next year.

We are sometimes approached informally by staff who do not feel able to use the whistle blowing procedures established for their use because their concerns relate to conversations overheard among more senior officers for example a potential breach in travel policy. The JAC needs an identifiable route for such matters.

Other meetings and advice sought

As well as giving evidence to the Gender Pay Gap review panel, the JAC held a meeting with representatives of independent and arm's length bodies to discus the way in which the JAC works with the sector, its relationship with SEB and the oversight and regulation of recruitment procedures. Participants asked questions about encouraging diversity in recruitment, given that positive discrimination is unlawful

An invitation was extended to States members to discuss the way the JAC works to ensure that candidates are appointed on merit. Members asked about the role the JAC across the civil service and the independent sector. The JAC was able to give information on appointments it had regulated in the last 18 months, particularly on the range of local applications compared with those from overseas, as well as the relationship of the JAC with the SEB.

Commissioners are often asked to give informal guidance or to discuss recruitment procedures and give the JAC view. This is a time consuming activity but has been valued by those for whom regulation is a new experience. For example, the new area JAC has been asked to include in regulating senior roles in States aided Independent Schools.

Thanks

This has been a busy and quite complicated year and one where thanks are especially due to Louise Ferns without whose steadfast administrative support and often out of hours diligence, our work could not have taken place. At the start of the year she had the support of Jane Pollard to whom, with HR colleague Neil Wiseman in particular, we also offer our thanks.

 My thanks too go to the team of commissioners for their attention to detail and rigorous regulation of the competitions in which they were involved. Of note thanks go to Ed Sallis who took on the additional role as my Deputy before retiring after more than six years as a commissioner. The role of deputy chair is now held by Peter Charalambous.

This year we welcomed three new commissioners, Helen Ruelle, Joanne Waring-Hockley and Simon Nash. Short biographies of the team are found in appendix IV.

Recommendations

1. The JAC should amend its guidelines to include the regulation of Short- term/Fixed Term contracts and contracts for service
2. Diversity training/unconscious bias/and general selection interviewing ability should be required training for all members of recruitment panels
3. The independent sector might wishto consider the need for a pipeline for NED apprenticeships and ways to improve community involvement in their governance.
4. The JAC should work to ensure a better understanding of its role by the public and across the government.
5. Accounting officers should be required to give assurance of compliance with JAC guidelines
6. The JAC needs to increase its spot check investigations on compliance with guidelines.
7. The SEB will need to consider appropriate sanctions for failure to adhere to JAC guidance when they become legal standards
8. HR needs to ensure the systematic collection and analysis of information, which is crucial if Jersey is to be able to monitor the improvements it is making.  

Appendix I – Overview of recruitment process and oversight by the JAC Stage 1 -  Identification of requirement

• Appointment of JAC Commissioner
• Initial assignment briefing and sign off of process including appointment of search partner (if applicable)

Stage 2 -  Process and panel sign off

• Agreement of timelines
• Oversight of job description/candidate briefing pack and attractive and search strategy (on and off Island)
• Oversight and agreement of recruitment panel ensuring independent and gender balance is adhered to
• Oversight of search and weekly update reports

Stage 3 -  Long listing

• Chairing of long listing meeting with full panel attendance including compliance of conflict of interest with panel members
• Reach agreement/consensus with panel on candidates to be taken forward

Stage 4 -  Short Listing

• Chairing of short-listing meeting with full panel attendance including compliance of conflict of interest with panel members
• Review of technical assessment interviews with panel (if applicable)
• Reach agreement/consensus with panel on candidates to be taken forward for final interview

Stage 5 -  Assessment centre (if applicable)

• Overview of assessment centre and psychometric testing processes undertaken

Stage 6 - Final Interview

• Oversight and panel approval of interview question framework
• Oversight and panel approval of interview presentation topic (if applicable)
• Chairing of final interview with full panel attendance including compliance of conflict of interest with panel members
• Reach agreement/consensus with panel on candidate to be appointed

Stage 7 - Final Audit

• Oversight of candidate due diligence (if required)
• Final audit report on stages 1 – 7

Appendix II – Definitions (Provided by H R) Substantiated

This term is used to describe a role or person that is established within an organisation's structure. Expressions sometimes used include recruit into a substantiated role/position'

Interim

The term Interim or Interim worker describes a person that is engaged on a contract to provide professional/subject matter expertise on a project or programme or would temporarily cover a Substantiated post' while a recruitment exercise is completed. It is normal that the contract between the interim worker and the organisation has a statement of work' which include specific outputs and outcomes that the Interim is contractually committed to deliver.

The Government of Jersey does not class interim workers as employees and they are not paid through the organisation's payroll. They are responsible for managing their own tax affairs and have no employment rights with the organisation they are contracted to.

Consultant

The term consultant is used to describe an organisation or company that are engaged to provide professional consulting services. The company is normally engaged for a specific service or to provide advice or consultancy to a client and are normally engaged on a total fee or number of days to complete the consultancy. Examples would include engaging consultancy services from a professional services firm or specialist consultancy who may for example provide consulting services on a new flood defence project. The term consultant should not be confused with the term Interim/Interim worker.

Contract for Service

Contracts for services are predominately used for the contractual arrangements of Interim/Interim workers where the Interim is contracting with the end client (for example GoJ). This is a direct contract between the organisation and the Interim's limited company.

Additionally, contracts for services are used where an Interim is engaged through a third- party recruitment agency. In these instances, the Interim is contracted to the agency and the agency is contracted to the end client or organisation.

In all instances Professional indemnity and Employer Liability insurance are required. Professional Services contract  

A professional services contract is used where an organisation is procuring consultancy or goods from an organisation. Examples would include services from a professional services firm

Short-term/Fixed Term appointment/Acting up

Short-term, Fixed Term and Acting up appointments occurs when the role is occupied on a temporary basis pending an appointment to the substantive position. Employees engaged on one of these contracts are employed on an organisations payroll. In some fixed term appointments, the substantive role may be time limited for a period of 12- 24 months where the initial recruitment process would have full oversight by the JAC. All requests for senior roles in these three categories are considered by the JAC.

Recruitment

Recruitment refers to the overall process of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing suitable candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organisation. Recruitment can also refer to processes involved in choosing individuals for unpaid roles. Managers, human resource generalists and recruitment specialists may be tasked with carrying out recruitment, but in some cases public-sector employment agencies, commercial recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies are used to undertake parts of the process.  

Selection

The term selection describes the process that is undertaken to assess an initial set of candidates for a role

Longlist

A long-list is a formal report of all candidates that have applied for a role which are then

reviewed by a panel using an evaluation criterion to select which candidates should be rejected and which should be added to a shortlist

Technical Assessment

Usually a stage after long listing where a technical interview will take place to explore a candidate's technical capability for the role they are applying for

Shortlist

Following the technical assessment of all long-listed candidates, a formal report is produced and reviewed by a panel using an evaluation criterion to select which candidates should be rejected and which should be taken forward for final interview.

Assessment Centre

An assessment centre is used for shortlisted candidates to undertake a number of technical assessments on their suitability for a role and also their individual attributes and behaviours. These may include Psychometric tests, Leadership scenarios, media interviews/assessments, role plays and strategic written exercises. The outputs of an assessment centre are provided to the Interview panel as part of the selection of a suitable candidate for the role being recruited into.

Independent Panel Member

Independent panel members are independent of the organisation recruiting and are normally subject matter experts in the discipline being recruited into.

Specialist/Technical Assessor

Technical assessors are subject matter experts (usually in a role more senior to that being recruited for) that can assess the technical expertise and competence of candidates.

P59

The P59 (GoJ only) is used as a business case to the States Employment Board seeking approval for the provision of interim resource and for roles which carry a salary of over £100,000 or report directly to a director general. The process is also used for extensions to interim assignments and authority to recruit on a fixed term contract (within Tiers 1,2 or 3)

where the salary is over £100,000 or reporting to a director general. P59/2019 Proposition

This is a proposition from the States Assembly which requires the Government to report on all consultant expenditure. The report has to be lodged twice a year covering a six-month period.

Please see: /assemblypropositions/2019/p.59-2019amd.pdf Headhunter/Search Consultant

A headhunter/search consultant is a company or individual that provides employment recruiting services. Headhunters are hired by organisations to find talent and to locate individuals who meet specific job requirements. The term headhunter may also be referred to as an "executive recruiter," and the function they perform is often called "executive search."  

Appendix III – Government of Jersey I WILL' (Inspiring Women into Leadership and Learning)

I WILL aims to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions, and to develop opportunities for women to connect and network across the organisation by aiming to:

• support women in their Government careers and their professional development
• work towards making the Government an exemplar and employer of choice for women
• recognise the skills and talents of women and their impact across Government
• raise awareness of barriers facing women in the workplace
• share knowledge, inspiration and motivation from key speakers and networking events
• encourage the Government to support women in securing senior and board level positions
• scrutinise and challenge bias against women in the workplace

Appendix IV Commissioner biographies Dame Janet Paraskeva, DBE.  

Dame Janet has been Chair of the JAC since September 2014. She was previously the First Civil Service Commissioner in the UK and has held a range of other senior posts including six years as Chief Executive of the Law Society of England and Wales. She is currently Chair of Council for Licensed Conveyancers, Chair of the Standards and Regulation Board RICS and a non executive director of a Mental Health Trust (HPFT). During the year Dame Janet was reappointed as Chair for a further three years to 23 September 2021.

Professor Ed Sallis, OBE.  

Ed held senior leadership roles in colleges in the UK, before moving to Jersey to become the Principal of Highlands College. He is Chair of Jersey Heritage and works as an education consultant in the UK. Ed is a member of the Committee of Management of the Public Employees' Pension Scheme where he represents Admitted Bodies. Ed's term of office finished on 31 October 2019 after serving as a Commissioner for 6 years and 9 months.

Louise Read

Louise has an accountancy background and is currently a Director and Secretary to the Board of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities. Louise is a member of the States Members' Remuneration Review Board, the advisory panel that makes recommendations to the States, through the Privileges and Procedures Committee, on any matters relating to the remuneration and expenses of elected members and a governor of Jersey College for Girls. Louise is a fellow of the ICAEW and a Chartered Director. Louise was appointed as a Commissioner in May 2015 for a term that ran to 31st July 2019.

Jennifer Carnegie

Jennifer is a senior director with experience in the development and management of talent across diverse geographies, cultures and businesses. She is currently a director and co- founder of Amicus Limited, a strategic leadership consultancy. She was previously the Chief People Officer for Digicel, a global telecommunications and entertainment provider and a director for Mars, Incorporated worldwide. She is a non-executive director of Jersey Business and is a co-opted board member of the Channel Islands Cooperative Society. Jennifer was appointed to the JAC on 18 January 2018 for a term that runs until 31 January 2022.

Peter Charalambous

Peter is an experienced financial services director with in-depth involvement in global financial services. He was a JFSC Registered Principal/Key person for Banking and Investment Funds and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Securities Institute and a member of the IOD. He was an Executive Director with UBS AG and held Executive roles with HSBC. He is a Consultant with BDO Greenlight and is an NED for Integritas Wealth Partners. Peter is a lay member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and was appointed to the JAC on 18 January 2018 for a term that runs until 31 January 2022.

Helen Ruelle

Helen is a highly regarded, high profile Jersey Advocate with extensive experience gained predominantly in Jersey but prior to that, in the UK. She is currently Director of Local Legal Services at Ogier, and she has held senior positions at Mourant Ozannes. She also holds the roles of Chair of the Employment Forum, and Vice-chair of Jersey Employment Trust. She was previously Chair of Jersey Community Relations Trust. Helen was appointed to the JAC on 30 April 2019 for a term that runs until 29 April 2022.

Simon Nash

Simon has a breadth of senior HR experience in both banking and law, including the positions of HR Director at Carey Olsen and Crestbridge. He is now the Founder and Chairman of the Insight Group which is a collection of complementary businesses built around the proposition of "great ideas about people that work". He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and author of Effective Selection Interviewing (2010). Simon was the winner of an Innovation in Technology HR Law award in 2015 and he is also member of the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal. Simon was appointed on 1 October 2019 for a term that runs until 30 September 2022.

Joanne Waring-Hockley

Joanne has extensive senior HR experience in a variety of industries including retail, airports, telecommunication, fast moving consumer goods, finance, utilities and defence. Joanne has held the positions of HR Director at Jersey Telecom and Jersey Electricity and is now the owner of JW-H Strategic HR & Coaching service. She has also worked with the Royal United Services Institute (a British Defence and Security think tank) supporting Women in Leadership. Joanne is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (IoD). Jo was appointed on 1 November for a term that runs until 31 October.

Appendix V GOJ Government of Jersey Senior Tier 2 and 3 appointments overseen by JAC

Appendix VI Other roles overseen by the JAC

Re-issue Note:

This Report has been re-issued to make corrections to the text on page 7.

Final Version 16.03.2020