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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE:
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22 March 2011 |
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TO/DEST:
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Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM/EXP:
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Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT/OBJET:
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PROMOTION PROCESS: 2010 ANNUAL REPORT
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RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board receive this report for information.
BACKGROUND
The Board’s policy, CR-7 Workforce Management, requires that the Chief of Police provide an annual report on the promotion process and its progress in meeting policy objectives. The report which follows outlines the new approach to sworn officer promotion adopted in 2008 and sets out the results that have been achieved.
DISCUSSION
Need for a New Process
In 2008, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) embarked on an exercise to redesign the sworn promotional process at all ranks. In redesigning the process, the goal was to simplify and streamline the process while respecting the objectives of transparency and fairness. Redesign of the process led also to the drafting of new policies, procedures, documentation and the implementation of a regularized promotion cycle.
To date, the OPS has conducted six (6) complete promotional processes; two at the rank of Superintendent, one at the Inspector rank, one at the Staff Sergeant rank and two at the Sergeant rank. Currently a second process is underway at the Staff Sergeant rank.
Rationale for the Design of a New Promotional Process
Prior to 2008, the sworn promotional processes drew significant resources, effort and time commitments from: 1) members participating, 2) supervisors and managers overseeing and scoring the process, and 3) human resources staff supporting it. Promotional processes were not regularized or implemented on a cyclical basis. As such, there was a risk that promotion lists would be exhausted before a new promotional process could be administered.
The new promotional process was designed based on feedback from members and the Executive. The goal was to create a process that was more streamlined and efficient while producing successful candidates ready to take on the challenges of the next rank. Further, the promotional process was designed to encourage interested OPS members to participate in a fair, open and non-discriminatory process.
Governance
In order to guide the development of the new promotional process, a steering committee was convened comprised of the Inspector, Outreach & Development, serving as Chair; a Deputy Chief; the Director General; Executive Director/Superintendent Resourcing and Development, a Superintendent and the Staff Sergeant, Career Development.
The role of the steering committee was to provide guidance and direction on the design and development of the new promotional process, and to oversee the ongoing implementation of the promotional processes at each rank on a continual basis.
Process Overview
The sworn promotional process has a standardized framework which is applied to the process at all ranks. Each rank, however, takes the broad framework and tailors the process to reflect the particular competencies and job requirements at each rank.
The framework is broadly comprised of the five steps outlined in this diagram:
Each stage of the process is designed to measure different aspects of the competency of the candidate:
· Prerequisite – looks at knowledge, readiness
· Application Package – looks at education, experience, skills, community engagement
· In-Basket or Scenario – considers decision-making, supervisory skills, organizational knowledge, planning and organizing, resources and fiscal management
· Interview – seeks to determine leadership potential, problem solving, organizational engagement, strategic thinking.
Each promotional process is supported by a group of panel members responsible for reviewing a candidate’s resume (application package), their scenario and/or in-basket and their interview.
The Sergeant and Staff Sergeant promotional processes have panels comprised of a Staff Sergeant and an Inspector. The panels for the Inspector process are comprised of an Inspector and a Superintendent. The two Deputy Chiefs and the Director General make up the panel for the Superintendent promotional process. The number of panels for the Sergeant to Inspector ranks is dependent on the number of candidates in the process. Each process is overseen by the Staff Sergeant, Career Development.
At the end of each promotional process there is a debrief step, providing the candidates in the process the opportunity to receive feedback on their results. The process is concluded with an appeal stage, allowing candidates who believe there was an error in the scoring the opportunity to petition for a review of their score. All appeals are reviewed by two Superintendents.
Below is a chart summarizing the results of each promotional process by year and by rank:
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2009 |
2010 |
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Supt |
Sgt |
S/Sgt |
Insp |
Supt |
Sgt |
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# of candidates |
11 |
133 |
55 |
17 |
7 |
117 |
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Standing on Mark* |
2 |
n/a |
n/a |
1 |
4 |
14 |
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Successful |
6 (55%) |
105 (79%) |
34 (62%) |
13 (76%) |
4 (55%) |
97 (83%) |
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Number of Panels |
1 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
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Appeals |
0 |
28 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
30 |
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Promotions off list** |
4 |
33 (list closed) |
18 (list closed) |
5 (list active) |
(list active) |
18 (list active) |
* Candidates can retain their mark from the previous promotional process for one additional promotion cycle
** Promotions from a list may span more than one calendar year. (Life span of a list is approximately 15 months)
Promotion Cycle
The objective was to institute and communicate a regularized promotional cycle to enable members to plan their career paths. In 2009, a three-year plan was developed and approved by Executive Command and subsequently communicated to members. The plan outlined the timelines for each promotional process, with an aim to delivering three promotional processes per year.
The following table briefly outlines the timelines:
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
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Q1 |
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Inspector |
Staff Sergeant |
Sergeant |
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Q2 |
Sergeant |
Superintendent |
Inspector |
Staff Sergeant |
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Q3 |
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Q4 |
Staff Sergeant |
Sergeant |
Superintendent |
Inspector |
Feedback received from members after the 2010 Sergeant Promotional Process indicated that processes were being held too close together. The short timelines between processes did not provide officers with enough time to gain additional experience or skills between each subsequent process to improve their outcomes. Further, the number of people entering into the promotional processes was significant, leading to large promotional lists. Based on actual retirements over the course of the last eighteen months, the number of eligible officers remaining on each promotion list was high. Forecast of future retirements indicate that over the course of the next two years the number of retirements will continue to drop or level off, thus potentially creating more frustration should the number of promotional processes continue at the pace originally planned.
As such, through consultation with members and direction from the Executive Team, a revised promotion cycle has been accepted calling for two promotional processes per year. On a going forward basis, in 2011 both a Staff Sergeant and Inspector process will be held (note: the Staff Sergeant process is currently underway). In 2012 a Superintendent and a Sergeant promotional process will be conducted. The chart below outlines the new promotion cycle:
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2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
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Q1 |
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Superintendent |
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Q2 |
Staff Sergeant |
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Staff Sergeant |
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Q4 |
Inspector |
Sergeant |
Inspector |
This revised promotional cycle will enable prospective candidates more time to prepare for the promotional process and more time to gain the requisite experience and skills. Further, it will give a greater number of successful candidates on the eligibility lists the opportunity to act or be promoted. Lastly, the time commitment from members acting as panels will be reduced given there are fewer processes to staff each year.
POLICY
A new policy was developed to replace the existing Promotion Policy. The original policy covered all ranks in one policy document. Given that the promotional process has specific requirements for different ranks, separate policies were created at each rank. Currently the new Superintendent and Sergeant promotional policies have been approved by the Policy Committee and the Executive. The Staff Sergeant Policy has been approved in principle. A new promotion policy will be prepared to support the next Inspector process scheduled for the fall of 2011.
CONSULTATION
Consultation occurred throughout the initial design phase. The goal was to consult the members in order to create the framework for the promotional processes. The primary source of consultation was the Chief’s Issues Group. This group has been formally consulted to ensure a continuous process improvement prior to planning each rank’s promotional process. Membership on the Issues Group consists of officers at all ranks and a representative from the Ottawa Police Association. Separate consultations have been held with the Senior Officer’s Association for the Inspector and Superintendent promotional processes. At the conclusion of each promotional process, informal feedback is collected from panel members and candidates. The feedback received from the Issues Group, individual members and panels forms the basis to improve each subsequent promotional process.
CONCLUSION
The Ottawa Police Service recognizes the importance of establishing a fair and transparent promotional process to facilitate the promotion of successful candidates to the next rank. Under the guidance of a strong governance team, the redesigned sworn promotional process helps the Ottawa Police Service identify officers ready to take on new leadership roles within the organization at all ranks.
(original signed by)
Vern White
Chief of Police