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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE:
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22 April 2013 |
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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: |
EXECUTIVE SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
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1. Approve the Executive Succession Management Program.
2. Amend Board Policy CR-3 to align with the approved Executive Succession Management Program and enhanced business continuity plans.
BACKGROUND
The Ottawa Police Services Board (Board) Policy Manual includes Chief Requirement CR-3 which outlines the Board’s direction to the Chief of Police regarding Executive Succession Planning.
The goal of CR-3 is to ensure there is a robust and targeted executive succession plan by ensuring the development of a qualified pool of leaders who are able to step into the executive positions both in the short term and on a permanent basis. The executive succession plan also promotes business continuity by developing candidates to protect the Board from the sudden loss of the services of the Chief and Deputy Chiefs.
Over the past 20 months, staff have been actively developing a new approach to executive succession planning for the Ottawa Police Service (OPS). The framework was presented to the Board in May 2012. The new program was presented to the Human Resources Committee in December 2012. Briefing sessions have been held with Board members to explain the proposal in depth.
DISCUSSION
The Need for a Succession Management Program
The OPS requires a capable workforce at all ranks to ensure that business and operational goals can be met now and in the future. A range of programs, including promotion, tenure and career development, are in place to meet this business requirement and ensure that capable personnel are ready to take on both the next role and the next rank. For the specific roles and ranks of Chief and Deputy Chief, an executive succession management program is required to ensure that a group of members are ready to take on these key leadership roles within OPS when the need arises.
Executive succession management (Exec SM) is a deliberate set of organizational practices and processes designed specifically to identify, manage, develop, motivate and retain key people. The goal of Exec SM is to develop, over the longer term, a pool of talented candidates in which to make deliberate development investments that will lead to a strong supply of future leaders.
The first formal phase of the Executive Succession Management Program will focus on sworn executive leaders. Executive succession management is not as critical an issue for the civilian portion of the organization given that external recruitment is possible for the Director-General position. A future phase of the Program will incorporate a systematic way to develop internal candidates for the Director-General position.
Development of the Program
In May 2010, a Succession Planning Steering Committee was formed to guide the creation of a succession planning strategy and program framework for OPS. The Committee was comprised of both sworn and civilian representatives including Chief Charles Bordeleau, Director General Debra Frazer, Deputy Chief Gilles Larochelle, Deputy Chief Ed Keeley, Superintendent Scott Nystedt, Inspector Scott Brown, Acting/Inspector John McGetrick, Inspector Uday Jaswal, Director Randy Mar, Director Michelle Rathwell, Staff Sergeant Dan Longpré, Manager Dawn Jordon and Sergeant Nicole St. John.
In the second phase of the initiative, which focused on the development of the tools to be used in the program, a smaller core group of individuals steered the work including: Superintendent Nystedt, Superintendent Delaney, Inspector Jaswal, Inspector Brown, Staff Sergeant Longpre and Sergeant St. John. The Executive Command was updated and consulted on a regular basis.
Employee Consultation
In July and August 2010, OPS civilian and sworn members of all ranks took part in two focus group sessions. The goal of the sessions was to gain an understanding of the employees’ view of succession planning and the factors which influence it. The sessions were facilitated by an expert, who then completed a summary report of findings. From the sessions, it is clear that OPS members strongly view succession planning as a key HR program for the OPS.
Throughout the development of the framework sworn members were consulted as part of working groups. The members were from all ranks and all directorates.
Features of the Program
A model Executive Profile has been drafted to be used to identify and assess potential candidates. The Executive Profile was developed based on a number of inputs, including the recent Chief and Deputy Chief selection processes, the Police Sector Council competencies and other OPS internal executive benchmarks.
Candidates from the rank of staff sergeant to deputy chief can self-identify for the succession program. OPS senior leaders will also be approaching candidates whom they feel have high potential and are high performers, to encourage them to enter the program. A series of meetings, supported by Resourcing and Development, will be held to evaluate the potential and performance of the candidates using information on each potential candidate such as career history, career aspirations, community engagement, language capability and education. The Chief will have the final approval of candidates entering the Program.
Each member selected to be part of the Exec SM Program will have their own development plan that is tailored to close any gaps between their own competencies and experience and the Executive Profile. Development plans will include both formal training (such as university programs, executive courses) and informal/experiential training (such as stretch assignments, secondments, lateral transfers, special projects, coaching/mentoring, etc.). The Chief, deputy chiefs, the director general and the superintendents will be responsible and accountable for ensuring that the development plans are carried out. Criteria will be developed to monitor and measure success to ensure the OPS investments in both formal and informal training are producing the expected outcome.
Every 24 months new candidates will be accepted into the program. Existing candidates in the pool will be evaluated to ensure development and training targets are being achieved. Officers may rotate in and out of the Exec SM Program depending on their personal career aspirations, achievements and competencies.
A key output of Exec SM is a succession management plan. It will identify for the Board and the current executive, the factors influencing the succession environment, the candidates under development and the activities underway to build their skill and competency base.
The Program will also feature a more robust approach to business continuity. Comprehensive plans will be developed to contend with the sudden unexpected loss of the Chief and other senior executives to ensure continuity of operations. The plan will provide options for the Board to pursue to ensure continuity for the first 90 days and day 91 forward such as: 1) appointing an actor; 2) seconding an executive from another police service; and 3) reinstating a retired chief or deputy chief.
The Exec SM Program will be carried out in an open and transparent environment. Candidates will be advised of their selection into the program and briefed on their progress. The organization will be aware of the candidates being developed as its future leaders.
Implementation
The first cycle of the Executive Succession Management Program will commence in Q2 2013. Starting in April the Executive Succession Management Program will be communicated to OPS members and the two Associations will be briefed. In May, candidates will express their interest in the program. They must be nominated by their direct supervisors in order to proceed to the calibration sessions. A final list of candidates will be presented to the Chief for review and approval in June. The timeline for completion of the development plans for each candidate is July – September 2013.
Candidate Development Plans
The development plan for each candidate will be unique and will identify a range of formal and experiential development activities for the candidate to undertake, in addition to their annual mandatory training. This information will be collated for all the candidates in the Exec SM Program to create the overall training and development requirements each year.
Some of the training and development activities will be experiential in nature, such as projects and stretch assignments, and will not incur out-of-pocket-costs. When required, others will be more formal training or academic programs that may require funding. Candidates may be required to contribute to the cost of those programs, as is the case under the OPS Tuition Re-imbursement Program.
The total budget provision for advanced education and senior leadership development is just under $200,000. Staff estimate that it will adequately cover the SM Program needs. It will be targeted specifically to the items in the development and training plans. Follow-up will occur to ensure that the expected results were achieved.
Board Approval
This program is being presented to the Board for approval. Although this program falls under the domain of the Chief, this matter is a critical one for the Board. It is accountable for hiring the Chief and Deputies and also has responsibility for the continuity of the Police executive.
Future Reporting to the Board under Policy CR-3
In December staff will table a full report to the Board outlining the SM Plan as required under Board policy CR-3. It will set out: 1) a 10 year Executive succession environmental scan; 2) the candidates in the Exec SM Program; and 3) their developmental plans. The arrangements required to implement options for business continuity will also be confirmed.
Review of Policy CR-3 to Ensure Alignment
Should it be approved by the Board, staff is recommending that the Board’s CR-3 policy be reviewed to ensure that it aligns with the timing and outputs of the new succession management program.
CONSULTATION
Input from external stakeholders was not required to meet the mandate of this project.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
The cost of the external resources needed to support the project and the development of the Exec SM Program is $172,200.
The on-going training and development costs for the candidates in the Program will be offset by the $200,000 provision currently in the operating budget. Candidates may also be required to contribute to the costs of formal academic programs, as is the case under the OPS Tuition Re-imbursement Program.
CONCLUSION
The Executive Succession Management Program demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the OPS to strengthen its investment in current and future leaders. It will help to ensure that the OPS has the right people in the right place at the right time to take on the sworn executive leadership roles in the OPS as required.
(Original signed by)
Charles Bordeleau
Chief of Police
Responsible for the report: Director General Debra Frazer
