CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW
In this, the Jersey Appointments Commission’s fifth Annual Report, I am
able to report on a regulatory regime which has reached maturity, with good
levels of awareness and compliance with its Codes of Practice and
Guidelines, which prescribe good Standards in Recruitment to the Public
Sector and Anonymous and Quasi-Anonymous Public Bodies (Quangos).
These Standards are based on the fundamental principles that recruitment
selection will be made on merit, through open and transparent processes
which are subject to independent scrutiny and preserve the culture of
probity among Civil Servants.
The Commission publishes and periodically revises its Codes and Guidance
in response to changing circumstances such as the re-structuring of the
Public Service. One of the Commission’s most important objectives is to
strike a balance between firmness and flexibility in its regulatory approach,
which it aims to be proportionate to risk. A challenging area that my fellow
Commissioners and I keep under review is the exercise of pragmatism in
determining, alongside the employer, the extent of the competition to be
applied to particular posts and in particular circumstances. At the highest
levels of the Public Service there is a need to attract and retain people
whose calibre reflects the reality that as a modern, complex economy
operating in markets undergoing rapid globalisation, Jersey is subject to
social, political and economic pressures not dissimilar to those in
jurisdictions many times its size. As a result it is generally considered
necessary when recruiting at these levels, to extend the search to a larger
pool of talent than may be available from within Jersey alone. Such talent
can bring new perspectives and practices and avoid stagnation and
complacency in vital Public Services. However, applied disproportionately, it
risks the loss of the civic traditions and ideals valued by the community as
a whole. There is much to commend “the Jersey Way”. At its best, it is a
distinguished feature of an Island people whose ambitions for the future are
tempered by pride in its past. At its worst, it is a mind-set that stifles
innovation and openness to ideas “not invented here”. The Appointments
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Commission sees a few key principles as vital to the future assurance of
leadership excellence and cultural tolerance in Jersey’s Public Service:-
• Competition should continue to be sought from outside the Island for
senior Civil Service appointments when insufficient confidence exists
that suitable skills and experience exist locally.
• Every effort should be made to develop indigenous talent so that in
future, it can compete with international candidates. The renewed
emphasis within the Civil Service on succession planning, the recent
roll-out of the “Modern Manager” and “Future Leaders” programmes
are important initiatives in pursuit of this goal. A robust performance
appraisal process is equally important – and challenging, given the
cultural weaknesses which have historically prevailed in this area of
performance management in Jersey.
Three-quarters of the Public Service’s “top 100” jobs are held by
locally developed people, as are around half the members of the
Corporate Management Board which comprises the most senior of its
Civil Service executives. So there is scope for further improvement in
leadership succession, but the commitment of development resources
by the States as employer will need to be reciprocated by aspiring
candidates in their willingness to make sacrifices in pursuing
knowledge and experience in the international arena in which Jersey
operates.
• The Appointments Commission’s long established philosophy of
“firmness in principle and flexibility in practice” must and will, continue
to support planned succession. At levels other than the most senior
management, the Commission is content generally for recruitment
competition to be restricted to the local skills market or in some cases,
further restricted to within the Civil Service, subject to competency
assessment. The Commission also permits the “slotting” of capable
individuals as part of specific professional development and/or
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succession plans, or more commonly in recent years, as part of the
organisational re-structuring and rationalisation of the Civil Service.
• Perhaps more radically, the Appointments Commission believes that
politicians must shoulder some responsibility for maintaining
partnerships with senior civil servants which are conducive to effective
team performance. Managing a sophisticated economy within a
modern society presents challenges for which politicians receive little
or no training. This can be especially crucial in the management of
people and the effectiveness of the relationship between politicians
and those senor civil servants within whom they jointly serve the
public. Ministers and Assistant Ministers often get overlooked in the
debate about improving the skills base of government and the drive to
improve the way civil servants deal with increasingly complex issues in
government, should be applied equally to the political members of
the team.
More than half of the 25 senior appointments in which the Commission was
directly involved this year, were to autonomous or quasi-autonomous bodies
(Quangos). There exists about 50 such bodies in Jersey, many of which
have substantial authority and sometimes statutory powers. They command
significant resources and fulfil important functions in the community.
Traditionally, they rely on volunteers for their governance and
understandably, this has led in some cases to very long terms being served
by governors, trustees and committee members and a reluctance to
undertake structured reviews of their performance. The Appointments
Commission has been working with many Quangos toward a phased
introduction of the “10 year tenure limit” in use in other jurisdictions, to help
refresh the non-executive skills available to them. Where Quangos possess
high defined levels of authority, resources or public profile, the Commission
requires to be directly engaged in any senior recruitment processes. Often
however, we are invited to assist Quangos which, although falling outside
the criteria for our mandatory involvement, seek our recruitment expertise to
help find the talent they need.
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The growing pressures of modern life may explain the increasing difficulty
in attracting professionally active individuals to honorary roles. The
Commission believes that higher profile should be given to the personal
development opportunities such roles offer to professional people, to further
diversify the pool of talent available. It may become inevitable for some
of the traditionally honorary, but more demanding Quango roles to become
fee paying to attract the talent required in an increasingly complex
governance environment.
One of the Appointments Commission’s key strengths is its constitutional
independence from the Civil Service whose recruitment practices it
oversees. This independence is undermined in principle if not practice, by
its reliance for its modest funding from within the States’ Human Resources
Department’s budget. This anomaly requires urgent attention if it is not to
threaten the rigour or impartiality of our work – which on average costs less
than £25,000 per year.
I believe we have struck the appropriate balance between rigour and “lighttouch”
in our oversight of public appointments. I have been much reassured
by the observation that even those constitutionally independent functions of
the States which are not included within the specific remit of the
Appointments Commission, readily invite our assistance in senior
recruitments, in recognition of the value of our endorsement of good
practice. Looking ahead, our resources appear sufficient to meet demand,
which has stabilised now that the compound pressures of establishing our
policies and role, responding to reorganisation of the Civil Service and
establishing good recruitment practices amongst the Quangos, have
subsided. We pride ourselves on promoting more than regulating,
good recruitment practice. I am grateful to my fellow Commissioners for
sustaining that culture and to States Human Resources Department for
their support.
M.J. LISTON
CHAIRMAN
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ACTIVITIES DURING 2007
The Jersey Appointments Commission was established by an Act of the
States in 2002 “to ensure that Senior Appointments to the Public Sector and
to Autonomous and Quasi-Autonomous Public Bodies (Quangos) are
properly made and to keep the appointments process as a whole, under
review”. It was re-established in 2005 under new legislation.
The Commission met formally on five occasions in 2007 and in addition,
engaged in recruitment assignments for a total of around 60 man-days,
coincidentally split equally between senior Civil Service and Quangos.
Details of these assignments are shown at Appendix 1. Some 25 senior
appointments were made in total. Approximately half of the Civil
Service appointees were from overseas and with few exceptions most of
the Quango posts were filled locally. A list of Quangos known to the
Commission is shown at Appendix 2.
The Commission’s constitution provides for a Chairman and not more than
four other Commissioners. During the year, the Commission remained at the
full establishment of five Commissioners, with no changes. Commissioners
are appointed for varying periods up to four years with re-appointments
permitted up to a total term not exceeding eight years. As in the previous
year a Commissioner retired after serving a full term and the vacancy thus
created by Sheila Henwood, was filled in a competitive process, by Ken Soar.
The Commissioners in 2007 were:-
Mr. Mike Liston OBE (Chairman)
Mrs. Elizabeth Rees (Deputy Chairman)
Advocate Rose Colley
Mr. Brian Curtis
Mr. Ken Soar
The Commission receives advice from the States’ Director of Human
Resources Ian Crich. Senior Human Resources Manager Sue Cuming is
the Commission’s Secretary.
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THE COMMISSION’S WORK
The Commission publishes and keeps under review, Guidance and Codes
of Practice which prescribe best practice in recruitment. That is, recruitment
made on the basis of merit in an open, transparent process offering equal
opportunity. The Commission relies on the implementation of these Codes
and Guidance by public sector managers to ensure probity in public
appointments. There is good evidence, supported by audit, that those
managers are sufficiently aware of the Commission’s requirements and we
remain satisfied that the States Human Resources Department applies
adequate controls to ensure compliance.
The Commission engages directly in the recruitment at the most senior
levels in the Public Service and Quangos. Its involvement includes:-
• Agreeing the Job Description and Person Specification.
• Approving the job advertisement, the media to be used and the
scope of competition to be applied (e.g. competition open to
overseas or limited to Jersey only, or Jersey Civil Service only).
• Approving the Search Consultants, if the employer proposes to
engage such resources (at the employer’s cost).
• Participating as Chair or ordinary member of selection panels
used for the long-listing, short-listing and final selection of
candidates.
• Agreeing the candidate assessment methods to be used (e.g.
Assessment Centres, psychometric profiling, scenario exercises)
and the constitution of the selection panels, including any Expert
Assessors where necessary in highly specialist disciplines such as
medicine or law.
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• Providing written endorsement of the appointment process, when
complete.
The Commission has a broad range of professional experience amongst its
Commissioners and also provides specific training for them in recruitment
techniques.
PROPORTIONALITY AND FLEXIBILITY
The Appointment Commission’s Guidance and Codes for Recruitment
afford it flexibility to accommodate exceptional circumstances in which
normal recruitment procedures are impractical or imprudent. For example
where organisational re-structuring, redundancy and redeployment issues
may make the limitation of competition a more credible process when
suitable internal candidates are available. Similarly, in highly specialized
areas of expertise, the “slotting” without competition, of an internal
candidate who has a good “fit” with the specified requirements is often a
justifiable exception to normal practice. The Commission does however
require formal evaluation of individuals in these circumstances.
During the year the Commission agreed to restricted competition in 15
middle and senior management recruitments, all of which were filled by
local candidates and at senior levels, competition was restricted in five
recruitments. Of the 11 senior public sector recruitments conducted in 2007,
six were appointed locally. Of the 13 senior recruitments conducted with
Quangos in the year, all but three were appointed from within the Island.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
The Commission remains vigilant in ensuring that the principles of equal
opportunity and diversity are upheld in public appointments. Its Guidance
and Codes demand care at every stage of selection not to discriminate
either positively or negatively on the grounds of gender, race, age, religion,
disability, marital status or sexual orientation. Women remain significantly
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under-represented among the candidates applying for senior public
appointments. We can find no process-related reason for this situation and
would recommend that Civil Service leaders examine whether there are any
social or occupational barriers to the career development of women which
the Service may be able to address.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
The Commission has placed strong, continuous emphasis on the
importance of good quality Job Descriptions and Person Specifications as
the template against which the best fit can be assessed between roles and
candidates. Just as important as ensuring the successful candidate is right
for the job, is that the job is right for the candidate. Generally, there has been
great improvement in the definition of roles and the use of specified criteria
against which candidates can be rigorously assessed. Similarly, readily
available assessment tools have become more sophisticated and reliable in
profiling candidates’ emotional and behavioural tendency’s, which can be
important indicators of fitness for the challenges involved at senior levels in
the Public Service. This is particularly important when overseas candidates
are being considered.
COMPLAINTS
The Appointments Commission investigates all formal complaints of noncompliance
with its Guidance and Codes of Practice for Recruitment.
Although very few in number, complaints arose most commonly among
unsuccessful candidates for middle and junior management roles who felt
unjustifiably rejected despite what they felt were capabilities which equipped
them for the job. On occasions it has been alleged that qualifications were
specified higher than required for a role in order to justify a “preferred”
candidate, but we have found no evidence to support that. It is often an
inevitable consequence of increasingly onerous regulation or complexity
that roles call for specialist capabilities and qualifications. During the year
three formal complaints were received, none of which were upheld by the
Commission following investigation.
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APPENDIX 1
APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION ACTIVITIES 2007
PUBLIC SECTOR APPOINTMENTS
Post Competition Appointee
Director of Business Development
Economic Development Unrestricted UK
Director Property Holdings
Treasury & Resources Unrestricted UK
Director Information Systems
Chief Ministers Unrestricted UK
Chief Fire Officer
Home Affairs Unrestricted UK
Police Superintendent
Home Affairs Restricted internal local
Director Education
Education Sport & Culture Unrestricted local
Assistant Chief Executive
Chief Ministers Restricted internal local
Solicitor General Restricted local local
Magistrate Restricted local local
Assistant Magistrate Restricted local local
Prison Governor
Home Affairs Unrestricted UK
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APPOINTMENTS TO QUANGOS
Post Competition Appointee
Chief Executive
Jersey Waterfront Enterprise Board Unrestricted UK
Executive Director
Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority Unrestricted local
Commissioner
Jersey Appointments Commission Restricted local
Members Law Society Tribunal (x 7) Restricted local
Commissioner Overseas Aid Panel Restricted local
Members of Committee of Management
& Trustees Family Nursing & Home Care Restricted local
Members Income Support Medical
Appeal Tribunal Restricted local
Health Tribunal Panel members Restricted local
Member Jersey Police
Complaints Authority Restricted local
Commissioner Pharmaceutical
Benefit Panel Restricted local
Members (x 3) Fiscal Policy Panel Unrestricted UK
Commissioners (x 2) Jersey Financial
Services Commission Unrestricted UK and local
Member Jersey Employment Tribunal Restricted local
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APPENDIX 2
Jersey Independent and Quasi Independent Non Government
Organisations (Quangos) 2008
1. Administrative Appeals Panel
2. Commissioners of Appeal for Income Tax
3. Data Protection Commission
4. Ecology Fund
5. Employment Forum
6. Greville Bathe Fund – Trustees
7. Haut de la Garenne Trust
8. Health & Safety Appeal Tribunal
9. Family Nursing & Home Care
10. Health Tribunal Panel
11. Health Services Disciplinary Tribunal
12. Jersey Arts Trust
13. Jersey Childcare Trust
14. Jersey Consumer Council
15. Jersey Council for Safety & Health at Work
16. Jersey Dental Scheme Board of Management
17. Jersey Employment Tribunal
18. Jersey Employment Trust – Workforce Solutions Ltd
19. Jersey Financial Services Commission
20. Jersey Fiscal Policy Panel
21. Jersey Heritage Trust
22. Income Support Medical Appeal Panel
23. Jersey Law Commission
24. Jersey Law Society Disciplinary Panel
25. Jersey Skills Executive
26. Medical Appeal Tribunal
27. PACT User Group
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28. Rate Appeal Board
29. Pharmaceutical Benefit Advisory Committee
30. Pharmaceutical Benefit Panel
31. Planning & Building Appeals Commission
32. Jersey Police Complaints Authority
33. Public Lotteries Board
34. Rent Control Tribunal
35. Social Security Advisory Council
36. Social Security Tribunal
37. Audit Commission
38. Statistics User Group
39. Waterfront Enterprise Board
40. Westaway Trust
41. Agricultural Loans & Guarantees Advisory Board
42. Data Protection Tribunal
43. Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority
44. Jersey Finance Ltd
45. Jersey Conference Bureau
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