E17 Workforce and Development Planning

Background

To maximise its impact DFID needs to place the right staff with the right skills in the right jobs at the right time. This requires good planning, forecasting, job design, specification and grading, good selection processes, and good arrangements for identifying and developing talent. The quality of the partnership between Human Resources Division (HRD) and the rest of the business is critical, with all parties being clear about their respective responsibilities.

At an individual level, all staff are responsible for their continual learning and professional development, while line managers must ensure that an enabling learning and development environment is created.

Line managers are responsible for supporting individuals through the Performance Management System (PMS) process. This includes helping individuals analyse the learning and training implications of their future work, as well as evaluating the impact of any previous learning activity on their performance.

Individuals will ensure information about their learning and development is collated at the department/business unit level, to inform the Staff Development Plan (SDP).

The Learning and Development Team and HR Business Partners are available to support this process.

Compliance Tasks

Divisions, Departments and Overseas Offices

1. All Heads must comply with Human Resources Division's (HRD) requests for staffing forecasts

Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office

2. All Heads must ensure that every job within their respective commands is properly specified and designed and appropriately graded.

Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office

3. Each Division, Department/Overseas Office must produce a Staff Development Plan (SDP). This should highlight planned staff development activity and include:

an evaluation of the impact of the previous year's SDP;
Learning & Development priorities, identified by department/business units which support the implementation of the Departmental Performance Framework (DPF) and
the learning and development objectives identified in individual PMFs.

Task assigned to: Head of Department, Head of Overseas Office

4. The jobholder and line manager must develop a detailed Performance Management Form (PMF).

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

Jobholders and Line Managers

5. All staff must ensure that their individual details are kept fully up to date

Task assigned to: All Staff

6. A PMF must include at least one learning objective that highlights the professional and personal development activity that an individual will undertake in support of their work objectives, their development in their job and any longer term-career related learning goals

Task assigned to: All Staff

7. All staff with line management responsibilities must include one management related objective

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

8. All staff and line managers must comply properly with their performance management obligations.

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

HRD

9. HRD must maintain soundly based projections of staffing and skills requirements and plan and implement recruitment, promotions and exits accordingly

10. HRD must ensure that appropriate arrangements for the selection of individuals for posts, promotion and any special development arrangements are in place and regularly reviewed

11. HRD must maintain and operate appropriate systems for identifying and developing talent at all levels and from all areas of the organisation.

Risks of non-compliance

DFID will not make optimum use of the resources and people at its disposal.
Individuals will not receive the support and development they need.
Poor individual motivation and performance.
A lack of adequate or appropriate staff development activity can lead to failure in meeting objectives at Individual, Departmental/ Business Unit and Divisional levels.
DFID is unable to produce the required evidence on staff development planning and evaluating learning for Investors in People. The organisation will not be able to share lesson learning across Divisions.
DFID will fail to make accurate statistical returns to central government.
Risk of attracting criticism from the National Audit Office (NAO)

Last updated: 03 Oct 2011

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