CARICOM SECRETARIAT Reformation Framework€¦ · SECRETARIAT REFORMATION FRAMEWORK STRATEGY...
Transcript of CARICOM SECRETARIAT Reformation Framework€¦ · SECRETARIAT REFORMATION FRAMEWORK STRATEGY...
Prepared by the Change Management Office for the Thirty
Seventh Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers
- December 2015
2015-2018
CARICOM SECRETARIAT
Reformation Framework MAKING THE SECRETARIAT FIT FOR PURPOSE
SECRETARIAT REFORMATION FRAMEWORK INTRODUCTION
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SECRETARIAT REFORMATION FRAMEWORK STRATEGY QUADRANT
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 5
A FRAMEWORK TO ADVANCE THE REFORM PROCESS: THE CMO APPROACH .............................. 8
THE REFORM FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................... 12
THE STRATEGY QUADRANT ........................................................................................................... 14
SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................................... 14
CMO’s Findings ...................................................................................................................... 14
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 15
Expected Final Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 15
BACKGROUND TO THE STRATEGY QUADRANT ......................................................................... 17
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 25
THE PEOPLE QUADRANT ............................................................................................................... 27
SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................................... 27
CMO’s Findings ...................................................................................................................... 27
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 28
Expected Final Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 29
BACKGROUND TO THE PEOPLE QUADRANT ............................................................................. 31
Planned Activities ...................................................................................................................... 36
THE PROCESS QUADRANT ............................................................................................................. 43
SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................................... 44
CMO’s Findings ...................................................................................................................... 44
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 45
Expected Final Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 45
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BACKGROUND TO THE PROCESS QUADRANT ........................................................................... 46
Secretariat’s Planned Activities ................................................................................................. 52
THE TECHNOLOGY QUADRANT ..................................................................................................... 54
SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................................... 54
CMO’s Findings ...................................................................................................................... 54
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 55
Expected Final Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 56
BACKGROUND TO THE TECHNOLOGY QUADRANT ................................................................... 58
Planned Activities .................................................................................................................. 63
THE GOVERNANCE QUADRANT .................................................................................................... 65
SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................................... 65
CMO’s Findings ...................................................................................................................... 65
Secretariat’s Planned Activities ............................................................................................. 66
Expected Final Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 67
THE SITUATION ...................................................................................................................... 68
Planned Activities ...................................................................................................................... 77
TIMELINE ....................................................................................................................................... 79
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INTRODUCTION
A Decision to Restructure CARICOM
At their Thirty-First Meeting held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in July 2010, the Heads of
Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) commissioned an independent review of
the CARICOM Secretariat (CCS). The Report titled, ‘Turning Around CARICOM: Proposals to
Restructure the Secretariat’, undertaken by Landell Mills Ltd. outlined a three-step approach to
CARICOM’s reform and restructuring process:
(i) Prioritisation with the full and unequivocal support of Member States and the delivery of
a narrow range of specific, practical and achievable benefits over a reasonably short
time horizon;
(ii) Reorganisation and strengthening of the CARICOM construct, including the Secretariat
and Regional Institutions, to focus on the management of implementation; and
(iii) A fundamental restructuring of the Secretariat to add value to what Member States can
do individually.
Heads of Government, having received the Report at their Twenty-Third Inter-Sessional
Meeting held in Suriname in March 2012, agreed that the Secretary-General would –
“...begin the process of addressing the restructuring of the Secretariat through, inter
alia, the recruitment of a Change Facilitator who would provide him with the necessary
support for the change process and the strengthening of the corporate functions, in the
first instance”;
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...establish an internal group to draft an outline of a 5-year strategic plan for
consideration at the Thirty-Third Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government to
be held in July 2012 in Saint Lucia; and
..since “form follows function”, re-examine the future direction of the Community and
the arrangements for carrying this forward which would include the role and function of
the Secretariat”.
A Decision in Action
Guided by these decisions, the Secretary-General recruited a Change Facilitation Team which
developed the first ever five-year strategic plan for the Community after consultations with a
wide range of CARICOM stakeholders in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat and
Change Drivers in Member States. The Strategic Plan for the Caribbean Community 2015 –
2019: Repositioning CARICOM was approved at the Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Conference of
Heads of Government in Antigua and Barbuda, July 2014. Recognising the resource constraints
faced by the Community, in approving the Strategic Plan, the Conference narrowed the focus
further and selected eleven (11) high-priority areas for focused implementation over the five-
year period.
This was followed by a Strategic Implementation Plan which was approved by the Thirty-Fifth
Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers in January 2015, in Georgetown Guyana. The
reformation of the CARICOM Secretariat was identified as one of the 11 high priorities for the
period, acknowledging that the success of this endeavour would directly impact CARICOM’s
progress on the other goals.
In light of the complexity of the envisaged changes to the Secretariat and CARICOM as whole,
the Secretary-General established a Change Management Office within the CARICOM
Secretariat to assist him, inter alia, in “deliver a restructured Secretariat with
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strategic focus and strengthened corporate functions guided by the approved
Community Strategic Plan which clearly defines the role and function of the
Secretariat”.
Purpose of the Change Management Office (CMO)
In addition to the priority focus on restructuring the Secretariat the CMO will, coordinate
implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the overall implementation of the
Community Strategic Plan by the actors across the CARICOM architecture - Member States,
Organs and Bodies of the Community, the Secretariat and the Regional Institutions.
The Terms of Reference for the CMO state the expected outcomes as:
1. A restructured Secretariat with strategic focus, implementation capacity and strengthened
corporate functions guided by the approved Community Strategic Plan:-
1.1. Develop recommendations for the restructuring
1.2. Prepare and finalise the Transition Strategy and Plan
1.3. Implement the Transition Strategy and Plan to transform the Secretariat, including its
business process.
2. Governance arrangements that facilitate coordinated implementation of the Community
Strategic Plan by the Secretariat, Regional Institutions of the Community and CARICOM
Member States.
2.1. Provide advice and direct support to implement approved reforms to the current
governance arrangements across the Community architecture.
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A FRAMEWORK TO ADVANCE THE REFORM PROCESS:
THE CMO APPROACH
In planning an organisational transformation, there must be a balance between the efforts
needed to design and implement the changes and the efforts needed to conduct business as
usual. Reforming the Secretariat necessitates an organisation-wide initiative with no Office,
Directorate, Unit, Team or Individual left untouched. Every role, process, policy and strategy
must be interrogated, reconsidered and reviewed.
An Independent Perspective
The CMO is a part of the Secretariat, and yet independent of the Secretariat, similar to units like
Internal Audit. Like all other units, the CMO stands united in the goal to achieve a reformed
Secretariat, yet the CMO must stand independent of the Secretariat and to be able to provide
the Secretary-General, with an honest and objective assessment of what exists or what is being
proposed. The CMO will try to work within the confines of the existing rules, policies and
processes when possible, even if it is to later question and recommend changes to those very
same rules, policies and processes. It should be understood however, that there will be times
when the CMO will request of the Executive Management Committee, a relaxation of
predefined policies and agreed processes where they impede the progress of the Reform.
Duty of Honesty
In this document, the CMO has taken a preliminary view of what is currently being done or has
taken place within all Offices/Directorates/Units and made an initial assessment of whether it is
on track to achieve the organisation’s goals. Like the CMO, every Directorate/Office/Unit
should enter this assessment with the supposition that it is not on track or that it could be
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more on track, otherwise there would be no need to embark on a reform process; but we also
assume that some Directorates/Offices/Units will be more on track than others.
During the preliminary assessment and all other assessments, it is imperative that the CMO
provide a candid view of the findings. This includes reporting issues that relate to process,
thoroughness, quality, competence and attitude. These can be very sensitive issues and it is not
uncommon to find that organisations may have been reticent about addressing these issues in
the past. Nevertheless, it is these very issues that the reform process must highlight and
facilitate discussions around, for successful reformation.
Joint Input into Work Plans
During the reform exercise, the work planned by the Directorates/Offices/Units must make
room for work needed to facilitate the reform and it is crucial that resources are allocated in
these Directorates/Offices/Units to support, lead and conduct the needed initiatives. The very
nature of the reform process means that Directorates/Offices/Units must take an active role in
the reform as experts within their given field. Therefore, the work of assessing, reviewing and
changing needs to be carried out jointly by the CMO and the affected
Directorates/Offices/Units, if the change is to be sustainable. As a result, each manager must be
open to re-allocating workload or duties within their Directorate/Office/Unit to address the
priority needs. The Secretariat will also have to consider where resources can be shared or
reallocated internally as necessary. Where it becomes apparent, that the competence or the
bandwidth is not available to achieve the desired outcomes within the required timeframe,
resources may be sourced through the procurement of consultancy or recruitment of staff.
Depending on the skill set within the CMO, its staff may act as the consultant.
When a consultant is engaged, the relevant Directorate/Office/Unit is expected to make time to
work with the consultant to ensure that the work is done accurately, efficiently, effectively and
to a high standard of quality. The Manager of the Directorate/Office/Unit is expected to work
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closely with the consultant to ensure a transfer of skills and knowledge, and to ensure that the
reformed processes can be smoothly transitioned back into the right department when the
consultant leaves. This means that the ‘normal operations’ need to run parallel with the reform
work and indeed at times, the reform work must take precedence. At all times, the CMO will
provide oversight to ensure that the goals of the interventions are achieved.
Reform an Uneasy Process
In the face of this level of investigation and analysis, it is quite common for executives,
managers and employees subjected to the reform processes, to feel vulnerable. It is even more
likely when the individuals or persons were involved in the creation of and/or the championing
of that process. Persons may experience the required analysis as a personal attack, or that the
CMO is ‘trying to encroach on their territory’. This can result in executives, managers and
employees being overly protective of their (turf) role and functional area. However, this is not
the case, so it must be reiterated that this level of investigation and analysis is a part of the
process and is a reflection of the level of thoroughness which must be utilised if the CMO is to
help the Secretariat to rethink and reform.
Why Reform Processes Fail
There are several reasons why reform processes fail in organisations. These include fear, lack
of cooperation and conflicting priorities. However, there are some reasons which are a little
less obvious as shown below:
Overconfidence – as human beings we tend to overestimate our brain’s ability to make
rational judgements e.g. considering our approach or our team to be stronger than it
really is;
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Mental Accounting – we circumvent and avoid restrictions by classifying activities
differently under headings or labels. E.g.: classifying monies spent entertaining as
training;
Status Quo Bias – unwilling to change things from the way they have always been e.g.
failure to change obscure processes;
Herding – choosing strategies and solutions simply because others (IDPs, Member States
and Institutions) have taken that approach;
Sunk Cost – Continuing along an obviously flawed path, because we believe we have
invested too much to turn back or start again.
Therefore management and staff are encouraged to bear in mind all that has been stated in this
section as they interact with the CMO. At each point the CMO and the respective
Directorate/Office/Unit must ask, what is the true objective of the particular process of the
activity? Is that objective being achieved? The proposed interventions will seek to use the best
of what has already been done, what is in progress and what is planned and to tweak or alter
the plan to enhance the process or activity. That said, sometimes it may require a full
abandonment of what was done in the past or what is planned.
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THE REFORM FRAMEWORK
This document provides a framework of the intended approach to the reform process during
the period July 2015 to June 2018. Given that previous change documents and the Community
Strategic Plan utilised a Four Quadrant Change Model, which groups the change initiatives
under Strategy, Structure, Processes and Technology; we have described the reform process in
relation to these for
continuity, and included
Governance which cross-
cuts all of these areas.
The quadrants are not
silos, they are
interoperable parts of the
Reform Process.
As we describe each
category of the
framework, we provide:
a) A Synopsis - an
overview of the
findings of the
CMO; the activities which the Secretariat plans to undertake to determine which
aspects need to be reformed; and the expected final outcomes for the Secretariat and
where appropriate, the wider Community.
b) Background to the Quadrants - a description of early findings based on information
contained in the Landell Mills and Archer-Gomes reports; a limited review of
documentation and policies; and anecdotal interviews and observations within each
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Directorate/Office/Unit of the Secretariat. It is expected that these indications will
either be substantiated or disproved by the assessments of the current state.
c) Secretariat’s Planned Activities - In the first instance, this provides more detail on the
work which will be carried out in the first 12 months in each quadrant and later, the
expected final outcomes for the Secretariat and where appropriate, the wider
Community.
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THE STRATEGY QUADRANT
The Reform Process starts with the Strategy quadrant, because the Community Strategic Plan
through the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan, will determine how the structure, processes,
technology and governance within the Secretariat must be transformed to achieve the
Community Vision.
SYNOPSIS OF THE STRATEGY QUADRANT
CMO’s Findings
Our initial findings indicate that:
1. The Secretariat needs to establish who should be considered its’ primary customer.
Perspectives vary between the Governments of the Member States and the citizens in
each Member State. As a result, there are differing expectations within the Secretariat
and in the wider Community about the responsibilities of the Secretariat;
2. The Secretariat must then review and update its mission, vision and its 3-4 year strategy
to reflect the needs and priorities of its primary customer;
3. The crafting of a Strategic Business Plan is a critical output for the Secretariat to enable
it to establish and communicate clear strategic priorities in the context of the available
resources, the large number of activities which must take place as part of the Reform,
and the priorities outlined within the Community Strategic Plan;
4. With respect to Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting, emphasis must be given to
building a system that is objective and evidence-based. The secretariat has mobilised
resources from the CDB for a project entitled “Promoting the Principles of Managing for
Development Results – Furthering the Regional Integration Process”. This project will be
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used to conduct the necessary research to determine an appropriate M&E system for
CARICOM.
Planned Activities
As a result, the Secretariat will:
a) Develop a Strategic Business Plan as priority. This is expected to be completed in
February 2016;
b) Review and reorganise as required, the Work Programmes currently developed for
presentation to the Budget Committee in December 2015, once the Strategic Business
Plan is completed.
Expected Final Outcomes
Within the Secretariat, it is expected that:
There will be a Strategic Business Plan aligned to the Community Strategy;
Each Directorate/Office/Unit will have a biennial Work Programme aligned to the
Strategic Business Plan and hence the Community Strategy. In keeping with current
practice, the Work Programmes will be reviewed and updated each year;
Budgets will be more firmly and clearly aligned to the Strategic Business Plan, enabling
resources to be shifted in support of the priorities;
Clear, objectives and ‘SMART’ measures will be established to monitor, evaluate and
report on the progress of the Work Programmes and the Strategic Business Plan that
will enable reporting against the Community Strategic Plan;
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The Work Programmes with the identified measures will form the basis of the targets
and objectives set for individuals and teams, on an annual basis, as part of the
performance management process.
In the longer term, it is possible that:
Each Member State will have a ‘clear’ National Strategic Business Plan identifying its
plans and strategies;
The Community Strategic Plan will be further developed aligned to the National Plans
such that priorities for the Region are more easily reflected in the Community Strategic
Plan;
In addition to the Secretariat, every CARICOM Institution will have a Strategic Business
Plan aligned to the Community Strategy;
There will be an agreed Overarching Strategic Planning mechanism with timelines and
an approach to meeting, reviewing and adjusting National, Secretariat and Institutions’
Strategic Business Plans before finalising biennial work programmes within the
Secretariat;
Budgets and funding for all Strategic Plans, will be developed to support the agreed
plans; and
There will be agreed (SMART) metrics to track, evaluate and report on the performance
of each generated Strategic Business Plan as well as the Community Strategic Plan.
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BACKGROUND TO THE STRATEGY QUADRANT
The Twenty-Fourth Inter-Sessional Meeting held in Haiti in February 2013, having considered
the matter of the Reform Process in caucus, noted that the process would deliver a Strategic
Plan for the Community and a Business Plan for the Secretariat.
The Community Strategic Plan as stated earlier must guide the work of the entire CARICOM
construct and determine the reformed state of all entities to ensure that they are fit for
purpose as well as efficient and effective in the delivery of services that benefit the Community.
The Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan is expected to be delivered in February 2016.
Why a Strategic Business Plan
It must be understood that the Community Strategic Plan can only provide a vision with
Enterprise level goals and objective, which is an overall strategic direction for the Community.
Indeed when the plan was prepared, it was anticipated that “... each implementing agent
of CARICOM (the Member States, the Institutions and the Secretariat) would
need to draw from the Strategic Plan in designing its operational plan and
annual plans” . For the Secretariat to prepare operational plans with goals and objectives
that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound, it must first consider the
priorities outlined in the Community Strategic Plan and then view them through the context of
the strengths and limitations within the Secretariat. It must be emphasized, that the
Community Strategic Plan through the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan will determine how
the structure, processes and people within the Secretariat must be transformed to achieve the
Community Strategic Plan.
Discussions with Directorates/Offices/Units revealed that they are frequently overzealous in
deciding what is attainable when developing work plans. A contributing factor is that Offices,
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Directorates and Units typically plan in isolation and do not build in time for management
activities such as coaching and performance management, participation in strategic planning
and budgeting. Another strong contributing factor is that ad hoc activities frequently arise
which are difficult to plan for. The Reform process will require a significant amount of time
from all management and staff within the Secretariat. Now more than ever, a Strategic Business
Plan is required which will enable the Secretary-General and the Executive Management team
to set clear strategic priorities for the Secretariat in the context of the priorities of the
Community plan and the large scale change activities which will be required for the reform.
Identifying the Primary Customer of the Secretariat
It is clear from the stakeholder interviews which were conducted during the creation of the
Community Strategic Plan, that CARICOM is desirous of making the Secretariat more customer
centric. In doing so, the Secretariat must first identify who is its customer?
In reviewing the Revised Treaty, the programmes being managed by the Secretariat and the
mandates given to the Secretariat, the response could be: the Member States/Governments
and/or the Citizens of the Member States. Best practice indicates, that the Secretariat’s
customer is the stakeholder who makes the decision to ‘procure’ the services of the Secretariat.
The answer to the question is critical, since it is the needs and priorities of the customer which
must shape the nature of the services offered by the Secretariat.
Reviewing and Updating the Vision and Mission of the Secretariat
The Vision and the Mission statements of an organisation can be powerful statements that
create unity in thinking and approach amongst its employees. However for most organisations,
they become little more than unwieldly statements which even the CEO does not remember.
Used correctly, the organisation should be able to weigh its strategies and decisions against its
vision and mission by asking if the strategy will help the organisation to reach its vision, fulfil its
mission and whether the approach taken is in keeping with the values of the organisation.
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The current mission of the Secretariat states “To provide dynamic leadership and
service, in partnership with Communit y institutions and Groups, toward the
attainment of a viable, internationally competit ive and sustainable Community,
with improved quality of l ife for all .” Having read the statement, it could be said that it
does not succinctly convey what the Secretariat does and for whom.
Once the Secretariat has reached a clear conclusion on who its customer is, it must then review
its purpose to determine how it can be accurately reflected in the mission statement. The
Secretariat should aim for a statement that is memorable and accurately summarises the
service that it provides to its customers. Likewise, a vision statement must be crafted to ensure
it reflects the goals and the intentions of the Secretariat for the period of the Strategic Business
Plan.
Biennial Operating Plans
Similar to other International Organisations like the UN, the CARICOM Secretariat has been in
the habit of the developing Biennial Operating Plans which are referred to as Work
Programmes. These differ from the Strategic Business Plan proposed for the Secretariat, in that
the Strategic Business Plan will produce corporate level strategies, goals and objectives,
whereas the Biennial Operating Plans should be more tactical and detailed in scope and break
down the contribution of each Directorate/Office/Unit to the Secretariat’s Strategic Business
Plan in the form of programmes and projects. Biennial Operating Plans for each
Directorate/Office/Unit will be one of the outputs of the business planning process.
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Team and Individual Objectives and Targets
At present, team and individual objectives and targets are generally developed on an annual
basis, but the level of alignment to the Community or Secretariat’s Strategy is questionable.
Going forward, team and individual objectives and targets must be flexible to deal with
unplanned activities and special circumstances. Whilst the individual objectives and targets will
not be captured within the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan document, these must be
directly derived and aligned. These embody the activities and tasks that may be assigned to a
team or individual based on their role and the skill-set and competencies predefined by the
role. This is likely to require some adjustment to the performance management system in terms
of how the objectives are laid out and measured.
Monitoring, Evaluating and Reporting on the progress of the Community Strategy and
the Secretariat Business Plans
The criticality of an effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system was recognised within
the Community Strategic Plan. Simply put, the Secretariat needs a mechanism by which to
measure, chart and report the progress that it makes itself as well as the progress that the
Community makes.
However it must be
understood that this
requires the right kind
of indicators to be
developed at each
level of the
organisation.
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The indicators which may be appropriate to measure the performance of individuals in the
organisation must relate to, but will not be appropriate to measure the performance of the
Directorate/Office/Unit. The first is likely to be more task oriented while the other is likely to be
more outcome related.
Likewise, the indicators used to measure the performance of the Secretariat at the level of the
Strategic Business Plan will be linked to, but not identical to those used to measure and report
on the performance of CARICOM against the Community strategic plan. Thus it is important to
understand the complexity and the range of measures that need to be developed to monitor
and evaluate the performance of both the Secretariat and the Community effectively.
Currently the Secretariat has measures which are targets used at the levels of Individual,
Directorate/Office/Unit Work Programmes and the Community Strategic Plan. These vary in
type and style. These targets are also task focused or very general in nature and it is clear that
they have not been developed in coordination and coherence amongst the
Directorates/Offices/Units.
Likewise the Strategic Management Unit has, through consultations with the Community
Institutions, collated the Operational Plans of the Secretariat and the Institutions in relation to
the Community Strategic Plan. The draft document informed the first Virtual Cluster meeting
around the Strategic Pillars in June 2015 and is guiding the development of a Community
Scorecard which is expected to be delivered in January 2016. Reviewing the document, the
CMO finds that more work must be done to produce a digestible document from which
conclusions can be easily drawn and understood. To achieve this the quality of indicators and
outputs needs to be strengthened. Consideration should be given to collating the Business
Plans of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Institutions in the first instance as this may negate
the need to collate the operational plans.
Overall, if the Secretariat is to achieve a cohesive and comprehensive monitoring and
evaluation (M&E) mechanism, it must first identify appropriate methodologies and then review
and adapt the existing measures as well as define and develop measures where there are none.
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Early Thinking Suggests Results-Based Management (RBM)
RBM as a method of monitoring, evaluating programmes and projects, has become extremely
popular in the development community. “RBM starts with the end in mind and
stakeholders are encouraged to consider how the programme will improve
quality of l ife for the target population ”. This is due in a large part to NGOs, bilateral
and multilateral organisations adopting this methodology and requiring recipients of funding to
provide reports using RBM measures. In spite of the insistence, few if any have been able to
meet the demands of RBM.
The challenge is, that RBM while seemingly sensible is very difficult to implement. RBM requires
project log frames to be prepared and presented in a specific format and this requires
measurement of the progress of activities at the level of the Member State. This in turn
requires a significant level of sophistication in relation to data capture, analysis and reporting
within the Member State, much of which does not exist.
Almost all reviews of RBM in practice indicate that it requires continues time, effort, headcount
and other resources. In a UN report ‘Strategic Planning in the United Nations System 2012’, it
was noted that some agencies had to add upwards of 14 persons each to support their RBM
and training takes place almost monthly to teach employees to use and improve their skill at
writing RBM outputs. RBM is neither simple nor cheap and many Member States with severe
economic constraints are forced to make the difficult choice between building a system to show
others what is wrong or fixing what is wrong. Inevitably the latter wins.
Likewise at the time of creating the Community Strategic Plan, CARICOM agreed that to reflect
its progress against the Community Strategic Plan, the M&E system would draw on two models
– Results-Based Management (RBM) and a System of Indicators for Regional Integration (SIRI).
Indeed there have already been some attempts to utilise more results focused measures within
the area of performance appraisals. It was felt that this unique approach to CARICOM would
include “. . .monitoring and measurement indicators to deal with both the
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development objective (e.g. food and nutrit ion, security for the people of the
region, especially the poor) and the regional integration objective
(harmonisation...)” .
The Community Strategic Plan highlights several important parameters which are necessary for
the hybrid M&E system to be effectively developed and implemented. These include:
Collaboration with stakeholders to design the model allowing for co-delivery;
A new approach to designing and planning interventions at the national and Secretariat
levels which goes beyond programme outputs;
A definition of expected results which are centred on the impact on the beneficiary;
Simultaneously addressing conceptual, technical, political, institutional and
organisational aspects across CARICOM.
A Move towards Results Focused Measurement
Given the likely challenges with RBM and its limitations in providing a comprehensive
measurement system, the Secretariat will endeavour to develop a ‘Customised Results
Focused’ M&E system that can be supported by existing or imminent technology and resources.
Results focused, means that higher priority is given to producing desired results or deliverables
than simply to the performance of required tasks. For example, employees, teams and
organisations are not rated highly for holding and attending many meetings. They are rated
highly only if they achieve the desired results within those meetings. Naturally, this means that
the objectives (expected results) for each meeting must be articulated at the start and assessed
at the end.
Through the CDB funded project, the necessary research will be undertaken towards defining
the framework of a suitable, objective and evidence-based M&E system that can meet the
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needs of CARICOM and the varying levels within the Organisations. In this way, it will not be
limited by the logic frame of the RBM methodology and the framework can continue to grow
and improve as technology and measurement systems improve within CARICOM.
The Link between the Secretariat and Community Institutions
In addressing the areas of Strategy and Monitoring and Evaluation, the Secretariat intends to
focus on improvements internal to itself initially. However, it must be noted that the
Community Strategy calls for improved governance arrangements for Community Institutions
“to create an enabling environment for coordinated management across the
Regional Integration Architecture”.
The objective of ‘coordinated management’ is to ensure that the Community Institutions are
best positioned to contribute to the effective implementation of the resilience building agenda.
As such, it is critical that Institutions are engaged and informed in the development of the
Secretariat’s solutions since it will provide easier collaboration as well as economies of scale if
similar approaches and solutions are used throughout.
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PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE STRATEGIC QUADRANT
As a priority, the Secretariat will create a Strategic Business Plan and then strengthen the
Biennial Operating Plans (Work Programmes) in light of the Strategic Business Plan. This will
commence in December 2015 and it expected to be completed within 4 months. Likewise
research on possible monitoring and evaluation systems will commence in December 2015 and
recommendations for options are expected to be presented in March 2016 at the latest.
Once the monitoring and evaluation system has been agreed in principle, the assessment,
building and update of existing measures to create the new cohesive measures will take place.
It is anticipated that the Secretariat will need to review its existing performance management
system to ensure that it lines up with approved M&E system. Of course, the structure of the
Secretariat to drive the Strategic Business Plan and the Community Strategy will also be
reviewed. This will be addressed under the People Quadrant later in this document. Assuming
minor adjustments to the performance management system, we anticipate this work will
completed by September 2016. However if more complex, infrastructural changes are required,
this may be delayed pending the availability of funds and development time.
Once the Secretariat’s internal processes for translating the Community Strategy into objectives
and targets with appropriate measures at each level of the organisation is in place, attention
will be turned to aligning the Community Institutions.
Ideally, an Overarching Approach for Strategic Planning in CARICOM and a Monitoring and
Evaluation system must be agreed. The Overarching Approach will need to be agreed and
documented to ensure that across the CARICOM entities there are harmonised definitions and
where possible methodologies, timing, roles and responsibilities in relation to strategic
planning. It should provide guidelines on the format of the plans, timelines and the approach
that will be taken to review, discuss, adjust and agree on the plans as well as budgets to
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support the plans. This will require each CARICOM Institution to have a Strategic Business Plan
aligned to the Community Strategy with relevant measures.
Given that there must be coordination amongst so many organisations, Strategic Planning is
likely to start much earlier in the fiscal year and may require a defined resource for Strategic
Management in each Institution. Nonetheless Institutions that have Strategic Business Plans in
place ahead of time will find this process much easier.
CARICOM Institutions have already started to review their Operating Plans against the
Community Strategic Plan. But the level of alignment and congruence between activities
supporting or dependant on activities within the Secretariat and other CARICOM Institutions
has not yet been verified.
In the longer term, Strategic Planning in CARICOM is likely to be more effective if all Member
States have a ‘clear’ National Strategic Plan identifying its sub-plans and strategies which will
allow the Community Strategic Plan to be developed in sight of the National Plans and
Strategies. In that way, the Strategic Business Plans of the Institutions and the Secretariat will
be aligned to the Community Strategy and the National Plans.
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THE PEOPLE QUADRANT
Maintaining the motivation and the engagement of the employees to participate in and support
the change process is critical to the success of the reform. As such, the people quadrant is being
addressed early in the reform process.
SYNOPSIS OF THE PEOPLE QUADRANT
CMO’s Findings
Our initial findings indicate that:
1. The CARICOM Secretariat’s culture has never been firmly defined, although there have
been suggestions made over the years relating to aspects of the culture which could be
improved. Attempts to measure culture to date have focused on utilising an in-house
satisfaction survey which has a number of limitations;
2. The role and the personal style of the Secretary-General as well as those of the
Executive and Senior Management can strongly impact the norms and values which are
practiced within the organisation. Thus there is a need to thoroughly assess these roles
as they are practiced and the position holders currently within the role;
3. There are conflicting priorities amongst the management team. This is due in part to
ambiguous and conflicting ideologies within the Region about the purpose and nature of
CARICOM, but it is also impacted by the lack of a Strategic Business Plan;
4. Time utilisation amongst all managers vary and further investigation is required to
understand the cause. Possible causes include a highly centralised decision making
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approach, a lack of strategic direction as well as limitations in the skills and
competencies of the individual manager and their personal preferences;
5. A revised structure can only be proposed upon the completion of the Secretariat’s
Strategic Business Plan with defined outputs; and the review of new or revised
processes which can determine the needs of the Secretariat.
Planned Activities
As a result, the Secretariat will:
a) Implement an annual Employee Engagement survey to assess and monitor the
opportunity for engagement within the organisation. In 2016, the engagement survey
will be used by the CMO to discuss and obtain the employees’ views on the Reform as
well as opportunities for improvement within the Secretariat;
b) Conduct a job analysis and evaluation of the existing Executive and Senior Management
Roles, including the role of the Secretary-General and the Office of the Secretary-
General (OSG) to identify options to restructure the roles and the OSG as well as the
core competencies for the Executives and Senior Managers within the Secretariat, to
better deliver on the Strategic Business Plan and as a result the Community Strategic
Plan;
c) Conduct competency based assessments of the Executive and Senior Managers to
enable them to become more self-aware about their strengths, limitations and
development needs. Develop personal development plans for each manager aligned to
their optimal career paths within the organisation;
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d) Implement team building activities to increase cooperation and collaboration within the
Executive and Senior management teams and develop a culture in which managers
respect each other’s differences, provide honest feedback and are able to disagree
constructively;
e) Revise and update the Secretariat’s philosophies, rules and regulations as it relates to
staff policies;
f) Conduct a job evaluation of all revised management and non-management jobs and
provide a recommended grade and compensation structure which will allow the
organisation to attract, motivate and retain talent. Data from the current compensation
and pay policy exercise will be considered.
Expected Final Outcomes
Within the Secretariat, it is expected that:
There will be a revised structure for the organisation which supports the
implementation of the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan and as a result the
Community Strategy. This will include revised role descriptions;
Defined competency models will be created for the Secretariat staff whether they are in
individual roles, or part of the senior or executive management. Consideration will be
given as to whether a technical competency model needs to be developed at a later
date;
A prioritised plan for the development of skills, competencies and behaviour (creating
the new CARICOM culture) within the Secretariat will be prepared in conjunction with a
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Succession Plan, an approved Acting list and policy. This will also enable career
pathways to be developed for all employees;
A revised Compensation philosophy and structure for the entire Secretariat will be
developed to ensure an objective means for assigning salaries and benefits;
Philosophies and Policies supporting recruitment, management and retention of talent
within the Secretariat will be upgraded.
In the longer term, it is possible that:
There can be a single CARICOM Grand Compensation and Benefits structure which will
allow all CARICOM Institutions and the Secretariat to harmonise people policies,
compensation and benefits;
Likewise, a CARICOM-wide approach to Talent Management will harmonise
management and executive competency models, recruitment and development
programmes, even producing a group-wide succession plan that allows for secondments
to enable the development of all employees and a pipeline of talent to support future
endeavours;
Current collaborations on group health plans and the appeals court can be extended to
include a CARICOM Performance Management System, HR policies and processes and a
single HRIS.
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BACKGROUND TO THE PEOPLE QUADRANT
Culture of the Secretariat
To date there have been limited attempts to define the culture of the Secretariat either as it
currently exists or as it needs to. This may be due to the fact that in speaking about an
Organisation’s culture, it includes the organization's vision, values, norms, systems, symbols,
language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits. Thus it is difficult to measure and define.
Nonetheless, there have been many criticisms levelled at the culture of the Secretariat. In 1998,
Trevor Hamilton and Associates in a report stated that the Secretariat was highly bureaucratic,
programme oriented, centralised, public sector oriented and manual. It was argued, that it
should be more flexible, project oriented, decentralised, customer driven and electronic. In the
10 years since that report, the Secretariat did indeed become more project oriented, but one
could argue that the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction and there is a need
to achieve a balance between the specific projects and the overall thrust of the programmes.
Landell Mills in their (January 2012) report stated that at the senior and executive management
levels, insufficient time and attention is paid to core management, coaching and succession
planning. Meanwhile at the junior levels, there is a large number of employees with traditional
secretarial and administrative support skills.
In order to unravel the true nature of the issues and challenges affecting the culture of the
Secretariat, the organisation will need to be assessed at multiple levels - the vision, values,
norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits. The issues relating to the
Secretariat’s vision have already been discussed in the Strategy quadrant so will not be
repeated here.
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Engagement within the Secretariat
Engagement reveals the extent to which employees are connected to the organisation’s values
and norms. It can bring to light challenges they may have with the Secretariat’s systems,
language and habits. Employees who are engaged typically feel a great deal of alignment with
their own personal goals and the opportunity to realise those personal goals within the
organisation.
In the past, the CARICOM Secretariat has conducted an assessments of its employees’
satisfaction. This provides some indication of the employees’ satisfaction with the Secretariat’s
habits and norms. The last satisfaction survey conducted in 2012 was developed in-house to
look at a number of areas which the Secretariat wanted to address.
The survey reported that the majority of employees were dissatisfied with internal
communication, management and employee relations, performance management,
opportunities to learn and develop and the motivational work environment. To a lesser extent,
employees had concerns around staff welfare, compensation and benefits, job satisfaction and
organisational direction. Limited action was taken to share and discuss the results with all
employees in light of the expected reform process, although some actions were taken to
address concerns such as air quality testing.
All surveys used in the Secretariat to date, have used a fully-blind, paper and pencil
arrangement, which means that no one could match the output of the individuals with the
responses. This was done to encourage responses; however this makes it impossible to verify
the link between the engagement initiatives and the employee’s performance and to conduct
concurrent validation. For example, do persons who state that they have more opportunity for
engagement actually become more engaged at work, is their output higher, do they make less
errors, do they go over and beyond in their work? It is vital that the Secretariat is able to make
such connections if it is to justify taking actions based on the results of the survey.
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The Secretariat has agreed that a more reliable measure of employee engagement be used to
create a baseline in January 2016 which will make it more appropriate to take decisions on the
basis of the information gathered. This will cover some of the areas on which the satisfaction
survey focused, but will prioritise the areas that have been scientifically documented to
increase the opportunity for employees to become engaged. Similar surveys would then be
conducted each year at a similar time to monitor changes in opportunity for engagement.
It is expected that there will be some reticence about the survey, since most employees are
concerned about the ability of a manager being able to directly match the responses of an
individual with their output. However the Secretariat must reassure its employees since the
information will only be available in aggregate form. This will be managed with communication
and the way in which the results are shared with each subsequent deployment of the survey.
The Secretary-General
In establishing and reviewing an organisation’s culture, it is important to look at the role and
the personal style of the CEO as this can strongly impact the norms and values which are
practiced. Research and observation indicate that the Secretary-General currently performs
several roles including being the CEO of the Community, the Secretary-General of CARIFORUM,
Ambassador of CARICOM and CEO of the Secretariat.
Clarification is needed to understand what duties are currently being carried out and what skills
and competence is required to complete the various functions within the Secretary-General’s
role. A time-utilisation study will also help to reveal which tasks can benefit from being either
automated, or delegated to enable a more strategic focus within the role. The analysis will
reveal the type of support needed which will influence the structure of the Office of the
Secretary-General and also the structure of the Executive Management Team.
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It should be noted that even the use of the term CEO of CARICOM bears further research and
discussion and raises the question of the reporting relationship between the CARICOM
Institutions, the Heads of Government and the Secretary-General. It should also be noted, that
the Community Strategy anticipates that the executive role and function of the Secretary-
General needs to be strengthened. This will be discussed in more detail in the Governance
Quadrant.
The Executive and Senior Management Teams
There are conflicting priorities amongst the management team which is due in part, to
ambiguous and conflicting ideologies within the Region about the purpose and nature of
CARICOM and the Secretariat. As mentioned in the previous section, there are some managers
who believe that the CARICOM citizen is the Secretariat’s customer, while others believe it is
the Member States and others believe it is the Governments which leads to different
perceptions of the priorities. Notwithstanding, it is to be expected that managers may be more
sensitive to issues which resonate within their Member State. This underlines the paramount
importance of developing a Strategic Business Plan so that some, albeit not all of these issues
can be addressed.
While it is expected that managers will have different styles of management, it is still to be
expected that managers in similar roles (e.g. ASGs) will have similar levels of responsibility,
accountability and competencies and therefore the way in which time is utilised by the
managers will be similar. However some Executives and Senior Managers appear to be much
more pressured than others. This raises the question of whether the differences are a matter of
role differences or personal style differences in the way the role is conducted.
Without question, centralised decision-making is apparent within the Secretariat. Executive and
Senior Managers do not have the authority to make purchases of any amount. Recruitment
decisions, even at the junior level or temporary level, must be approved by the Deputy
Secretary-General or the Executive Management Committee. It has been suggested that this
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much centralised approach to decision-making is a result of the organisation attempting to
ensure transparency and accountability with purchases and the way that funds are used.
However a balance must be found that allows appropriate levels of authority and accountability
to be held within the executive and senior management levels.
Other Management and Non-Management
Within the Secretariat there are approximately 20% of employees whose roles are considered
to be a part of the middle and junior management. These include Programme Managers,
Deputy Programme Managers and Senior Project Officers. Much of their functions are derived
from the structure of the Secretariat into 3 Directorates, and 4 Offices, each containing a series
of Units. Early observations suggest that the span of control varies significantly amongst this
group of Managers, hence some restructuring of the Units is required.
In the 10 years since the Hamilton Associates report, the Secretariat did indeed become more
project oriented, but one could argue that the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite
direction and there is a need to achieve a balance between the specific projects and the overall
thrust of the programmes. To some extent Programme Managers have become more akin to
Project Managers, managing a wide range of consultancies rather than employing their
technical skills to shape and direct the Regional Integration agenda.
The other 30% of employees make up the technical, administrative and ancillary staff. This is
not surprising since each Executive and Senior Manager has a Secretary as well other
administrative staff to support the unit. Trends around the world have seen this type of
structure being replaced by one in which managers become more self-sufficient by utilising
technology and the support being provided via more technical support like project
management, analysis and reporting. Making similar adjustments within the Secretariat will
require an increase in IT skills, project management, report writing and research skills.
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Planned Activities
The Secretariat will conduct a baseline employee engagement survey in January 2016. In
accordance with best practice, the results of the survey will be reviewed not only at the
organisational level, but broken down and analysed by Directorate, Office and Unit so that the
unique responses of each group can be established. The entire HR team and all managers will
be trained and given guidance on how to share the survey data in an appropriate way and to
facilitate a discussion with their team members.
Action planning will take place at several levels during February and March 2016. At the
Executive level, priorities for the organisation emanating from the survey results will give rise to
corporate level actions (e.g. conduct a job evaluation) aligned to the strategic priorities. At the
Directorate/Office/Unit levels, changes may be made to processes after appropriate cross
functional consultation and at the team level, changes may be made in the way which persons
interact together or work is managed. While it is clear that the dissemination of survey data is
a lengthy process requiring proper planning and high levels of involvement from all employees
for effective execution, it will provide the employees with the opportunity to input directly into
the Reform process. Additional benefits include a team based approach to resolving the issues
raised; management and non-management working together and strong level of buy-in to the
proposed solutions a.k.a. strong employee engagement.
Job Analysis and Evaluation at the Executive and Senior Management Levels
In order to define the ‘ideal’ structure for the secretariat, the Organisation must first determine
the duties that are currently being carried out, the available level of skill and competence and
the workload being managed and assigned at each level.
A job analysis and evaluation of the role of the Secretary-General, the Office of the Secretary-
General and the Executive and Senior Management (Deputy Secretary-General to Director)
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roles will commence in December 2015 and is expected to be completed by the end of March
2016. This will include a time utilisation study which will reveal how much time is currently
being utilised on average across the main components of each person’s role and which, if any
aspects of the role should or can be better managed or delegated to another role.
The Secretariat has set aside a significant level of funds and to supplement funding from DFID
to ensure this piece of work is done with the utmost urgency. When complete, this piece of
work will deliver proposed structures for the most senior levels of the organisation, including
restructured role descriptions, responsibilities and accountabilities. It will also provide a
proposal for a revised Grade Structure and compensation package to achieve the goals of the
Secretariat and as a result the wider Community.
Competency Assessment of Executives and Managers
The gap between the skills and competencies required for the Executive and Senior
Management roles will be captured via competency assessments. Like the Job Analysis and
Evaluation, the assessments will begin with the Secretary-General and the Office of the
Secretary-General, rolling down through the ranks of management. The results will provide
both individualised information for the position holder and their immediate supervisor. It will
also allow the organisation to evaluate its strength at each level. This will provide excellent
information to build leadership and management competency models, plan training, plan for
succession and identify gaps to be addressed by recruitment.
The exact nature of the assessments is to be agreed but this is likely to include some form of
work style profile, a 360 assessment as well as taking existing performance data into
consideration. The Secretariat will have the option of mainstreaming these assessments as part
of its ongoing development of employees in the future. Each manager will receive personal
feedback on their results to assist them in developing their own personal development plan
aligned to the opportunities within the Secretariat.
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Notwithstanding, the Secretariat is a melting pot of several cultures, languages and personal
preferences. Team building activities are required to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of
interactions between managers, to help them to address and resolve conflicts and to enable
the managers to challenge each other in a productive way.
Proposing a Structure for the Secretariat
Once the Business Plan has been completed, a structure can only be proposed once the
business processes have been reengineered and the required technology to support the
reengineered processes has been considered. This is covered more in the following quadrants.
Hence structures are likely to be proposed between July and September 2016.
There is no ‘ideal permanent’ structure for an organisation. Rather, the structure must reflect
the needs of the organisation in the short and medium term, with consideration being given to
how that structure can be augmented or contracted as the needs of the organisation change.
As such, all recommendations which will be made concerning the ratio of permanent to
contract staff, technical to non-technical and management to non-management staff, should be
regarded as guidelines, rather than rules.
Job Evaluation
Once a structure has been proposed and agreed in general, all other management and non-
management roles will be analysed and evaluated using the newly defined job descriptions.
Similar to the Job Evaluation conducted at the Executive and Senior Management levels, this
activity will deliver a standard job evaluation methodology for the Secretariat and well as a
revised Grade Structure and Compensation Structure aligned to the Market rates and the
objectives of CARICOM.
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This will ensure that any new role can be objectively and accurately placed within the revised
Grade structure. The job analysis data can also be used to build junior and technical
competency models for the Secretariat if required. Finally, proposals will be given on the
mechanism by which employees can be selected or placed in the new roles and grade structure
as well as the approach to handle any anomalies.
Reviewing and Aligning the CARICOM Institutions
As mentioned previously, the Community Strategy calls for improved governance arrangements
for Community Institutions “to create an enabling environment for coordinated
management across the Regional Integration Architecture ”.
Within the mandates received from the Conference, the Secretary-General is required to
provide a review of the CARICOM Institutions. This will entail reviewing the function and the
performance of the Institutions in line with the Revised Treaty, their Inter-Governmental
Agreements, and the requirements established within the Community Strategic Plan.
This provides an optimal opportunity to consider where economies of scale can be achieved,
particularly in the provision of support services such as HR, Audit, Resource Mobilisation and
Procurement. Indeed, the Community Institutions and the Secretariat have already identified
areas and begun work where this is prudent (Employee health plans and an appeals process).
In the longer term, CARICOM would benefit from developing a single CARICOM Job Evaluation
tool which will enable similar job evaluation exercises to be completed within the CARICOM
Institutions. This will also require training the HR team and a multidisciplinary Job Evaluation
Committee; as well as developing governance procedures for job evaluations to ensure
standardisation of the process.
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In addition, consideration should be given to developing an overarching CARICOM grade and
classification system which can be overlaid on the grade and classification of the Secretariat and
all CARICOM Intuitions. This will enable the Secretariat to put in place, CARICOM management
and development programmes, succession plans and secondment programmes to develop the
pipeline of talent supporting the Secretariat and the CARICOM Institutions. In this way,
CARICOM will benefit from multidisciplinary exposure and economies of scale.
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COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE REFORM PROCESS
Keeping employees and other stakeholders informed during the reform process is necessary.
This will maintain engagement and cooperation and manage expectations and perceptions of
transformation initiatives. Careful and deliberate statements to address such expectations and
explain initiatives is required.
The communications plan for the reform process will be reviewed and strengthened as
necessary by the Communications Unit, the internal subgroup for communication as well as any
other appropriate specialists. The table below shows the anticipated formal communications.
Internal communications will rely on regular briefings for EMC and SMC members, who will
then be required to cascade information appropriately via team meetings. This will be
supported via intranet posts, blogs and memos as appropriate. In addition, annual Employee
Engagement town hall meetings with the Change Management Office will provide a structured
opportunity for employees to share their views and ask questions about changes. Managers will
have the option of inviting members of their staff who have been assigned to the internal
subgroups to provide updates to colleagues during the Office or Directorate meeting.
Communication with external stakeholders will primarily take place through the agreed
meetings of the Organs and Bodies. In addition bi-lateral meetings with specific individuals will
occur from time to time.
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Table 1: REFORMATION COMMUNICATION TABLE
ACTIVITY RECIPIENTS RESPONSIBILITIES UPDATE FREQUENCY
INTERNAL SECRETARIAT
Status report SG CMO Monthly
EMC/SMC Briefing documents EMC/SMC CMO Monthly or as needed
All Staff Town hall meeting All staff SG/CMO Bi-annually
Staff Association Meeting Staff Association HR/CMO Bi-annually
Employee Engagement Town
halls
All Staff in the related
Directorate or Office
Unit Head and
CMO Annually
Directorate/Office Meetings All Staff in the related
Directorate or Office EMC
Bi Monthly or
Quarterly
Unit Meetings All Staff in unit Unit Manager Monthly
Intranet/Blog All Staff CMO/COMs Based on activities
Chairs Meeting, Internal Sub
Groups Chairs and Vice Chairs
CMO and
Management
as needed
Bi Monthly
Internal Sub Groups Staff assigned to the
sub-group
Chair and
Vice Chair As required by activity
All Staff Memos/ Discrete Group
Memos As appropriate CMO/COMs As required by activity
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
Committee of Ambassadors Ambassadors SG/EMC/CMO Bi-annually
Community Institutions Heads of Institutions SG/EMC/CMO/
Ambassadors Bi-annually
Community Council Members SG/EMC/CMO/
Ambassadors Bi-annually
Conference Heads of Government SG/EMC/CMO/
Ambassadors Bi-annually
Organs and Bodies Organs, Bodies,
Ministers,
SG/EMC/CMO/
Ambassadors As required by activity
Bilateral Meetings As appropriate SG/EMC/CMO/
Ambassadors As required by activity
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THE PROCESS QUADRANT
A process is a series of actions or steps and decisions taken in order to achieve a particular end.
There are several different models of classification of processes that have been provided by
researchers. However, for the purpose of this document, we will outline three types of
processes within the Secretariat:
1. Core Processes. Within the Secretariat, core processes represent the essential activities
that are performed to accomplish its mission. An example of a core process would be
the process of presenting to and receiving a response from Heads of Governments on a
required decision;
2. Support Processes. These represent processes which limit, enable or facilitate the core
processes. Within the Secretariat an example is the procurement processes for
consultancies;
3. Management Processes. These represent processes which management uses to
measure, monitor and control business activities for example the performance
management process.
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the practice of rethinking and redesigning the way
work is done to better support the Secretariat's mission. Benefits can include more efficient and
effective practices, improved implementation speeds, reduction in wastage and duplication and
reduced costs (usually on a long term basis).
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SYNOPSIS
CMO’s Findings
Our initial findings indicate that:
1. The Strategic Business Plan in an integral requirement to facilitate the reengineering of
processes, since it is expected to define the Secretariat’s missions, strategic goals and
the needs of the member states;
2. The mission of each Directorate and Office must be established and realigned to the
Strategic Business Plan and the Revised Treaty;
3. Attempts have been made to develop decision-making processes for the Conference as
well as to strengthen processes around support functions such as procurement. Other
processes for functions like IT and Audit are in the process of being reviewed;
4. The processes within the Secretariat are complex and attempts to meet the standards of
other multilaterals have made them too stringent in places which disempowers the
Executive and Senior Management team;
5. The Secretariat must find a way to develop processes, which obtain input from Member
States, CARICOM Institutions and International Development Partners but are fit for the
purposes of the Secretariat within the context of the Region; and
6. The Mechanism of EMC and SMC needs to be reviewed and optimised to allow for
better information flow and decision-making.
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Planned Activities
As a result, the Secretariat will:
a) Conduct an internal service review in, April 2016, to establish the extent to which the
mission is being achieved as well as the level of cooperation among Offices, Directorates
and Units;
b) Collate and map the existing core, support and management processes so that a single
repository of processes can be established;
c) Review and reengineer the processes starting with the core processes. Reengineered
processes will include input from other stakeholders to ensure compliance with the
requirements of International Development Partners, but they must be developed to fit
the context of the CARICOM Secretariat;
d) Governance matters will be reviewed and proposals for improvements made to support
the reengineered processes.
Expected Final Outcomes
Within the Secretariat, it is expected that:
There will be a central repository for all business processes including core, management
and support processes;
Each Directorate/Office/Unit will be required to maintain and update the policies and
processes relevant to their operations as part of their annual responsibilities;
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The process for the operation of EMC and SMC will be revised and improved to enable
quicker and more effective decision-making and information sharing;
All staff policies and procedures will reviewed and updated;
Opportunities to automate procedures will be identified to facilitate more efficient and
effective processes; and
Procedures relating to Organs and Bodies will be review and updated.
In the longer term, it is possible that:
There will be standard support and management policies and procedures across the
CARICOM Secretariat and Community Institutions;
This can include common staff rules and procedures relating to employees such as
acting, recruitment, secondments and performance management; and
It can also include approaches to procurement, budgeting, project management and
resource mobilisation.
BACKGROUND TO THE PROCESS QUADRANT
Secretariat Business Plan Required
To start a business process review, it is first important to understand the mission of the
organisation and then to begin to identify the activities which enable it to function. Once the
Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan is complete this will help the consultant to clearly
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understand CARICOM’s and the Secretariat’s missions, strategic goals and the needs of the
member states.
The processes which enable the Secretariat to function are complex. The Directorate, Office, or
Unit within the Secretariat that is responsible for a specific programme is not usually
responsible for all the features that determine the achievement of the relevant CARICOM goal.
In addition, themes typically intersect across the programme of more than one Secretariat
Programme area, Institution and Member State.
Understanding the inter-linkages between the Secretariat’s Directorates/Offices/Units themes
is important in mapping a process. Since the preparation of the Business Plan will require
discussion and further clarity on these points, the business process review will commence after
completion of the Secretariat’s Business Plan.
Mission of Each Directorate/Office
Most of the Directorates/Offices/Units were established with a specific vision and mission.
These terms of reference must be reviewed to determine whether the visions and the missions
are being delivered currently; and if they are not, then why not? This will require detailed
research of the decisions taken within the Secretariat and even within the Organs and Bodies to
determine the evolution of changes made before a recommendation can be made to revise,
update or reaffirm the vision and mission. The support of the General Counsel’s Office will be
integral in this regard.
Internal Service Review
This type of review is typically used by organisations to identify the level and quality of
interaction between/among Directorates/Offices/Units. Currently internal service reviews are
not conducted within the Secretariat. However, during our preliminary meetings with
Directorates/Offices/Units, they indicated that there are incidences of poor communication,
overlapping activity and seeming lack of support.
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The Secretariat will therefore conduct an internal service review, once the currently agreed
mission of each Directorate/Office/Unit has been established. This would look at the both the
service received by each Directorate/Office/Unit and the service provided. For example, the
review of the Human Resources would look at both the service provided by HRM to the rest of
the organisation as well the level of cooperation that HRM receives from each
Directorate/Office/Unit in conducting the activities required to fulfil its mandate.
In the first year, the result will form a baseline assessment and this will highlight areas where
business processes are likely to be impacted, enabling the business process review to focus on
critical bottle necks. Similar to the engagement survey, this assessment would be conducted
online with invitations sent to the respective CARICOM email addresses and employees will
only be required to comment on the Directorate/Office/Unit with which they personally
interact.
In subsequent years, following the assessment the Secretariat should expect to see an
improvement in performance once the re-engineered processes have been put into place.
Moreover, if the Secretariat should decide to monitor the levels of internal cooperation and
service on an annual or biennial basis, the output can form an objective measure of the
Directorate/Office/Unit’s performance, even forming a part of the unit head’s performance
targets.
Complex Processes
At this present time, the Secretariat utilises funding from International Donors and Partners
(IDPs) for about 60% of its activities. This means that there is strong need for Secretariat
processes to meet the standards of IDPs to enable easier reporting and release of funds. To
address this the Secretariat has developed several processes using the guidelines of much
larger multinationals like the UN. On the face of it this may appear to be a sound decision,
however the size and the value of the issues and decisions which the UN handle tend to run
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into the hundreds of millions, in comparison with the thousands of dollars frequently managed
and the occasional hundreds of thousands managed within the Secretariat.
An example of this is the procurement processes which have been updated to comply with EU
standards. These types of processes although well intentioned, remove all authority from the
Executive and Senior Management team, causing bottle necks which make it very difficult and
time consuming to achieve the smallest of tasks. Thus the Secretariat has the difficult job of
reengineering its processes in such a way that it provides the greatest level of transparency
while not negating operational efficiency and also the empowerment of the Executive and
Senior management.
Executive and Senior Management Committees
The Secretariat makes much of its decisions through the Senior Management Committee (SMC)
and the Executive Management Committee (EMC). The original intention was that issues would
first be discussed, researched and reviewed at the SMC before a position is presented at EMC
for a final decision. In practice however, this does not occur. More often than not, the SMC
appears to discuss daily issues and considerations as well as decisions which have already been
made by EMC.
EMC on the other hand appears to spend a significant amount of time making decisions on
issues that have not be thoroughly reviewed by SMC, which means that the required level of
consultation has not taken place, resulting in further requests for investigation and
presentation of information. EMC meetings therefore, can be extended or may be scheduled
almost weekly to address all of the issues raised.
The Secretariat has agreed that the mechanism both of SMC and EMC and the way information
and decisions flow between them, needs to be reviewed and revised. Within the Secretariat,
managers need regular opportunities to share information as a means of providing updates to
each other on what is happening in the organisation so that support can be offered and
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received, but also to make decisions. They also need opportunities to strategize and develop
innovative solutions to both operational and strategic issues.
Mapping & Interrogating the current business processes
Currently processes within the Secretariat have been defined to varying levels of detail in
varying formats. There is no specific unit with responsibility for processes or no central
repository of processes which an employee can consult to determine how to go about achieving
a desired outcome. Processes seem to be developed when desired by the unit that provides the
service, or when mandated in response to an issue. Consultations on process changes may or
may not happen before the new process is put in place.
Interestingly, there appears to be fewer core processes documented than there are support
processes. But as mentioned above, these are often developed without taking into
consideration the time required to move from one step of the process to the other; hence
where processes are documented, it often takes lengthy periods to get things done which is not
the intent of process mapping. This may be an instance where the ‘attitude’ and perspective is
not customer centric but rather focuses on the ease or maintaining the ‘power’ of the service
provider.
Before processes can be reengineered, they must first be identified and then mapped in their
current format, using a standardised method. Given that the number of processes is likely to be
large and the reengineering process is likely to be expensive. The CMO will aid the
Directorates/Offices/Units to identify and map all current processes ensuring the all-important
inputs, timelines and decisions are captured with the support of the relevant sub-group and a
consultancy.
This is lengthy process and we will determine whether the approach will focus on core
processes first, or look at processes by Directorate/Office. Mapped processes will then be
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interrogated to identify redundancies or blockages which cause delay or derailment and where
errors typically occur. With appropriate consultation the project will also propose revised
processes.
Governance
The Secretariat has a series of rules, policies and procedures supporting its activities. The rules
are set at the level of the Community Council while policies and procedures are set at the level
of the Secretariat, through authority devolved from the Secretary-General. In mapping
processes, it will be necessary to understand where the governance associated with Secretariat,
Organs, Bodies and Institutions allow, support or inhibit the current and proposed processes. It
can be expected that in different instances, changes must be made at each level (Secretariat,
Organs, Bodies and Institutions) to facilitate the reengineered process and strengthen
integration.
The Community Strategic Plan established the strengthening of Governance arrangements
within CARICOM as one of the key drivers of the articulated goals in recognition of its
importance. Specifically governance is expected to “Improve the decision-making
processes through reviewing and promoting decision-making protocols,
strengthening the preparatory process, including feasibi l ity/resource/cost -
benefit analysis; improving the management of meetings by focused discussion
and taking of strategic decis ions ”.
Currently decision-making protocols have been agreed for the Conference. Every effort must be
made to ensure that these are now followed and concerns or alternate considerations are
raised at the time of reengineering processes. It is imperative that key stakeholders, such as the
Committee of Ambassadors and the Community Institutions, are involved in mapping and
revising core decision-making processes.
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Secretariat’s Planned Activities
In April 2016 the Secretariat will begin the process of researching and establishing the Terms of
Reference for each Directorate and Office. This will form the basis of the Internal Service
Review which should be completed by May 2016. The output from this review will provide an
indication of where processes may be failing.
Concurrently, the Secretariat will ensure that process maps for existing processes are prepared.
Processes will also be categorised so that a single, central repository of processes can be
established, enabling easy retrieval and endowing a specific unit with responsibility for collating
processes.
Through a series of workshops between May and July 2016 existing processes will be reviewed
and reengineered. Many Core decision-making processes will require the input of CARICOM
Institutions. The Committee of Ambassadors will be essential to assist in gaining the input of
Member States where appropriate.
Once the core processes have been drafted, the support and management processes can be
reviewed to ensure alignment and facilitation of the core processes. Thus it can be expected
that all staff policies and procedures will be updated, delegation of authority will be established
for managers and new procedures will be developed and implemented for SMC and EMC.
Similarly to the core processes, many of the support processes must be developed with an eye
on the guidelines and policies of the International Development Partners, but taking into
consideration the much smaller span of authority and funding of the Secretariat.
The review of the Governance arrangements and policies supporting the existing and proposed
reengineered processes must occur simultaneously with the Business Process Review. It must
be expected that having new Governance arrangements put in place will take time. Hence,
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while new processes may be proposed as early as July 2016, approval and implementation of
these processes in some instances may take considerably longer.
In the longer term, there would be benefit in standardising many of the support policies and
procedures across the CARICOM Intuitions.
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THE TECHNOLOGY QUADRANT
Technology often goes hand in hand with processes. Rather than technology for the sake of it,
organisations should consider where technology can simplify processes, provide a higher
quality of output and make the process faster, more accurate and more cost effective.
SYNOPSIS
CMO’s Findings
Our initial findings indicate that:
1. The Secretariat needs to lay out a Technology Strategy to articulate the vision for
technology, the type of operating model and the level of automation and integration
needed to achieve its strategic goals and the needs of the Member States;
2. The underlying infrastructure is challenged as a result of an inconsistent power supply
and limited bandwidth supporting communications and connectivity in its current
locale;
3. The Secretariat is expected to provide service and support for at least 7 new CARICOM
systems which will require a more ‘sales and service’ orientation and structure for the
Unit;
4. The security and back up functions relating to IT must be strengthened and will require
clearer categorisation of information so that sensitive information may be properly
secured;
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5. A comprehensive continuity plan is required for the Secretariat’s IT systems;
6. There are several challenges with the hardware and software currently used and
available within the Secretariat, ranging from out of date software, unavailable packages
and a lack of IT training; and
7. The Secretariat must consider the technological requirements that will be needed to
improve processes and decision making.
Planned Activities
As a result, the Secretariat will:
a) Conduct an internal IT skills audit in relation to Microsoft Office suite to enable a
standard minimum level of competence to be established within the Secretariat;
b) Map the current technology infrastructure across the Secretariat and all Community
Institutions to provide an understanding of what systems exist, which are beneficial and
to ensure that future IT purchases can be integrated, where possible;
c) Complete the assessment of the Secretariat’s requirements, capability and the gap
which must be addressed in the coming years;
d) Craft relevant IT solutions to address the gaps identified via the IT assessments as it
relates to hardware, software, security or general infrastructure;
e) Organise training on standard software packages to ensure a minimum level of
computer literacy and competence;
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f) Establish opportunities where existing systems can be enhanced, in the short term, to
improve the capability and service offered.
Expected Final Outcomes
It is expected that the Secretariat will:
Have an IT strategy as part of its Strategic Business Plan to inform the vision, the type of
operating model and that is required to support the organisation;
Establish a high-level of IT competence to enable all managers and staff to become
more self-sufficient and support staff to focus on more technical areas of support;
Take advantage of cost effective options to enhance existing capabilities in the short
term;
Review and update all IT processes, policies and approach, with a view to becoming
more service oriented; and
Strengthen internal IT capacity.
In the longer term, it is possible that:
There will be a strengthened IT capacity within the CARICOM Institutions;
Across the CARICOM Secretariat and Institutions, there could be a common overarching
IT strategy and operating model which will enable greater integration;
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Enterprise wide platforms, common hardware and software will lead to efficiencies and
allow additional functionality to be added to the IT department improving service to all
users without inhibitive costs.
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BACKGROUND TO THE TECHNOLOGY QUADRANT
The Community Strategic Plan acknowledges the importance of ICT within the Community and
that many stakeholders consider it a ‘game changer’ for CARICOM. It states: “The
opportunities for the use of technology must be ful ly realized, bearing in mind
some constraint with resources. To support the integration of the technology in
implementation, an assessment and ‘mapping’ of the technology infrastructure
across all Community Institutions will be a useful starting point for
strengthening the overall system”.
The Community Strategic Plan outlines 4 steps which must be taken with a view of developing a
CARICOM Digital Economy. These include:
(i) Developing a single ICT space;
(ii) Bringing technology to the people and transforming them into Digital Citizens;
(iii) Strengthening cyber security; and
(iv) Investing in ICT.
A Technology Strategy
If the Secretariat is to coordinate CARICOM’s realisation of these steps outlined under ‘Building
Technological Resilience’ in the Community Plan, then the Secretariat must as an organisation,
embrace these as a goals for itself. However, there is no vision or goal articulated for
technology, specifically within the Secretariat and this needs to be rectified.
The Landell Mills 2012 report indicated that technology, like many of the support services was
‘not fit for purpose’. The report highlights challenges which include: aging computers, laptops
and software; unreliable internet and telephone connections, a messy website. The report also
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noted many deficiencies which were noted in a review of the Secretariat’s systems between
2006 and 2009 and had still not been addressed.
Based on the Community Strategy, one could visualise a sensible level of automation; seamless
integration; a secure and reliable service; and a high level of technical proficiency in Secretariat
employees as well as a culture of utilising technological solutions; but what does a digital
economy within the Secretariat look like in practice?
To answer these questions, the Secretariat needs to go further and consider the end user
experience that it is aiming for. Which processes should be automated; which systems should
be integrated and what level of service is required? Is there is need for real-time access to
information, by whom and to what extent? Which type of files/systems need to be accessed
remotely? Should systems be hosted in-house or in the cloud? How does the Secretariat secure
its in-house and cloud based systems? The answer to some of these questions will be addressed
in the outputs of the Strategic Business Plan and the assessments within the technology,
process and people quadrants will provide important inputs.
Underlying Infrastructure
One of the significant challenges as it relates to technology for the Secretariat is the unreliable
power and communications services within its current location where power outages are a
regular part of life. Like many other organisations, the Secretariat has independent generators
and also a UPS which was acquired through the 2006-2009 IT projects. This UPS is now in need
of an upgrade to meet the growing demands of the Secretariat. It is expected that an India IT
project will deliver a new UPS and a generator to address this need. Given the challenges
associated with a non-stable power supply, consideration must be given to where the
technological hub for CARICOM services should be placed.
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It could be argued that a part of the difficulty as it relates to telecommunications within
Guyana, is the unreliable power source. However bandwidths are limited, which provides a
challenge with video streaming and video conferencing. The Secretariat currently employs two
distinct voice communications systems. The first allows employees to communicate with each
other using internal extension numbers. The second provides direct lines for senior staff who
are likely to have more frequent external and overseas calls. The existing system is below par
when considering the current technological solutions which allow seamless voice, data
integration, video and mobile communication via an integrated platform.
Support for CARICOM Systems
There are seven systems which have been developed for CARICOM which will require the
Secretariat to maintain, troubleshoot and support them. These include a CSME E-Commerce
Regime, an Online Company Registry, an Instrument for an Integrated CSME Procurement
Market, and a Labour Market Information System, among others.
This represents a big shift for the Secretariat’s IT unit which is currently structured around their
technical assets or capabilities - applications, servers, networks, programming, analysis and
operations. Going forward they must be structured with customer service in mind, with a “sales
and service” needs approach. The sales function relates to its interaction with the ‘clients’ who
develop and run the system being hosted by the Secretariat. IT must develop service level
agreements, and help the ‘client’ to understand the cost relating to delivering against that
service agreement. On the other hand, the service function relates to the ‘users’ of the systems
who will require help desk support to trouble shoot and resolve issues and questions about the
system they are accessing.
It is not known at this juncture whether the cost to support and sustain these new systems
were anticipated and agreed within the core funding of the Secretariat, but this must be done
in the future.
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Recovery, Continuity & Security
The Secretariat does conduct regular backups of information; however a recent example where
more than a year’s worth of work for the Legal department was lost, highlighted some of the
limitations of the current backup system.
There must be a determination of what type of information is backed up, how often and where
the backup will be physically located. Georgetown Guyana is prone to flooding and the
Caribbean lies in the hurricane belt, thus there must be alternative storage and backup of
information.
This naturally leads to the question of business continuity and disaster recovery. Within the
Secretariat some systems have a continuity plan, but there is no overall plan to address
continuity and disaster recovery for the Secretariat’s IT system as whole.
Security of information within the Secretariat must also be considered. Much of the
information that the Secretariat manages is already within the public domain, however, there is
some information that may be sensitive. The Secretariat must be able to clearly differentiate
between the different types of information and balance the need for easy access with the need
to secure critical information.
Secretariat Hardware & Software
Following the 2006-2009 technology projects, the Secretariat underscored urgent areas for
assistance which included:
Communication services including video-conferencing, web-conferencing, Voice over
Internet Protocol as well as the more traditional telecommunication by wired and
wireless telephony;
Aging equipment and software;
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A website that needs upgrading and which does not have together in one place all the
websites of the Secretariat;
Intranet that is less than optimal;
Document management services;
Project management information systems; and
Human resource information systems (HRIS).
The current HRIS was purchased in 2011 with donor funding from Korea. To date, the employee
self-service and the payroll modules have been implemented. The performance management
module was implemented in 2015 with limited use of the competency module (technical
competences are still to be developed). Training and recruitment modules are expected to be
implemented in 2016. Experience with the HRIS has revealed that further customisation is
required in the self-service and performance management modules to meet the needs of the
Secretariat.
The Communications Unit is in the process of upgrading the CARICOM website. The design has
been approved and content has been populated. The improved designed will enable greater
use of social media, improved website analytics, provide a more consistent brand image and
increase the general appeal of the site. A soft launch of the website are expected to take place
before the end of the year. The intranet is also scheduled to be upgraded; proposals for the
design and functionality are currently being explored.
Many of the laptops and PCs being used are old and utilise outdated operating systems
(Windows XP) and software (Microsoft Office 2007). Software that would be considered
standard in many offices such as Adobe to encrypt documents, Microsoft Visio to produce
process maps and Microsoft Projects to plan and track projects, are not readily available within
the Secretariat. Furthermore, many Directorates/Offices/Units do not fully utilise the available
technology, such as Microsoft Outlook, to schedule meetings, assign and track tasks. This may
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be the result of insufficient training on the available technology, lack of time or lack of
technological curiosity.
Whilst there should be room within organisations for personal style and preference to be
considered, the Secretariat needs to up-skill and mandate its employees to make use of
available technology. It is interesting to note that in an organisation where many employees
travel, smart phones and tablets are not provided as a part of normal business, many persons
still print emails before reading them, attend meetings with note pads and VPN access (external
access to the network) is not standard for management. An IT Skill Audit will be conducted
within the Secretariat, so that the gap can be determined and addressed. The lack of training on
existing systems e.g. Microsoft Office, Projects and Adobe, can be achieved using cost effective
means such as local and in-house training.
Planned Activities
Mapping of the Technology Infrastructure across Secretariat and all Community
Institutions
To facilitate the discussion and decisions related to technology in the Secretariat’s Business
Plan, an assessment of the existing technology infrastructure in the Secretariat must first take
place.
Extrapolating from the Community Strategic plan, it is understood that a single ICT space for
CARICOM is a priority objective. Appreciating that technology requires significant investment,
it behoves the Secretariat to consider what is currently being used beneficially in other
CARICOM Institutions, before selecting further solution. As such, the mapping of the
technological infrastructure in Community Institutions will be conducted as a priority.
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Complete the Assessment of the Secretariat IT Capabilities
In 2015, the Government of India intending to enter into a bi-lateral agreement with CARICOM,
to aid in the upgrade of CARICOM Secretariat ICT systems, embarked on an assessment of the
‘IT infrastructure, software and services (including training and capacity
building) that wil l be required by the CARICOM Secretariat to implement the
init iatives that will support the achievement of the Community’s objectives,
especial ly within the context of the approved Community Strategic Plan ’. It is
expected that this report will advise on technology, people and processes needed to improve,
upgrade, replace and maintain the information and communication technology.
Consultations were conducted with key staff members to understand the needs of the Offices
and Directorates, the internal Technology Steering Committee and with IT staff members.
Documents were reviewed and equipment was inspected. The report from that assessment is
still being finalised. Hence it is not known how thorough the assessment will be and if any
additional surveys or assessments will need to be carried out. The results of this assessment
will therefore be critical to the business planning activities around technology.
Business Process Reengineering
The previous quadrant described the business processes reengineering which will be required
to take place within the Reform. As processes are reviewed and reorganised, consideration will
be given to areas where technology can make the process more accurate, efficient, effective
and easier. Plans to improve the technology within the Secretariat will take this fully into
consideration as this will impact the structure of the organisation, especially the IT unit and also
determine the skills which must be developed amongst the staff.
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THE GOVERNANCE QUADRANT
Governance is an area that touches every part of the Secretariat and indeed CARICOM. In the
previous quadrants, there was reference to the issue of governance, however we attempt to
bring all the threads together in this section.
Unlike the other quadrants where the Secretariat can focus on the Secretariat first and then
consider wider implications for the Institutions, Organs and Bodies. Governance must consider
all at the same time since they are so intricately interlinked.
SYNOPSIS
CMO’s Findings
Our initial findings indicate that:
1. There are conflicting views and perceptions in and around CARICOM which impact on
the expectations various stakeholders have of CARICOM and subsequently the
Secretariat. These conflicting expectations make it difficult to fairly and clearly assess
the performance and hence the success of the Secretariat;
2. Given that CARICOM continues to evolve, it necessary to review and reconsider the
governance, processes and powers endowed on the Organs, Bodies, Secretariat and
Institutions to determine the best way of providing authority, so that each can be held
accountable for its role;
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3. Within the Secretariat and CARICOM there is a constant level of urgency which prevents
processes from being followed within the Organs. This results in insufficient
consultations and discussion to enable a solid foundation for decision-making;
4. Within the current governance structure, the Community Council has established
regulations that reach beyond the Strategy of the Community into the Operations of the
Secretariat;
5. Despite calls to increase the authority of the Secretary-General, it has not yet been
made clear or agreed what areas this increased authority should relate to; and
6. The Treaty and the governance of the Community Institutions currently does not allow
for the Secretariat to achieve the Community Strategy’s goal to create an enabling
environment for coordinated management across the Regional Architecture.
Secretariat’s Planned Activities
As a result, the Secretariat will:
a) Within the development of the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan, a position will be
taken on some of the key questions surrounding CARICOM, based on available
information. The input of key stakeholders will be elicited through circulation and
discussions on the draft document;
b) Review the governance framework relating to the role of the Secretary-General during
the Job Analysis which takes place between Dec 2015 and March 2016. Thereafter
consultations will be held with the key stakeholders, such as the Committee of
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Ambassadors, the Community Council of Ministers, and the Institutions, on the nature
of the increased authority;
c) The Revised Treaty and the governance of the Community Institutions must be
amended to allow the Secretariat to achieve the Community Strategy’s goal to create an
enabling environment for coordinated management across the Regional Architecture;
d) Reengineering the Business Process will reveal changes that might be required within
the governance of the Organs, Bodies and within the Secretariat, to realise the
efficiencies that are required. These are likely to be available in September of 2016. At
that time, the Office of the General Counsel will provide guidance on how these changes
should be addressed.
Expected Final Outcomes
Within the Community, it is expected that:
There will be a clearer understanding of the role of the Secretariat over the next three
to five years, recognising that elements of the role will evolve as CARICOM continues to
evolve;
A more explicit mechanism related to the relationship between the Secretariat and the
CARICOM Institutions will be created and agreed;
The governance structures supporting the Community Institutions will be updated to
recognise the role of the Conference/the Community Council, the Secretariat and the
Organs and Bodies;
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The Treaty will be further revised to take account of the governance changes
determined.
THE SITUATION
CARICOM desires integration, enhanced decision-making, implementation, accountability,
compliance and enforcement through participatory governance. The Revised Treaty allows for
Organs and Bodies of CARICOM to develop and implement protocols which are expected to
lead to the operationalisation of the mandates agreed by the Heads of Governments and the
provisions of the Revised Treaty. The challenge for many of the Stakeholders, is the lack of
implementation of the decisions taken within Member States.
Several causes have been suggested for this which include a lack of planning, processes,
governance, understanding of the factors which affect implementation at the national level;
agreement about the purpose and the role of CARICOM amongst stakeholders; and poor
attendance at the meetings of the Bodies and Organs. In this quadrant we examine these issues
from the perspective of governance.
Sovereign Caribbean Community vs. Sovereign States
The Treaty of Chaguaramas is clear, CARICOM and CSME was established by Treaty between
sovereign states determined to enhance Community decision-making and implementation,
desiring a sound and stable macro-economic environment conducive to investment and
competitive cross border production of goods and services. The Member States resolved
through CARICOM, to establish conditions which would facilitate access by their nationals to
the collective resources of the Region in a non-discriminatory basis and committed to establish
effective measures, programmes and mechanism to assist disadvantaged countries, regions and
sectors of the Community.
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However, there are some who fear and others who welcome the idea that some level of
Sovereignty has been eroded and must be further eroded to facilitate the integrated Region.
Indeed the outcome of the decision of the CCJ in Myrie v. Barbados which found that the
decisions made at the level of the Conference of the Heads of Government create binding legal
obligations, has further strengthened this notion.
The reality is, that CARICOM will continue to evolve and there will be supporters and detractors
for its positon at any given time. However, we must be cognisant that within and amongst
Member States, the CARICOM Institutions and the Secretariat, those opinions can have an
impact on the ease and rate of implementation.
Who is CARICOM’s Customer?
The answer to this question depends on the perspective that is taken. For Member States the
positon is clear, they are elected to serve the citizens within their country; but that position
becomes a little less clear for the Secretariat and indeed the Institutions.
It can be argued that since the Secretariat and the Institutions were created by
Treaties/Agreements to provide services to the Region, the Region is the customer. However
the question must be asked, does the Region exist as a legal entity? Can it make decisions to
implement programmes, laws and guidelines without the permission of the Governments? If
the Region cannot, then who does? Perhaps the question becomes a little clearer if we ask who
is the ‘primary’ customer? This allows the approach to be taken where there is a primary
customer who makes the decision to accept the services provided by the Secretariat and the
Institutions, on behalf of secondary customers.
The answer to this question is of immense importance as it determines which priorities become
the priority of the Secretariat. Interestingly, some persons argue that CARICOM and hence the
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Secretariat should be focused only on areas which are of regional significance, that is, the issues
that impact the macro-economic environment in the Region as opposed to the specific
circumstances of the an individual Member State. However others believe that idiosyncratic
issues within Members States should also be the responsibility of CARICOM and the Secretariat.
It is important that a collective position providing clarity on these issues is established within
the minds of the Heads of Government, the Organs and Bodies, Government Ministers,
Member States, CARICOM Institutions, the Secretariat, citizens and International Development
Partners. Failing that, it will be impossible to ever truthfully assess the performance and the
success of CARICOM.
The Role of the Secretariat
The Role of the Secretariat is outlined in Article 23 of the Revised Treaty and is further detailed
within the Community Strategic Plan. However, one of the challenges for the Secretariat is that
some stakeholders believe that it should be more proactive. It has been suggested that the
Secretariat needs to do more to stay abreast of what is happening in each of its ‘technical’
areas and should chart the course for all Member States to follow. Furthermore it is felt that
the Secretariat should take the initiative to help to resolve areas where integration is stalled or
to bring it to the attention of the Heads of Government.
To facilitate this, the Secretariat can address its structure and function to increase the amount
of research and frequency of ‘blue sky’ thinking that takes places within CARICOM. However,
this requires resources and highlights the needs to address the issue of sustainable funding for
the Secretariat and Institutions.
From a Governance perspective, the question must be asked: what authority is embedded in
the Secretariat to really achieve this? The Secretariat’s authority is derived from that given to
the Secretary-General. The Community Strategy anticipates that specific to the Secretariat, the
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executive role and function of the Secretary-General needs to be strengthened. The challenge
lies in determining how and in what areas.
The governance structure establishes the Conference of the Heads of Government as the
supreme Organ of the Community determining and providing policy direction for the
Community. The Community Council of Ministers is responsible for the development of
Community Strategic Planning and coordination of economic integration, human and social
development and external relations. Ministers within Governments make up the Organs and
Bodies which have functions as prescribed in the Treaty. The Secretariat and CARICOM
Institutions are expected to support the Principal Organs, Organs and the Bodies by providing
expertise and then later preparing governance, policies, strategies and programmes to assist
the Member States with implementation. In some instances, an Institution is established to
provide the service direct to the citizens, albeit through other institutions and businesses if the
cost-benefit of the service prohibits the development of similar organisations in every Member
State.
In determining how the authority of the Secretary-General should be augmented, consideration
can be given to what exists within similar multilateral organisations which rely on participatory
governance -loose, less binding agreements, guidelines, best practice and motivators to
influence the performance within Member States. Alternatively consideration can be given to
governance arrangements that exist in other regional organisations. As is done in the diagram
below.
TYPICAL REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS CARICOM
Owners Member States
Board of Directors Heads of Government
Strategic Board Committee Community Council
Other Board Committees Organs and Bodies
Group CEO Secretary-General
Subsidiary CEOs Heads of Institutions
Executives DSG, ASG level
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Clearly, whatever decision is taken, this will require the review and adaptation of governance
not only at the level of the Secretary-General, but for all the Organs, Bodies and Institutions.
Participatory Governance
Some Organs and Bodies report weak participation by the relevant Ministers and that quite
often, alternatives are sent to the meeting who are not fully briefed and do not have the
authority to make decisions. Even if there is a sufficient quorum to make a decision, the lack of
participation by key individuals means that there is a lack of needed buy-in to ensure that the
actions arising out of the decision receive the priority needed within the Member States.
Ministers would be well within their rights to argue that they are unable to prepare sufficiently
in advance because agendas are sometimes still being produced hours before the start of
meetings. However, the self-same Ministers, must also take responsibility for adding the late
agenda items. Protocols do exist which outline the timeframes for when agendas should be
agreed and finalised but these are not always adhered to.
Within the Secretariat and the Community there is a constant level of urgency. Plagued by the
reputation of an ‘implementation deficit’, there is a rush to complete task within extremely
short time frames. This means that the required level of consultation does not take place. This
leads to persons not sufficiently reading and ventilating materials beforehand. This in turn,
prevents Ministers from being in a position to make decisions at the meetings of the Organs
and Bodies. Surprisingly, the answer to this dilemma may in fact require slower more reasoned
steps before Ministers are asked to take decisions. For example, perhaps agenda items should
be agreed and papers circulated at least three (3) months in advance of the meeting. This
would allow the Ministers to share documentation and gain in-put and buy-in at the national
level before committing the Member State officially.
No doubt, this solution may give many persons reason to pause, but the key is to ensure that
the necessary consultation and discussion takes place within the provided window at the
member state level. Since the end result of this process creates binding legal obligations (note
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the decision of the CCJ in Myrie v Barbados), it is critical that Member States have sufficient
time to review and engage in consultations on proposals.
Perhaps this speaks to an evolved role for senior and programme managers in the Secretariat
and the critical role of the Committee of Ambassadors.
The Office of the General Counsel will be integrally involved in translating the decision-making
process approved by the Heads of Government into Rules of procedure for that Principal Organ
and for rolling out these procedures for the Community Council and the Organs and Bodies.
The new procedures provide for ratifying and publishing decisions, these are some of the ‘core’
processes referred to under the Business Process Review.
Regulations, Rules, Policies and Procedures
The Secretariat is governed by a series of regulations, rules, policies and procedures. The
regulations are set at the level of the Community Council while rules, policies and procedures
are set within the Secretariat. To some extent the regulations set out for the Secretariat by
Community Council move beyond Community Strategy and into the Operations of the
Secretariat. An example of this is the Staff Regulations which address matters such as
allowances and leave for employees in the junior ranks rather than affirming the Secretary-
General’s right to make rules in accordance with the values of CARICOM.
Theories of Governance (e.g. policy governance) suggests that the organs like Boards of
Directors, Board Committee and the Community Council should establish a clear differentiation
between governance and management responsibilities in organizations. As such, they should
set rules for the CEO that establish the limits of his or her authority rather than try to cover
every situation or eventuality. This allows the CEO to be held responsible for the outcome of his
or her decisions. Applying similar arguments to CARICOM, if the Secretary-General is to be held
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responsible for the performance of the Secretariat, then the incumbent must be allowed to
make all decisions in relation to the Operations of the Secretariat.
This also requires a shift in thinking of the Secretary-General. Within the Secretariat, much of
the decision making is made by the Executive Management Committee, although at times the
Secretary-General may make a mandate. It is expected that this will vary according to the
personal style of the Secretary-General, however, it must be clear that decisions made at EMC
are made through authority devolved from the Secretary-General. As such, the Secretary-
General can override EMC decisions if he or she believes it is in the best interest of the
Secretariat. This underscores the need for the Community Council to utilise an appropriate
performance management process in relation the Secretary-General’s performance.
This is the tenet upon which authority can be devolved to the Executive and Senior
Management levels, supported by a robust performance management process. This will lead to
faster decision-making which in turn should engender greater initiative and proactivity within
the Secretariat.
Strengthening the Role of the Secretary-General in relation to Administrative Decisions
within Institutions
When each CARICOM Institution is conceptualised and constituted, an Inter-Governmental
Agreement is developed to establish the scope and authority of the Institution. In a few
instances, the governance structures of CARICOM Institutions acknowledge the role of the
CARICOM Organ which has a governing role. However, most do not generally provide the
Secretary-General with any direct administrative powers or authority. Thus the Secretariat
must rely on strong relationships to influence the direction of the Institutions. Attempts have
been made to achieve this by having senior managers from the Secretariat sit on the Board of
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Directors of the Institutions, but not all such Directors have the power to vote and are generally
seen as observers.
If the Secretary-General is to fully conduct the role of CEO of CARICOM, a mechanism must be
found to enable the CEO to give mandatory direction to Institutions in line with CARICOM goals.
This could be achieved by altering or updating the Agreement for each Institution, changing the
role and authority of the Secretariat Board Representative and changing the role of the
Secretary-General vis a vis the budget approval process for the Institutions and their access to
International Development Partner funding. This is a piece of work which is firmly on the radar
of the Office of the General Counsel, including more rigorous systems required for enforcement
and sanctions and the inclusion of relevant provisions in the Treaty regarding Institutions, to
contribute to a more cohesive CARICOM System of institutions.
It should be noted, that these issues must be addressed in tandem with the re-engineering of
the core processes and the re-structuring of the role of the SG.
Setting Standards for Secretariat, Institutions, Bodies and Organs
Currently, most Offices and Directorates within the Secretariat recognise that it is their
responsibility to set internal protocols, standards and processes for their operation, but this is
frequently ignored unless a crisis or incident calls attention to it. Likewise, CARICOM
Institutions, Organs and Bodies take responsibility for setting their own protocols, standards
and processes over and above those set out in their Agreements and in the Revised Treaty,
respectively.
Presently, there is no single unit which is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the level
of adherence to rules, policies and internal protocols by the Secretariat, CARICOM Institutions,
Organs and Bodies against these standards.
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As mentioned in the previous quadrants, there are extensive opportunities within CARICOM to
achieve economies of scale by harmonising and integrating management policies and processes
(e.g. staff rules, training and succession planning); support policies (e.g. resource mobilisation
and procurement standards) as well technical systems and frameworks. Within the context of
the Strategic Plan and implementation thereof, there is voluntary cooperation by the
Secretariat and CARICOM Institutions towards these harmonisation endeavours, but there is
more to be done. The Office of the General Counsel will play a strong role in developing SLAs,
Delegations of Authority, MOUs and Terms of Reference to facilitate this.
Managing Standards for Institutions, Bodies and Organs
Adherence to standards, internal controls and regulations is typically measured across the three
‘control’ functions: internal audit, compliance and risk management. In some smaller
organisations these functions may be performed by the same individual, but best practice
requires some degree of separation of the internal audit function from the compliance and risk
functions. Nonetheless, these three functions can and must work together.
Audit has a simpler remit “are we doing what we said we will do?” Measurements are usually
taken on a cyclical basis and different aspects are covered each year, although financial and
high risk areas may appear annually. It does not assist with the development of protocols,
policies or procedures. It asks and answers whether the procedure was followed or it was not. A
higher degree of separation is required for this function, so that they are not influenced or
pressured to alter their findings.
Compliance asks the questions “are we doing what we said we will do in the way we said we
will do it, every time”; Risk asks ‘what it the potential impact if we continue to operate like this’.
Whilst a level of independence is required, in that it is not usually recommended for this
functions to report into the ‘core’ of the organisation, unlike Audit, these functions can and
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should be actively involved in the preparation of solutions, drafting of protocols, policies and
procedures.
The current Internal Audit team recognises that it has been some time since they reviewed
their approach and processes. They are due to embark on an independent assessment of their
structure and performance in line with best practice through technical assistance being
provided by CDB. The assessment will also take into consideration the goals and objective
identified within the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan, once it is developed.
Recently the Secretariat has attempted to add a Risk function. However, it is not clear whether
this is intended to manage the risk of the Secretariat or be extended to the CARICOM
Institutions, Organs and Bodies. The Secretariat and CARICOM are both susceptible to financial,
reputational, legal, compliance and operational risks. Therefore, the Secretariat needs to
determine the right placement for this function.
Whether Risk and Compliance are merged or operated independently, both of the functions are
required for the Secretariat and CARICOM and must maintain a moderate level of
independence from the ‘Technical/Core departments.
Planned Activities
Within the development of the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan, a position will be taken on
the some of the key questions surrounding CARICOM, based on available information. The
input of key stakeholders will be elicited through circulation and discussions on the draft
document. The draft document is expected to be developed in January 2016 and circulation and
discussion will take place thereafter. The Committee of Ambassadors will be integral in this
process.
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As part of the job analysis and evaluation of the Secretary-General’s role and Office, the
Secretariat will consult with key stakeholders to determine that type of authority that should be
established for the Secretary-General. Further consultations will need to take place with the
Institutions and other stakeholders to determine the optimal mechanism to achieve the level of
participation and accountability that is required.
Reengineering the Business Process will reveal changes that might be required within the
governance of the Organs, Bodies and within the Secretariat, to realise the efficiencies that are
required. These are likely to available in September of 2016. At that time, the Office of the
General Counsel will provide guidance on how these changes should be addressed.
The Work Programme of the Office of the General Counsel has included a number of activities
to address the Governance Pillar within the Community Strategy. These include a review of the
Agreements and Governance of the Institutions to achieve an enabling environment for
coordinated management across the Regional Integration Architecture and further revision of
the Treaty.
In addition, the Inter-governmental Task Force (IGTF) is currently reviewing the policies in
relation to government procurement with a view to standardising the processes and ensuring
equal opportunity for organisations within the Region. High on the agenda and concurrent with
Article 239 of the revised treaty, the Secretariat plans to establish further protocols and
strengthen existing protocols to outline the authority and role in decision-making for Inter-
Governmental Task Forces (IGTFs), to establish the treatment of goods grown in free zones and
govern electronic commerce within the Region. So ensuring that the integration agenda is being
managed concurrently with the reform.
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TIMELINE
This section provides a broad timeline for the Reform Process and this is captured in the
diagram below.
Preliminary Review
The Preliminary review was completed between mid-July and mid-October. The results led to
the development of this the Draft Reformation Framework Document. An initial iteration of the
Reformation Framework Document was discussed at a Joint Internal EMC-SMC meeting on
31 October and 6 November 2015.
Reformation Framework Document
The draft Reformation Framework Document having taken into consideration comments made
by the Secretariat’s Senior and Executive Management was shared with the Committee of
Ambassadors in November. This iteration being presented to Community Council takes into
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consideration the comments and suggestions that were made. In particular to speak more
expressly to the communication around the Reformation.
The Strategic Business Plan for the Secretariat
The Development of the Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan will take place between
November 2015 and February 2016. The Secretariat’s Strategic Business Plan will set priorities,
focus energy and resources for the Secretariat taking into consideration its operational
constraints relating to the goals and priorities expressed within the Community Strategic Plan. It
will enable the Secretariat to better coordinate its activities in line with CARICOM and other
Stakeholders, ensuring we are all working toward common goals and agreed outcomes.
Implementing the Strategic Business Plan, strengthens the management process which allows
the Secretariat to adjust its direction in response to a changing environment more efficiently
and effectively. Another benefit which can be quickly realised is a tighter alignment between
the work programme and the budget. In this way, it will be possible to quickly translate a
decision made by Community Council about the budget into the inclusion, exclusion or shift in
timelines of a project or initiative affecting the outcomes of the work programme.
Organisational Assessment
The timelines provided on the next page provide an overview of the activities which will be
taking place in each quadrant from December 2015 to 2016. It should be noted that these
timelines are dependent on the resourcing requirements for the CMO being fully met, both in
terms of staffing and funds to support consultancies. Delays in either will result in delays in the
deliverables outlined.
Seven organisational assessments will be conducted starting in November 2015 within the
Secretariat:
I. An employee engagement survey;
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II. Job Analysis and Evaluation of the executive and senior management roles and
competency evaluation of position holders;
III. An Internal Service Review
IV. Business Process Review;
V. Job Analysis and evaluation of all other management and non-management roles;
VI. IT and technology assessment of all systems, hardware, software and infrastructure; and
VII. Competency evaluation of all position holders
Upon completion of all assessments, options for the restructure of the Secretariat – strategy,
people, processes, technology and governance - will be proposed and discussed first with the
Secretariat’s management and the Secretary-General.
Transition Document
This document will include changes to recommended philosophies, processes, structures and
culture. Based on the direction approved by the Secretary-General, options for implementing
the changes will be given.
It should be expected, that the Secretariat assessments may reveal a number of ‘quick wins’
which can be achieved in a short time frame with minimal investment. These quick wins can be
implemented even before the full assessments are completed. On the other hand, significant
changes will need to be ratified by the Community Council and Conference.
Assessment of Community Institutions
Similarly to the Secretariat, we propose that a series of Institutional assessments start in the
latter end of 2016.
I. Assessment of the Mission and Terms of Reference
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This will focus on reviewing the organisation against its mission and its terms of reference
governing its purpose. The intent is to determine whether the Institution is delivering against its
primary mandate, whether the mandate needs to be changed and it so how. The results of this
assessment will produce greater strategic alignment between the Institution and the
Community
II. Internal Management
The assessment of the internal management will determine if the organisation has the
leadership, skills, competence and processes to be successful in its mission. Employee
engagement surveys can also be used here.
III. An Internal Service & Business Process Review
This assessment will help the Institution to review the internal collaboration and the
effectiveness of its processes. Where appropriate we will seek to standardise processes within
the Secretariat and the Institutions. During this phase the technology (systems, hardware,
software and infrastructure) to support the processes within each Institution will be reviewed.
It should be noted that the technology mapping exercise scheduled for Jan – Mar 2016, will
highlight opportunities for early synergies.
IV. Internal Structures, Knowledge and Competence
In this final assessment, we will reviews the structures and make recommendation to enable
more efficient, effective operations within the Institutions.
Implementation
The length of time for implement will vary for both the Secretariat and the Community
Institutions depending on the reforms that are recommended. It should be expected that
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where reforms require changes to the governance frameworks, then more time may be
required to implement. This is expected to be concluded by June 2018.
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Timelines for CCS Reform Process 2015-2016
Change Quadrants
STRATEGY PEOPLE PROCESS GOVERNANCE TECHNOLOGY
Q4 2015 Strategic Business Plan
(8-10) Weeks
Executive/ Senior Management Assessments
(1-3) Weeks
Technology Mapping Secretariat & Institutions (6-8) Weeks
Executive/ Senior Management Job Analysis/
Evaluation (8) Weeks
Outline Additional SG Authority
(2-4 Weeks)
Q1 2016 M & E for Community and CCS Strategic Plans
(4-8) Weeks
Employee Engagement Survey (2015) (4-6) Weeks
Technology Assessment & Feasibility Secretariat
(6-8) Weeks
Q2 2016
Recommend the M&E Methodology
Executive & Management Coaching & Team Building
(2-4) Weeks
Internal Service Review (2-4) Weeks
Governance Assessment (2) Months
IT Quick Wins & upskilling for all
employees (6-8) Weeks
Build the M&E Methodology
Business Process Review (3-6) Months
Policy Review (3-6) Months
Q3 2016
Q4 2016
PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRUCTURES, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGY & GOVERNANCE
Complete Design and Implement plan for the
Strategic Framework
Staff Job Analysis/ Evaluation and
Compensation Restructure (2-3) Months
Complete Design and Implementation plan for Re-
engineered Processes
Revision of the Treaty and Institutions’
Charter (6-8) Months
Complete Design and Implementation plan
for Technology Solutions
IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREED REFORMED STRUCTURE, PROCESSES, TECHOLOGY AND GOVERNANCE
Q1 2017
REVIEW OF THE INSTITUTIONS Q2 2017
PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRUCTURES, PROCESSES, TECHNOLOGY & GOVERNANCE FOR INSTITUTIONS
Q3 2017 IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREED REFORMED STRUCTURE, PROCESSES, TECHOLOGY AND GOVERNANCE FOR INSTITUTIONS
Q4 2017