european court of auditors - eur-lex

2009

THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PERSONNEL SELECTION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

Spec

ial R

epor

t No

9

T H E E U R O P E A N CO M M U N I T I E S’ I N S T I T U T I O N S E M P LOY S TA F F

WITH A WIDE VARIE T Y OF PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUNDS AND

G E O G R A P H I C A L O R I G I N S . O F F I C I A L S A R E M O S T LY S E L E C T E D

THROUGH OPEN COMPE TITIONS WHICH SINCE 2003 HAVE BEEN

MANAGED BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE (EPSO).

IN THIS REPORT THE COURT FOCUSES ON HOW EPSO COPED WITH

THE LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPETITIONS DUE TO

ENLARGEMENT AND WHETHER IT PROVIDED LISTS OF LAUREATES

IN A TIMELY MANNER, ENSURING THE REQUIRED NUMBERS AND

GEOGRAPHICAL BALANCE.

ISSN

183

1-08

34

QJ-A

B-09-008-EN

-C


EN

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The efficiency and effecTiveness of The personnel selecTion acTiviTies carried ouT by The european personnel selecTion office

european courT of audiTors

(pursuant to article 248(4), second subparagraph, ec)

special report no 9 2009

european courT of audiTors 12, rue alcide de Gasperi 1615 luxembourg luXeMbourG

Tel.: +352 4398-45410 fax: +352 4398-46410 e-mail: [email protected] internet: http://www.eca.europa.eu

2009

a great deal of additional information on the european union is available on the internet.

it can be accessed through the europa server (http://europa.eu).

cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

luxembourg : publications office of the european union, 2009

isbn 978-92-9207-385-5

doi:10.2865/57613

© european communities, 2009

reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Luxembourg

special report no 9

3

Table of conTenTs

Paragraph

I-v ExEcutIvE summary

1-7 IntroductIon

8-12 audIt scoPE and audIt aPProach

13-68 obsErvatIons

13-14 IncrEasE In thE numbEr of comPEtItIons was managEd EffEctIvEly

15-21 lack of tImEly and consIstEnt InformatIon on thE InstItutIons’ staffIng nEEds

22-29 thE PErsonnEl sElEctIon ProcEss took too long24-29 delays durinG The coMpeTiTion phase

30-57 thE yIEld from comPEtItIons dId not mEEt targEtEd numbErs and dId not achIEvE thE broadEst PossIblE gEograPhIcal balancE

30-53 TarGeTed nuMbers were noT always aT Tained54-57 The selecTion process did noT achieve The broadesT possible GeoGraphical balance

58-68 shortcomIngs In managEmEnt InformatIon58-62 insufficienT inforMaTion available on cosTs63-68 weaknesses in epso's daTabases

69-70 conclusIons and rEcommEndatIons

annEx I: duratIon of comPEtItIons annEx II: yIEld of comPEtItIons annEx III: brEakdown of sEcond languagE sElEctEd by PartIcIPants In tEsts annEx Iva: gEograPhIcal balancE of comPEtItIon rEsults – Eu-15 annEx Ivb: gEograPhIcal balancE of comPEtItIon rEsults – Eu-12

rEPly of thE EPso

4

special report no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the european personnel selection office special report no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the european personnel selection office

eXecuTive suMMaryI .T h e e u ro p e a n co m m u n i t i e s ’ i n s t i t u t i o n s e m p l o y s t a f f w i t h a w i d e v a r i e t y o f p ro -fe s s i o n a l b a c k gro u n d s a n d g e o gra p h i c a l o r i g i n s , m o s t l y s e l e c t e d t h r o u g h o p e n competit ions which s ince 2003 have been m a n a g e d by t h e eu ro p e a n pe r s o n n e l s e -lec t ion o ff ice (epso) .

I I . T h e a u d i t o b j e c t i v e w a s t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e p e r s o n n e l s e l e c t i o n a c t i v i -t ies managed by epso were ef f ic ient and e f fe c t i ve. as f ar as i t was re le vant to th e audit scope, the epso d evelopment pro -g r a m m e ( e d p ) , a d o p t e d i n s e p t e m b e r 2008, was taken into account .

I I I .The audit concluded that epso had success-fu l ly managed the increase in the number o f c o m p e t i t i o n s n e e d e d f o r t h e e n l a r g e -ment of the european union, but that :

(a) staff ing needs of the inst itutions were not communicated to epso in a t imely manner or based on a consistent meth-odology ;

(b) t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e p e r s o n n e l s e l e c -t i o n p r o c e s s w a s t o o l o n g , b o t h i n re lat ion to epso ’s own standards and internat ional best prac t ice ;

special report no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the european personnel selection office

55


(c ) competit ions only produced, on aver-age, two-thirds of the targeted number o f l a u r e a t e s ( s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s who have been placed on the reser ve l i s t ) . T h i s r e s u l t e d f r o m w i t h d r a w a l s c a u s e d b y t h e l o n g d u r a t i o n o f t h e p ro c e s s ; u n d u e e m p h a s i s o n s p e c i f i c l a n g u a g e r e q u i r e m e n t s ; s u b o p t i m a l co m m u n i c at i o n o f co m p e t i t i o n s ; a n d p re - s e l e c t i o n t e s t s w h i c h e l i m i n a t e d m o r e c a n d i d a t e s t h a n n e c e s s a r y t o m e e t t a r g e t s . fu r t h e r m o r e , t h e s e -l e c t i o n p r o c e s s d i d n o t a c h i e v e t h e b r o a d e s t p o s s i b l e g e o g r a p h i c a l b a l -ance amongst laureates ;

(d) management information was not con-s i s t e n t l y r e l i a b l e o r c o m p r e h e n s i v e . i n fo r m a t i o n o n t h e c o s t s i n c u r re d t o p l a c e a c a n d i d a t e o n t h e re s e r ve l i s t was not suff ic ient ; the potent ia l addi -t ional costs and future benefits result-ing f rom the edp were not quant i f ied i n d e t a i l ; a n d i n fo r m at i o n co nt a i n e d i n e p s o ’s d a t a b a s e s w a s n o t co n s i s t -ent ly re l iable.

Iv.T h e e d p a i m s t o r e d u c e t h e d u r a t i o n o f compet i t ions to a maximum of 9 months a n d t o i n c r e a s e t h e i r y i e l d . i t e nv i s a g e s inter a l ia a shi f t towards strategic human resource planning; more robust pre -selec-t i o n ; w i d e s p re a d u s e o f co m p u te r- b a s e d test ing (cbT ) ; and profess ional ised selec -t i o n b o a r d s . i t i s p l a n n e d t h a t t h e n e w p ro c e d u re s w i l l b e o p e r a t i o n a l f ro m t h e f i rst quar ter of 2010.

eXecuTive suMMaryv.Ta k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e m a j o r c h a n g e p l a n n e d i n t h e o rg a n i s at i o n o f s e l e c t i o n p ro ce d u re s t h ro u g h t h e e d p, t h e co u r t ’s main recommendat ions are :

(a) e p s o s h o u l d b e p r o v i d e d w i t h s u f f i -c i e n t l y t i m e l y a n d r e l i a b l e i n f o r m a -tion on the institutions’ staff ing needs b a s e d o n a c o m m o n a p p r o a c h t o a s -sess ing such needs.

(b) The institutions should second to epso a s u f f i c i e n t n u m b e r o f o f f i c i a l s o n a f u l l - t i m e b a s i s a n d e n c o u r a g e t h e i r staf f to ac t as qual i f ied assessors.

(c ) epso should str ive to improve its com-m u n i c a t i o n s t r a t e g y i n c o o r d i n a t i o n w i t h t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s ; e xe rc i s e b e t te r q u a l i t y co n t ro l ove r co m p e t i t i o n n o -t i c e s ; e n s u re a n a p p ro p r i a t e n u m b e r o f s u i t a b l e c a n d i d a t e s a t a l l s t a g e s of t h e s e l e c t i on p roce s s , for ex am p l e t h r o u g h a d a p t i n g t h e s p e c i f i c l a n -g u a g e r e q u i r e m e n t s ; a n d t a k e s t e p s to improve geographical balance.

(d) epso should improve i ts management i n f o r m a t i o n . i n p a r t i c u l a r, i t s h o u l d monitor the ful l cost of p lac ing a lau-reate on the reser ve l i s t , and quant i fy the addit ional costs and assess the fu -ture benefits resulting from the edp so as to faci l i tate decis ion-mak ing by the budgetar y author i t y.

6


1 article 27 of the staff regulations.

2 pursuant to article 29 and

annex iii of the staff regulations

such competitions are open to all

candidates who meet the admission

conditions.

3 decision 2002/620/ec of the

european parliament, the council,

the commission, the court of

Justice, the court of auditors, the

economic and social committee,

the committee of the regions

and the european ombudsman of

25 July 2002 establishing a european

communities personnel selection

office (oJ l 197, 26.7.2002, p. 53).

inTroducTion

1. T h e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f t h e e u r o p e a n c o m m u n i t i e s e m p l o y e d o v e r 3 6 5 0 0 o f f i c i a l s a s a t J u n e 2 0 0 7 . i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e s t a f f r e g u l at i o n s, re c r u i t m e nt i s d i re c te d to s e c u r i n g t h e s e r v i ce s o f off icials of the highest standard of abil ity, eff iciency and integrity, recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among nat ionals of the Member states of the communit ies 1.

2. o ff ic ia ls are normal ly recruited from reser ve l ists establ ished fol-lowing open compet i t ions 2. s ince 2003, such compet i t ions have been managed by the european personnel selection office (epso), the inter- inst itutional body responsible for selecting off ic ials and other ser vants of the european communit ies. s ince i ts inception, epso has accommodated s ignif icant increases in recruitment due to eu enlargement.

3. epso was created by a joint decision 3 to obtain economies of scale i n t h e o rg a n i s a t i o n o f s e l e c t i o n p ro c e d u re s , i n p a r t i c u l a r o p e n competit ions for of f ic ia ls . This jo int decis ion gives epso the sole responsibi l i ty for drawing up reser ve l ists from among candidates i n o p e n c o m p e t i t i o n s i n l i n e w i t h t h e n e e d s i n d i c a t e d b y e a c h i nst i tut ion, the decis ions to recruit successful candidates (here -inafter referred to as " laureates") being taken by each inst itut ion. fur ther duties have been al located to epso, in par t icular the task to give assistance with internal competit ions and the select ion of other ser vants. epso’s ac t ivit ies are super vised by a management board made up of representat ives of each i nst i tut ion.

4 . The personnel se lec t ion procedure comprises :

(a) p l a n n i n g o f t h e co m p e t i t i o n a s b a s e d o n s t a f f i n g n e e d s ex -pressed by the i nst i tut ions ;

(b) drawing up and publ icat ion of the not ice of competit ion;

(c ) appointment of the members of the selection board to be cho -sen f rom off ic ia ls of the i nst i tut ions ;


7


(d) drawing up the l ist of candidates who meet the requirements set out in the notice of competit ion, where necessar y fol low-ing a pre -selec t ion through admiss ion tests ;

(e) c a r r y i n g o u t o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n s t a g e s ( w r i t t e n a n d o r a l tests ) ;

( f ) d r a w i n g u p t h e l i s t o f s u i t a b l e c a n d i d a t e s t o g e t h e r w i t h a reasoned repor t ;

(g) publ icat ion of the reser ve l i s t of laureates ;

(h) administer ing and check ing the use of the reser ve l i s ts .

5. i n 2008, epso ’s management under took a review of i ts organisa-t ion and operat ions, backed up by research of exist ing best prac -t ices. This review, which revealed weak nesses (such as the unduly long duration of competit ions) , led the management to design the epso development programme (edp) .

6. on 10 september 2008, the Management board of epso adopted the edp, which a ims to reduce the durat ion of competit ions to a maximum of 9 months and to increase their y ield. i t envisages in-ter al ia a shif t towards strategic human resource planning in order to decrease the t ime between the identi f icat ion of needs and the launch of a selection procedure; more robust pre -selection; wide -spread use of computer-based test ing (cbT ) in the pre -selec t ion phase; and profess ional ised selec t ion boards.

7. Th e m a j o r c h a n g e i nt ro d u ce d by t h e p ro gra m m e w i l l b e t h e o r-ganisation of general competitions on an annual cycle basis 4. writ-ten and oral tests wil l be done in “assessment centres”, introduced in order to assess candidates by applying selec t ion methods that focus on key competences requi re d. i t i s fore se en th at th i s ne w approach wi l l be operat ional in the f i rst quar ter of 2010.

4 every year three cycles of general

competitions (for administrators,

assistants and linguists) will be

launched, with each planned to be

completed within a maximum of nine

months. in addition, there will be

competitions for specialist profiles if

and when necessary.

8


8 . The objec t ive of the audit was to determine whether the compe -t i t i o n s s ys te m m a n a g e d by e p s o w a s e f f i c i e n t a n d e f fe c t i ve . i n par t icular, the audit focused on whether epso:

- coped with the large increase in the number of competit ions due to enlargement ;

- received information about the staf f ing needs of the i nst i tu-t ions on a t imely and consistent bas is ;

- provided reser ve l i s ts of laureates in a t imely manner ;

- e n s u re d t h e re q u i re d n u m b e r a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l b a l a n c e o f laureates ;

- had re l iable and comprehensive management information to achieve i ts objec t ives.

9 . The audit focused on competit ions for off ic ia ls, due to their large number and long-term impac t . i t was based on:

- a n i n - d e p t h e x a m i n at i o n o f a s a m p l e o f 1 6 co m p e t i t i o n s o f di f ferent types (special ists and general ists, heads of unit and entr y level grades, administrators and ass istants) ; and

- an analysis of epso's database, comprising all data concerning 176 competit ions launched from 2003 to 2006 and completed by ear ly 2008.

10. The audit encompassed al l stages of personnel selection involving ep so, f ro m the co mm uni cat io n o f s t a f f i n g n e e d s by t h e i n s t i t u -t ions to epso up unti l the publ icat ion of reser ve l ists of laureates but excluding an assessment of the prof i les and competences of the indiv iduals se lec ted f rom the audit scope. nor d id the audit cover the procedures for the deta i led ident i f icat ion of needs by t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d t h e r e c r u i t m e n t o f l a u r e a t e s f r o m r e s e r v e l i s t s b y t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s , a s t h e s e a re n o t w i t h i n e p s o ’s a re a o f responsibi l i t y.

audiT scope and audiT approach


9


11. The audit, star ted in summer 2007, covered competitions launched and f inal ized during the period from Januar y 2003 (star t of epso's a c t i v i t i e s ) to d e ce m b e r 2 0 0 7 . i t e x a m i n e d e p s o ' s p l a n n i n g a n d management and i ts evaluat ion of i ts staf f se lec t ion ac t iv i t y.

12. as f a r a s i t wa s re l e va nt to t h e a u d i t s co p e, t h e e d p a d o p te d i n september 2008 was also taken into consideration, with par ticular reference to determining whether al l impor tant aspects of person-nel se lec t ion ac t iv i t ies were addressed.

10


I n c r E a s E I n t h E n u m b E r o f co m P E t I t I o n s wa s m a n ag E d E f f E c t I v E ly

13. s i n c e i t s i n c e p t i o n i n 2 0 0 3 , e p s o w i t n e s s e d a l a rg e i n c re a s e i n d e m a n d by t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a s re g a rd s co m p e t i t i o n s to b e h e l d, due to enlargement . There was thus a s igni f icant r i sk that epso could not launch and manage a l l competit ions required.

14. The audit found that epso effectively managed the increase in the number of competitions, as no instances were identif ied where the l a u n c h o f co m p e t i t i o n s wa s d e l aye d b e c a u s e e p s o h a d re a c h e d i ts maximum capacit y.

l ac k o f t I m E ly a n d co n s I s t E n t I n f o r m at I o n o n t h E I n s t I t u t I o n s’ s ta f f I n g n E E d s

15. staf f ing needs should be ident i f i e d an d com m u n i cate d to ep s o by the i nst i tut ions in a t imely manner and based on a consistent methodology, so that competit ions can be planned in an eff ic ient manner.

16. i n 2 0 0 2 , t h e s e c re t a r i e s - G e n e ra l o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a gre e d t h at each i nst i tut ion should inform epso of i ts recruitment needs for the nex t three years in order to a l low epso to draw up a ro l l ing three -year for ward programme, to be updated at least ever y s ix months, wi th a v iew to meet ing the needs of the i nst i tut ions in the best way poss ible.

17. The three -year for ward programme was not implemented; for the p e r i o d a u d i te d e p s o ' s ro l l i n g fo r wa rd p ro gra m m e cove re d o n l y 18 months as the inst itut ions fai led to communicate their longer-term needs to epso.

observaTions


11


18. fu r t h e r m o re, n o co m m o n b a s i s o r m e t h o d s fo r a s s e s s i n g n e e d s h a d b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d b y e p s o a n d t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h e re w a s , for example, uncer ta int y as to how the requirement la id down in the staff regulat ions that l ists of suitable candidates establ ished by the se lec t ion boards shal l wherever poss ib le conta in at least t wice as many names as the number of posts to be f i l led 5, should be implemented.

19. The lack of communicat ion of t imely and consistent information to epso by the institutions regarding their staff ing needs, and the lack of a common methodology for assessing such needs, resulted in ineff ic iencies and delays in the selec t ion process. This was re -f l e c te d at o p e rat i o n a l l e ve l i n l a s t - m i n u te c h a n g e s i n p r i o r i t i e s and needs in terms of the number of laureates required. i t neces-s i tated numerous cor r igenda to not ices of compet i t ions a l ready launched (see paragraph 43) .

20. i n the f ramework of i ts development programme, epso proposed and star ted to implement a standardised three -year draft for ward planning schedule.

21. The effectiveness of this for ward planning schedule wil l depend on i ts obtaining, on a t imely bas is , suf f ic ient ly re l iable informat ion f rom the i nst i tut ions based on a common approach for assess ing s t a f f i n g n e e d s. i t s h o u l d b e b o r n e i n m i n d t h a t l a te d e l i ve r y o f the statement of needs or s ignif icant shor tcomings in the forecast human resources requirements may lead to a mismatch bet ween posts avai lable and the number of laureates produced.

5 article 5 of annex iii of the staff

regulations.

12


t h E P E r s o n n E l s E l E c t I o n P r o c E s s to o k to o lo n g

22. i nternat ional best prac t ice regarding the durat ion of a se lec t ion procedure in both the publ ic and pr ivate sec tors, as accepted by epso in the edp, is 5 to 9 months from expression of staff ing needs unt i l employment.

23. h o w e v e r, u n d e r e p s o ’s c u r r e n t p r e - e d p p l a n n i n g s y s t e m , t h e standard t imeframe f rom the express ion of s taf f ing needs by an i n s t i t u t i o n u nt i l t h e fo r m a l o f fe r o f e m p l oy m e nt to l a u re ate s i s 18 months 6. This compr ises 3 to 4 months for publ icat ion of the notice of competit ion; 11 to 12 months for the competit ion phase; and 2 months for the f inal inter v iew and job of fer.

d E l ays d u r I n g t h E co m P E t I t I o n P h a s E

24. Th e s a m p l e o f 1 6 co m p e t i t i o n s e x a m i n e d i n d e t a i l s h owe d t h at t h e p h a s e co n ce r n i n g p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e n o t i ce o f co m p e t i t i o n took on average 4 months (see A n n e x I ) , in l ine with epso ’s own standards.

25. however, the average length of a competit ion - f rom the deadl ine for registrat ion by candidates unti l the publ icat ion of the reser ve l ist - was 16 months, with the duration of individual competit ions ranging bet ween 9 months and 2 years (see A n n e x I ) .

26. The main reason for delays was the t ime needed for mark ing the w r i t te n te s t s a n d fo r p e r fo r m i n g t h e o ra l te s t i n g o f c a n d i d ate s . Th e s a m p l e o f co m p e t i t i o n s a n a l ys e d by t h e co u r t s h owe d t h at these t wo stages a lone may take up to 13 months. The main un-d e r l y i n g c a u s e wa s t h at t h e e u o f f i c i a l s a c t i n g a s m a r k e r s o r a s m e m b e r s o f t h e s e l e c t i o n b o a rd s we re n o t m a d e av a i l a b l e f u l l -t ime for an uninterrupted per iod to per form their dut ies.

6 This figure does not include a

further 6-month period required for

the identification of needs by the

institutions.


13


27. u n d u l y l o n g s e l e c t i o n p ro ce d u re s re s u l t i n t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s n o t being able to recruit candidates as and when required, and may deter good candidates, e i ther at the outset or dur ing the proce -d u re. fu r t h e r m o re, a cco rd i n g to c a n d i d a te s a t i s f a c t i o n s u r ve ys car r ied out by epso in M arch/apr i l 2008 7, the respondents were least satisf ied with the overall duration of the competitions, which had a negative impac t on candidates’ perception of the european i nst i tut ions as a potent ia l employer.

28. in the framework of the new annual competit ion c ycle foreseen in the edp, epso plans to shor ten the competit ion phase ( f rom the publ icat ion of the not ice of competit ion unt i l the publ icat ion of the reser ve l i s t of laureates) to a maximum of 9 months. key e le -ments for achieving this objec t ive are :

(a) a reduction in the number of separate steps in the procedure, the successive wr itten and oral tests being replaced by a s in-gle phase,

(b) m o re re l i a n c e o n e f f i c i e n t p re - s e l e c t i o n t h ro u g h i m p ro ve d computer-based test ing,

(c ) the introduc t ion of assessment centres with profess ional ised selec t ion boards.

29. successfu l implementat ion of the annual compet i t ion c yc le wi l l crucia l ly depend on the wi l l ingness of the i nst i tut ions to second to e p s o a s u f f i c i e nt n u m b e r o f q u a l i f i e d o f f i c i a l s o n a f u l l - t i m e basis 8 and to encourage their staff to become par t of the proposed pool of qual i f ied assessors.

7 almost 23 000 candidates from

previous general administrator

competitions (ad 5 level for all

professional fields from 25 Member

states) were asked for their opinion

on different aspects of the selection

procedure; almost 4 000 responses

were received. a full summary of the

results is published on epso’s website

http://europa.eu/epso/documents/

survey_satisfaction_en.pdf.

8 The edp envisages that qualified

officials should be seconded for at

least two and a maximum of four

annual competition cycles.

14


t h E y I E l d f r o m co m P E t I t I o n s d I d n ot m E E t ta r g E t E d n u m b E r s a n d d I d n ot ac h I E v E t h E b r o a d E s t P o s s I b l E g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E

ta r g E t E d n u m b E r s w E r E n ot a lways at ta I n E d

30. The number of laureates targeted in the not ices of competit ions should be atta ined, so as to ensure adequate permanent staf f ing levels of the institutions without compromising the required qual-i t y standards of candidates se lec ted.

31. dur ing the audit , a comprehensive analys is was under taken of a l l d a t a co n ce r n i n g 1 7 6 co m p e t i t i o n s l a u n c h e d f ro m 2 0 0 3 to 2 0 0 6 and completed by ear ly 2008. The targeted number of names on the reser ve l i s ts for these competit ions total led 15 500.

32. on average, only t wo -thirds of the targeted number of laureates was atta ined 9. o f some 208 000 appl icat ions registered for these co m p e t i t i o n s 1 0, 9 5 0 0 0 ( 4 6 % ) a c t u a l l y at te n d e d te s t s . o f t h e s e, s l ight ly more than 10 000 succeeded as laureates 11, a shor t fa l l of a lmost 5 500 f rom the target (see A n n e x I I ) .

33. T h e o v e r a l l 4 6 % a t t e n d a n c e r a t e i n c l u d e d a t t e n d a n c e a t b o t h tradit ional pre -selection tests (44 %) and at computer-based tests (54 %) , which were introduced in 2006. The introduc t ion of com-puter-based test ing (cbT ) has thus increased the attendance rate by 10 percentage points.

34. o f the candidates s itt ing the pre -select ion tests, 28 % progressed to the subsequent wr itten tests ; 50 % of those s i t t ing the wr itten tests proceeded to the ora l tests , whi le 74 % of those under tak -ing the oral tests were placed on the reser ve l i s t . laureates thus comprised 10,7 % of those 95 000 who attended tests .

9 an average yield of only two-thirds

of the targeted numbers was also

observed for competitions reserved

for citizens from eu-12 Member

states in the context of enlargement.

10 since the inception of epso,

registration for competitions has

been made significantly easier by the

introduction of on-line applications.

11 These laureates are included in

reserve lists from which vacant posts

are filled. The number of laureates

on the lists does not correspond to

the number actually recruited by the

institutions which is necessarily lower

for various reasons (e.g. laureates

no longer available or declining job

offers; no vacant posts available).


15


S p e c i f i c l a n g u a g e r e q u i r e m e n t S m a y d e t e r g o o d c a n d i d a t e S

35. There should be an appropriate balance between professional and language sk i l l s , so as to ensure the best qual i f ied candidates are se lec ted.

36. ar t i c l e 2 8 o f t h e st a f f r e g u l at i o n s p rov i d e s t h at a n o f f i c i a l m ay b e a p p o i nte d o n l y o n co n d i t i o n t h at h e p ro d u ce s e v i d e n ce o f a t h o ro u g h k n ow l e d g e o f o n e o f t h e l a n g u a g e s o f t h e co m m u n i -t ies and of a sat is fac tor y k nowledge of another language of the communit ies to the ex tent necessar y for the per formance of h is dut ies.

37. pr ior to the establ ishment of epso, candidates could s i t the com-p e t i t i o n t e s t s i n t h e i r m o t h e r t o n g u e ; k n o w l e d g e o f a s e c o n d l a n g u a g e w a s e x a m i n e d s e p a r a te l y by a s p e c i f i c l a n g u a g e te s t . epso star ted i ts ac t iv i t ies at a t ime when the number of of f ic ia l languages rose f rom 11 to 23. epso considered that , for prac t ical reasons ( increased r isks of er roneous or imprecise t ranslat ion of tests, longer duration of the procedures, higher costs, etc. ) , i t was not poss ible to hold each general competit ion in 23 languages.

38. s ince 2006, candidates for al l competit ions have been required to take most of the tests in a second (normally non-native) language, to be selected from english, french or German. as a consequence, a v e r y g o o d c o m m a n d o f c e r t a i n l a n g u a g e s n o w p l a y s a m o r e impor tant ro le in the se lec t ion process than was the case in the past . except ions to this language regime apply for competit ions for interpreters or translators, where specif ic requirements apply ; and for speci f ic competit ions. A n n e x I I I sets out the distr ibut ion of second languages among candidates who actual ly sat the tests ; th is shows that engl ish is by far the most f requently chosen sec-ond language (64 % of candidates) , fol lowed by french (20 %) and German (10 %) 12.

12 it should be kept in mind that in

many of the 176 competitions for

which the data have been analysed

by the court, the choice of the

candidates was limited to these three

languages.

16


39. The current epso requirement can lead to s i tuat ions where can-didates, who might have a l l the required specia l i sed k nowledge and sk i l ls, are excluded from the outset from tak ing par t in a com-petit ion i f they do not have the required l inguist ic prof i le. This is for example the case for candidates who have engl ish , french or German as a f i rst language but an eu language other than one of these three as a second language.

40. a decis ion has been made in pr inciple to hold at least par t of the pre -selec t ion tests in a l l 23 languages f rom 2011.

co m m u n i c a t i o n r e g a r d i n g c o m p e t i t i o n S w a S S u b o p t i m a l

41. competit ion not ices should be draf ted and announced in a c lear a n d p r e c i s e w a y t o a t t r a c t a m a x i m u m n u m b e r o f a p p r o p r i a t e candidates and a l low potent ia l candidates to determine without ambiguit y whether they meet the condit ions to apply for a com-pet i t ion.

42. co m p e t i t i o n n o t i ce s a re d r aw n u p by e p s o 1 3 a f te r co n s u l t a t i o n of a consultat ive jo int committee (coparco) . The not ice i s then p u b l i s h e d i n t h e O f f i c i a l J o u r n a l o f t h e E u r o p e a n U n i o n (o f f i c i a l Journal ) . i n addit ion to publ ishing the not ice of competit ions in the o ff ic ia l Journal , epso uses t wo other means to inform poten-t ia l candidates : i ts website, on a systematic bas is , and adver t ise -ments in newspapers, on a case by case bas is . The website is the main source of information for potent ia l appl icants.

43. o f t h e 1 6 co m p e t i t i o n s re v i e we d i n d e t a i l , 1 1 we re m o d i f i e d by c o r r i g e n d a ; o f t h e 1 1 , 4 h a d t o b e m o d i f i e d t w i c e . T h e s e c o r r i -genda were needed to c lar i fy th e admi s s i on con di t i on s, ch an g e the targeted number of laureates or correc t er rors.

13 The institutions have delegated

their related powers to epso

(article 2 of decision 2002/621/ec

of 25 July 2002 on the organisation

and operation of the european

communities personnel selection

office (oJ l 197, 26.7.2002, p. 56)).


17


44. a s f o r a d v e r t i s i n g , t h e e p s o w e b s i t e w a s i n i t i a l l y a v a i l a b l e i n o n l y t h r e e l a n g u a g e s ( e n g l i s h , fr e n c h a n d G e r m a n ) . i n 2 0 0 8 , a 23- language opening page was introduced. epso also foresees the t ranslat ion of a l l permanent par ts of the website into 23 lan-guages.

45. as a r u l e , n o t i ce s o f o p e n co m p e t i t i o n s we re o n l y p u b l i s h e d i n the engl ish , french and G erman vers ions of the o ff ic ia l Journal . on 9 M ay 2007, spain brought legal ac t ion against the commis-s ion to order the publ icat ion of a l l not ices of competit ions to f i l l p o s t s i n t h e eu ro p e a n c i v i l s e r v i ce i n t h e o f f i c i a l J o u r n a l i n a l l languages. The case 14 i s pending.

46. lack of c lear information as to the requirements of competit ions gives a poor image of the eu as an employer. i t may deter good candidates f rom apply ing and has led dissat is f ied candidates to take legal ac t ion against epso 15.

47. i n order to attrac t a greater number of qual i f ied candidates, the e d p fo r e s e e s t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a n e n h a n c e d c o m m u n i c a t i o n strategy, including an improved website and more focused target-ing of potent ia l candidates.

pr e -S e l e c t i o n t e S t S e l i m i n a t e d m o r e c a n d i d a t e S t h a n w a S n e c e S S a r y t o m e e t t a r g e t S

48. pre -selec t ion is an admiss ion procedure for fur ther test ing; only the best-per forming candidates are admitted to the written stage o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n . o n c e a d m i t t e d , t h e c a n d i d a t e s a re j u d g e d o n l y o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e i r p e r fo r m a n c e d u r i n g t h e w r i t t e n a n d ora l exams. pre -se lec t ion tests should be such as to ensure that a suf f ic ient number of suitably qual i f ied candidates proceeds to the next stage of the competit ion. epso’s edp establishes that the ratio between the number of candidates invited to the assessment centre and the laureates on the reser ve l i s t should be 3 : 1 .

14 T-156/07.

15 see for example case f-25/05

where the civil service Tribunal

annulled the decisions of the

selection board of 6 and

7 september 2004 not to admit

the applicants to the tests for

competition epso/c/11/03.

18


49. T h e p r e - s e l e c t i o n t e s t s f o r t h e 1 7 6 c o m p e t i t i o n s i n c l u d e d i n epso ’s database e l iminated 70 000 of the 95 000 candidates. as a result , the number of people who were able to take the subse -quent tests was too low to meet the target of 15 500 laureates.

50. This shor t fa l l was aggravated by the fac t that some 4 000 candi-dates who had successful ly passed the pre -select ion tests did not par t ic ipate in fur ther stages of the selec t ion procedure. i n many cases, the reason for not par t ic ipating was that they did not meet al l the el igibil ity requirements stipulated in the notice of competi -t ions; compliance with these requirements was only ver i f ied af ter the pre -selec t ion tests had taken place.

51. To remedy the s i tuat ion where there were not enough candidates w h o c o u l d t a k e t h e w r i t t e n t e s t , s i n c e J a n u a r y 2 0 0 8 , e p s o h a s reintroduced a procedure ( the “repêchage” 17 of candidates) to f i l l the gaps lef t by those candidates who are successful in pre -selec-t ion tests but do not par t ic ipate in fur ther stages of the select ion procedure.

52. shor tfa l ls in the number of laureates lead to the i nst i tut ions’ hu-m a n re s o u rce s n e e d s n o t b e i n g m e t by p e r m a n e n t s t a f f, a n d to i n c re a s e d re l i a n c e o n t e m p o r a r y a n d c o n t r a c t u a l s t a f f . T h i s i n -creases the r isk of loss of inst i tut ional ised k nowledge.

53. T h e e d p v i e w s p re - s e l e c t i o n a s a n e f fe c t i ve s t e p t o re d u c e t h e number of candidates to a manageable level where necessar y. i t discusses the option of excluding only the least per forming candi-dates who have achieved a pass mark in each of the pre -selec t ion tests, as wel l as a l l those who have fa i led any of these tests, f rom p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e n e x t s t a g e o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n , r a t h e r t h a n selec t ing only the best per forming for fur ther test ing. however, no decis ion has been made as yet .

16 or the written tests where no

preselection tests took place.

17 The “repêchage” occurs between

the pre-selection and written tests.

where the number of candidates

who have been successful in the pre-

selection tests and who have fulfilled

the eligibility criteria is insufficient,

the shortfall is made up by inviting

the next-highest-placed eligible

candidates from the pre-selection

tests to the written tests.


19


t h E s E l E c t I o n P r o c E s s d I d n ot ac h I E v E t h E b r o a d E s t P o s s I b l E g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E

54. The staff regulat ions require that the inst i tut ions recruit staff on the broadest poss ib le geographica l bas is f rom among nat ionals of the M ember states. This i s only poss ible i f the dist r ibut ion of laureates on the reser ve l i s ts ref lec ts such a geographical bas is .

55. i n v i e w o f t h e e n l a rg e m e n t s o f t h e eu ro p e a n u n i o n w h i c h to o k place in 2004 and 2007, pr ior ity was given to candidates from the new M ember states and a number of competi t ions organised by epso were open to candidates f rom these countr ies only. as the cour t 's analysis of epso's database (see paragraph 31) shows, out of the total number of 10 151 laureates, a lmost two -thirds (6 416) were f rom eu-12 ( i .e . new) Member states (see A n n e x I V b ) .

56. This analysis also shows that candidates from Member states with a re l a t i ve l y h i g h p ro p o r t i o n o f t h e e u p o p u l a t i o n te n d e d to b e under- represented amongst laureates. as the data in A n n e x I Va a n d I V b s h o w, t h i s a p p l i e d n o t o n l y t o M e m b e r s t a t e s l i k e t h e united k ingdom, Germany and spain within the eu-15 group, but a lso to poland and romania within the eu-12 group. on the other hand, with the exception of austr ia and bulgaria , candidates from smal ler Member states tended to be over-represented compared to t h e i r co u nt r i e s ' p ro p o r t i o n o f t h e e u p o p u l at i o n . Th i s wa s i n par t icular the case for candidates f rom belgium.

57. as there may be several fac tors that af fec t the geographical bal -ance, an in- depth analys is would be required to ident i fy reasons fo r t h e i m b a l a n c e s o b s e r ve d. T h e e d p n e i t h e r a n a l y s e s n o r a d -dresses the geographical imbalances in detai l .

20


s h o r tco m I n g s I n m a n ag E m E n t I n f o r m at I o n

I n s u f f I c I E n t I n f o r m at I o n ava I l a b l E o n co s t s

58. The cost of placing a laureate on a reser ve l ist should be calculated by epso, so that i t can ensure that an appropr iate level of invest-ment, in l ine with s imi lar organisat ions, i s made in the personnel selection process. such an assessment is impor tant, given the fact that the eu i nst i tut ions of fer l i fe -t ime careers.

59. There is not suff icient information available on costs, whether actu-al costs, standard costs or benchmarks derived from similar interna -tional public sector organisations. epso does not calculate or moni-tor the cost incurred for a laureate to be placed on a reser ve l ist . i t has ser v ice - level agreements with european r egulator y agencies for the provis ion of personnel se le c t i o n se r v i ce s , fo r whi c h e p so charges 6 000 euro per laureate for open competit ions.

60. The cour t est imates that, based on budgetar y execution, the cost i n c u r re d by e p s o w a s a b o u t 7 1 0 0 e u ro p e r l a u re a t e ; t h i s c o m -pr ises 4 590 euro in di rec t costs and 2 510 in indirec t costs. fur-thermore, in order to determine the ful l cost to the eu budget, the cost incurred by the i nst i tut ions (staf f par t ic ipat ing in se lec t ion boards, mar k ing, inv igi lat ion etc . ) must a lso be inc luded, which would increase the aforementioned amount.

61. T h e e d p d o e s n o t a d d r e s s t h e c o s t p e r l a u r e a t e , a n d d o e s n o t ident i fy targets or standards in this regard.

62. fur thermore, the edp envisages a range of measures (e.g. assess -m e nt ce nt re s ) w h i c h wo u l d re q u i re a d d i t i o n a l f i n a n c i n g d u r i n g the implementat ion phase. however, i t does not contain any pre -c ise indicat ion with regard to the potent ia l addit ional costs and f u t u re b e n e f i t s a s a co n s e q u e n ce o f t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e e d p. Q u a n t i f i c a t i o n o f c o s t s a n d a s s e s s m e n t o f f u t u re b e n e f i t s would fac i l i tate decis ion-mak ing by the budgetar y author i t y re -garding the f inancing of this p lan.


21


w E a k n E s s E s I n E P s o ' s d ata b a s E s

63. databases should have appropr iate bui l t - in controls and contain i n fo r m a t i o n t h a t i s c o r re c t a n d t i m e l y, s o a s t o h e l p e n s u re a n ef f ic ient process.

64. candidates must introduce personal data via the internet in order to submit their appl icat ion. later in the process, test results, data p r o v i d e d b y j u r i e s a n d l i s t s o f l a u r e a t e s a r e a l s o s t o r e d i n t h e databases.

65. The audit revealed weak nesses in epso's databases :

(a) the system did not re l iably re jec t mult iple appl icat ions f rom one and the same person, which are express ly prohibited by competit ion rules ;

(b) coding of information input to the system was inconsistent ;

(c ) cer ta in data input to the system contained inaccurate or im-poss ible e lements ;

(d) up -to - date informat ion was not provided on the avai labi l i t y of laureates.

66. M u l t i p l e a p p l i c at i o n s p re s e nte d by t h e s a m e p e r s o n c a n b e d e -tected electronical ly only i f a unique and unequivocal identif ier is used, which is not currently the case. fur thermore, the same codes are not used consistently to record the same information about a speci f ic stage of the competit ion (e.g. codes for candidates who are successful at pre -selec t ion, wr i t ten tests , etc. ) , result ing in a lack of harmonised data for analyt ica l purposes.

22


67. acceptance of mult iple applications by the system entai ls the r isk of unequal t reatment of candidates. a lack of re l iable, useful and t i m e l y m a n a g e m e n t i n fo r m a t i o n a t c o m p e t i t i o n l e v e l a n d a t a g lobal level makes i t d i f f icult for epso ’s management to ident i fy patterns, emerging trends or except ions to establ ished norms.

68. e p s o fo re s e e s t h e i nt ro d u c t i o n o f a n e w d at a b a s e i n 2 0 1 0 . i t i s impor tant that the weak nesses identif ied above are appropriately addressed in this new database.


23


conclusions and recoMMendaTions

69. o veral l , the audit concluded that epso had successful ly managed the increase in the number of open competit ions required in the contex t of enlargement. however, the fol lowing shor tcomings af-fec ted epso ’s ef f ic ienc y and ef fec t iveness :

( i ) staf f ing needs of the i nst i tut ions were not communicated to epso in a t imely manner or based on a consistent methodol-ogy.

( i i ) The duration of the personnel selection process was too long, b o t h i n re l a t i o n to e p s o ’s ow n s t a n d a rd s a n d i n te r n a t i o n a l best prac t ice. The test ing phase exper ienced delays, mainly d u e t o t h e f a c t t h a t m e m b e r s o f t h e s e l e c t i o n b o a rd s we re not made avai lable on a fu l l - t ime basis .

( i i i ) competit ions only produced on average two-thirds of the tar-g e t e d n u m b e r o f l a u re a t e s . T h i s re s u l t e d f ro m w i t h d r aw a l s caused by the long durat ion of the process, undue emphasis on specif ic language requirements, unclear communication of competit ions and pre -selec t ion tests which e l iminated more candidates than was necessar y to meet targets. fur thermore, the se lec t ion process d id not achieve the broadest poss ib le geographical balance amongst laureates.

( iv ) M a n a g e m e n t i n f o r m a t i o n w a s n o t c o n s i s t e n t l y r e l i a b l e o r comprehensive. i nformation on the costs incurred to place a laureate on the reser ve l i s t was not suf f ic ient . The potent ia l addit ional costs and future benef i ts result ing f rom the epso d evelopment programme (ed p ) we re n ot quant i f i e d an d i n -formation contained in epso’s databases was not consistently re l iable.

70. Th e e d p, a d o p te d i n s e p te m b e r 2 0 0 8 , a i m s to re d u ce t h e d u r a -t ion of compet i t ions to a maximum of 9 months and to increase their y ie ld. i t envisages inter a l ia a shi f t towards strategic human resource planning; more robust pre -selec t ion; widespread use of cbT; and profess ional ised selec t ion boards. i t i s planned that the new procedures wil l be operational from the f i rst quar ter of 2010. Tak ing into account the major change planned in the organisation of select ion procedures through the edp, the cour t ’s main recom-mendat ions are :

24


r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 1 co m m u n I c at I n g n E E d s I n a t I m E ly

a n d co n s I s t E n t m a n n E r

The representatives of the institutions on the epso Management board should ensure that the institutions provide epso with suf-f ic ient ly t imely and re l iab le information concerning their s t af f-ing needs, on the basis of a common approach for assessing such ne e ds in the conte x t of a thre e -year ro l l ing for ward p lan .

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 2 E n s u r I n g s u P P o r t by t h E I n s t I t u t I o n s

f o r P r o f E s s I o n a l I s E d s E l E c t I o n b o a r d s a n d q ua l I f I E d a s s E s s o r s

i n o rd e r to a chi eve th e re du c t i o n in dur at i o n f o re s e e n in th e ep s o d e ve l o p m e nt pr o g r a m m e (ed p), t h e r e p r e s e nt a t i ve s o f the inst i tutions on the epso Management board should ensure that the inst i tut ions supp or t epso by seconding to the lat ter a suf f ic ient number of qual i f ied of f ic ials on a ful l - t ime basis and by encouraging their staf f to become par t of the proposed pool of quali f ied assessors . i f such suppor t is not for thcoming, other measures should b e adopte d to ensure the forese en re duc tion in durat ion is achieve d.

r E c o m m E n d at I o n c o n c E r n I n g h u m a n r E s o u r c E P l a n n I n g

r E c o m m E n d at I o n c o n c E r n I n g t h E d u r at I o n o f t h E P E r s o n n E l s E l E c t I o n P r o c E s s


25


r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 3 a d a P t I n g t h E s P E c I f I c l a n g uag E r E q u I r E m E n t s

in order to p lace more imp or tance on professional rather than l a n g u a g e s k i l l s , t h e o p t i o n t o c a r r y o u t p r e - s e l e c t i o n i n a l l 23 languages should b e adopte d. T he re quirement of sp e ci f ic language prof i les should b e re considere d; and more emphasis should be put on testing candidates’ abi l i t y to learn languages q u i c k l y i n l i n e w i t h t h e n e w co m p e te n c y - b a s e d a p p r o a c h to se le c t ion pro ce dures .

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 4 I m P r o v I n g t h E q ua l I t y o f co m P E t I t I o n n ot I c E s

epso should apply s tr ic t qual i t y control mechanisms to ensure the pub l ic at ion of accurate and c lear comp eti t ion not ices .

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 5 E n s u r I n g a n a P P r o P r I at E n u m b E r o f c a n d I d at E s at E ac h

s tag E o f t h E s E l E c t I o n P r o c E s s

(a) co n ce r te d a c t i o n by i n s t i t u t i o n s fo r t h e d e ve l o p m e nt a n d f i n a n c i n g o f a co m m o n co m m u n i c at i o n s t rate g y to at t ra c t qualif ied candidates should be taken under the coordination of epso.

(b) i n o rd e r t o a t t a i n t h e re q u i re d n u m b e r o f l a u re a t e s e p s o s h o u l d, a t e a c h s t a g e o f t h e co m p e t i t i o n , s t r i ve to e n s u re that an appropriate number of suitable candidates is invited for fur ther test ing.

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 6 I m P r o v I n g g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E

epso should ident i f y in de t ai l th e e x tent of g e o gr ap hic al im -b alan ce, anal y s e th e reas o ns th e re of, an d make p ro p os als o n how to improve ge o grap hic al b alance.

r E c o m m E n d at I o n s c o n c E r n I n g t h E y I E l d a n d g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E o f c o m P E t I t I o n s

26


T h i s r e p o r t w a s a d o p te d b y t h e co u r t o f au d i to r s i n lu xe m -b ourg at i t s me eting of 11 June 20 09.

Fo r t h e C o u r t o f A u d i t o r s

vítor Manuel da s i lva caldeiraPr e s i d e n t

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 7 d E t E r m I n I n g co s t s o f co m P E t I t I o n s

(a) epso should ident i fy the ful l cost to the eu budget of p lac-ing a laureate on a reser ve l ist , and compare the results with s i m i l a r i n t e r n a t i o n a l p u b l i c s e c t o r o rg a n i s a t i o n s , s o a s t o e n s u re t h at a n a p p ro p r i a te l e ve l o f i nve s t m e n t i s m a d e i n the personnel se lec t ion process.

(b) e p s o s h o u l d a l s o q u a n t i f y t h e p o t e n t i a l a d d i t i o n a l c o s t s and assess the future bene f i ts ar i s i n g f rom th e i mp le me n -tat ion of the edp, in order to fac i l i tate decis ion-mak ing by the budgetar y author i t y to f inance this p lan.

r E co m m E n d at I o n n o 8 I n t r o d u c I n g a n E w d ata b a s E f o r t h E m a n ag E m E n t o f

co m P E t I t I o n s

e p s o s h o u l d t a ke s t e p s t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e n e w d a t a b a s e f o r managing comp etit ions is designe d to avoid entr y of i r re gular mult ip le appl icat ions , is use d consis tently for a l l comp etit ions and produces rel iable, useful and t imely management informa -t ion at comp eti t ion leve l and at a g lob al leve l .

r E c o m m E n d at I o n s c o n c E r n I n g m a n a g E m E n t I n f o r m at I o n


27


d u r at I o n o f co m P E t I t I o n sa n n E x I

com

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code

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2003

2.7.

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2004

4.6.

2004

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e o

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28


y I E l d o f co m P E t I t I o n sa n n E x I I

com

petit

ion

code

Pr

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Expe

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num

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of la

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81

215

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law

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636

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660

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03en

glis

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350

351

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%

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759

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04

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350

274

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info

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070

30 %

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inis

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adm

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trat

or21

021

310

1 %

13ep

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d/2

6/05

adm

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trat

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ad

5 la

w18

017

497

%

14ep

so/a

d/2

9/05

adm

inis

trat

ors

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5 ec

onom

ic/s

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tic13

513

710

1 %

15ep

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d/3

7/05

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(de)

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and

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0010

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ata.


29


b r E a k d o w n o f s E co n d l a n g uag E s E l E c t E d by Pa r t I c I Pa n t s I n t E s t sa n n E x I I I

member states

number of participants

in tests

English (En)

french (fr)

german (dE)

other languages

belgium 9 496 5 947 1 537 127 1 885

bulgaria 6 260 3 580 1 553 1 115 12

czech republic 4 728 3 032 777 882 37

denmark 845 613 127 32 73

germany 4 464 3 210 651 487 116

Estonia 1 431 1 132 107 162 30

Ireland 519 115 328 25 51

greece 3 166 2 149 491 104 422

spain 3 675 1 908 952 55 760

france 7 595 5 727 669 413 786

Italy 9 393 5 370 2 478 387 1 158

cyprus 756 655 73 12 16

latvia 1 452 1 123 144 169 16

lithuania 2 454 1 789 338 293 34

luxembourg 160 55 40 51 14

hungary 6 367 3 927 1 000 1 378 62

malta 735 650 36 4 45

netherlands 881 608 99 34 140

austria 1 032 806 102 96 28

Poland 10 919 6 508 2 541 1 768 102

Portugal 2 229 1 276 640 24 289

romania 7 278 4 557 2 272 432 17

slovenia 1 813 1 404 140 247 22

slovakia 3 971 2 564 581 801 25

finland 1 008 779 81 21 127

sweden 1 160 936 133 16 75

united kingdom 1 164 84 820 97 163

total 94 951 60 504 18 710 9 232 6 505

Percentage 100 % 64 % 20 % 10 % 7 %

Source : european court of auditors on the basis of epso data.

30


g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E o f co m P E t I t I o n r E s u lt s – E u - 15a n n E x I v a

Eu-1

5 m

embe

r st

ates

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latio

n on

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nuar

y 20

06

(in 1

000

)

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num

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num

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belg

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10 5

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k5

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51,

4 %

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31,

9 %

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man

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9 48

08,

6 %

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49,

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467

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irela

nd4

209,

01,

1 %

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61,

3 %

519

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Gre

ece

11 1

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655

6,9

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166

6,8

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34,

4 %

spai

n43

758

,311

,2 %

8 96

68,

1 %

3 67

57,

9 %

272

7,3

%

fran

ce62

886

,216

,1 %

16 4

3814

,9 %

7 59

516

,2 %

582

15,6

%

italy

58 7

51,7

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22,7

%9

393

20,1

%42

411

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luxe

mbo

urg

459,

50,

1 %

354

0,3

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00,

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160,

4 %

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4,2

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912,

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aust

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265,

92,

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2 71

72,

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721,

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port

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10 5

69,6

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229

4,8

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84,

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finl

and

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ted

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tota

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110

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31


a n n E x I v b

Eu-1

2 m

embe

r st

ates

Popu

latio

n on

1 Ja

nuar

y 20

06

(in 1

000

)

Perc

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n

num

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ge

of

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ants

num

ber o

f la

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tes

Perc

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urea

tes

bulg

aria

7 71

8,8

7,5

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276

10,5

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260

13,0

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76,

0 %

czec

h re

publ

ic

10 2

51,1

9,9

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338

9,5

%4

728

9,8

%81

412

,7 %

esto

nia

1 34

4,7

1,3

%2

882

2,9

%1

431

3,0

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95,

9 %

cypr

us76

6,4

0,7

%2

133

2,2

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61,

6 %

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2,0

%

latv

ia2

294,

62,

2 %

2 75

12,

8 %

1 45

23,

0 %

281

4,4

%

lith

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a3

403,

33,

3 %

5 29

05,

4 %

2 45

45,

1 %

397

6,2

%

hun

gary

10 0

76,6

9,7

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196

13,4

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367

13,2

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115

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Mal

ta40

4,3

0,4

%1

687

1,7

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51,

5 %

209

3,3

%

pola

nd38

157

,136

,9 %

22 9

5723

,4 %

10 9

1922

,7 %

1 46

522

,8 %

rom

ania

21 6

10,2

20,9

%15

627

15,9

%7

278

15,1

%53

18,

3 %

slov

enia

2 00

3,4

1,9

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868

3,9

%1

813

3,8

%33

95,

3 %

slov

akia

5 38

9,2

5,2

%8

151

8,3

%3

971

8,2

%51

38,

0 %

tota

l10

3 41

9,7

100,

0 %

98 1

5610

0,0

%48

164

100,

0 %

6 41

610

0,0

%

Sour

ce: e

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t of a

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a.

g E o g r a P h I c a l b a l a n c E o f co m P E t I t I o n r E s u lt s – E u - 12

32


reply of The epso

summaryI.epso welcomes the cour t of auditors re -por t at a t ime when the methods and poli -c i e s u s e d fo r t h e s e l e c t i o n o f p e r s o n n e l for the european institutions are undergo -ing a complete overhaul .

I I I . (a)under the epso development programme (edp) approved by the Management board, i t w a s d e c i d e d t o e s t a b l i s h a t h re e - ye a r rol l ing plan and to def ine a methodology s o t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s c o u l d c o m m u n i -cate their needs in a uniform manner. This common methodology is in the process of being appl ied.

a d a p t i n g p l a n n i n g t o e n s u r e s t r a t e g i c management of human resources require -ments is one of the pi l lars of the overhaul o f s e l e c t i o n p ro c e d u re s c u r re n t l y u n d e r way under the edp.

(b)having launched an effor t to identify best c u r re n t p r a c t i ce i n a n u m b e r o f i n te r n a -t ional organisat ions and nat ional admin-i s t r a t i o n s a t t h e e n d o f 2 0 0 7 , t h e o f f i c e clear ly identi f ied the problem concerning the durat ion of competit ions. i n the edp, epso made speci f ic proposals to remedy this . under the edp and the annual com-p e t i t i o n c yc l e , t h e d u r a t i o n o f c o m p e t i -t i o n s f r o m p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e n o t i c e t o publ icat ion of the reser ve l i s t wi l l be be -t ween 5 and 9 months (depending on the number of candidates) .


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(d)i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e e d p i s i n t e n d e d t o m e e t t h e g o a l o f i n c re a s i n g va l u e a d d e d and improving cost- ef fec t iveness ( ‘ va lue for money ’ ) . The edp a ims to improve the qual i t y of se lec t ion procedures and so to increase the l ikel ihood of obtaining suit-able successful candidates for work in the inst i tut ions. i n terms of f inancia l impac t , then, the focus has to be recruitment rath-er than selection. The proposed budget for 2010 detai ls the additional appropriations necessar y dur ing the star t-up phase.

a new computer ised management system for competit ions is currently under devel-opment and i s due to come on st ream in 2 0 1 0 . i n t h e m e a n t i m e, e p s o h a s s e t u p sound mechanisms to ensure the re l iabi l -i t y o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n t h e exist ing databases.

v. (a)under the edp approved by the M anage -m e n t b o a rd i n s e p te m b e r 2 0 0 8 , a t h re e -year strategic plan is under development o n t h e b a s i s o f a c o m m o n s t a n d a r d f o r t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f r e q u i r e m e n t s b y the inst i tut ions.

(b)u n d e r t h e e d p, t h i s i s d u e t o b e i m p l e -mented f rom 2010.

(c)i n the absence of s t rategic p lanning, the numbers of successful candidates sought by the institutions on an ad hoc basis have a lways included some margin, in par t icu-l a r fo r t h e p ro f i l e s w h e re c a n d i d ate s a re in shor test supply.

T h e c u r r e n t s y s t e m y i e l d e d a l m o s t 11 000 successful candidates, and just over 7 0 0 0 w e r e a c t u a l l y r e c r u i t e d b y t h e i n -st i tut ions. This st rongly suggests that the f a i l u re to a t t a i n t h e to t a l n u m b e r o f s u c -cessful candidates init ial ly sought had only a l imited impact and shows that the system did, in fac t , work .

Th e re wa s a s h o r t f a l l fo r ce r t a i n p ro f i l e s (eur10 t rans lators , for example) , ref lec t-ing a lack of qual i f ied candidates in these sectors of the labour market rather than a defec t in strategic planning ( repeat com-pet i t ions conf i rmed the in i t ia l shor t fa l l ) .

T h e o b j e c t i v e o f t h e e d p i s p r e c i s e l y t o t a c k l e t h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r t h r o u g h t h e c o m b i n e d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e n e w s t r a t e g i c p l a n a n d a c o m m u -nicat ion strategy a imed at attrac t ing suf-f ic ient numbers of candidates best qual i -f ied for the prof i les sought ; th is inc ludes t a r g e t i n g d e f i c i t p r o f i l e s / c o u n t r i e s a n d establ ishing c loser par tnerships with the M ember states in order to re lay informa-t ion.

s y s t e m a t i c a l l y i n c l u d i n g a ‘ r e p ê c h a g e ’ c l a u s e i n c o m p e t i t i o n n o t i c e s w i l l a l s o make i t poss ib le to l imit any loss of can-didates dur ing the admiss ion procedure.

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(d)epso wi l l improve i ts management infor-mation under the edp.

a s p o i n t e d o u t e a r l i e r, t h e f u n d a m e n t a l a im of the edp is to increase value added and cost- effectiveness ( ‘value for money ’) for each successful candidate.

The proposed budget for 2010 detai ls the addit ional appropr iat ions necessar y dur -ing the star t-up phase.

obsErvatIons

14. e p s o w e l c o m e s t h e c o u r t ’s r e c o g n i -t i o n t h a t i t m a n a g e d t h e i n c re a s e i n t h e n u m b e r o f co m p e t i t i o n s e f fe c t i ve l y. Th i s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s h a ve coped successful ly with enlargement.

17.under the development programme (edp) a p p r o v e d b y t h e M a n a g e m e n t b o a r d , i t w a s d e c i d e d t o e s t a b l i s h a t h r e e - y e a r rol l ing plan and to def ine a methodology s o t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s c o u l d c o m m u n i -cate their needs in a uniform manner. This common methodology is in the process of being appl ied.

a d a p t i n g p l a n n i n g t o e n s u r e s t r a t e g i c management of human resources require -ments is one of the pi l lars of the overhaul o f s e l e c t i o n p ro c e d u re s c u r re n t l y u n d e r way under the edp.

(c)s e ve ra l m e a s u re s a re a l re a d y i n p l a ce i n response to the cour t ’s comments :

- q u a l i t y c o n t r o l h a s b e e n i m p r o v e d , both internal ly (creat ion of a speci f ic q u a l i t y c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n ) a n d e x t e r -nal ly (more thorough l inguist ic check-i n g b y t h e d G T a n d t h e pu b l i c a t i o n s o ff ice) ;

- c o m p e t i t i o n n o t i c e s h a v e b e e n s i m -p l i f i e d a n d r a t i o n a l i s e d a n d a re n o w avai lable in 23 languages ;

- the website has been revamped, with stable information now avai lable in al l 23 languages ;

- new language arrangements are grad-ual ly being brought in , both for com-m u n i c at i o n a n d fo r t h e te s t s s o a s to r e b a l a n c e t h o s e i n t h e s e c o n d l a n -guage and those in the main language in terms of their re lat ive weight ;

- tests are being more closely geared to the needs of the inst i tut ions in terms of the competences sought .

d i v e r s i t y a n d a t t r a c t i v e n e s s c o n s t i t u t e t h e t h i r d p i l l a r o f t h e e d p. i n t h i s c o n -n e c t i o n , v a r i o u s m e a s u r e s a r e p l a n n e d t o i n c r e a s e e p s o ’s a n d t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ a b i l i t y t o a t t r a c t t h e b e s t q u a l i f i e d c a n -didates, in par t icular by focusing commu-nicat ion strategy on a more targeted and var iable - geometr y approach for M ember states and/or prof i les where a par t icu lar shor tage has been identif ied, and through a com plete makeover of the inst i tut i on s’ image as employers to match the expecta-t ions of younger generat ions.

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26.T h e e d p t a k e s a c c o u n t o f t h e k e y f a c t o r in the delays, namely the t imely designa-tion of selection board members and their av a i l a b i l i t y, a n d o f fe r s a re m e d y by p ro -v i d i n g fo r t h e l o n g - t e r m s e c o n d m e n t o f se lec t ion board members.

32. The substantia l shor tfal ls obser ved in the c a s e o f ce r t a i n l i s t s h ave b e e n re m e d i e d by re l a u n c h i n g co m p e t i t i o n s w h e re n e c -essar y. i n addit ion, in Januar y 2008 epso introduced a ‘repêchage’ clause into ever y co m p e t i t i o n n o t i ce to e n s u re t h a t a s u f -f i c i e n t n u m b e r o f c a n d i d a t e s s a t i s f y i n g t h e e l i g i b i l i t y c r i t e r i a c a n b e i n v i t e d t o the stages fo l lowing the computer-based tests .

40.The language arrangements for competi -t ions are approved and adapted annual ly by e p s o ' s M a n a g e m e n t b o a rd, o n w h i c h a l l the inst i tut ions are represented. at i ts meeting on 13 november 2008, the board approved the off ice’s proposals for imple -m e n t a t i o n i n t w o s t a g e s : f i r s t l y, t h e i n -troduc t ion f rom 2010 of tests in the main l a n g u a g e i n m o n o l i n g u a l s p e c i f i c c o m -p e t i t i o n s o n l y a n d s e c o n d l y, f ro m 2 0 1 1 , general use of 23 languages for most ad-mission tests ( in par t icular verbal and nu-mer ical reasoning) .

T h e c h o i c e o f l a n g u a g e a r r a n g e m e n t s i s d i c t a t e d n o t o n l y b y p r a c t i c a l l o g i s t i c a l considerations but also by the institutions’ imperat ive need to be able to recruit suc-cessful candidates capable of wor k ing in the languages that they ( the inst i tut ions) use most widely.

18.The institutions agreed that always select-i n g at l e a s t t w i ce a s m a ny c a n d i d ate s a s the number of the jobs to be f i l led was not a practicable approach. a permanent mis-match bet ween the number of successful candidates and the number eventual ly re -cruited would entai l addit ional costs and h a v e a n e g a t i v e i m p a c t i n t e r m s o f i m -age. in this contex t of enhanced forecast -i n g a n d a n t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ n e e d s, t h e t h re e -ye a r s t rate gi c p l a n a n d the introduc t ion of annual c ycles of com-p e t i t i o n s a l re a d y m e a n , i n p ra c t i ce, t h at t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s a l l o w a s m a l l e r m a r g i n u n d e r t h e c u r re n t a d h o c s ys te m fo r f i x -i n g t h e n u m b e r o f s u cce s s f u l c a n d i d ate s sought (on average, i t i s cur rent ly about 20 % above ac tual requirements) .

23. having launched an effor t to identify best c u r re n t p r a c t i ce i n a n u m b e r o f i n te r n a -t ional organisat ions and nat ional admin-i s t r a t i o n s a t t h e e n d o f 2 0 0 7 , t h e o f f i c e c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i e d t h a t t h e d u r a t i o n o f co m p e t i t i o n s wa s a p ro b l e m . i n t h e e d p, epso made speci f ic proposals to remedy this . under the edp and the annual com-p e t i t i o n c yc l e , t h e d u r a t i o n o f c o m p e t i -t ions — from publ icat ion of the not ice to p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e re s e r ve l i s t — w i l l b e b e t we e n 5 a n d 9 m o n t h s ( d e p e n d i n g o n the number of candidates) .

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43. T h e s t r a t e g i c p l a n a n d t h e a n n u a l c y c l e o f c o m p e t i t i o n s w i l l m a k e i t p o s s i b l e t o l i m i t t h e n u m b e r o f c o r r i g e n d a d u e t o cha nges i n the number of th e successfu l candidates sought .

s imi lar ly, qual i t y control has been t ight -ened at epso ’s in i t iat ive for both t ransla-t ion in the dGT and l inguist ic check ing in the publ icat ions o ff ice.

45. s i n ce 4 M a rc h 2 0 0 9 co m p e t i t i o n n o t i ce s have been publ ished in 23 languages.

46. The institutions are ver y aware of the need to improve their image as employers, and this i s one of the edp ’s goals .

50.under the edp, s teps have been taken to k e e p t h e n u m b e r o f c a n d i d a t e s w h o d o n ot s at i s f y t h e ad m i s s i on con d i t i on s /e l i -gibi l i t y cr i ter ia to a minimum:

- a n e w, m o r e d e t a i l e d a n d i n t u i t i v e on- l ine appl icat ion form has been in-troduced. candidates have to declare o n t h e i r h o n o u r t h at t h e i n fo r m at i o n g i v e n i n t h e i r o n - l i n e a p p l i c a t i o n i s correc t ;

- there is more scope for self-evaluation to a l low candidates to assess before -hand whether they wil l be able to pass the selec t ion tests ;

41-42. under the edp, competi t ion not ices have recent ly been s impl i f ied and rat ional ised to include the former guide for candidates in a s tandard sec t ion of the compet i t ion n o t i c e p l u s a s h o r t e r s e c t i o n s p e c i f i c t o each competit ion, so reducing the r isk of e r ro r s . T h e c o m p e t i t i o n n o t i c e s a re a l s o now avai lable in the 23 languages of the e u. Th e l o g i c a l s t r u c t u re o f c o m p e t i t i o n n o t i c e s h a s b e e n i m p r o v e d t o f a c i l i t a t e m a n a g e m e n t a n d m a k e t h e i n fo r m a t i o n c l e a r e r f o r c a n d i d a t e s a s w e l l a s t o i m -p r o v e t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ i m a g e , s i n c e t h e competit ion notice is often a cit izen’s f irst contac t with the inst i tut ions.

a s r e g a r d s d i s s e m i n a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t c o m p e t i t i o n n o t i c e s , a n u m b e r o f r e f o r m s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n i n t r o d u c e d under the edp, notably the conclus ion of a n e w c o n t r a c t f o r p u b l i c i t y i n t h e m e -d i a , w i d e r u s e o f n e w m e d i a t o m a t c h t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d h a b i t s o f y o u n g e r generat ions ( for example, a v ideo c l ip on communit y careers has been on youTube s ince M arch 2009) , the development of a co m m u n i c a t i o n s t ra te g y ce n t re d a ro u n d a new brand image for the inst i tut ions as e m p l oye r s , t h e l a u n c h o f a n e w we b s i te , and lastly a strategy of closer cooperation with the M ember states to ensure better d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f i n fo r m a t i o n ( i m p ro ve d relat ions with the permanent representa-t i ve s i n b r u s s e l s , c o n t a c t s w i t h n a t i o n a l author i t ies on the ground, increased use of epso ’s net work of recruitment exper ts in nat ional administrat ions) .

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59. a n a n a l y s i s o f t h e re fe re n c e c o s t s i n o r -der to compare the costs determined with those of nat ional administ rat ions wi l l be carr ied out through epso’s network of na-t ional recruitment exper ts and should be avai lable in the second hal f of 2009.

61. The analysis of reference costs wil l enable epso to formulate appropr iate standards and objectives in l ine with progress in im-plementing the edp.

62. T h e e d p i s i n t e n d e d t o i m p a r t a d d e d v a l u e t o t h e s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s . a n e v e n m o re h i g h l y p ro fe s s i o n a l s e l e c t i o n s e r v-ice, which is the pr incipal goal of the edp, wi l l y ie ld a substant ia l retur n by att rac t -ing and selec t ing the r ight candidates to e n a b l e t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s t o a c h i e v e t h e i r major strategic objec t ives.

The proposed budget for 2010 detai ls the addit ional appropr iat ions necessar y dur -ing the star t-up phase. The costs, and the e x p e c te d g a i n s , w i l l b e re f i n e d o n ce t h e co s t o f t h e v a r i o u s f a c to r s d e p l oye d u n -d e r t h e n e w s y s t e m a r e k n o w n i n d e t a i l f o l l o w i n g t h e a w a r d o f c o n t r a c t s u n d e r t h e c u r re n t c a l l s fo r t e n d e r s c o n c e r n i n g evaluat ion centres and the new contents of the tests .

- admission wi l l involve two stages: in i -t i a l s c re e n i n g o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e i n -formation given by candidates on-l ine a n d s u b s e q u e n t s c r e e n i n g a t a l a t e r stage later in the procedure.

The t ime savings are est imated at a lmost 3 m o nt h s co m p a re d w i t h t h e c u r re nt s e -lec t ion procedure.

53. The pr inciple of ‘s i f t ing in’ candidates has already been approved under the edp. The p r a c t i c a l i t i e s w i l l b e d e c i d e d a s p a r t o f the f i rst annual c ycle.

57. There is a l imit to what epso can do in this a re a , s i n ce t h e g e o gra p h i c a l i m b a l a n ce s a r e m a i n l y d u e t o e x t e r n a l f a c t o r s o v e r which i t has no control , such as the state o f t h e e c o n o m y i n t h e M e m b e r s t a t e s , publ ic perception of the european union, a n d r e l a t i v e w a g e l e v e l s . n e v e r t h e l e s s , c h a p t e r 3 o f t h e e d p a n s w e r s t h e n e e d to t a rg e t ce r t a i n c a n d i d ate p o p u l at i o n s , in par t icular those f rom speci f ic M ember s t a t e s . a n a n a l y s i s o f g e o g r a p h i c a l b a l -ance has been carr ied out .

58. T h e c o s t o f p l a c i n g a s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i -d a t e o n a r e s e r v e l i s t , t a k i n g p a r t i c u l a r account of s imi lar costs incurred by each i n s t i t u t i o n b e f o r e a n i n t e r - i n s t i t u t i o n a l b o d y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r s e l e c t i o n p r o c e -dures was set up, has been calculated by the o ff ice when i t was created. however, what is needed is not to evaluate the cost of a successfu l candidate as such, but to c o m p a r e i t w i t h t h e p o t e n t i a l c o s t o f a poor recruitment decis ion in the contex t of l i fe long employment.

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66.The existence of a unique identif ier would prevent attempted mult iple appl icat ions. h o w e v e r, t h e r e i s n o u n i q u e i d e n t i f i e r across the ent i re european union.

67.e p s o b e l i e ve s i t h a s s e t u p a s o u n d a n d co s t - e f fe c t i ve s e r i e s o f co nt ro l s o f fe r i n g a propor t ionate response to the potential r i s k s a s re g a rd s e q u a l t re a t m e n t . a s t h e cour t noted in point 70, epso is develop -ing i ts systems under the edp in order to improve i ts management information.

conclusIons and rEcommEndatIons

69.T h e o b j e c t i v e o f t h e e d p i s p r e c i s e l y t o re m e d y t h e p r i n c i p a l we a k n e s s e s i d e nt i -f ied in the current se lec t ion system.

( i )a d a p t i n g p l a n n i n g t o w a r d s s t r a t e g i c management of human resources require -ments is one of the pi l lars of the overhaul o f s e l e c t i o n p ro c e d u re s c u r re n t l y u n d e r way under the edp approved by the M an-a g e m e n t b o a r d i n s e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 8 . T h e establ ishment of a three -year rol l ing plan a n d t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f co m m o n s t a n d a rd s for clear and consistent methods by which t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s c a n c o m m u n i c a t e t h e i r needs have now been decided and are in the process of being introduced.

65.(a)epso has introduced a series of systematic a u t o m a t e d a n d m a n u a l c o n t r o l s t o p r e -vent candidates from mak ing multiple ap -pl icat ions for one or more comp e t i t i on s. fi r s t , t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a s i n g l e e p s o f i l e in which candidates have to be registered before they can take par t in competit ions i s d e s i gn e d to p re ve nt m u l t i p l e a p p l i c a -t ions or detec t them later. Then there are two subsequent levels of control to detect m u l t i p l e f i l e s f r o m t h e s a m e c a n d i d a t e . lastly, possible deception is also detected a t t h e c o m p u t e r - b a s e d t e s t s t a g e, w h e n c a n d i d a t e s a r e r e q u i r e d t o p r o v e t h e i r ident i t y, or before their admiss ion to the fol lowing stages of the selec t ion process. The introduc t ion of a more complete ap -pl icat ion form in M arch 2009 containing, i n p a r t i c u l a r, t h e c a n d i d a t e ’s a c a d e m i c p r o f i l e , p r o f e s s i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e , a n d re a s o n s fo r a p p l y i n g h a s s e r ve d to m a k e multiple applications by one and the same c a n d i d a t e e v e n m o r e d i f f i c u l t ; i n a d d i -t ions, candidates now have to cer t i fy that the information given in their appl icat ion form is t rue.

(b)T h e p r o b l e m s c o n c e r n i n g t h e c o d i n g o f i n p u t i n fo r m a t i o n a n d s o m e o f t h e d a t a i n p u t i nto t h e s ys te m h ave a l re a d y b e e n t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t i n t h e d e s i g n o f t h e n e w s y s t e m ( t h e s t r u c t u r e o f a c o m p e -t i t i o n w i l l h a v e t o i n c l u d e s t a n d a r d e l -e m e n t s a n d i t w i l l b e p o s s i b l e t o a d d s p e c i f i c s t a g e s ) a n d a l a r g e r r a n g e o f v a l i d a t i o n r u l e s w i l l a p p l i e d a t t h e t i m e of input. The new system wi l l become op-erat ional in 2010.

(d)The institutions are responsible for the re -cru i tment of successfu l candidates. They are a lso required to inform epso in good t ime of any events af fec t ing the status of s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e s s o t h a t i t c a n u p -d a t e t h e d a t a b a s e . e p s o c o n s i d e r s t h a t the system func t ions wel l and that i t has improved considerably now that success-f u l c a n d i d a t e s c a n c h e c k t h e i r s t a t u s i n real t ime.

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70.The measures planned under the edp offer a re s p o n s e to a l l t h e we a k n e s s e s i d e n t i -f i e d i n t h e c u r re n t co m m u n i t y s e l e c t i o n procedures, which explains i ts unanimous adoption by a l l the inst i tut ions.

recommendation 1: communicating needs in a t imely and consistent mannerthis recommendation is accepted and is a l r e a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d. u n d e r t h e edp approved by the M anagement board in s eptember 2008, the establ ishment of a t h re e - ye a r ro l l i n g p l a n a n d t h e d e f i n i -t i o n o f c o m m o n s t a n d a r d s fo r t h e i n s t i -tut ions to communicate their needs have b e e n d e c i d e d a n d t h e s t r a t e g i c p l a n fo r 2 0 0 9 – 2 0 1 1 i s b e i n g p u t i n p l a ce ( re co m -mendation 1 of the edp). The needs of the inst i tut ions for the nex t three years were r e c e i v e d i n M a r c h 2 0 0 9 . a d a p t i n g p l a n -n i n g t o w a r d s s t r a t e g i c m a n a g e m e n t o f h u m a n re s o u rce s re q u i re m e n t s i s o n e o f the pi l lars of the edp.

recommendation 2: s ecuring the insti -tutions’ suppor t for ‘professional’ selec-t ion b oards and qualif ied assessorsthis recommendation is accepted and is already being implemented through two action points provided for in the edp (rec-ommendat ions 14 and 15) : in connec t ion with the establ ishment of the evaluat ion c e n t r e s , ‘p r o f e s s i o n a l ’ s e l e c t i o n b o a r d s based on secondment of staff from the in-st i tut ions to epso for a f ixed per iod of up to 4 years and the const i tut ion of a pool o f m a r k e r s . d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e i n s t i t u -t ions based on proposals f rom the o ff ice, in par t icular on the precise arrangements for secondment of se lec t ion board mem-bers, are in their f inal stages. These meas-ures wi l l be implemented in 2010.

( i i )e p s o h a s c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i e d t h e p ro b l e m concerning the durat ion of compet i t ions and has made appropr iate propos als un -der the edp to remedy this . under the fu-ture annual c ycle, the durat ion of a com-petit ion from publ icat ion of the notice to publication of the reser ve l ist wil l amount to bet ween 5 and 9 months. The i ssue of s e l e c t i o n b o a rd m e m b e r s ’ a v a i l a b i l i t y i s a lso addressed by the edp.

( i i i ) co m p e t i t i o n s p ro d u c e d m o re s u c c e s s f u l candidates than the inst itut ions recruited f rom the avai lable reser ve l i s ts . b oth the new language arrangements approved by the Management board and the measures included in the edp tack le the var ious ob -ser vat ions made by the cour t . last ly, the s c o p e fo r a c t i o n t o e n s u re t h e b ro a d e s t p o s s i b l e g e o gra p h i c a l b a l a n ce i s l i m i te d owing to a number of external factors that are beyond the control of e i ther epso or the inst i tut ions.

( iv) epso wi l l improve i ts management infor-mation under the edp.

The fundamental a im of the edp is to in-crease value added and cost-effectiveness ( ‘ v a l u e f o r m o n e y ’ ) f o r e a c h s u c c e s s f u l candidate.

a n e w d a t a b a s e w i l l b e o p e r a t i o n a l i n 2 0 1 0 a n d w i l l t a k e a cco u n t o f t h e i s s u e s ident i f ied by the cour t .

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recommendation 4: Improving the qual-it y of comp etit ion noticest h i s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n i s a c c e p t e d a n d i s a l r e a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d . a s p a r t o f t h e o f f i c e ’s r e o r g a n i s a t i o n , a n i n t e r -nal qual i t y control func t ion has been set up. s imi lar ly, ex ternal qual i t y control has b e e n s t re n g t h e n e d at t h e o f f i ce’s i n i t i a -t i ve fo r b o t h t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e d G T a n d l inguist ic check ing in the publications of-f ice, and the number of corr igenda due to e r r o r s h a s f a l l e n . M o r e b r o a d l y, c o m p e -t i t ion not ices have recent ly been s impl i -f ied and rat ional ised under the edp, with a s t a n d a rd s e c t i o n i n 2 3 l a n g u a g e s 1 a n d a s h o r t e r s e c t i o n s p e c i f i c t o e a c h c o m -p e t i t i o n ( a l s o i n 2 3 l a n g u a g e s fo r e u r 2 7 competi t ions) , which wi l l reduce the r isk of er rors. The logical st ruc ture of compe -t i t ion not ices has thus been improved to f ac i l i tate man ag e me nt , i mp rove commu-n i c a t i o n , a n d e n h a n c e t h e i m a g e o f t h e inst i tut ions, as the compet i t ion not ice i s of ten a c i t izen’s f i rst contac t with the in-st i tut ions.

recommendation 5: Ensuring a suitable n u m b e r o f c a n d i d at e s at e a c h s t a g e i n the selec tion pro cedure(a) this recommendation is accepted and is a l r e a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d. u n d e r t h e e d p a n d t h e n e w co m m u n i c at i o n s t rate -gy, a revamped website has been in place s ince the beginning of March 2009. in ad-dit ion, regular meetings and contac ts are held on epso’s init iat ive with the network o f e x p e r t s o n s e l e c t i o n a n d re c r u i t m e n t in the M ember states, and the subjec t of m a k i n g e u c a r e e r s a p p e a l i n g t o c a n d i -dates is regular ly d iscussed.

1 oJ c 47 a of 26.2.2009.

The durat ion of se lec t ion procedures wi l l a lso be reduced with the introduc t ion of t h e a n n u a l c yc l e s ( re co m m e n d at i o n 2 o f the edp) and al l the related measures tak-en in this connec t ion.

r e co m m e n d at i o n 3 : ad a p t i n g t h e s p e -cif ic language requirementsthis recommendation is accepted. at i ts meeting on 13 november 2008, the board approved the off ice’s proposals for imple -mentation in two stages: (1) the introduc-t ion f rom 2010 of tests in the candidates’ m a i n l a n g u a g e , i n m o n o l i n g u a l s p e c i f i c competit ions only, in order to test the da-tabase containing the new language ver-s ions of the quest ions and (2) f rom 2011 the use of 23 languages as a general ru le for most admission tests ( in par ticular ver-bal and numer ica l reasoning) . The future b e h a v i o u r a l t e s t s w i l l c o n t i n u e t o b e i n the three work ing languages (candidates’ second language) .

Th e c h o i c e o f l a n g u a g e a r r a n g e m e n t s i s d i c t a t e d n o t o n l y b y p r a c t i c a l l o g i s t i c a l considerations but also by the institutions’ imperat ive need to be able to recruit suc-cessful candidates capable of wor k ing in the languages that they ( the inst i tut ions) use most widely.

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a n a n a l y s i s o f t h e re fe re n c e c o s t s i n o r -der to compare the costs determined with those of nat ional administ rat ions wi l l be carr ied out through epso’s network of na-t ional recruitment exper ts and should be avai lable in the second hal f of 2009.

however, what i s needed is not to evalu-ate t h e co s t o f a s u cce s s f u l c a n d i d ate a s such, but to compare it with the potential cost of a poor recruitment decis ion in the contex t of l i fe long employment.

(b) this recommendation is accepted and is a l re a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e nte d. The edp is intended to impar t added value to the se -lection process. as explained in the budg-e t a r y p r o p o s a l f o r 2 0 1 0 , a m o r e h i g h l y p r o f e s s i o n a l s e l e c t i o n s e r v i c e , w h i c h i s the pr incipal goal of the edp, wi l l y ie ld a s u b s t a n t i a l r e t u r n b y a t t r a c t i n g a n d s e -lect ing the r ight candidates to enable the inst i tut ions to achieve their major strate -gic objec t ives.

r e co m m e n d at i o n 8 : I nt ro d u c i n g a n ew d a t a b a s e f o r t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f c o m -p etit ionsthis recommendation is accepted and is already par tially being implemented. all the issues raised are included in the l ist of requirements for the new system. a more deta i led analys is i s under way to remedy the problem of mult iple applications, tak-i n g i n t o a c c o u n t e v e r y p o s s i b l e t y p e o f ac t ion (procedural , legal , or technical ) .

(b) t h i s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n i s a c c e p t e d a n d i s a l re a d y b e i n g i m p l e m e nte d. i n addi -t i o n , i n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 8 e p s o i n t ro d u ce d a ‘repêchage’ c lause into ever y competit ion not ice to ensure that a suf f ic ient number o f c a n d i d a t e s s a t i s f y i n g t h e e l i g i b i l i t y c r i te r i a c a n b e i nv i te d to t h e s t a g e s fo l -lowing the computer-based tests. because o f t h e co s t s i nvo l ve d i n o rg a n i s i n g te s t s in the eva luat ion centres , the number of c a n d i d a t e s i n v i t e d b y e p s o w i l l n o t b e m o re t h a n t h re e t i m e s t h e f i n a l n u m b e r r e q u i r e d f o r e n t r y o n t h e r e s e r v e l i s t s . These pr inciples are in l ine with the prac -t ice on the ground.

r e c o m m e n d a t i o n 6 : I m p r o v i n g g e o -graphic al balancet h i s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n i s p a r t i a l l y a c -cepted. The geographical imbalances are mainly due to ex ternal fac tors over which epso has no control , such as the state of the economy in the Member states, public perception of the european union, and rel-ative wage levels. The off ice is ful ly aware o f t h e s t a t u to r y o b l i g a t i o n fo r t h e i n s t i -t u t i o n s to re c r u i t o n a b ro a d g e o gra p h i -c a l b a s i s . To g e t h e r w i t h t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s, epso constant ly monitors the geographi-cal make -up of competitions and takes the necessary steps when the number of appli-cat ions i s considered subopt imal in v iew o f t h e s i z e o f a M e m b e r s t a t e’s p o p u l a -t ion. in par t icular this involves increased, targeted publicity in those Member states a n d awa re n e s s - ra i s i n g c a m p a i gn s a i m e d at potent ia l candidates.

r e c o m m e n d a t i o n 7 : d e t e r m i n i n g t h e costs of comp etit ions(a)that par t of the recommendation to do w i t h d e t e r m i n i n g t h e t o t a l co s t t o t h e community budget of placing a success-ful candidate on a reser ve l ist is accept-e d. The cost of p lac ing a succes s f u l can -didate on a reser ve l i s t , tak ing par t icular account of s imi lar costs incurred by each i n s t i t u t i o n b e f o r e a n i n t e r - i n s t i t u t i o n a l body responsible for selection procedures was set up, has been calculated by the of-f ice when i t was created.

reply of The epso

european court of auditors

special report no 9/2009 the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the European Personnel selection office

luxembourg: publications office of the european union

2009 — 41 pp. — 21 x 29,7 cm

isbn 978-92-9207-385-5

doi:10.2865/57613

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2009

THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PERSONNEL SELECTION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE


Spec

ial R

epor

t No

9

T H E E U R O P E A N CO M M U N I T I E S’ I N S T I T U T I O N S E M P LOY S TA F F

WITH A WIDE VARIE T Y OF PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUNDS AND

G E O G R A P H I C A L O R I G I N S . O F F I C I A L S A R E M O S T LY S E L E C T E D

THROUGH OPEN COMPE TITIONS WHICH SINCE 2003 HAVE BEEN

MANAGED BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE (EPSO).

IN THIS REPORT THE COURT FOCUSES ON HOW EPSO COPED WITH

THE LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPETITIONS DUE TO

ENLARGEMENT AND WHETHER IT PROVIDED LISTS OF LAUREATES

IN A TIMELY MANNER, ENSURING THE REQUIRED NUMBERS AND

GEOGRAPHICAL BALANCE.

ISSN

183

1-08

34

QJ-A

B-09-008-EN

-C


EN

european court of auditors - eur-lex

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