Working with departments

Each of the main departments and the larger agencies has a Commissioner who is linked to it.

The Link Commissioner regularly meets the Permanent Secretary or Agency Chief Executive. Often we will also meet the departmental Human Resources Director and sometimes the departmental Board. There are also meetings with the Government Heads of Profession.

These meetings explore current issues of common concern and help to give us a strategic overview of recruitment and other relevant activity in departments and agencies. Core topics for discussion at Link Commissioner meetings include:

• Current and future senior recruitment competitions

• Any lessons learnt from recent competitions

• The results for the department under the Commissioners compliance monitoring exercise for adherence to the Recruitment Principles

• Promotion of the Civil Service Code

• Appeals made under the Civil Service Code

• Findings from the Commissioners’  audit concerning the Civil Service Code

We have recently strengthened the link role by giving Link Commissioners the first choice to chair competitions for the most senior posts in their link departments. This has given us the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the challenges and culture of our link departments.

We continue to greatly value the positive relationships we have with Permanent Secretaries, Human Resources Directors and Heads of Government Professions.

Commissioners - HR Directors Liaison Group

We reported last year on the creation of a liaison group comprising a small number of Commissioners and Human Resources Directors drawn from some of the main departments. It is supported by a joint secretariat from the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners and the Civil Service Capability Group in the Cabinet Office.

This group continued to meet throughout the year and served as a forum for consideration of our respective roles and issues of common interest. We greatly value the joint group as a way of engaging with the HR director community. It has continued to prove to be a valuable means of sharing experiences and perspectives, especially at a time when the economic climate creates particular challenges for Civil Service employment.