Tomorrow's mobility spaces for Canada's federal public servants

In Canada – where there have been major fluctuations in federal staffing levels over the past two decades –public servants' mobility has often been foregrounded to accompany restructuring¹, whether territorial or structural.

Even though they are not guaranteed lifetime employment, federal civil servants (who are hired on permanent contracts) may – like their French counterparts – be reassigned or seconded.

The Treasury Board (which oversees the public service) has gradually adapted the regulatory framework concerning voluntary mobility, which now offers significant opportunities.

Through the Interchange Canada job board, government employees can – for a limited period of time – be recruited for another job in the public or private sector or a non-profit organisation. An agreement is then signed between the two employers. It sets out the conditions of the assignment (length, tasks and terms of compensation). The system supports career development and talent management.

Making mobility even more flexible is the idea behind the Free Agent programme that was introduced in late 2016 by Natural Resources Canada, and is currently being rolled out in two other departments.

This innovative approach gives civil servants recruited to these posts the freedom to select work that corresponds to their skills and interests. It also allows HR departments to quickly and easily find the profiles they are seeking for short assignments.

Organized in small groups within each department, free agents are experts with a wide variety of profiles who can intervene in the following situations:

• When there is a need for an emerging skill that is not available within a given group

 • To replace an employee on long-term leave

• To scale up a project with more human resources

The program has been a resounding success – more than 700 applications were submitted for the first 80 positions available.


¹ Restructuring efforts are legislated by the Work Force Adjustment Directive.