management plan 2019 - european commission · 2019-02-25 · this strategic role is driven by...

Management Plan 2019

European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)

Ref. Ares(2018)6530996 - 18/12/2018

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Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 3

PART 1. MAIN OUTPUTS FOR THE YEAR ........................................................................... 6

PART 2. MAIN ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT OUTPUTS FOR THE YEAR ................................. 20

Annex 1. Tables ................................................................................................... 30

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INTRODUCTION

Any organisation is only as good as its people and the EU institutions’ ability to deliver

depends on the quality of their staff. To this end, EPSO's role is to serve the EU

Institutions by providing high quality, efficient and effective selection procedures that

enable them to recruit the right person, for the right job, at the right time.

This strategic role is driven by EPSO’s vision which is articulated around the three

following cornerstones:

• To be a leading international public sector selection service through a process of

continuous improvement based on best practice and international standards and

developments in assessments, whilst at the same time ensuring that what differentiates

the EU institutions as employers of choice in an increasingly competitive labour market

remains valued and fully integrated in the selection policy;

• To serve the EU institutions in an optimal manner by setting up and consolidating

bilateral and multilateral strategic partnerships with all its stakeholders, and which will

allow EPSO to evolve into a centre of expertise and excellence to support the European

Institutions broader HR and talent management strategies;

• To help provide a European Civil Service that is of the highest quality and

representative of the diversity of the European citizens it serves, by delivering the talent

pools that will meet all the EU institutions recruitment needs for the future, both in terms

of quality and of quantity.

In order to implement the above vision, EPSO must tackle a number of key challenges in

2019 and onwards, mainly:

the need to better support fast selection and recruitment channels in a

competitive labour market, hindered for the EU institutions by the current

complexity and length of the selection processes;

the issue of attractiveness of EU Careers and its impact on geographical

balance of the talent pools provided to the institutions, in a global context of

return to economic growth, new generations of workers with different expectations

and increased competition among employers seeking to attract highly trained,

multilingual and geographically mobile professionals;

the reliable assessment of all competencies and skills required for the

workforce of the EU institutions as employers, in a sensitive political context of

growing populism and questioning of the EU core values and the European project

across various Member States. This challenge also entails the full integration of the

evolution of skills that will be required in a near future for different and new types of

jobs;

the legal constraints and current uncertainties around the linguistic regime

applicable for selection processes;

the fact that the majority of EPSO's IT tools currently supporting the talent

management strategy are increasingly outdated and to be phased out by the

end of 2020, whereas at the same time the EU institutions must be able to embrace

the increasingly high pace of evolution of technology in this field. The EPSO/DIGIT

study finalised in November 2018 on the possible IT delivery model will serve as a

first milestone on the way forward, in addition to the Internal Audit Service (IAS)

recommendations on IT governance in the HR Family.

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The need to address all these challenges certainly calls for an in-depth reflection in 2019

on the possible evolutions of the selection model and policy of the EU Institutions, taking

into account all these elements in a holistic and integrated way rather than seeking

separate solutions which may ultimately appear to suit some objectives but conflict with

others. The expected optimal solution would combine a modern and effective employer

branding and attractiveness strategy (presenting a forward-looking and dynamic image

for the institutions as an employer of choice) and user-friendly, effective, rapid, modern

and legally robust selection processes that both attract and select the best. Such a

reflection should be initiated as soon as possible by the new Director of EPSO, who would

be appointed in 2019.

EPSO’s vision will continue to be supported over 2019 by the set of five strategic goals

as in line with EPSO's Strategic Plan for 2016-2020, which remain fully valid including in

light of the possible evolution of the selection model:

Engaging with candidates

EPSO will implement the new Employer Branding Strategy and its supporting tagline

("Shaping Europe Together") and the Employer Value Proposition of the EU institutions.

By promoting the EU Careers and proactively cooperating with the Member States that

are under-represented in the candidate pool, EPSO will endeavour to attract the best

qualified candidates on the broadest geographical basis. These efforts also extend to

ensuring EPSO attracts and selects equal numbers of women and men, as well as

candidates with disabilities.

Adapting and improving selection methods

Notwithstanding the possible evolutions of the selection model in itself, EPSO will

continue to implement measures to ensure high standards of performance management,

fairness and consistency in the delivery of exams in line with internationally recognised

best practice. Innovations such as testing candidates’ motivation to join the EU, remote

video interviewing or improving the efficiency of talent sifting tools will be delivered in

2019.

Improving the recruitment process

EPSO will continue to work with the Institutions to further improve the speed and quality

of the hiring process, making available recruitment data regularly and seeking to close

older reserve lists, as well as to optimise the annual alignment of supply and demand for

laureates.

Improving organisational and cost-effectiveness

EPSO will continue to focus on improving internal processes through reinforced quality

control, implementation of knowledge management and systemic use of collaborative

tools. Improved data-mining in 2019 will also contribute to data-driven decision-making.

Contributing to the development of the EU Institutions' HR policy & practice

EPSO will continue in 2019 to offer a catalogue of flexible, adaptive and customer-

oriented services which can be offered to all EU Institutions, agencies and bodies.

In 2019, EPSO will handle a budget of around €26.5M (entirely under Heading V –

Administrative Expenditure), which also includes the budget of the European School of

Administration (EUSA, approximately €6.0M). This includes several important framework

contracts that EPSO has in place - the most important of which relate to Computer-Based

Testing and test development.

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The plans and activities in 2019 will take into account and reflect the needs which are

related to the necessary preparations for Brexit and their timely implementation,

including the necessary technical-administrative measures (IT system configuration, etc.)

and a specific communication strategy. These actions are being coordinated by the

Secretariat-General with a view to ensuring coherence in the design and timing of these

measures.

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PART 1. MAIN OUTPUTS FOR THE YEAR

Relevant general objective(s): To help achieve the overall political objectives,

the Commission will effectively manage and safeguard assets and resources,

and attract and develop the best talents.

Specific objective 1: Highly qualified staff are made available to all EU

Institutions by organising Open Competitions and selection procedures in an

inter-institutional context – covering thereby their needs. Main outputs in 2019:

Other important outputs

Output Indicator Target/Target date

Reserve lists of AD, AST

and AST/SC Officials, as

set out in the Notices of

Competition.

In total 1 490 laureates

are requested across all

Institutions for 2019

(endorsed by EPSO's

Management Board in

November 2018).

Laureate delivery rate

Duration of the selection

procedure

≥90% of the

cumulative published

target figures.

9 to 12 months for

annual cycles and <10

months for specialist

competitions,

depending on the

number of candidates

and the subsequent

organisation of these

competitions with or

without computer-

based tests upfront.

Improved Permanent

CAST selection model

Database of candidates (both

applicants and tested

candidates) across four

different Function Groups

permanently available to

recruiting services and

updated in real time in the

Recruiter Portal

New profiles introduced (with

appropriate test content)

matching Institutions' needs

High-quality test content

Testing of all relevant

candidates pre-

selected by

Institutions within

agreed deadlines

throughout the year.

New profiles/ new test

content added at the

request of Institutions

Refreshment of test

content in those

domains where

existing material might

have become

overexposed.

Test material for CAST and

competitions in the

required languages

Availability of test material

(multiple-choice questions

and assessment centre

exercises) in required

languages

Test material is

available in required

languages for

competitions and

selection procedures.

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New framework contracts

for:

- delivery of Video-remote

interviews - delivery of language

comprehension tests

Timely completion of

procurement procedures (in

collaboration with DG HR.R1)

New framework contracts

awarded and in place

No interruption of services

between contracts

Signing of contracts

with winning

contractors as follows:

- Video-remote

interviews: May 2019

- Language

comprehension tests:

end 2019

New framework for a

modernised IT tools suite:

- choice of off-the-shelf

(tool) either as a result

of a market research or

most likely a call for

tender planned in 2019

- Master plan for

implementation of new

tools by end 2020

Existence of formal

endorsement and approval of

the supply model for a

modernised IT tools suite by

EPSO’s management board,

ITCB and HRFit.

Clarity of licencing model

and/or framework contract in

place to accompany the

modernisation.

Results of proofs of concept

and clarity of roadmap for

implementation and

transition.

Licences and/or

Framework contract:

Q4 2019

Approval of

Management Board:

Q1 2019

Endorsement by ITCB

and HRFit: Q1 2019

According to its founding decisions, EPSO is responsible for the selection of highly

qualified staff on behalf of the Institutions whilst the recruitment of staff from reserve

lists remains the responsibility of the individual Institutions. The actions under this

activity cover the full range of steps needed to complete the selection process of

permanent officials (from planning and publication of the Notice of Competition, right up

to the publication of the list of successful candidates). Open Competitions are organised

for generalists and experts at different grades and categories (AD, AST and AST/SC) and

across different fields and languages. The latter may include linguistic competitions for

translators, interpreters, lawyer-linguists, proof-readers and linguistic assistants.

In 2019, the efforts will focus on full implementation of a multilingual and multifaceted

approach to organising selection procedures for the Institutions. Notices of Competition

now contain an even more robust justification on the use of languages for different

phases of each individual selection and application forms are available in 24 languages.

At present, the overall language regime continues to follow the logic stemming from the

needs expressed by the recruiting services, and based on detailed statistical data.

Specific measures are also taken to make sure that test material (multiple-choice

questions and assessment centre exercises) is available in the required languages for all

competitions and selection procedures. Based on the outcome of additional forthcoming

Court rulings and on the possible evolutions of the selection model, the linguistic regime

may be further adapted in 2019. The permanent selection model for contract staff is based on a talent pool and on a more

cost-efficient approach to testing, with the successful introduction of the Entry ticket

allowing the retention of the validity of candidate scores for a predefined period across

different profiles. The model also offers more flexibility as testing windows are organised

regularly throughout the year with an increasing number as of 2019. To meet specific

and targeted recruitment needs expressed by its stakeholders, EPSO remains committed

to further improving this new selection model by adding new profiles and tests (based on

recruiters' feedback and experience), shortening timelines, potential IT developments to

avail of the latest technologies, and by refreshing test content – where necessary - with

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the support of subject-matter experts designated by EPSO stakeholders. In 2019, the

current CAST Permanent Call will be reinforced by a series of new profiles in Function

Group III and IV targeting experts in the fields of security and building management.

EPSO will finalise a new call for tender in 2019 to allow the delivery of video-remote

interviews, which will on one hand increase the quality of candidates invited to the next

stage of the selection process by, and while, reducing the resources needed for similar

tests delivered in a traditional way, as well as enable the selection of new EU Careers

Student Ambassadors. It is therefore considered to be a future-focused, innovative and

effective method of selection, which can also contribute to shortening the duration of

selection processes.

In 2019, and as a potential element of a revised linguistic regime, EPSO will launch and

finalise a new call for tender aiming at refreshing the database of existing test material of

language comprehension tests and procuring a new test to verify the main language of

candidates primarily in open competitions and also in translator competitions. The latter

is based on a pilot project run in 2017 on four translator competitions, which was

completed successfully.

EPSO will also pursue the best option for an optimal IT delivery model, taking into

account the findings of the external study on this matter. Moving forward, this may entail

a procurement procedure for some aspects of the IT solution, without prejudice to the

development of a corporate HR solution to support talent management as a whole in the

coming years.

Specific objective 2: Our communication with potential and current candidates is

positive and proactive, in order to contribute to a strong employer image for the

EU Institutions and improve our ability to attract the right talent.

Main outputs in 2019:



Communication with

citizens and

candidates:

Maintenance of the

candidate relationship

management tool

(Issue Tracker) for

candidate questions

and issues in all 24 EU

official languages

Maintain the ratio of queries per

application dealt with by EPSO's

Candidate Contact Service (CCS).

Issue Tracker tool user management

and internal training for colleagues

FAQs available on EU Careers website

are regularly reviewed and updated,

new ones added as new processes are

implemented

In 2019, the

average number

of queries should

stay comparable

to 2018 figures,

i.e. one query per

4 applications

In 2019, 100% of

selected

colleagues trained

and using the

Issue Tracker

tool.

At least 5 new

FAQs are added in

2019

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Structured

cooperation with

Europe Direct Contact

Centre (EDCC) to

manage general

queries from

candidates in all 24

official EU languages.

Maintain the ratio of queries per

application dealt with by EDCC.

Organise at least 3 training sessions

for the EDCC agents

At least 2 quality control reviews of

the replies to queries provided by

EDCC agents

In 2019, the

average number

of queries should

be comparable to

2018 figures, i.e.

one query per

100 applications

Spring, Autumn,

Winter 2019.

Spring and

Autumn 2019

Legal matters:

Timely and effective

handling of requests

for review, Article 90

and Ombudsman

complaints, access to

documents requests,

and EDPS complaints.

Number of contributions/ decisions

prepared within the set deadlines

Ratio of requests for review that

become formal complaints (Article 90

or Ombudsman)

In 2019, 95% of

procedures

completed within

set deadlines.

In 2019, maintain

same ratio as in

2018, i.e. 3%.

Further development

and

professionalization of

the reasonable

accommodations

procedure for

candidates with

disabilities and/or

special needs.

Creation of new guidelines:

- for EPSO/ Institutions on How to

accommodate special needs

candidates in a testing situation

- for candidates on How to request

special adjustments of selection tests

Maintain high satisfaction rates of

candidates who have requested

special adjustments of selection tests

2nd semester

2019

Satisfaction rate

equal or higher

than 80 %.

Accessibility of EU

Careers website

Reduced number of issues flagged in

the semi-annual accessibility

screenings of the website.

Continuous improvement of

accessibility: implement descriptions

of links, add tags to images and mark

dates so they are readable by screen

reading software, allow for selection

of options using keyboard only.

Level of AA WCAG (Web Content

Accessibility Guidelines) compliance

In 2019, zero

errors to be

identified, down

from 10 in 2018

2nd semester

2019

End 2019

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achieved as certified by DG COMM

Delivery of final report by Web

Content expert from DG COMM

End 2019

Communication

The Candidate Contact Service (CCS) deals with one-to-one communication on specific

issues between candidates and EPSO. In 2019, the aim is to stabilise the number of

queries received by regularly updating the FAQs, archiving outdated ones and adding

new ones whenever necessary. New colleagues in charge of correspondence with

candidates will be trained to use the CCS relationship management tool, Issue Tracker.

The cooperation with the Europe Direct Contact Centre (EDCC) for more general

applicant and candidate questions will be maintained. In 2019, EPSO will train the call

centre agents whenever necessary (at least three training sessions) and undertake at

least two quality control reviews on the EDCC’s answers (content, respect of deadlines).

Additional external communication activities are detailed under section E.

Legal Matters

The Legal Sector will continue to ensure that the applicable legal framework is observed

throughout EPSO's activities – from policy development to the operation of individual

competition procedures. The team will continue to provide and continuously improve

legal advice to management, staff and selection boards and the timely and effective

handling of requests for review, administrative complaints under Art. 90 of the Staff

Regulations, requests for access to documents under Regulation (EC) No. 1049/2001,

complaints to and queries from the European Ombudsman and of legal files related to the

protection of personal data. The Legal Sector will continue to work closely with the

Commission's Legal Service for litigation concerning EPSO before the EU Courts. The

team shall maintain regular contact with other services (in particular with the European

Ombudsman's Office, the European Data Protection Supervisor's Office, the Legal Service

and the Secretariat-General of the Commission).

In 2019, the overall aim of the Legal Sector will remain the efficient management of the

above legal procedures with strict observation of applicable deadlines and the delivery of

legally sound advice contributing to the success of EPSO's core operations and strategic

projects.

Special needs/reasonable accommodations

In order to continually improve and professionalise its practices in terms of reasonable

accommodations for candidates with disability and special needs and in line with

international best practice and the United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons

with a Disability, the new procedure designed and tested in 2015 was rolled out in 2017.

The procedure will continue to be monitored and improved further throughout 2019

offering additional tools to both EPSO staff and candidates with special needs.

Over the last year, EPSO has been increasing its website’s level of accessibility, by

replacing pdf documents with html pages, adding tags to pictures, etc. In 2019, EPSO

will solve the final accessibility issues flagged in order to achieve level AA of the Web

Content Accessibility guidelines.

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Specific objective 3: EPSO's selection methods are continuously improved based

on experience, best practice and international standards.




Assessment of

motivation of

candidates applying

for an EU career.

Use interview to verify motivation in

AD Generalist competition and

achieve satisfactory psychometrics

Low number of complaints

Motivation

interview to take

place in January

2019 as part of

the ongoing

EPSO/AD/356/18

competition with

satisfactory

psychometrics

(low halo with

other tests,

reliability,

validity)

No increase in

complaints for AC

stage.

Delivery of remotely

proctored internet-

based tests.

Pilot project for the delivery of

remotely proctored internet-based

tests, e.g. for candidates with special

needs

First semester

2019

Creation of a pool of

Source Persons for AC

exercises.

Availability of pool of Source Persons

identified and duly trained

Creation of two

new pools of

source persons

(approximately 4

people per pool)

from the

Institutions, one

during first

semester and one

during second

semester.

Improved Competency

Based Interview (CBI).

Use of the questionnaire on work

situation preferences (General

Competency Situational Strength

based Questionnaire, GCSSQ) to

structure and streamline the CBI

Pilot

questionnaire for

competitions in

which candidates

take tests on PCs

in EPSO’s

premises.

Develop and

implement a

dedicated training

for the relevant

selection board(s)

Introduction of the

"split assessment"

approach.

Implementation of the approach in

the context of a specific competition

using customised software

2019 first

semester: test

new functionalities

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in the scoring tool

2019 second

semester: use

split assessment

in a specific

competition

Use of the MMI

method (Multi Mini

Interview/Speed

Assessment)1.

Use of the MMI method in the frame

of the proposed Fast Track Specialist

competition model (Fast track model

subject to approval by the

Institutions)

2019 (exact date

depending on

competition to be

identified and

subject to

approval of the

fast track model

by the

Institutions).

Use of the Video-

recorded Group

exercise.

One group exercise room (on-site)

fully operational and equipped with

the hardware and software allowing

the video-recording of the Group

exercise and the remote scoring by

assessors

Use of the video-recorded group

exercise in a specific competition

1st semester

2019: room fully

equipped

2nd semester: use

of video-recorded

group exercise in

a specific

competition

EPSO’s anti-fraud

strategy

EPSO’s anti-fraud strategy is

updated in line with the new

corporate anti-fraud strategy (CAFS)

and communicated to staff

2019 (after

adoption of CAFS

by the

Commission)

To meet the changing needs of the Institutions, in 2019 EPSO will continue to propose,

trial and develop flexible, cost-effective testing solutions using modern technology and

selection techniques across its competitions, in order to ensure the quality of assessment

as well as increasing the cost-efficiency of assessment centres for EU open competitions.

The outcome of the different trials and test analysis is reported to the interinstitutional

Working Group and to the Management Board of EPSO, for decision on the potential

future implementation of the new tools and methods in EPSO's selection procedures.

Whereas some of the improvements have already been subject to pilot projects in 2018

(such as the pool of AC source persons, the MMI method in the 2017 AST-SC cycle or the

use of GCSSQ on a sample group of EU officials), other outputs have been postponed due

to the unavailability of supporting framework contracts, or difficulties to identify suitable

target competitions. In this regard, a number of outputs initially foreseen for 2018 are

now expected to be delivered in 2019.

The output provided by the new motivation interview, implemented in the ongoing AD

Generalists cycle competition, will be analysed and EPSO will be able to provide

1 Multi Mini Interviews (MMI) method consists of replacing the traditional panel interview with a series of short interviews, one to one, with each member of the panel. Each interview lasts 10 minutes maximum and focuses on a limited number of well-defined aspects of the candidate.

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recommendations to it's stakeholders regarding the use of interviews in assessing

candidates' reasons for applying for an EU career.

In 2019 and based on the new framework contract, EPSO will also start delivering

remotely proctored internet-based testing as a pilot project which will be assessed in

view of potential further extension.

The creation of a pool of available Source Persons to develop generic Assessment

Centre exercises not directly linked to specific competitions started in 2018 will

increase the efficiency of the test development phase, whilst at the same time

generating further savings linked to the reusability of test material.

The questionnaire on work situation preferences will be administered via an ad hoc IT

tool, and deployed in the EPSO PC room, in order to further enhance the validity of the

competency-based interview.

The split assessment (each assessor scores candidates individually) now using

customised software, the MMI and the video-recorded group exercise are also

expected to further increase equality of treatment. Split assessment and video-

recorded group exercise will also allow more flexibility for assessors.

Moreover, the Strategic Plan 2016-2020 identified the use of content analysis techniques

(e.g. Artificial Intelligence) in the Talent Screener phase. To this end, EPSO is

participating in the Big Data Personal Assessment (BDPA) Erasmus+ project with three

universities (Rotterdam, Delft and Saarland) to complete the trials on content analysis

techniques in 2018-2019.

Specific objective 4: Recruitment needs are clearly identified up-front in close

cooperation with Institutions, aligning thereby supply and demand for

laureates.




Strategic planning

2020 – 2022

Strategic planning exercise 2020 –

2022 is endorsed by EPSO Working

Group and Management Board

October/November

2019

As in previous years, EPSO will complete the strategic planning exercise together with its

stakeholders, enabling its Management Board to confirm the target figures of laureates

for the coming three years, i.e. 2020, 2021 and 2022. To facilitate this exercise, EPSO

will continue to share best practice and guidelines in drafting the nature of duties and

requirements, and to push forward an even more efficient and effective way to plan this

strategic exercise upfront.

Following recommendations from the Internal Audit Service, the guidelines already

include a method of role-profiling, in order to better support the entire planning process

across the Institutions and decentralised agencies. Role-profiling aims to establish a

closer correlation between business strategies and jobs by identifying those roles that are

essential for an organisation to remain efficient and effective and thereby helping to

identify skills and knowledge-gaps as part of talent management. It is equally helpful to

define the profiles needed for other selections organised by EPSO, in cooperation with the

EU Agencies.

In parallel, EPSO continues to explore the use of available IT tools to facilitate the

sharing of information with the recruiting services. The ultimate purpose is to increase

transparency and predictability of EPSO's future selections, by further standardising and

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clarifying definitions of profiles, duties, tasks and Talent Screener questions in the

Notices of Competition, on inter-institutional WIKI pages and on the EPSO website when

applicable.

With regard to CAST Permanent, EPSO in particular aims to consolidate the call for

expression of interest for this selection procedure by integrating the many corrigenda

and addenda into a single reference document, which will facilitate ease of reading and

thus improve understanding.

Specific objective 5: Recruiting services can identify and recruit appropriate

laureates rapidly and effectively.




Quarterly statistics on

recruitment rates.

Provision of reliable and updated

statistical information

Each quarter

Proposal to EPSO

Working Group for

reserve lists to be

closed.

Acceptance of EPSO's proposal June and

December 2019

One of EPSO's key tasks is to manage existing reserve lists by facilitating the

identification and recruitment of laureates at inter-institutional level. This activity consists

of enhancing the use of the Recruiter portal as well as keeping the reserve lists up-to-

date and monitoring their use closely. In addition to quarterly statistics on overall

recruitment rates, EPSO will continue to provide the Institutions with more detailed

statistics on the progress of recruitment within the first 6 to 12 months following the

publication of each new reserve list. When it comes to the extension and/or closure of

reserve lists in the Recruiter portal database, EPSO will continue to collect the feedback

from the Institutions twice a year (by June and by December) and inform the recruiters

and end-users, mainly via WIKIs created for that purpose.

Specific objective 6: Existing processes are re-engineered, including the use of

digital technologies and collaborative tools, to make them more cost-effective,

efficient, agile and rapid.




Re-engineering of the

Talent Screener and

Admission phases.

Number of Requests for Review

accepted by the Selection Boards Reduced number

compared to

2018 figures.

Continuous

maintenance of EPSO

Knowledge Garden

wiki

Further development

of Knowledge

Management strategy

All EPSO newcomers trained in Wiki

tool and are familiar with EPSO

Knowledge Garden within first month of

their arrival to the office

Updated EPSO Knowledge Management

strategy

100% of

colleagues to be

trained in EPSO

Knowledge

Garden

Updated EPSO

Knowledge

Management

strategy adopted

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Monitoring of feedback

from Selection Board

Members (official end

reports from open

competitions).

Number of recommendations from

Selection Board Members captured into

the monitoring tool and assessed by

EPSO.

100% of all new

recommendation

s captured.

Review and

Improvement of the

Quality Management

Office strategy

Quality management strategy approved

by new EPSO director

End 2019

Improved IT

governance

Completion of IAS recommendations as

per action plan following IT governance

in HR IT Family

Continuous

through 2020

Talent Screener and admission re-engineering

In 2019, EPSO will continue increasing the quality and efficiency of the eligibility and

Talent Screener phases. This will continue to entail, amongst other things, further

involvement of the admission team in the preparatory work for the Selection Boards as

well as established quality control checks for these phases.

In addition, EPSO will explore with stakeholders options for further improving Talent

Screener. This may involve processes such as machine-assisted content analysis or a re-

engineering of the scoring system. The new features could also include the possibility to

assign specific files to two or more assessors with external access, similar to the current

marking model.

EPSO will continue exploring current developments in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data,

liaising with universities as well as other Directorate-Generals that have experience in

using these tools, so that the new technological developments in text analytics might

simplify and improve the work of the Selection Boards during the eligibility checks and

Talent Screener.

All the above actions aim to further reduce the number of requests for review for the

Talent Screener and admission phases, which ultimately will limit the cases where the

selection board overturns its original decision.

Knowledge management

EPSO will evaluate how well the EPSO Knowledge Garden fulfils staff expectations for

Knowledge Management and a new version of the EPSO Knowledge Management

strategy will be adopted based on that.

Quality Management

The goal of Quality management is to ensure that the products and services meet

customer requirements, underpinned by a set of processes for the planning, monitoring

and control of product development and service performance. QMO will continue to

support the effective rollout of Quality assurance, Quality control and continuous

improvement actions which will be facilitated by the use of digital technologies and

collaborative tools. Thus significant effort will be spent in 2019 on the support and

facilitation of new EPSO modernised IT system as well as on implementation of the

recommendations from the IAS audit report on IT governance in the HR Family.

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Specific objective 7: The attraction, appointment and workings of selection

boards and assessors are further rationalised and professionalised.




Analysis of EPSO

Academy (pilot and

2018 sessions)

Presentation of outcome of analysis to

the Institutions

Based on feedback from the

Institutions and after having received

their agreement, propose and launch

an ongoing programme, aiming to

extend the pool of experts in staff

selection

By mid-2019

Before end 2019

Timely appointment of

Selection Board

Requests for appointments by EPSO

processed on time.

Core Selection Boards in place for the

kick-off meeting.

All requests for

appointments by

EPSO processed

on time

Throughout the

year for all

competitions

published in

2019

After the roll-out of both the pilot project and an additional session in 2018 of the EPSO

Academy, creating an additional pool of experts in staff selection at both AD and AST

level, EPSO will take full stock of those initial sessions before proposing to launch an

ongoing programme after consultation with and approval of the Institutions in 2019. The

EPSO Academy will continue to take into account continuous needs analysis, including

new learning modules as appropriate. EPSO will continue to work with the Institutions to

encourage them regularly to integrate Academy participants into Selection Boards which

is a prerequisite to finalise the requested report.

As in previous years in 2019, consultation of the Institutions and their staff committees

to ensure the timely appointment of Selection Boards to run EPSO competitions

effectively will remain an essential part of daily business. EPSO will also focus on

simplifying the labour-intensive and manual management of Selection Board

appointments at all levels. The efforts will be geared towards creating a single repository

available to all EPSO's key stakeholders, facilitating the search and re-appointment of

their Selection Board members in case of withdrawals during the process.

In 2019, EPSO will continue to raise awareness and to attract new Selection Board

members across the Institutions. In this context, the EPSO My IntraComm pages on how

to become a Selection Board member are available to all the Institutions and

decentralised agencies since 2017. EPSO will continue to ensure participation in different

network meetings and career days organised by the HR departments within the different

Institutions, to explain how to get involved in staff selection as a board member, marker,

source person or subject matter expert.

The information package available to Selection Boards is regularly updated, including the

Guide for Selection Boards, accessible online via a bespoke wiki page. The commitment

letter - clarifying the rules of conduct and explaining what the appointment as a member

of a Selection Board entails – will continue to be applied to all competitions in 2019. Both

17

the Guide and the letter serve the purpose of giving the Boards all the necessary

information on how the Boards can ensure the timely delivery of laureates in an optimal

way.

Specific objective 8: A comprehensive offering of flexible and adaptive services

– including expertise in the field of assessment, selection, occupational

psychology, psychometrics and employer branding – as well as support to

ensure the implementation of talent management strategies in the EU

Institutions are provided to help meet challenging stakeholder needs.




Catalogue of services

for EU Institutions,

agencies and bodies.

Number of EU Agencies and other

bodies using EPSO's staff selection

services.

10 EU agencies

and other bodies

or more using

dedicated staff

selection

services

In addition to the EU Institutions, and in view of pooling resources and recruitment goals,

EPSO also provides tailored selection services and support to the decentralised EU

agencies and bodies across Europe. The EPSO catalogue of services will continue to be

the main source of information for future cooperation projects. The catalogue – easily

available and user-friendly - details the eight categories of existing services, which

include communication with candidates and jobseekers, talent management to select and

recruit the best, diversity, testing candidates, giving guidance on legal issues and

providing training.

In 2019 however, EPSO's service delivery model will be based on charging back actual

costs solely for tailor-made selection procedures and other chargeable services, both to

be agreed via specific annexes to a new service-level agreement. For reasons of

administrative cost-efficiency and in compliance with the newly revised financial rules,

the distinction will be made between "baseline services" (free of charge) and chargeable

services.

With regard to computer-based and internet-based testing, EPSO will continue to render

specific services to DIGIT for their accreditation following the PM2 training programme as

well as to JRC who use locally proctored tests for their Contract agent FG IV scientific

officers, which are both covered by specific SLAs. EPSO will further continue to propose

innovative testing methods for specific pilot projects to interested stakeholders.

Specific objective 9: The linguistic abilities in a third language of staff eligible

for a first promotion (officials, contract staff in function group IV, temporary

agents assisting political groups in the European Parliament and temporary

agents in agencies) are evaluated in a harmonised, consistent and cost–efficient

manner.




Delivery of

assessments of Timely delivery of assessments

concerning the diplomas and

100% evaluation

of files (diplomas

18

linguistic ability by

EPSO and the

evaluation committees

to satisfy the

requirements of Article

45(2) and Article

85(3) of CEOS.

certificates submitted by the

candidates.

and certificates)

submitted within

the deadline.

Delivery of

assessments of

linguistic ability by

EPSO and the external

service providers to

satisfy the

requirements of Article

45(2) and Article

85(3) of CEOS.

Timely delivery of linguistic tests of

level B2.

100%

satisfaction of

requests

received for

testing third

language

capabilities.

Delivery of an online

satisfaction survey for

candidates processed

during the year.

Satisfaction rate of candidates with the

assessment of their third language

abilities.

≥ 90%

satisfaction rate

of candidates

who reply to the

satisfaction

survey.

Procurement

processes for new

Framework contract.

Launch of the procedure (in

collaboration with DG HR.R.1). Call to be

launched: April

2019

Moving forward, EPSO is able to streamline the minimum level required for third

language assessment following changes to the requirements of some stakeholders. The

third language assessment committee will also operate with a new chair from the

European Parliament.

In 2019 a procurement procedure will be launched in order to secure a new framework

contract for third language testing.

Specific objective 10: To contribute to the running of the certification

procedure.




Delivery of

examinations in order

to enable the

Examining Board to

establish Reserve lists

of certified Officials.

Timely delivery of accurate

Certification examinations in

compliance with the Institutions'

requirements.

100% timely and

accurate delivery

of list of certified

Officials

according to the

deadlines set by

Institutions.

19

Delivery of

examinations in

compliance with

Examining Board's

expectations.

Satisfaction rate of Examining Board

with the organisation of tests.

100% satisfaction

of Examining

Board with tests

delivered.

EPSO aims to further improve the delivery of Certification examinations and to modernise

and rationalise the procedure. An extensive review of the Certification process was

conducted in 2017-2018 involving EUSA, EPSO and representatives of the Institutions.

An analysis of the conclusions is being carried out and will be presented to EPSO's

Management Board in 2019.

20

PART 2. MAIN ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT OUTPUTS FOR THE YEAR

A. Human resource management

For its HR management, EPSO is supported by Account Management Centre (AMC) 7 and

is fully integrated and active in the network of HR Business Correspondents. The local

Business Correspondent team in EPSO (which also fully covers the European

Administration School) accounts for 1.5 FTE and reports directly to the Director of the

Office. It should be noted that EPSO's HR strategy may be reviewed and adapted in the

course of 2019 given the upcoming change of the Office's top management (new Director

of EPSO to be appointed).

In October 2018, 60% of EPSO's middle management were women (3 out of 5 Heads of

Unit), thereby contributing to the overall Commission’s target2 of 40% of first time

female appointments. Following these targets, EPSO has an additional quantitative target

to appoint one additional woman by November 2019.

During 2019 EPSO will continue to contribute to the HR modernisation exercise by

examining, together with DG HR, its own potential for modernisation, automation and

efficiency gains, while maintaining a high quality of service. Moving forward with its HR

strategy and taking into account changing circumstances, EPSO may also have to

consider the on-boarding of new profiles such as occupational psychologists and

psychometricians to contribute to optimal testing; data mining experts to contribute to

data-based decision-making and to meet Member State requests; IT product managers

to better manage the IT delivery model and IT Security experts due to increased

complexity and importance in this field.

In order to further develop in-house expertise, the new EPSO Learning and Development

Framework will be rolled out in 2019. It aims at shaping the capability, knowledge and

attitude of each individual, so that all staff may contribute to the realisation of EPSO's

objectives and those of the Commission. It includes a new Professionalization Programme

which sets out three different levels of trainings (both internal and at corporate level)

available to all the staff and a new EPSO Management Potential Programme to help

colleagues with a management potential to rapidly evolve in the organisation and/or

become managers.

The new Commission staff survey has been launched in mid-November 2018. In the last

staff survey (2016), the staff engagement index continued to increase in EPSO compared

to the previous survey (2014) and is above Commission average. In 2019, continued

efforts will be delivered to further reinforce the staff engagement level to reach the

target of 75% as foreseen in the Strategic Plan 2016-2020.

Internal communication will accompany the appointment in 2019 of the new Director of

EPSO (EPSO all staff meeting, internal newsletter, etc.).

EPSO’s internal communication function will cooperate closely with DG HR, being domain

leader, to ensure corporate messages are shared and understood properly.

2 SEC(2017)359 final

21

Objective: The DG deploys effectively its resources in support of the delivery of

the Commission priorities and core business, has a competent and engaged

workforce, which is driven by an effective and gender-balanced management

and which can deploy its full potential within supportive and healthy working

conditions Main outputs in 2019:

Output Indicator Target

Continuation and

enrichment of EPSO's

fit@work programme

by adding new

activities based on the

corporate 2019

fit@work strategy.

Promotion of local

activities in other

neighbouring DGs

open to all staff.

Introductory training

sessions to

volunteering.

Promotion campaigns

(in tandem with the

organisation, of local

activities when

appropriate) for:

- corporate events

such as 20Km of

Brussels, Ekiden

Marathon, VeloMai,

European Week of

Sport, the European

Week of Health and

Safety at work

- conferences/

workshops from the

Medical Service.

Staff engagement index.

Number of EPSO staff who

participated at least once

during the year in

fit@work related activities.

Maintain staff engagement

index above Commission

average.

50% of EPSO staff

participates at least once in

fit@work related activities.

Implementation of the

new Learning and

Development

Framework

Registrations in EU learn Ethics and integrity: 100% of

colleagues to be trained

Procurement: all colleagues

who work with DG HR on

procurement processes to be

trained

Internal control: all AD staff

to be trained

Risk management and fraud

prevention: all AD staff to be

trained

All 2018 newcomer staff to

22

complete the Foundation

level of the EPSO

Professionalization

Programme by end 2019

Roll out of the EPSO

Management Potential

Programme

Organisation of

trainings/workshops/

info-sessions notably

on:

- prevention of

psycho-social risks

at the workplace

(training for

managers - office ergonomics - inclusion and

diversity - resilience

Promotion of corporate

coaching

Staff engagement index

Number of colleagues

availing of corporate

coaching

Maintain staff engagement

index above Commission

average

At least two colleagues

availing of corporate

coaching

Action plan as follow-

up to staff opinion

survey 2018

Approval of action plan by

Director

by end of Q2 2019

B. Financial Management: Internal control and Risk management

Objective 1: Effective and reliable internal control system giving the necessary

guarantees concerning the legality and the regularity of the underlying

transactions.



Legality and regularity

of the underlying

transactions in the DG.

Estimated residual error

rate.

Below 2%

Ex-post controls. Approximately 70 ex-post

controls by EPSO

management and DG

HR.R.1 together. The

exact number will be

decided at the beginning

of 2019 by DG HR.R.1

based on the estimated

risks.

No financial transaction

earmarked as

"unacceptable".

23


2018 IAS audit report

on IT Programme and

Project Management in

the HR family.

Action plan approved and

covering all

recommendations in the

remit of EPSO.

Number of

recommendations

implemented.

100% of recommendations

with target date in 2019

implemented.

In 2019, EPSO will handle a budget of around €26.5M (entirely under Heading V –

Administrative Expenditure), which also includes the budget of the European School of

Administration (EUSA, approximately €6.0M).

Objective 2: Effective and reliable internal control system in line with sound

financial management.



Timely execution of

payments.

Percentage of payments

on the budget made within

the compulsory 30 days

limit after receipt of

invoices.

>95%

Procurement process

for new Framework

contracts.

Timely completion of all

procedures (in

collaboration with DG

HR.R.1).

Number of negative

opinions given by GAMA

on EPSO/EUSA

procedures.

Finalisation of the Call for

Tenders with following

respective target dates:

Video-remote interviews: May

2019

Language comprehension

tests: end 2019

Number of negative opinions

given by GAMA = 0


new Internal Control

Framework.

Review progress on the

internal control monitoring

criteria.

100% of monitoring criteria

in place and principles

assessed as "present and

functioning".

Delivery of the annual

i-CAT exercise

(including an anti-

fraud awareness

assessment).

Level of general

effectiveness weighted

percentage in i-CAT

exercise

i-CAT exercise to be

organised as part of the

preparation of EPSO's 2018

Annual Activity Report (AAR).

General effectiveness

weighted percentage of 90%

or above.

24

In 2019 EPSO expects to be slightly above the target threshold of 11.3% for the cost of

internal control for the HR Family. This is because this entails EPSO and EUSA financial

staff as well as DG HR colleagues who assist EPSO in the carrying out of ex-post controls

as per the agreed SLA.

Objective 3: Minimisation of the risk of fraud through application of effective

anti-fraud measures, integrated in all activities of the DG, based on the DG's

anti-fraud strategy (AFS) aimed at the prevention, detection and reparation of

fraud. Main outputs in 2019:


Training on Ethics Number of EPSO staff

having completed the

Ethics training.

100 % of EPSO staff and all

newcomers have followed

relevant training on Ethics

(target as per the Strategic

Plan).

Updated anti-fraud

strategy

communicated to all

staff and implemented.

Level of anti-fraud

awareness amongst staff.

% of implementation of

actions planned for 2019

in the anti-fraud strategy.

All staff aware of EPSO anti-

fraud strategy.

100% of actions planned

implemented.

Following the adoption by the Commission of the new corporate anti-fraud strategy,

EPSO will review and adapt its own strategy. As EPSO is not in charge of implementing

operational appropriations (budget fully under Heading V), the risk of fraud with a direct

financial impact for the EU remains very low.

C. Better Regulation

N/A (EPSO does not manage Regulatory acquis)

D. Information management aspects

Objective: Information and knowledge in your DG is shared and reusable by

other DGs. Important documents are registered, filed and retrievable.



New EPSO intranet

maintained and

updated.

Quality and regularity of

the information provided.

Intranet is updated on a

weekly basis or more often if

required

Registered documents

are duly filed.

Number of registered

documents that are not

filed.

≤ 1% of all registered

documents

EPSO's Intranet will continue to be regularly updated with content provided by EPSO staff

as well as from other colleagues across the Commission.

For EPSO Knowledge garden wiki (as internal EPSO tool), see Specific objective 6.

25

As far as the number of registered documents are concerned (excluding requests for

review), the substantial efforts undertaken by EPSO in 2018 to reach the 0% of not filed

documents (2020 target set in the Strategic Plan) will be continued in 2019. EPSO will

also strive to reach the interim milestones set in the Strategic Plan respectively for the

percentage of HAN files readable by all units in the DG and the percentage of HAN files

shared with other DGs. In 2018, of 1786 active files/sub files, 74.5% thus 1332 files,

were readable by all units in the DG and 10% (183 files) were readable on unit level

only. For 2019 EPSO envisages to transform the latter into DG visible files, which would

increase the percentage of files visible on DG level up to 85%. Files shared with other

DG’s or on Commission level, add up to 1.3% (23 files) in total and should reach 4 to 5

percent in 2019.

For the time being EPSO is not planning to integrate the existing IT tools into the HAN

system. However, this will be taken this into account for future systems.

To further increase the registration of documents produced in current systems,

EPSO took contact with DIGIT.B2.004 in order to make use of AresBridge as soon as

possible in 2019.

E. External communication activities

Objective: Citizens perceive that the EU is working to improve their lives and

engage with the EU. They feel that their concerns are taken into consideration in

European decision-making and they know about their rights in the EU.



Social Media strategy

and initiatives.

Increased visibility and

interactivity of EPSO and

EU Careers on social

media, by:

- Increasing the number

of social media posts.

- Increasing the numbers

of followers on social

media.

By end 2019:

Target number of followers

- Facebook: 400.000

- Twitter: 40.000

- LinkedIn: 55.000

- YouTube: 5.000

- Instagram: 4.000

Target engagement (monthly

average):

- Facebook: 3.000

- Twitter: 300

- LinkedIn: 500

Instagram: 500

EU Careers website:

Layout, content and

functionalities are

further improved

(V2.0).

Continuous

implementation of new

functionalities on the

website to make sure the

website is increasingly

user friendly.

Continuous improvements

in the organisation and

display of content in order

to make information

easier to access

Increase the number of visits

to the website in 2019 by

10% compared to 2018.

Implementation of a

candidate notification system

Creation of a specific landing

page for CAST Permanent

26

Diversity

communication

campaign/plan

Develop and run a

specific communication

campaign/plan aiming

at attracting more

candidates from

diversity target groups

with the special focus

on candidates with

special needs and

disability (in line with

UN committee’s

recommendations)

Number of specific actions

implemented in the

context of the targeted

communication plan

Number of candidates

with disabilities and/or

special needs requesting

special adjustments for

selection procedures

Five actions implemented

under the targeted

communication plan.

250 or more requests for

reasonable accommodations

in 2019.

Employer Branding:

The EU Careers brand

is well established,

recognised and

strengthened.

Implement the new

employer branding

strategy, including

socialising the new

Employee Value

Proposition, Shaping

Europe together, with

main stakeholders.

Second Employer

Branding day for high-

level representatives of all

Institutions

Creation of promotional

video materials and social

media content to support

richer communication of

the EVP

Throughout 2019

Employer Branding Day to be

organised Q1 2019

At least 5 competition-

specific videos throughout

2019

Adapted social media content

published for all selections

(exact number depending on

the number of competitions

and CAST profiles to be

published)

Reach the correct

candidate population

via appropriate and

targeted employer

branding activities,

incl. media campaigns

Specific campaigns are

run for open competitions

and in particular for

certain profiles (such as

linguists and specialists).

Attractiveness of

promotional and branding

events (live and online

events)

On average 10 campaigns

per year.

20.000 visitors/attendees per

year across all events.

Analysis of candidate

survey results.

The Assessment centre

survey results (sent to all

participants shortly after

the AC) are analysed,

≥ 90% of candidates for the

AC survey are satisfied.

Specific internal wiki is set up

27

reviewed and followed up

internally.

Level of overall

satisfaction rate of all

candidates.

in 2019 to identify areas for

further improvement, flagged

by candidates, and their

implementation.

New questions, languages

are introduced into the

survey.

EU Careers Student

Ambassadors –

recruitment and

training.

Maintain or increase the

number of universities

represented in all Member

States with a focus on

high quality.

All Student Ambassadors

given face-to-face training

(in Brussels or in the

Member State).

At least 125 universities,

from across all EU MS

participate in the programme

in for the academic year

2018-2019.

All Student Ambassadors are

properly trained by EPSO

staff

EU Staff Ambassadors

- new mandate

More involvement from

Staff Ambassadors

Number of Staff

Ambassadors per MS and

per Institution.

News bulletins (via email)

twice a month to share

information and encourage

Staff Ambassadors to spread

the word within their

networks containing:

- information on new

competitions, new

campaigns, opening of

traineeship opportunities etc.

- events where the

participation of Ambassadors

is needed, etc.

Continuation of weekly

pictures + quotes on social

media

At least one Staff

Ambassador per MS (interim

milestone 2018) and per

Institution by the end of

2019.

External communication strategy and employer branding

Throughout 2019, EPSO will continue to communicate with EU citizens with the aim of:

raising awareness about career opportunities in the EU Institutions

informing potential candidates about job profiles, events and upcoming competitions

attracting the right candidates to the selection procedures and competitions

In order to achieve this, EPSO will continue to use the following set of tools and projects

in 2019:

EU Careers brand;

website in all 24 EU official languages;

28

the user interface of the EPSO account and the application form for EPSO’s selection

procedures available in all 24 EU official languages to improve the candidate

experience;

extensive use and presence on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram)

participation in and organisation of career events (both live and virtual);

presentations, seminars and conferences for students, university career services,

career advisors, journalists and other multipliers;

EU Careers Student Ambassadors programme: every academic year, selected students

from highly ranked universities across the EU are given a mandate to promote EU

Careers on their campus. This programme started in 2010 and has grown significantly

every year, from about 20 participants to 150;

the use of EU officials as Staff Ambassadors – currently there are about 80 staff

members representing all 28 Member States;

media campaigns to promote published competitions.

EU Careers employer branding and its further strategic development will remain one of

the main priorities of EPSO in order to ensure the attractiveness of the EU institutions as

an employer of choice. A number of related actions were conducted by EPSO in 2018 and

will be followed up and fine-tuned in 2019 - these include the socialisation of the new

Employer Value Proposition Shaping Europe together and implementing a new Employer

Brand strategy. During 2019, a greater collaboration with the Member States, the EU

Institutions, EU representations, information offices and agencies is envisaged in order to

identify relevant communication and information that can be used for employer brand

purposes. To break ground for this enhanced cooperation, EPSO will host an Employer

Branding day for representatives of all Institutions in early 2019.

The events strategy will also continue targeting audiences in underrepresented countries.

These are EU Member States from where EPSO persistently encounters challenges to

attract appropriate numbers of candidates. In 2019, EPSO will keep focusing on the 8

previously identified countries (CS, DE, DK, FR, IE, NL, PL and SE) but will also add

Austria, Finland, Luxembourg and Portugal which have been identified as

underrepresented countries by the Commission in its report on geographical balance of

staff3. EPSO will continue to work in close partnership with the national authorities to

ensure maximum outreach via a variety of different measures and actions.

Regarding the attractiveness of the EU institutions as employers, EPSO welcomes the

Commission communication on Attracting, Retaining and Developing the Best Talents to

Work in the European Public Administration expected to be published by the end of 2018.

EPSO will ensure that all appropriate measures that fall under EPSO’s remit will be

implemented.

EPSO's active on-campus presence through the EU Careers Student Ambassadors, as well

as through targeted participation in careers events, fairs and other activities will also be

maintained with additional emphasis in 2019 on the choice of activities, the need to

target the right profiles and the aim to reach out to high quality audiences. Moreover,

EPSO will continue to organise events and seminars for university career services across

all Member States in order to help them support and inform better the EU Careers

Student Ambassadors.

Social media will continue to be used as a cost-effective and targeted way of reaching

key audiences. EPSO will maintain its interactive engagement with followers, by means of

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2018:377:FIN&rid=1

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2018:377:FIN&rid=1

29

posting questions, promoting shares with friends and placing an emphasis on

personalised content. This implies the direct involvement of the EU Careers Staff

Ambassadors, who provide regular contributions on what it is like to work in the EU

institutions. EU Careers Student Ambassadors are also encouraged to share their

experience as Ambassadors by occasionally taking over the EU Careers Instagram

account for 24 hours.

In parallel, the EU Careers website will also become more interactive in 2019, with the

implementation of a notification system. Visitors will have the possibility to subscribe to

receive notifications based on their interests. For example, they will receive an update

when a new competition is published or receive all the news related to a specific

competition.

Following the work done in 2018, EPSO will continue to make the information on the

website easier to find by launching a dedicated landing page for CAST Permanent, with

all information on the different profiles and on how to apply.

Following the launch of first targeted communication efforts in order to attract more

talent with disability and allow EU institutions to better reflect this diversity target group

among staff members, these efforts will continue in 2019 by means of a broadened

communication plan.

Annual communication spending:

Baseline (2018) Estimated commitments (2019)

300.000€ 360.000€

F. Example(s) of initiatives to improve economy and efficiency of financial and

non-financial activities of the DG

Video remote interview and video-recorded group exercise

In 2019 EPSO will launch a procurement procedure for the delivery of video remote

interviews via an online platform that would be used by candidates, assessors and EPSO

staff, with the purpose of increasing the quality of candidates invited to the next stage of

the selection process and at the same time reducing the resources needed for similar

tests delivered in a traditional way. In parallel EPSO intends to trial in a competition a

video-recorded group exercise which will allow for more flexibility for assessors further increase equality of treatment.

Phasing out of scanning exercise

In 2019 EPSO will phase out across all competitions the in-house scanning of candidate

supporting documents during the assessment phase. Candidates will now bring scanned

copies of their files until an IT solution that will allow them to upload their documents

directly for review by the selection board can be developed. This will free up significant

resources, and save time, thus increasing capacity at assessment centre stage and

reducing delays in delivering the pools of successful candidates.

30

Annex 1. Tables

N/A

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