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Returning Officers Post-Mortem Sessions 41st General Election

3 – Human Resources Management

3.1 – New Training officer (TO) support

The discussion sessions held on the topic of human resources management gave ROs the opportunity to give feedback on the new training officer support mechanisms introduced during the 41st GE.

In Ontario and the Western provinces, very few ROs were aware of the new training officer program. ROs suggest the implementation of a better communications plan. Most ROs attended the training session provided by their training officer in their office. To them, the video presentation provided by EC was a key component; they are suggesting EC make a detailed training DVD to replace the different training sessions in the local offices. ROs mentioned that most trainers did not do the exercises and role playing during the training, mainly for lack of time.

Trainer Logistics – additional forms of support

In terms of logistics, it was mentioned that training does not flow well – it needs to be simplified, perhaps by changing the order of training. Some ROs used chronology over theme and it worked better. It was suggested that it would be good for the training officers to show the ROs what their responsibilities are in terms of the training plan. There should also be online support for the ROs, and finally, it was suggested to have two hour sessions instead of three hour sessions.

Training the RO Office Staff

Central poll supervisors need to provide more support at the opening of the polls; therefore, they should get more training. There should also be separate training for the DRO, poll clerks and CPS. Geographic realities are such, that sometimes, the RO needed additional trainers, and in a few cases these requests were denied to the RO.

Training Tools

ROs suggest having a video for the trainer himself, as well as videos and other visual aids for specific topics; also, some Web-based tools, maybe even an avatar program. ROs propose seeking suggestions from other alternative models, at the provincial level. Specifically in the rural West region, ROs suggest having all position descriptions on the EC Website in the form of a mini video. Also, they need a different training package that is revised for this specific group, since many are seniors; finally, an e-learning module was a good first attempt, and we should connect the tool to the module especially in rural areas.

3.2 – Recruitment of field personnel

Online application form

The new online application form for recruitment was very useful, and should be the primary way to apply for employment, although, it needs to be better formatted. Also, it was noted that rural postal codes caused problems for recruitment. In terms of mechanisms, ROs suggest that applicants be advised that their application has been received, and have a file number provided to them. The calibre of polling day workers was better overall than the last General Election, and better in relation to those referred by the parties.

ROs said that now that they have a recruitment tool, it might be time to rethink when and how recruitment should start. In their opinion, the recruitment officer should be allowed to start identifying resources one month prior to the issue of the writ. ROs would also like to receive the list of potential employees supplied by the candidates earlier (Day 28). Several ROs said that they asked all RO staff to contact staff that worked in previous elections, and also used the "Friends you want to work with" strategy, and they had great results.

Other information to be added to the form

  • Summary of electoral experience, age group, bilingualism and their full address;
  • Have they already given their name to a political party;
  • Need to be a Canadian Citizen to apply for this job;
  • Best time to call;
  • Include job descriptions and expectations.

Need Pocket Money Campaign

It was a good campaign, but it was difficult to track its success. Some ROs say that very good workers were drafted from this initiative, and they followed instructions well. Other ROs think that the timing was not good for that initiative; the pay is too small and the cheque is not a good idea. Some ROs say that the campaign was targeted towards youth too much, and it did not attract others.

The poster is too big, and because of this, there are only a few places it can be posted. There is a recommendation that the posters be integrated with the recruitment pre-event tasks, so that the posters can go up sooner. In some cases, high schools were giving credits to students who worked for the election. The posters were also used at shopping malls, campuses and in the subway.

Recruiting 16-17 year olds without requiring prior approval from Elections Canada

Yes, according to ROs, it was a very good initiative, in all regions. The CRO-Youth recruited 20% of the staff. There was a problem with some schools not letting them out for the day to work; it would be more successful if polling day were a Saturday or a Sunday. A few used this ability, but the ones who did said that they were better workers. Some ROs say it would have been useful to have permission to hire the 16–17 year olds prior to the issue of the writ. Finally, ROs mentioned the need to update the oath to reflect that they can be 16 years of age.

Other recruitment support initiatives for the next electoral event

The recruitment officer needs more tools and training manuals. They would like the same process and budget as revision. They suggest developing a manual on how to recruit. Also, they suggest using e-mail addresses (same) to keep track of people applying (ROPS). Other ideas are to have recruitment kiosks, and to use social media to promote hiring. In some cases, ROs mentioned that permission for hiring out of ED workers came too late, so very few people hired them.