HRD STRATEGY FRAMEWORK

REPORT

Prepared by:

Tsukudu Associates

P O Box 5606, Tygervalley, 7536 Tel: +27 21 914 4005 Fax: +27 21 914 4006

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

1 Executive summary................................................................ 3

1.1 Key findings ................................................................................................. 3

2 Introduction and background ................................................ 4

2.1 Approach to the work................................................................................ 5

2.2 Deliverables ................................................................................................. 6

2.3 A model of learning and development to impact workplace performance................................................................................................. 6

3 Drivers..................................................................................... 7

3.1 Institutional leadership ............................................................................. 7

3.2 Institutional direction of HRD.................................................................. 8

4 Vehicles................................................................................. 11

4.1 Performance management process .................................................... 11

4.2 The HRD function itself........................................................................... 12

5 Activity .................................................................................. 13

5.1 HRD planning to enhance performance ............................................. 13

5.2 HRD activity to enhance performance................................................ 14

5.3 Evaluation and transfer of learning ..................................................... 15

6 Outcomes.............................................................................. 17

6.1 Impact on performance in the workplace .......................................... 17

7 Recommendation, resourcing and enabling options......... 17

8 Conclusion............................................................................ 18

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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report focuses on human resource development for staff within Parliament and the legislatures. There is a separate intervention which focuses on members. The overall purpose of this project is to focus the efforts and measures of human resource development (HRD) initiatives for effectiveness and impact. The aim is to conduct a diagnosis of HRD practices, develop a HRD strategy framework and a skills audit tool for both Parliament and the provincial legislatures. 1.1 KEY FINDINGS Overall, there are many similarities in HRD practices among all the legislative

institutions. The differences were so minute that it will not serve any

meaningful purpose to highlight them. The findings therefore, paint a

comprehensive view of the sector, which then forms a solid platform for

collaboration and for utilising the HRD strategy framework.

The following is a summary of the key findings.

���� All institutions have a vision, mission and values, which are well

displayed, though not internalised, by employees.

���� The culture of strategic planning is well entrenched at senior

management level but not well communicated to the rest of the

organisation

���� There is a heightened awareness that current HRD initiatives are not

tailor-made to the sector, except for inter-institutional exchange visits.

���� The HRD function in the sector is not strategic in action, location and

influence, resulting in very little credibility

���� HRD interventions are externally driven and implementation is mainly ad

hoc and reactive.

���� There is poor alignment with the strategic objectives of each institution

and other HRM processes such as performance management, career

management, succession planning and promotions, etc.

���� People development lies at the heart of every manager’s responsibility;

yet in this sector management behaviour does not indicate an

appreciation of HRD as a contributor to enhancing institutional

performance.

���� People development is still regarded as HR’s responsibility and

manager’s performance is not yet evaluated on their people

development efforts.

���� Institutional investment is still largely limited to compliance with

legislation and is not driven by a comprehensive HRD plan.

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���� What is considered the HRD plan is the workplace skills plan (WSP) –

derived mainly from the “wish lists” of individuals and not from well–

considered institutional and business unit needs, and not integrated with

the personal development plans (PDPs) of employees.

���� HRD practitioners have a poor understanding of the core business of

the sector, nor do they keep pace with developments in their

professions.

From experience, we know that it is competent and talented people who

make a difference in the performance of institutions. We anticipate that this

initiative would harness commitment and enable institutional leaders and their

human resources (HR) functions to better intensify their innovative talent

strategy and management initiatives.

2 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The Legislature Support Programme’s (LSP) mandate is to support both the national and provincial legislatures in their efforts to carry out their constitutional obligations. The terms of reference for the Legislative Sector Human Resources Development Strategy Framework (HRDSF), forms part of this process of building the capacity of these institutions to enable them to fulfil their legislative and policy formulation role, executive oversight, constituency work and public education. The constitutional mandate of the legislatures clearly states that their roles are differentiated, but interrelated, i.e. they need to work towards a common objective, while still retaining their own identity. Furthermore, the decision by the sector to adopt a sectoral approach in their operations will make it possible to develop a framework for the sector where each institution can derive value for its own unique needs, while still benefiting from collaborative efforts. The overall purpose of this project is to focus the efforts of HRD initiatives for effectiveness and impact. Improving performance in the workplace and ensuring the development of individuals and teams is central to the work of any HRD function. The aim is to conduct a diagnosis of current HRD practices in order to inform the development of the HRD strategy framework and the skills audit tool for both Parliament and the provincial legislatures. Specific objectives The objectives of this project are the following:

• Conduct a brief overview of each institution’s organisation and strategic

intent.

• Design and develop a sector-wide HRD strategy framework.

• Simultaneously develop an audit tool, and

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• Recommend options of resourcing and enabling the HRDSF.

2.1 APPROACH TO THE WORK Our approach to the work was informed by an understanding that defines HRD as “a process for developing and unleashing human potential and expertise for the purpose of improving performance”. Therefore, HRD is about enhancing both people and organisational performance through a series of planned processes. It is for this reason that we have adopted a holistic and integrated approach to HRD/people learning and development.

As part of achieving the above objectives, we have adopted a phased

approach to the work by dividing it into the following phases:

Phase 1: Review and learn

- Field visits to all the institutions to conduct interviews and focus groups

- Understanding the current reality, strategic intent, the organisation and

challenges facing each institution

- An assessment of current HR practices and HRD strategies

- Review of documents, literature and benchmarking with international

colleagues.

Phase 2: Synthesis and design

- Sifting through and analysing all data gathered

- Synthesis and consolidation into emerging themes

- Development of guidelines for the framework

- Draft the HRD strategy framework and the audit tool.

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Phase 3: Consultations and feedback

- Soliciting feedback and further inputs

- Making a presentation to HR legislature stakeholders and a sample of

their (HR) customers.

- Conducting reviews to enhance buy-in for the product from key

leadership role-players, such as the HR Forum, the forum for the

Secretaries of the legislatures including the forum for the Speakers

Phase 4: Draft final documents and present to LSP

- After stakeholder feedback and inputs, draft final HRD strategy and final audit tool, and

- Present the final HRD strategy framework and audit tool to LSP. 2.2 DELIVERABLES The deliverables in this report are the following:

� The model used to guide both diagnosis and design � Findings of current HRD practices in the sector � Recommendations on possible resourcing options to enable the

implementations of the HRDSF � The HRD strategy framework and skills audit tool appear as separate

documents. 2.3 A MODEL OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT TO IMPACT WORKPLACE

PERFORMANCE The model, outlined below, encapsulates the key features of a learning and development strategy in any organisation. This model was adapted as a framework for presenting the findings of this project, as it was used to guide diagnostic process. This report is therefore divided into three major components of a learning and development (L&D) strategy, leading to improved performance outcomes in an organisation. (This model is adapted from The Training and Development Audit by Rosemary Harrison). The model is depicted below and the four components are:

� Drivers – leadership components which drive and form the platform for L&D

� Vehicles – components used as delivery strategies for L&D � Activities – various activities under whole-umbrella L&D is delivered � Outcomes – of improved performance and increased competence

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THE L& D OPERATING MODEL

DRIVERS ACTIVITYVEHICLES OUTCOMES

Institutional leadership

Institutional direction of

L&D

Performance management

process

L&D function

Impact on performance

L&D Planning to enhance performance

Evaluation and transfer of learning

L&D activity to enhance performance

Adapted from: Rosemary Harrison

3 DRIVERS

3.1 INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP The vision, mission and goals of each institution are important in building a

sense of shared purpose, and guiding common commitment. For this purpose,

these set the operational framework within which HRD activity takes place.

They therefore need to be well communicated and shared widely in the

organisation for all to internalise.

The quality of leadership determines the success of the institution, drives

culture change and sets the climate for HRD activity. Employees in turn,

develop trust and confidence in the organisation and its leadership, leading to

increased commitment to deliver the expected services.

Vision, mission, values and goals

o All institutions have a vision, mission and values, which are publicly

displayed, though not well internalised by employees.

o The culture of strategic planning is well entrenched at senior

management level but not well communicated to the rest of the

organisation.

o However, there is no vision for HR or HRD and whatever training

takes places is initiated by employees on what should be a “needs

analysis”.

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o The annual training report (ATR) which is compiled, is for Skills

Development Act (SDA) purpose reporting. No meaningful feedback

is done to the organisation nor is there any linkage with institutional

goals.

o A performance management system (PMS) is only used for bonus

purposes, and although there is an element of development

addressed, it does not mean anything

o Institutional objectives are set without any consideration of their

internal capacity, needs and requirements.

o Many organisational vision statements are too cumbersome,

seemingly incoherent and not understood by the majority of

employees, nor internalised by the senior leadership.

o There is very little of a visible link between individual jobs and

organisational vision and objectives, which anyone could articulate

easily.

Leadership and strategic direction

o There is a pervasive “us-and-them” culture in institutions emanating

from a perception of skewed exposure to training favouring

managers.

o Managers show lack of visible commitment and understanding of

HRD as a contributor to performance improvement.

o Many HRD functions do not determine their training budget. Where

the budget is available, it is based on the SDA-determined 1% of the

payroll. However, in reality the actual figure is far less than

stipulated.

o Managers have very little influence on what training their

subordinates go to.

o Most of the time training undertaken is not directly linked to individual

functions within the organisation.

o There are no proper controls in place. Allegations were even made

that training occurs on a favouritism basis. (If you are not a buddy to

the HRD person or the any senior manager, then no training will be

offered to you).

o Generally, HRD is not looked upon as adding any value, and both

managers and employees have very little trust and/or confidence in

the HRD system.

3.2 INSTITUTIONAL DIRECTION OF HRD

The vision and values of HRD needs to reflect the institution’s belief that investing in the development of the people is central to improving the

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performance of the institution. The role that HRD plays will also be influenced by where it is positioned in the structure and how comprehensive its strategy and plans are.

HRD vision and values

o There is no vision for the HRD function which drives training and

development processes and activities.

o Training is done to spend the budget allocated, and no real direct

return on investment (ROI) and return on expectations (ROE) are

measured.

o No visible mechanisms exist indicating that HRD is treated as a

significant value-adding process by top management, towards

achieving performance targets. Thus, there is a lack of linkage

between training interventions and strategic objectives.

o There is a lack of evidence of an understanding and application of

the broader concept of learning. The only approach utilised is

training courses, and no broader provision of learning opportunities

is demonstrated.

o HRD is viewed as something to be tolerated, as managers often

interrupt or call people out of training programmes, and do not

demonstrate that they value training as strategic and a contributor to

performance improvement.

Strategic HRD role, goals and plan

o Some mechanisms (post training reports, annual WSPs, a

performance management system, a training needs analysis) are in

place, but are used for reporting and compliance purposes (for

Auditor-General reporting and compliance with the Skills

Development Act).

o These mechanisms which are in place are meaningless, as

managers and HRD functionaries do not utilise them for alignment,

transfer of learning and skills, quality assurance, monitoring and

evaluation (M&E), and knowledge management.

o The HRD role is not strategic by action, location and influence.

Structurally it falls within the ambit of the HR unit which is under the

corporate services directorate. HRD practitioners are at lower levels

to be able to influence strategy and senior management. Its activities

are ad hoc, reactive and mainly externally driven.

o HRD is rarely discussed by management as a strategic issue. It is

only mentioned for reporting and compliance requirements.

o Limited capacity and capability play an important role in the

disfunctionality of this role. HRD practitioners seriously lack critical

skills and knowledge for effective functioning.

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o Annual HRD plans seems to be done only for SDA reporting

purposes as most training that takes places is initiated by employees

and not guided by the strategic objectives of the institution and the

business units

o There is a lack of clearly defined HRD goals that influence the

development of WSP. The process of compiling the WSP is the

major stumbling block for integrating these with institutional

objectives.

o HR policies exist, though not within a comprehensive framework for

all HRD activities. There is also inconsistency of application.

o There is an annual training needs assessment (TNA) exercise.

However, this exercise is not determined against clearly set

organisational goals and performance targets. It is generally used by

employees to register their “wishes” for further training, and not even

guided by personal development plans emanating from an informed

process of managing performance.

HRD system

o HRD is not seen by top management as a primary responsibility of

all managers, but is seen as the responsibility of HR and the HRD

function. Job profiles of managers do not have people development

as a key performance area (KPA); thus very few managers take a

keen interest in the development of their people.

o Managers are generally perceived to be only concerned about and

prioritise their own development.

o Not all institutions have manager’s job profiles explicitly identifying

people development as a responsibility. Where these exist,

managers are not measured against such targets.

o There is no system in place that provides for regular appraisals of

managers to ensure effective performance of their HRD

responsibilities, even where it is part of their KPAs

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Investment in HRD and management of resources

o No HRD budgeting that is based on identified training needs is

conducted. The budget is mainly set in accordance with the SDA

stipulation of 1% of the payroll.

o An annual HRD budget for the institutions is generally centralised

within the HR function and is neither unit specific, nor needs

sensitive.

o Current practice indicates that training is viewed as a cost and not an

investment for improving organisational performance. This is

evidenced by the overall budget figure and how it is managed

(sometimes less than 1% of the payroll).

o Legislatures exercise some degree of flexibility in how the overall

budget is utilised and allocated. However, this flexibility is not evident

in relation to training interventions. Budgetary constraint is always

cited as the reason for not providing training opportunities to

employees. The training budget is normally the first to be cut during

cost reduction exercises.

o There is no evidence of management measuring the value adding of

HRD, i.e. whether the investment is yielding any fruits – ROI; and

whether their expectations are being met – ROE.

o The majority of legislatures do not have a comprehensive and

effective induction programme for either the institution or its

functions. Thus even the initial link with training and development is

broken. This is further evidence that even HRD staff are not

effectively inducted into their function.

4 VEHICLES

4.1 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The nature of the relationship between performance management and HRD has to indicate that there is shared responsibility and joint accountability for results, as well as joint involvement in agreeing on what needs to be done and how. Appraisal processes must lead to identification of HRD needs and PDPs. It is important to assess how these processes are used, and whether they are aimed at development, performance improvement or only for corrective purposes. Furthermore, where performance management systems exist, what principles and values underpin these processes?

o Most legislatures have a PMS. However, it is neither well communicated

nor understood as a process for managing performance. Generally the

principles, of keeping it simple, making it routine and personal,

connecting it with key people decisions, training managers in the

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process and ensuring that it is widely understood have generally not

been adhered to.

o The role of training and development within the PMS is not clearly

defined, nor understood by either the line managers or their teams,

including HRD practitioners themselves.

o PMS is used as a tool for reward (bonus purposes) as opposed to being

based on a philosophy of shared responsibility in the management and

development of performance and joint accountably for results

o It is not uncommon, to find managers conducting all the year’s reviews

within one sitting. Managers truly miss the opportunity for continuous

performance improvement and competence building.

o PMS is consequently enjoying very little credibility in institutions as a

genuine contributor to performance improvement and a tool for building

the skills and knowledge of the workforce.

Continuous improvement and recognition of performance

o The PMS provides for the regular appraisals of employees, but there is

a tendency to assess employees according to job descriptions and not

on set performance targets. The accuracy of training needs and PDPs

identified in that process is therefore questionable.

o The PDPs that come out of appraisal reports are poorly monitored.

Some people’s PDPs remain the same year after year and others never

even attend any training, irrespective of the nature of their PDPs.

4.2 THE HRD FUNCTION ITSELF

Assessing and reporting on how the function is positioned and organised, including processes within that guide how its activities are undertaken. The capacity and capability of HRD staff affect their effectiveness and the degree of influence the function can exercise in the institution.

The HRD strategy

o The HRD strategy is lacking in all legislatures. The plans that exist

focus mainly on training activities.

o In some legislatures the HRD function is a separate unit within the

structure while in others the function is performed within the HR unit.

However, there are those who see the HRD function as being

embodied in the skills development facilitator (SDF) alone.

o Most SDFs seem to have an idea of what needs to happen but

currently do not play any meaningful HRD role except for arranging

training offered by external providers.

o There is generally a lack of understanding of the core business and

challenges facing the legislatures. This has resulted in the function

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operating in a reactive and inflexible way, and sometimes in

isolation.

o The HR and HRD functions enjoy very little credibility in the

institutions due to strongly held perceptions of a lack of competence

and ability to make a meaningful impact.

o The lack of effective training also affects the HR and HRD functions

themselves. These practitioners, have not kept pace with

developments in their profession

Strategic quality of HRD processes

o There is a culture of inter-legislature exchanges and functional forum

meetings. These are considered to provide benchmarking

opportunities while in effect they are a forum for sharing and

comparing practices, a useful exercise in itself. These forums have

been used for exposure purposes as well.

o Currently there is no capacity and capability to conduct real

benchmarking exercises. There is also no monitoring of trends and

developments in the profession and/or sector.

5 ACTIVITY

5.1 HRD PLANNING TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

HRD practitioners require knowledge and understanding of the learning cycle,

and are able to differentiate between learning, training and development.

Furthermore, they require knowledge and understanding of adult learning

principles, and the ability to design and facilitate learning.

They need to be sensitive to the nuances and challenges of these concepts, and take them into consideration when planning. An ability to influence and work collaboratively with the line managers is central to success.

Identifying, agreeing and prioritising needs o There is a standard form that the HRD function generally sends out

for completion annually. This exercise is usually completed at the

beginning of the year. Managers generally distribute the forms to

their staff. Very few make an effort to sit together with their staff to

complete what could be called a “wish list.”

o During appraisals, training needs are identified and recorded

(PDPs). In the majority of institutions PDPs are not linked back to

that “wish list”. The HRD function does not conduct an analytic

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consolidation of the PDPs and what emerged from the TNA, nor is

any feedback given to either managers or employees. Whatever is

consolidated, maybe within the WSP, is neither ratified, nor fed back

to managers in their business units.

o In our interviews, we did not get feedback or see any evidence of the

link and integration with the WSP.

HRD planning

o The WSP is driven by the HRD function, mainly the SDF, and it is

institutionally oriented and not unit-level specific. There is no

evidence of analytic consolidation of needs according to teams,

functions or levels in the institution. It is just a list of training required

for the entire institution – data with no information or insights.

o There is no effective integration of plans between individuals, teams

and the business unit. Therefore, all training that is done becomes

individually focused.

o Training implementation is generally ad hoc, reactive and externally

driven, with no evidence of prioritisation and evaluation from year to

year to monitor progress.

o Legislatures do not have a process where managers and HRD staff

agree on outcomes to be achieved and how to monitor and evaluate

these plans.

o HRD plans are poorly integrated with other HR processes, policies

and practice.

o There is a serious lack of capacity and capability within the HRD

functions in the sector:

- A lack of ability to develop a budget for training (staff, time,

finances, other physical resources, etc.)

- A lack of learning design, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation

ability

- A lack of partnering ability with line management to plan

effectively for learning and development.

o The poor understanding of the core business of the legislature by the

HR/HRD function, has contributed to the ad hoc, reactive, and in

some instances irrelevant, implementation of training.

5.2 HRD ACTIVITY TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

The use the concept “learning” instead of “training”, is to indicate that there are many formal and informal ways in which learning can be organised to help people develop and improve their performance. The scope or coverage of learning experiences needs to support employees in their jobs, roles or any work changes they might be challenged to undertake. To achieve this requires

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some knowledge and understanding of learning theory, including how adults learn (adult-learning principles).

Learning design

o T&D activities within the sector are externally driven. The current

culture is that people respond to marketed courses that seem to

have some relevance to their jobs. Learning experiences are not a

result of well-planned and responsive interventions by the HRD

function in collaboration with line management.

o HRD is not involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of these

externally driven training activities, due to their lack of ability.

o Hardly any benchmarking is done in the sector to addresses design

and delivery matters.

o It is important that HRD practitioners keep up to date and familiarise

themselves with developments in the learning and development field

– this field is changing fast, and is exciting.

HRD coverage

o Training and development consists mostly of sending people to

external courses.

o There is limited interaction between the legislatures through the

forums and inter legislature exchanges. Only a few functions have

benefited from the inter-legislature exchanges in supporting

employees in their roles.

o Seminars and conferences have also been used for exposure

purposes.

o These limited interventions have however not been effectively

coordinated to derive maximum benefit for people development and

improving workplace performance.

o Where internal opportunities (e.g. coaching, delegating, project

leadership. etc.), have been used, they have either been very few or

have been used for solving problems that should not be solved by

training, e.g., shifting an employee where there is conflict with the

manager.

o HRD practitioners are not able to support managers to differentiate

between problems that can be solved by training – skills or

knowledge needs; and problems that cannot be solved by training –

attitudinal issues.

5.3 EVALUATION AND TRANSFER OF LEARNING

The day-to-day behaviour of managers, HR and HRD practices, peer group

interactions and messages from top leadership need to foster a learning

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culture in the institution. The nature and quality of conversations need to

engender a belief that learning is a top priority and is seen as a contributor to

improving service delivery and achieving the mandate.

Moreover, monitoring and evaluation are essential to the success of HRD

strategy, plans and experiences. Managers play a central role in ensuring

that the institution derives benefits from HRD intervention by enabling the

transfer of learning back into the workplace. But they require support and

guidance from HRD practitioners.

Workplace culture

o Managers do not see training as important to improving performance

of both the individual and the organisation.

o Some managers see training as a disruption to their work and do not

encourage employees to take responsibility for their own

development and empowerment.

o Many managers do not ensure the transfer of learning back to the

job, by encouraging employees to experiment on their newly

acquires knowledge and skill, or creating opportunities for the teams

to share what they have learnt.

o Because managers do not see HRD as part of their own core

function, but as the responsibility of HRD function, they miss many

opportunities for developing their people at the heart of the business,

as well as of improving performance.

Review, evaluation and increase of learning

o There are no regular or periodic and timely reviews of HRD

outcomes across the institutions.

o Hardly any collaborative review and monitoring of learning

experiences and events by stakeholders is done. There is general a

lack of monitoring and evaluation of training plans, processes,

activities and budgets. Problems and concerns that arise are rarely

attended to and resolved.

o Knowledge management functions within the institution re not

utilised for sharing lessons learnt.

o There is no evidence of any standard practice where managers and

their staff discuss the purpose and intended outcomes before any

L&D initiatives, and then agree on achieved outcomes and how to

implement them.

o There is no evidence of any processes used to assess service

providers and the quality of their offerings – seeing that the sector is

fully dependent on external training provision. Without the ability to

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design and deliver training, HRD practitioners cannot fully evaluate

the quality of provision.

6 OUTCOMES

6.1 IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE IN THE WORKPLACE Ensuring good performance of individuals and teams is central to the work of any HRD function. To improve performance in the workplace and increase the competences needed to meet future challenges, HRD must be business led and strategic.

o HRD function and management behaviour does not treat T&D as a

contributor to employee and organisational performance improvement.

As a result, T&D is not perceived as having any impact. Generally,

people use T&D as a means to enhance their CV’s and a stepping stone

to greener pastures.

o Legislatures do not have a system or culture of monitoring and

evaluating T&D and therefore miss the opportunity of assessing its

impact.

7 RECOMMENDATION, RESOURCING AND ENABLING OPTIONS

Leadership in the legislative sector can no longer afford to just pay lip service to the slogan, over-used by leaders in many organisations, that says “our people are our biggest asset”. Why? Because people become the source of excellent service provision, competitive advantage, and an asset that has the potential to appreciate – depending on how well this asset is led and managed. The HRD functions in the sector will certainly be judged by how they position themselves as the key drivers. To achieve this, senior management needs to ensure access and effective use of available resources to enable effective design and implementation of the HRD strategy. The following factors are recommended as enablers for resourcing implementation.

• Skills levy – make optimal use of the levy.

• Strengthening effectiveness of training committee: - To conduct quality assurance of the HRD planning and

implementation processes - Play an auditing and oversight role - The composition of the committee to be inclusive with a focus on

capacity to assume the above responsibilities effectively.

• Increase capacity and capability of the HRD function: - Competent people who u

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- Strategically locate the function or head of the function to ensure strategic contribution.

- Re-engineer the role of the SDF to ensure understanding of its strategic contribution.

- HRD practitioners to play the role of business partner with line managers.

• HRD practitioners to do the basics right in their role to earn the credibility they so much deserve by:

- Understanding legislature core business - Being politically savvy, with high level communication skills - Developing strategic thinking and being proactive.

• Raising awareness of senior management: - Learning and development is their responsibility. - They are the drivers of building a learning and performing culture.

• Secure sector and other partner collaboration such as: - South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI) – to

enable some alignment with public sector where necessary - Institutions of higher learning, as others have already done - Private sector collaboration for mutual exposure purposes.

• Quality assurance: - Quality and relevance of learning outcomes and materials - Quality of service providers and sharing information across the

sector - Ensuring consequences for non performing service providers.

• EULSP support: - Using of its position, role and even financial resources as

leverage for ensuring quality and encouraging collaboration - Monitoring and evaluation – setting and enforcing criteria - Conducting confirmative evaluation periodically to assist with the

leveraging role - Could insist for a holistic HRD strategy to be in place, by setting

time-frame and using it as criteria for further support and interaction.

• Explore exchange programmes and learning opportunities: - With reputable private corporations for mutual benefit.

8 CONCLUSION

We believes that this report and HRD strategic framework, including the skills audit tool, is an initiative that will support the legislative sector in harnessing the commitment of its people, while enabling institutional leaders and their human resources functions to better intensify their innovative talent strategy and management initiatives. We hope this will enable the sector to win the war for talent and keep their employees engaged.