Proposal for Restructuring/ Right Sizing of Manpower in the Administrative Cadres in CSIR

Restructuring of CSIR Administrative Cadres Apr 2011

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PROPOSAL FOR RESTRUCTURING/ RIGHT SIZING OF MANPOWER IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE CADRES IN CSIR

17 April 2011

1. PROPOSAL 1.1 This proposal relates to the Restructuring of the Administrative Cadres of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to pursue transformative changes in keeping with the vision for: (a) Building and sustaining an exemplary knowledge based professional

administrative workforce in CSIR and (b) For ushering in a vibrant, energized organization culture. 1.2 Efforts for such restructuring would involve the orchestration of several initiatives including an exercise detailed in this proposal for a Cadre Review which aims to determine and deploy the right size of manpower with requisite competencies at various levels, in alignment with various strategic, tactical and transactional operations/ activities. 1.3 A transition to the targeted professional work culture envisages the pursuit of the following goals:

(i) Augmenting competencies & skill sets of the administrative workforce and the capacity of the organization to perform strategic and tactical operations commensurate with emerging CSIR mandates

(ii) Cascading individual capabilities with automation of all key processes, implementing project based learning, knowledge capture, re-engineering of processes, mentoring and inculcate collaborative team performances

(iii) Instituting mechanisms to facilitate activity logging, dynamic allocation of roles, decision support, operation analytics, performance management (including assessment, review and proactive corrective interventions) and autonomous delegation of routine work to ERP systems.

(iv) Revisiting and implementing progressive policies to support the initiatives 1.4 The restructure envisages abolition of lower level posts and creation of positions at higher level in accordance with re-assessed requirements, for developing knowledge based work culture. This initiative has been taken up to meet the needs for a


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strategic workforce which can support and facilitate research activities being carried out in CSIR on a proactive basis. The Methodology for Restructuring & Development Initiatives Planned is detailed in Section 7. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1 CSIR as an autonomous R&D organization was set up as a Society in 1942 with the broad mandate of promotion, guidance, coordination and undertaking of scientific & industrial research and development of technology with specific relevance to industries. The Council functions under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology. CSIR has a network of 37 National Laboratories pursuing a wide ranging spectrum of R&D activities. 2.2 The Hon’ble Prime Minister and Minister for Science & Technology are the President & the Vice President of the Society respectively. The Director General, CSIR is also Secretary, DSIR. Joint Secretary (Admn.) and Financial Adviser, CSIR are also JS (Admn.) and FA, DSIR respectively. CSIR follows FR&SR, Pension Rules, CCS (CCA) Rules and other relevant rules, regulations and instructions, framed and issued by the Govt. of India from time to time, to the extent made applicable to Council employees as per the by-laws. 2.3 For rendering administrative and logistic support to the Scientists/Technical staff, in their pursuit of research and development, the administrative workforce, comprising of officers and staff of the Administrative Cadres, perform various operations and activities to provide services in areas such as facility management, procurement, finance, accounts, budget, policy formulation, stores, recruitment, human resources management, engagement of stakeholders, event management, logistics, maintenance of assets and other administrative functions. According to By-Law 11, Recruitment and Promotion, including Assessment and Merit Promotion, in respect of all categories of staff of the Society shall be regulated in accordance with the detailed schemes formulated by Governing Body, CSIR in this behalf. 2.4 CSIR had framed the “CSIR Administrative Services (Recruitment & Promotion) (ASRP) Rules – 1982” for recruitment and promotion of its administrative personnel.


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These rules are amended from time to time by the Governing Body, CSIR as per needs and requirement of the organization. 3. CONTEXT 3.1 CSIR is an ensemble of 37 state-of-the art National Laboratories / Institutes and stands as one of the largest publicly funded scientific and industrial research organizations in the world. CSIR’s expertise and experience are embodied in its 4600 scientists and 8000 technical support personnel along with 7000 JRF/SRF/RA and other project staff. Over the years, CSIR has served as the springboard for scientific and technological activities in a wide variety of S&T domains. Besides R&D, CSIR has contributed to the creation and nurturing of talent in science and technology. 3.2 In CSIR, the nature of activities and operations are varied in comparison to the operations and activities of other regular administrative Ministries and Departments. CSIR Headquarters and various CSIR Labs undertake research and development activities, mission mode technology development projects, sponsored projects from the strategic sector and industries and various S&T programmes in alignment with national mandates. 4. RATIONALE FOR CADRE RESTRUCTURE 4.1 The dynamic environment within CSIR and its orientation towards creating knowledge based administrative workforce which ably complements the growing needs of scientific community of CSIR in achieving their mandate, underlines the importance of multi-skilled, professional knowledge workers with higher order of competencies that can help drive enhanced operational efficiencies. 4.2 Accordingly, the overall expectations from the administrative workforce, at laboratory level have undergone a progressive shift. In an ever changing global environment and emerging industrial R&D challenges, the

The administrative workforce requires (a) the flexibility to take ownership and to proficiently handle a wide spectrum of complex activities (b) think and execute tasks blending experiential insights with comprehensive understanding of the eco-system in which R&D activities are pursued and (c) promote and sustain harmonious collaboration between the scientific fraternity, technical staff and administration in pursuing and achieving the organizational goals.


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administrative staff is expected to handle newer set of activities like, Project Management, Business Development & Planning, Infrastructure & Facilities Management, Performance Appraisal etc. Apart from maintenance of lab facilities, infrastructure, security & surveillance, operations that require to be performed include, project management, industry collaboration, R&D promotion, management of intellectual property, knowledge management, skill development, mentoring and training of workforce required for talent grooming/ succession planning, ERP operations management, ICT infrastructure upkeep, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, HR management and maintenance of assets. 4.3 Administrative workforce hence, would need to diversify their skill set with the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and demonstrate competencies and wide ranging repertoire of professional conduct and behavior in managing operations, functions and activities aligned with organizational goals. Needless to say this would involve, a higher order of proficiency, stakeholder engagement, proactive management, decisiveness, ability to mentor team members, business acumen, communication skills, commitment, motivation, analytical abilities, integrity, creative thinking, decision making, negotiation, self-management, perseverance and pursuit for excellence. 5. THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE CADRES 5.1 The administrative cadre in its present form is constituted as three cadres:

(i) General Administration Cadre (ii) Finance and Accounts Cadre and (iii) Stores and Purchase Cadre

5.2 In addition to the above, administrative and managerial functions are also performed by (iv) The Stenographic Cadre comprising of Private Secretaries, Senior and Junior Stenographers, and (v) The Isolated Cadres comprising of the Security/ Surveillance personnel, Officers facilitating the implementation of Official Language, Receptionists and Canteen Staff. 5.3 There are also the Non-Technical Administrative Group D staff who provide other forms of support. 5.4 The sanctioned strength and existing strength of the administrative workforce as above are detailed at TABLE 1.


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6. LIMITATIONS OF PRESENT ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

(In implementing transformation initiatives to groom the required professional workforce)

6.1 The present structure has a large quantum of workforce having low level of knowledge and skills. It has been observed that they are unable to scale up to the needs of the organizations in terms of the demands posed by ;

(i) the expanded knowledge and skill requirements for the operations that are carried out

(ii) the emerging complexity of work being undertaken in the National Laboratories and

(iii) the quality of support services required to be extended to meet the needs of the scientific fraternity.

The success of CSIR in its scientific pursuits would require strategic and tactical support which demands higher quality of manpower in areas such as Infrastructure and Facilities Management, Intellectual Property management, Operations analysis, Business Development & Planning, Performance Appraisal, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Human Resources Management, Stakeholder engagement, Crisis intervention, ERP implementation etc. 6.2 Competence in workplace especially in the National Laboratories would necessarily encompass the ability to think about the quality and outcome of the work done, and foresee their alignment with goals sought to be pursued and accomplished by the Scientists. 6.3 Other Administrative constraints, present challenges, that are faced and detriments to organizational productivity and efficiency include the following :

(i) The Officers and Staff belonging to the three separate cadres and manning various functions perform activities in silos without intense participation, collaboration and involvement of the Officers and Staff belonging to other Cadres.

(ii) There is considerable stagnation at several levels in each of the Cadres, which demoralize and de-motivate administrative personnel.


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(iii) The existing administrative structure and its dynamics, presents obstacles to promotion of team spirit in working towards common goals and develop foresight on the impact of work currently performed.

(iv) Although the source of recruitment is common, uneven promotions and career progression has been observed in the three cadres bringing about discontent on account of such distortions and disparities.

(v) Lower level vacant positions have not been filled up, as there is more need for higher quality of manpower in the system and filling such lower level positions would not serve any purpose.

(vi) The stenographic cadre would require to be phased out and only a smaller number of such personnel would be required to support senior positions of Director General, Directors, Joint Secretary level Officers, Senior Scientists and Heads of Departments.

7. METHODOLOGY FOR RESTRUCTURING &

DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES PLANNED 7.1 CSIR in keeping with the need to transform itself into a knowledge-based organization and to bring about a remarkable improvement in the professional competence of its administrative work force has taken up a number of HR and ICT initiatives which include : (i) Detailing and documenting job descriptions/roles with their associated

competency requirements

(ii) Right sizing and ascertaining the criteria for deployment of manpower based on the total manpower size and scale/complexity of operations carried out in various labs

(iii) Implementing capabilities in the ERP application for dynamic allocation of work adapted to individual and team capabilities, constitution of teams and assignment of tasks to such teams

Ability to understand the Science & Technology environment, response to industrial R&D demands, stakeholder expectations, business realities, market place challenges for product innovations/ technology development, presents a case for restructuring the administrative cadre to enable induct professional workforce having the capability to work in sync with the demands of the


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(iv) Intensive capacity building, training, evaluation & certification of competencies in accordance with competency frameworks developed in keeping with the mandate of CSIR and its operations

(v) Placement in job roles contingent upon meeting benchmarks prescribed for requisite competencies

(vi) Multi skilling of manpower and rotation of roles for job enrichment/professional growth

(vii) Institutionalized capacity building interventions for continuous upgrading of skill sets and augmenting functional/behavioral competencies

(viii) Developing policies, practices to support the above interventions

(ix) Sustaining the outcomes and ensuring continuous innovation and improvement through institutional mechanisms, SOP and engineering systems to guarantee the envisaged results.

7.2 An ERP system for automation of all key operations of CSIR has been developed and is being implemented. The enterprise application would enable allocation and deployment of resources, tracking of various operations for their outcomes, pro-active handling of issues, incidents and feedback with effective administrative actions, evidence based performance management, discerning of skill gaps and design of content for learning suited to needs of employees. The ERP applications have been developed to compliment HR initiatives and provide for the following: - Automation of key processes relating to operations/ functions carried out in

various organizational units in the Headquarters and in the National Labs

- Providing configurable capabilities in the software and utilizing such features to define job roles, accountability for tasks, delegation and assignment,

- Implementing evidence based approaches using activity logging & performance tracking / management

- Electronic platforms for processing transactions, decision making and real time information access for decision support

- Opportunities for workplace learning, mentoring & knowledge sharing


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- Re-engineering of the present set of administrative support processes and services to meet the expectations of various stakeholders.

7.3 It would be important to groom the administrative staff of CSIR into a knowledge workforce to (i) harness the potential of ERP applications that have been implemented, (ii) maintain and manage such ERP applications (iii) continuously improve upon the systems to enhance the quality of decision support systems and (iv) drive a performance culture against deterministic, measurable outcomes/ benchmarks and mandates. 8. APPROACH TO RESTRUCTURING To arrive at the proposed structure and manpower, a detailed job analysis was undertaken taking into account the following parameters/ principles: 8.1 Impact of ERP Implementation: With the ERP implementation having been adopted, there is scope for reducing the number of positions at the lower level positions, as many of the transactions will get automated with the system supporting progression of such transaction through an appropriate pre-defined process flow, validating the inputs, applying business rules and performing the necessary computations and information processing. As such it has been proposed, that the new administrative structure will not require the positions of Assistant Grade II & III. Opportunity will be presented to the present incumbents to progressively move up or retire and thereafter these positions will cease to exist. 8.2 Existing Job Roles vs. Required New Job Roles: Alongside the existing set of responsibilities, new set of roles and responsibilities required to be performed in alignment with the mandates, goals, results sought to be accomplished, have been identified. These roles & responsibilities have become necessary on account of the implementation of the various progressive work practices which have been designed. The qualifications, job descriptions and expertise levels for these new positions have been factored in during the exercise of restructuring.


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8.3 Review of Roles at higher levels: The review of roles and responsibilities at the higher level indicate that for going forward, the responsibilities associated with higher level positions will require performance of tasks such as the strategic planning and implementation of the policies, design of processes & mechanisms; tracking of results & impact; formulation of business plans, persistent problem solving & resolution of issues; building the system for guaranteeing results and facilitating the implementation of progressive management practices. With these factors in mind, it is proposed to bring about a paradigm shift in the approach towards problem solving through team work, collaboration, enhancing the interactions and architecting the administrative system to facilitate issue resolution, incident reporting and feedback from disparate organizational units and Labs located across the country. 8.4 Need for specialist positions: The need for new skill sets in the area of Human Resource Management aligned with the revamp of systems, ERP implementation, improved methods of performance management, employee engagement, adoption of methods and measures for augmenting competencies and building organizational capacity will require specialists in the area of Human Resources Management. Likewise, higher level of domain expertise would be required for the design of methods, systems, metrics for enhanced interoperability and collaboration, knowledge sharing, operation analytics, determination of performance gaps, decision support, information exchange, process flow. Emerging methods and professional approaches would require to be adopted for infrastructure and facilities management, intellectual property management, engagement of stakeholders, formulation of business plans and project management across disparate organizational units. Therefore the specialist functions and related roles will need to be created to manage the entire repertoire of new activities and processes that will be implemented as a result of the progressive initiatives being taken. These roles are required for the modernization and infusion of professional evidence and knowledge based work culture which would require domain expertise and skill sets which are less prevalent in the existing set up. These positions will be specialist positions


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with a well defined job description and competency standard and will correspond to equivalent positions at US, DS and Sr. DS. While new positions for specialists in the rank of Deputy Secretary and Senior Deputy Secretary have been earmarked, it is proposed to fill these positions initially through deputations or open competitive direct contractual appointment, after the eligible candidates have been found to satisfy the competency benchmarks on the basis of standardized competency evaluation methods. 8.5 Ideal Ratio Adopted In keeping with the need for effective task performance, supervision, required level of guidance for the regular transactional and operational roles, the optimal ratio between various levels proposed would be as under: • Executive Assistants : Section Officers 1: 3 • Section Officers : Under Secretaries 1: 2 • US : DS/ Sr. DS 1: 3.5 The above ratio will also ensure that adequate career advancement opportunities are available to motivate the incumbents. 8.6 Detailed Job Analysis A detailed exercise was undertaken to understand the roles and responsibilities of Assistants, Section Officers, US and DS equivalent positions in various cadres in the Labs and in the Headquarters. This was done with the detailed compilation and documentation of responsibilities, activities performed by administrative Officers and Staff at various levels in various divisions / units, time taken for such activities and the volume of transactions carried out on the basis of information obtained in the required format from the CSIR laboratories. It was observed that the present administrative functions are focused on delivering routine administrative support to the organization. In the current dispensation, individual professional development, team orientation, organizational mission and purpose do not receive the required attention and focus.


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This expanded repertoire will impact on the existing roles and responsibilities in a manner that enables the reporting and reviewing officers, to be (i) more oriented for development of their teams, (ii) developing alignment of their planning and actions to the team and organizational goals, (iii) focusing on team engagement/ commitment and (iv) mentoring each individual they are supervising, as professional, self motivated and team oriented knowledge workers. It would become incumbent on every employee to develop his proficiency and groom talent in his team to conceptualize, design, implement, monitor and drive various transformation initiatives in keeping with the reinvented paradigm and framework for pursuing performance excellence. 8.7 Progressive Methods for Performance Management The Performance Management System and the new Open Annual Performance Appraisal Report (O-APAR) would be based on the objective to support an environment where continuous learning and personal growth are recognized. The focus is to ensure that each employee's experience and progress within the organization is accompanied by ongoing open dialogue about job performance and future development. To that end Reporting / Reviewing Officers and their employees work together to plan, manage, and review performance and developmental opportunities.

An Activity-Log is an automatically generated by the ERP system providing detailed logs of all the transactions done by an individual for the process steps allocated to him/her. It also records the volume and time taken by the individual to complete the tasks entrusted to him. Further, these individual activity logs are compiled to provide a

___________________________________ It has been realized that there is a need to focus on expanding the repertoire of responsibilities and administrative activities under-taken to encompass tasks such as ; • Engaging Stakeholders • Planning & Goal Setting • Environment Scanning • Design, Re-design and

Improvement of Processes • Quality Assurance • Policy Reinventing &

Compliance • Performance analysis, diagnosis • Mentoring, Training Design,

Knowledge Creation, Organization Development initiatives

• Developing SOPs, Best Practices • Use/ Re-use Repurposing of

Knowledge • Evangelism/ Championing • Risk Mitigation & Crisis

Intervention, • Incident reports analysis,

Compilation of Evidence to design & implement continuous proactive interventions


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team productivity report. This helps a Reporting Officer compare and evaluate the performance of his team members working on similar processes. The PMS also aims at making performance assessment an interactive and on-going exercise rather than being an annual formality to be completed.

8.8 Strategic, Tactical and Transactional Roles The revised and expanded set of responsibilities in the enterprise has been viewed rationally in terms of three levels being strategic (relating to Sr. DS, DS and US levels), tactical (relating to SO level) and transactional (relating to Assistants which would now be re-designated as Executive Assistants). Roles have been added and expanded so that the repertoire of responsibilities and tasks entrusted to employees would encompass hitherto less performed tasks such as: (i) Analysis of performance gaps, determining standards of services, individual &

team goals (ii) Improving decision support, (iii) Undertaking forms and process re-engineering to simplify tasks, while

enhancing effectiveness and impact (iv) Proactive identification and mitigation of risks, impediments & constraints (v) Engagement of employees & stakeholders for inputs, feedback for improved

redesign of services rendered (vi) Mentoring of team members and (vii) Troubleshooting or improving capability and features of enterprise software

automating the relevant operations (viii) Building systems for breakthrough performances and proactive audit (ix) Development of learning resources/content for eLearning portal.

8.9 Ushering in a Unified Structure for the Administrative Cadres The administrative cadre in its present form of being constituted as three sub cadres relating to General Admin, Finance and Accounts and Stores and Purchase and further the Stenographic Cadre & Non Technical Administrative Group D positions were seen in its entirety and a strong case emerged for the unification of these cadres. As part of the elaborative role profiling discussions and exercises, it was understood that the functions of each of the General Admin, Finance and Accounts and Stores and Purchase


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cadre are not highly specialized in nature and can be handled by employees of the other cadres as well. Since, the source of recruitment is also common, uneven promotions in the three cadres have brought in distortions and avoidable disparities. While in Stores and Purchase Cadre there are vacant positions at US equivalent Store and Purchase Officer, these could not be filled up for want of eligible officers who have spent the required no. of years in the preceding below level of Section Officer Stores & Purchase. On the other hand in General Administration, Section Officer (General Admin) has been stagnating for more than 14 years without promotion. A unified system and placement of Officers across cadres would enable meet the needs of the organization and utilize better talent across the three cadres. Besides, rotation of roles and expanded scope of functioning provides opportunities for job enrichment. Accordingly, the recruitment rules - CSIR Administrative Services (Recruitment & Promotion) (ASRP) Rules – 1982 are being accordingly amended to enable the proposed unification. 8.10 Development of Competencies Intensive efforts would be made to augment the individual and team capabilities of employees and groom them to manage the new set of responsibilities and to implement the various processes and initiatives as part of the transformation programme. To promote a continuous capability development in the administrative team, and also support implementation of ICT initiatives, nearly 20% of CSIR’s Administrative team would be required to undergo training at any given point in time. 9. PROPOSAL 9.1 Efforts for Restructuring the Administrative Cadres of CSIR aims to create and nurture a vibrant, energized professional organization culture with skilled knowledge workforce to cater to ;

(i) the emerging needs for the operations that require to be carried out to pursue mandates of CSIR

(ii) the challenges associated with increased complexity of work being undertaken in the National Laboratories and deliver of high quality of support services required to be extended to meet the needs of the scientific fraternity.


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Capabilities that are required in the rejuvenated work force encompass knowledge and competencies required for (a) dynamic goal setting (b) diligent operation analytics (c) persistent problem solving (d) strategic approaches and adoption of improved scientific methods in the performance of various tasks (e) decision making skills (f) risk mitigation (g) capability for process design, execution, monitoring and management of operations against a results based framework employing appropriate measures and metrics to track progress (h) project management capabilities (i) engagement and negotiation skills etc

9.2 The renewed administrative structure and resultant dynamics envisages ;

(i) Right sizing to create required number of higher level positions for professional and skilled manpower to undertake operations aligned with a renewed knowledge based work culture, while abolishing lower level positions

(ii) Unified cadre management that enables movement across various job roles and across varied operations. (explained in greater details in Sec 9.4)

(iii) Intensive capacity building, job enrichment, dynamic work allocation, workplace mentoring, training and development, multi-skilling of administrative workforce

(iv) Design and implementation of ERP systems, progressive management methods and policy changes - that support professional approaches to performance management, enhanced levels of individual and collaborative team performances.

9.3 The orchestrated change interventions aims to revitalize and strengthen the administrative cadres of CSIR and consequentially enhance the quality of operations execution and delivery of services to stakeholders in the areas of HRD, finance, operations, systems, projects, services, infrastructure, facilities management along with newer cross-functional activities like performance appraisal, benchmarking competencies, job analysis, mentoring, career advancement, decision support, advocacy, communications, counseling, input assessment, environmental scanning, and delivery systems for promoting and transforming CSIR with multi-skilled work force.


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9.4 Restructuring per se would involve the following aspects ; (i) Unified treatment of the three Administrative Cadres The three separate cadres of General Administration, Finance and Accounts and Stores and Purchase will be unified as a single cadre, with seniority getting determined on the basis of the date on which they joined the present grade and if it happens to be on the same day, then according to their date of birth. Employees of a given Grade would be expected to serve in any of the roles under General administration, Finance & Accounts or Stores & Purchase. However, prior to posting in a given role, it would be necessary for the employee to have attained the minimum prescribed benchmarks and competency standards for the role for which he is being considered. (ii) Departmental promotions Both seniority and merit would be taken into consideration in computing a Composite Career Progression Index (CCPI) which would determine the inter se seniority as on 1 Jan in each of the years. The Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) will consider those within the zone of consideration and determine their placement in the select panel according to their relative CCPI. The DPC interviews would serve to validate the CCPI , prior to the recommendations of the DPC. (iii)Abolition of Assistant Grade III and II Positions: The staff strength is proposed to be readjusted, abolishing all positions at Assistant Grade III and II level, and creating additional positions at the higher levels utilizing such savings. Abolition of vacant posts will be immediate, while for those positions against which incumbents are available, a gradual abolition of posts would result consequent to the incumbent’s promotion, retirement, resignation or death. In the interim period, the expenditures if any, involved in creation of posts will be met from the sanctioned budget or internal revenues generated. (iv) Re-designation of Assistant Grade I as Executive Assistants: With the abolition of Assistant III and II; Executive Assistants (the present Assistant Grade I) will become Executive Assistants and will be the entry level post for the administrative cadre. (v) Changes in the Stenographic Cadre: There would be no further induction of personnel in the stenographic cadre. Vacant posts in this cadre would be abolished. Those who are already present in the system would be provided opportunities to serve


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in Support Roles, commensurate with their capabilities in positions such as Staff Assistant (eqvt to Asst Grade I), Staff Executive (eqvt to SO), Senior Staff Executive (eqvt to US) and be attached to senior functionaries like the DG, Director, Joint Secretary level Officers and Heads of Scientific Divisions and Centers of Excellence. (vi) Support roles of present Stenographic Cadre to be taken by Executive Assistants of Unified Cadre: The persons being recruited under direct entry to the administrative cadre at the level of Executive Assistants (the present Assistant Grade I), in addition to their administrative roles in the unified cadre, would also take roles to serve in Support Roles which were performed by the Stenographic Cadre. (vii) Creation of Specialist Positions: As explained previously in Sec 8, the modernization and infusion of professional evidence and knowledge based work culture would, require new processes, job roles and expanded repertoire of activities to be taken up would require skill sets which are less prevalent in the existing set up. The specialist positions would have a well defined job description and competency standards and will correspond to equivalent positions at US, DS and Sr. DS level. The specialist positions will in the first place be offered to existing officers fulfilling the predefined competency benchmarks. With a view to promote internal talent, extensive opportunities would be made available to the existing manpower to enable them augment their skill sets and qualify for such specialist positions. Where, internal candidates are not available, provisions will be made in the recruitment rules for these positions to be filled up by hiring external resource persons on a contract basis for a maximum period of 3 years and extendable upto 5 years. The posts of the specialists stand embedded in the total number of posts in the unified administrative cadre and would be in the pay scale of Sr. DS, DS, US & SO. These specialist positions would also provide flexibility in the system to recruit talent required for various operations by reconfiguring these roles detailing appropriate competency standards depending on the emergent needs of the organization from time to time. (viii) Proposed Manpower Positions at Various levels While arriving at the above proposed strength, the issues related to overall lab staff strength, the onset of newer activities, budget availability and suitable matching savings have duly been taken into account. The proposed increase in number of Sr.


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DS/DS/US/SO level positions has duly been supported through appropriate corresponding savings and funds from surrendering posts of Assistant (Grades II and III) and Stenographers (Senior and Junior). (ix) Distribution of proposed manpower by Lab Size: To arrive at a rational and logical manpower size for distribution across the laboratories, the laboratories in CSIR have been classified based on the total employees, into three categories viz.

- less than 250 - between 250 and 500 - greater than 500

Norms have been worked out for each of the three lab categories above, as illustrated in Table 1 providing the basis for optimal deployment of manpower in keeping with the size of the Laboratories. (x) Change in Residency Period (min no of years in Service in a given grade before becoming eligible for being considered for promotion to the next level) There would be a rigorous exercise based on evidence of performance while recording the performance rating of the employees. For specialist positions, evaluation of competencies on the basis of established professional methods would be rigorous and objective. Under these circumstances, even if the employee becomes eligible by virtue of having spent a min no of years in service in a given grade, he is required to have a minimum benchmark rating at atleast a certain number of ‘Very Good’ for US, DS, Sr DS equivalent postings or ‘Good’ for SO, EA equivalent postings, as notified. The residency requirement is being proposed for reduction from 8 year to 6 years only at the levels of SO and below, considering the stagnation at these levels.


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Accordingly, the min residency requirement accordingly is proposed for being reduced, in the following manner ; From Level/ Grade

To Present Residency Requirement

Proposed Residency Requirement

Asst Gr III, II & I

Asst Gr II, I and SO 8 6

SO US 8 6 US DS 5 5 DS Sr. DS 5 5

Table 1 Manpower Deployment Criteria

Total Manpower

Size Level/ Grade Genl F&A S&P

Specia-lists

Support Staff

Grp D- NT Total

No of Labs

Grand Total

<250 Sr DS DS/US 1 1 1 1 1 5 SO 3 2 2 2 9 Asst 9 6 6 6 27

Total 13 9 9 1 9 15 56 10 560

250 to 500 Sr DS DS/ US 2 2 2 2 1 9 SO 4 3 3 3 13 Asst 12 9 9 9 39

Total 18 14 14 2 13 20 81 21 1701

>500 Sr DS 1 1 DS/ US 2 2 2 2 2 10 SO 5 4 4 1 4 18 Asst 15 12 12 12 51

Total 22 18 18 4 18 30 110 10 1100 870

3361


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On the basis of the norms defined in Table 1 prepage, the distribution of manpower across all levels and across all the Labs is detailed in Table 2. Table 2 Level wise distribution across all Labs

Level/ Grade Pay Scale Grade Pay

Sanct. Strgth Admin

Extng Strgth Adm

Sanct. Strgth Sten Cdr

Extng Strgth Sten. cdr

Tot Extng - Admin + Stengr.

Proposed - Admin + Stengr.

Proposed - Specia-

lists

Total Propsd

Diff (H-E)

% change vis-à-vis exstng

A B C D E F G H J K

Sr DS 37400-67000 8700 8 8 -- -- 8 0 10 10 2

25.00

DS 15600-39100 7600 59 54 -- -- 54 59 17 76 22

40.74

US 15600-39100 6600 148 134 -- -- 134 148 115 263 129

96.27

SO 9300-34800 4800 400 288 149 107 395 400 143 543 148

37.47 Asst Gr I 9300-34800 4200 1332 1004 665 423 1427

1599 -- 1599 -616 -27.81 Asst Gr II 5200-20200 2400 910 457 287 135 592

Asst Gr III 5200-20200 1900 385 196 -- -- 196

Grp. D NT 4440 -7440/ 5200 -20200

1650/ 1900 1593 1186 -- --

1186 870 870 -316 -26.64

3992 3076 285 3361

-631


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9.5 Guiding principles and Rationale for the Restructuring exercise

In determining the Rightsizing and adopting a rationale basis for determination of manpower strengths in the laboratories and for CSIR as a whole, efforts have been made to ensure that there would be no additional outflow or excess expenditure over and above what is currently being incurred. There would be savings on account of salary related expenditures and other incidental outflows with respect to such expenditures associated with the sanctioned number of posts.

As a consequence of the restructuring, the vacant positions at various levels/ grades that would be surrendered are detailed below ;

Levels/ Grades No of Vacant Posts that would be surrendered immediately

Assistant Grade I 328 Assistant Grade II 453 Assistant Grade III 189 Senior Stenographers 242 Junior Stenographers 152 Non Technical Group D 407 Total Vacant posts at present which Would be abolished

1771

In the restructured cadre, there would be no positions of Assistant Grade II, Assistants Grade III and Junior Stenographers. There would be only one Grade of Assistant Grade I which would be re-designated as Executive Assistants. The employees of the stenographic cadre will also fall under the purview of the unified administrative cadre and Assistant Gr I equivalent Senior Stenographers providing staff support to Directors, Senior Officers and Heads of Divisions would be called Staff Assistants and higher positions corresponding to Section Officer would be called Staff Executive and those corresponding to Under Secretary would be called Senior Staff Executive.


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The total number of existing employees in the three grades of Assistants and their equivalent positions in the Stenographic cadre i.e. Senior and Junior Stenographer aggregate to 2215, which would eventually be reduced to 1599 progressively, leading to the abolition of additional 616 positions. As regards Group D Non-Technical the existing number of 1186 employees would likewise progressively be reduced to 870, with the abolition of 316 positions. The savings on account of such abolition of posts would be utilized for the additional expenditures consequent to creation of proposed specialist positions comprising 2 positions at corresponding to Senior DS level, 17 positions corresponding to DS level, and 115 positions corresponding to US level. The details of administrative workforce at various levels with the breakup of sanctioned strength, existing strength, the proposed strength and the proposed number of specialist positions are detailed in Table 2. The proposed strength has been worked out on the basis of the functional requirements in the laboratories which have been classified into three groups i.e. Laboratories having total manpower strength of less than 250, Laboratories having total manpower strength between 250 to 500 and, Laboratories having more than 500 employees. As previously mentioned in Sec 9.4 (ix), Table 1 provides the breakup of the manpower to meet operational and functional requirements in each of the three categories of laboratories. A depletion of manpower below this proposed requirement in the labs will pose difficulties and be detrimental to the efficiency and effectiveness with which operations are carried out in the laboratories. The creation of new positions and recruitment to fill such positions would be progressively carried out commensurate with abolition of surrendered positions. When new positions are created for the specialized job roles, evaluation of competencies and the prescribed benchmarks would be a prerequisite condition for filling such specialist positions. Specialist positions will be made available to all employees of the administrative cadre fulfilling eligibility conditions.


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10. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND SAVINGS The summary of the financial analysis is given in Tables 3 to 5, giving details of the manpower size and corresponding costs wrt sanctioned, filled up and proposed positions. 10.1 Sanctioned positions taken as the Reference Point With the abolition of the posts at Assistant Gr I/ Sr Steno , Assistant Gr II / Jr Steno , Assistant Gr III, and Work Assistants, the manpower size would reduce from 5936 sanctioned positions to the proposed 3361. This would reduce the manpower costs from Rs 223.22 Cr to Rs 153.20 Cr. There is thus, a saving of Rs. 70.02 Cr with respect to sanctioned strength. 10.2 Existing/ filled up positions are taken as the reference point When the existing/ filled up positions are taken as the reference point, the manpower size would reduce from the present 3992 to the proposed 3361. The manpower costs would reduce from Rs 153.80 to Rs 153.20 ie ~ Rs 0.60 Cr savings. Abolition of posts proposed will be a gradual process depending on the incumbent’s promotion, retirement, resignation or death. In the interim period the expedition if any, involved in creation of posts will be met from the sanctioned budget of the CSIR. The retirement scenario at various levels indicate that about 45% of the existing incumbents in the administrative cadre will retire in the next 5 years and about 60% in the next 10 years. Abolition of posts being effected gradually with the present incumbents moving out of the system due to promotion, retirement, resignation or death. For extra expenditure incurred during the interim period, if any, may be met from the sanctioned budget of the CSIR


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TABLE 3 SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

S.No. Name of Post Pay Scale Grade Pay

Annual Pay & Allowances (+10% Cont.)

Sanctioned Post

Total Cost I (In Cr.)

Filled up Post

Total Cost II (In Cr.)

Proposed Post

Total Cost (In Cr.)

A B C D E F

1 Sr. Dy. Secretary 37400-67000 Rs. 8,700 Rs. 1,252,409 8 01.00 8 01.00 10 01.25

2 Deputy Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 7,600 Rs. 903,706 59 05.33 54 04.88 76 06.87

3 Under Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 6,600 Rs. 803,120 148 11.89 134 10.76 263 21.12

4 Section Officers/ PS 9300-34800 Rs. 4,800 Rs. 596,579 549 32.75 395 23.56 543 32.39

5 Assistants Gr I/ Sr Steno 9300-34800 Rs. 4,200 Rs. 466,128 1997 93.09 1427 66.52 1599 74.53

6 Assistants Gr II/ Jr Steno 5200-20200 Rs. 2,400 Rs. 324,144 1197 38.80 592 19.19 0 00.00

7 Assistants Gr III 5200-20200 Rs. 1,900 Rs. 238,491 385 09.18 196 04.67 0 00.00

8 Work Assistant 5200-20200 Rs. 1,800 Rs. 195,724 1593 31.18 1186 23.21 870 17.03

Total

5936 223.22 3992 153.80 3361 153.20

Savings

70.02 0.60

w.r.t. Sanctioned Post

w.r.t. Filled up Post


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TABLE 4

Savings / Abolition of posts



Surrender of posts w.r.t. Sanctioned Posts


Decrease in positions w.r.t. Filled up posts


A-E (for cases

where A>E)

B-F (for where cases B>F)

C-E (for cases

where C>E)

D-F (for cases

where D>F)

1 Sr. Dy. Secretary 37400-67000 Rs. 8,700 Rs. 1,252,409 00.00 0.00

2 Deputy Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 7,600 Rs. 903,706 00.00 0.00

3 Under Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 6,600 Rs. 803,120 00.00 0.00

4 Section Officers/ PS 9300-34800 Rs. 4,800 Rs. 596,579 6 00.36 0.00

5 Assistants Gr I/ Sr Steno 9300-34800 Rs. 4,200 Rs. 466,128 398 18.55 0.00

6 Assistants Gr II/ Jr Steno 5200-20200 Rs. 2,400 Rs. 324,144 1197 38.80 592 19.19

7 Assistants Gr III 5200-20200 Rs. 1,900 Rs. 238,491 385 09.18 196 04.67

8 Work Assistant 5200-20200 Rs. 1,800 Rs. 195,724 723 14.15 316 06.18

Table 4 Summary

Total

2709 81.04 1104 30.05


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TABLE 5

Excess Exp./ Creation of posts



Creation of posts w.r.t. Sanctioned Posts


Additional Positions w.r.t. Filled up posts


E-A (for cases where E>A)

F-B (for cases where F>B)

E-C (for cases where E>C)

E-D (for cases where E>D)

1 Sr. Dy. Secretary 37400-67000 Rs. 8,700 Rs. 1,252,409 2 0.25 2 0.25

2 Deputy Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 7,600 Rs. 903,706 17 1.54 22 1.99

3 Under Secretary 15600-39100 Rs. 6,600 Rs. 803,120 115 9.24 129 10.36

4 Section Officers/ PS 9300-34800 Rs. 4,800 Rs. 596,579 0.00 148 8.83

5 Assistants Gr I/ Sr Steno 9300-34800 Rs. 4,200 Rs. 466,128 0.00 172 8.02

6 Assistants Gr II/ Jr Steno 5200-20200 Rs. 2,400 Rs. 324,144 0.00 0.00

7 Assistants Gr III 5200-20200 Rs. 1,900 Rs. 238,491 0.00 0.00

8 Work Assistant 5200-20200 Rs. 1,800 Rs. 195,724 0.00 0.00

Table 5 Summary

Total

134 11.02 473 29.45

Difference of Table 4 & Table 5 Summary

Net Surrender wrt SP

(2709-134)

2575

Net Saving wrt SP

81.04-11.02

Rs 70.02 Cr

Net Surrender wrt EP

(1104-473)

631

Net Saving wrt EP

30.05-29.45

Rs 0.60 Cr


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11. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESTRUCTURING OF ADMINISTRATIVE CADRES

Restructuring shall be dealt with in an iterative approach where planning and implementation shall be managed simultaneously. The change management process would be executed in sequence by

(i) visualizing the transformation states of the organization in each quarter,

(ii) determining the modalities of transitioning to such envisioned states by defining targets and goals with regard to ,

a. the targeted manpower against envisaged positions,

b. availability of competencies against targeted competency levels and

c. attainment of outcomes for ERP implementation against defined targets & milestones.

(iii) Diligent execution and evaluation of impact on the basis of feedback, interactions, follow up and reports.

Enterprise level transition will thus be pursued in terms of attaining a successive series of transient states at various time intervals (typically over each quarter of 3 months duration).

The implementation of restructuring of administrative cadres will be phased out in following manner:

(i). Define the transition phase and milestones for each transition phase Each of this transition phase for each of the quarters would be defined in terms of progression towards the targeted right size of manpower deployment. This would mean the notification of rightsize for each of the labs, surrender of excess positions over and above the positions notified and progressive induction of the right talent and their placement in appropriate preconceived job roles. The implementation of ERP applications would proceed concurrently to reduce the need for manpower undertaking work of a routine nature.


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(ii). Make required interventions and coordinate with the Labs to ensure that transition states are achieved through the change interventions

Intensive capacity building of the existing workforce would be taken up to groom and orient them for the required redefined job roles and equipping them with additional skill sets. (iii). Institute mechanisms and methods to track progress with required policy

changes and building of competencies Execution would of required change would be taken up alongside (i) analysis and implementation of measures, metrics and mechanisms for monitoring impact (ii) defining relevant methods for implementing changes (iii) setting dynamic goals at various levels and for various process outcomes (iv) tracking of operations or their progression for deviance from expected progression of events and (iv) the initiation of action sequences for necessary corrections. (iv). Ascertain feedback and support change for smooth transition while

implementing necessary course correction for attaining targeted milestones and state transitions

Issues that arise in the course of execution are persistently resolved to ensure progression for attainment of envisaged goals. The issues could relate to complaints, problems, requirements, suggestions, to do tasks, not to do tasks, alerts, exceptions pointed out, a dysfunctionality in a specific domain or process deviation and so on. (v). Institutionalize changes There will be consistent planning and execution of ongoing change interventions on the basis of continuous analysis/ appraisal of performances and conceptualizing proactive measures for corrective interventions. 12. APPROVAL SOUGHT As per Bye Law 11 of CSIR Rules, Regulation and Bye Laws, Recruitment & Promotion, including assessment and merit promotion, in respect of all categories of staff of the Society are to be regulated in accordance with the detailed schemes formulated by Governing Body, CSIR in this behalf.


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Approval is solicited for the restructuring of the Administrative and Stenographic Cadres of CSIR as detailed in this proposal and more specifically in Section 8 and Section 9 which include the following ;

(i) Adoption of rational basis for determination of manpower size to be deployed in the CSIR laboratories commensurate with their needs and complexity of operations as presented in Table 1 and Table 2 and detailed in the sections 8 &9.

(ii) Reduction in Size of Administrative workforce from 5936 sanctioned posts to the proposed 3361 positions as detailed in Table 1 and Table 2 with the abolition of 2575 positions wrt the Sanctioned posts. Net reduction/ abolition of posts wrt existing positions would be 631 positions.

(iii) Creation of 134 new positions which require skill sets to pursue the transition to a knowledge based professional work culture, in the equivalent ranks of Sr DS, DS and US and induction of manpower with such skill sets.

(iv) To unify the administrative cadres to enable placement of talent in suitable job roles across cadres. This would also enable job enrichment, development of proficiency, enhanced levels of collaboration and skill development and increased availability of manpower for the required job roles in the Organisation.

(v) Change in Residency Period for SO and below - The residency requirement reduction from 8 year to 6 years only at the levels of SO and below, considering the stagnation at these levels and the stringent conditions under which selections are made for career advancement.

(vi) Carry out amendments as may be necessary in the CSIR Administrative Services (Recruitment & Promotion) (ASRP) Rules – 1982 to enable implement the restructuring initiatives and unification of administrative cadres.

(vii) Implement progressive initiatives for intensive capacity building, improved evidence based performance management system and transitioning to a professional knowledge based work culture.

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Documents

Proposal for Restructuring/ Right Sizing of Manpower in the Administrative Cadres in CSIR