RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/621  
 
22 February 2023  
(23-1209) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
WTO SECRETARIAT'S STAFF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2022  
This report summarizes staff learning and development initiatives offered to WTO staff in 2022.  
 
1  LEARNING NEEDS ARISING FROM TRANSFORMATION EXERCISE  
1.1   Leadership Development, Innovation & Corporate Values  
1.1.  Over 1,000 in -house training places were taken by Secretariat staff in 2022. The organization's 
learning and development programme was informed primarily by findings arising from the diagnostic 
phase of the transfo rmation exercise, namely:  
i. the need to improve performance management (i.e., appraisals, rewards, 
management of  poor performance);  
ii. perceived gaps in leadership & managerial capabilities;  
iii.  a Secretariat culture which insufficiently incentivizes and rewards innovation;  and 
iv. the need for shared values to drive behaviours and ways of working across the 
Secretariat.  
1.2.  In light of the above, Secretariat staff were provided with a range of learning initiatives which 
placed emphasis on performance management, leadersh ip, innovation and organizational values. 
Examples of the training programmes offered to staff are outlined in the paragraphs below.  
1.3.  In 2022, webinars on Conversations on Setting Performance Expectations  were introduced as 
opportunities to trigger discussi ons between managers and team members regarding any new 
initiatives that may be required to advance the work of the Secretariat, for example in areas such 
as digitalization and the green economy. This focus on the need to reflect on new work priorities 
was triggered by the WTO Director -General's Town Hall speech on 1 February 2022, in which she 
stated: "We need to be able to move with the times... build on what is good within the organization, 
strengthen what is weak ... We must also look at ourselves from time to time ... What do we need 
to change or strengthen in order to move forward? " The 65 managers and staff members who 
attended the webinars which focused on the need to rethink future performance expectations were 
also remin ded of the importance of rem aining connected and of having ongoing performance 
conversations despite operating in a hybrid work environment.  
1.4.  With respect to enhancing leadership and managerial capabilities, the Secretariat's 2022 
Culture Change, Leadership and Innovation Programme  was  facilitated by leading thinkers and 
professors in the field of strategy and leadership. Colin Williams, co -author of "Agile Leadership for 
Turbulent Times " and a facilitator of the in -house Executive Leadership, explored with participants 
new leadership  intelligences required in the 21st Century. These included the need to leverage 
interdependence between teams as well as the ability to work beyond boundaries/the organization 
and think holistically about the future. Ilze Lansdell -Zandvoort, author of "Le ssons Leaders can Learn 
from Those Living Through Change", facilitated a Change Simulation activity which provided 
managers and directors with first -hand experience of complex organizational change. The simulation 
highlighted the importance of taking a str ategic view of staffing, processes and systems and flagged 
the often -unanticipated high level of support required by staff experiencing organizational change. 
Jonathan Trevor presented his "Strategic Alignment Framework" which reinforced the need for the WT/BFA/W/621  
 
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  organizational architecture and management systems and processes to support the overall priorities 
of the organization.  
1.5.  Additional skills -based, and leadership and change programmes were offered to all staff in 
managerial roles: Transitioning from Technical  Expert to People Manager ; Action Learning / Peer 
Coaching for Managers  and follow -up modules on Coaching Skills  for participants who attended the 
executive -leadership programme. The upskilling of leaders by providing practical tips and techniques 
which ca n be immediately transferred into the workplace often leads to a high return on investment. 
Indeed, participant feedback regarding the various leadership programmes included statements such 
as: "The course helped me in my managerial development, and also g ave me the tools to further 
develop and improve over time"; "I feel more comfortable and more experienced in managing 
individuals"; "I would definitely recommend this training to my colleagues. It offers an excellent 
opportunity to improve one's own skills  by exchanging real -life experiences."  
1.6.  Promoting a culture of Innovation & Creativity in International Organizations  (IOs) was the 
focus of a webinar series facilitated by Professor Tina Ambos and Dr Katherine Tatarinov, co -authors 
of "Initiatives with Impact: Unleashing Bottom -up Innovation in International Organizations". Their 
research highlighted the importance of i nnovation to create fundamental shifts in staff behaviours 
and systems and to ultimately lead to new ways of delivering policies, processes and services. Their 
webinars provided staff at all levels of the organization with opportunities to interact with He ads of 
Innovation in various IOs to explore issues such as "How to break through the bureaucratic process".  
1.7.  Webinars on Ethics, Diversity, Inclusion and Gender reinforced the importance of shared 
corporate values of inclusivity and respect. Marianne Rosser t, advisor to the Chief Ethics Office at 
the World Bank, spoke of the importance of encouraging open dialogue on respectful as well as 
unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. Webinars on diversity and inclusion through the eyes of 
Martin Luther King Jr. as well as the first ever workshop on Workplace Racism, addressed how racism 
may manifest itself, albeit unconsciously, in work environments and how to shift behaviour to ensure 
a more inclusive WTO Secretariat, free of racial microaggressions, both ov ert and subtle.  
1.8.  Examples of feedback from staff participating in the programme on Workplace Racism include 
the following statements:  "Thank you to the organisers for creating this space to meet with 
colleagues under a topic of shared interest. A very enric hing session!" and " I think we have less 
understanding for the sensitivities of our colleagues because we are unaware of the historical 
contexts they grew up in and how things we say are perceived by them. This is a definite risk of us 
all coming together  from different perspectives and cultural experiences. I benefit hugely from these 
kind of training sessions and will look forward to more."  
1.9.  Concerning the 2022 training on Gender and Inclusion, emphasis was placed on supporting 
men as gender equality alli es in the workplace. Humberto Carolo, Executive Director of White 
Ribbon1, Canada, spoke of the role men play in ensuring safe and harassment -free workplaces. The 
webinar also included a testimony from an industry peer on ways to promote male engagement o n 
gender equality at work. Laura Bates, founder of the "Everyday Sexism Campaign" also facilitated a 
webinar on male allyship. The event addressed the manner in which boys and men are impacted by 
gender stereotypes and explored the spectrum of gender equal ity across society. Examples were 
also provided of actions that can be taken by men to support women and to dismantle gender 
stereotyping.  
1.10.  An invitation to the WTO / UN Female Directors' Network was extended to senior female staff 
in Geneva -based IOs. Gues t speakers who interacted with network members in 2022 on various 
aspects of gender and leadership were (i) UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet; (ii) International 
Criminal Court Judge Sicorro Flores Lier; (iii) WTO Director -General Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala; 
(iv) International Trade Centre Executive Director Pamela Coke -Hamilton ; and (v) UNCTAD 
Secretary  General Rebeca Grynspan.  
1.11.  The WTO Framework on Gender Equality  launched by the Director -General in December 2022 
was the culmination of a Gender and Equali ty audit undertaken that year. Among other issues, the 
Framework recommends future mandatory training on gender equality. This includes courses to 
address the prevention of sexual harassment and overcoming gender biases, with the objective of 
 
1 an organization where men and boys take a pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about 
any form of violence or abuse against women . WT/BFA/W/621  
 
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  building awar eness and understanding of these issues. The entire WTO workforce is expected to 
undertake the training within six months of the date on which it is made available. Newly recruited 
staff members will be required to complete the course within the first thre e months of their date of 
entry in the Secretariat.  
2  TRAINING FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINERS  
2.1.  The Learning Service, in conjunction with the Institute for Trade and Technical Cooperation 
(ITTC), launched a 2022 Campaign to provide training for Secretariat staff responsible for 
undertaking technical assistance and trade capacity building programmes for government officials 
from developing countries and LDCs. The need to conduct training of this nature arose from an 
external evaluation of the WTO technical as sistance programme undertaken in 2016, which 
recommended that, "In consultation with Human Resources and delivering Divisions, (ITTC) ensure 
that a coherent system of training for trainers and trainer -evaluation is put in place and applied as 
needed."  
2.2.  Unlike previous similar programmes which mainly addressed the design and delivery of 
technical assistance training events, the 2022 programme was comprised of a foundation module 
on design and delivery as well as specialised modules which, in future, will be s ubject to change 
depending on emerging needs of WTO staff. To this end, participants were offered foundation 
modules on Adult Learning Styles and Training Design & Delivery  and specialised modules which 
addressed (i) Public Speaking with an Actor ; (ii) Designing and Using Case Studies ; (iii) Facilitating 
Virtual Panels ; (iv) Using Virtual Platforms e.g., ZOOM ; and (v) Evaluating Learning/ Technical 
Assistance Activities . 
2.3.  Feedback from the 45 staff members who attended the event included the following 
statem ents: "I found all the training very relevant for my work." and "Excellent. It was very 
interesting to discuss the issues from a trainer's perspective."  
2.4.  As training for technical assistance trainers will evolve to accommodate staff members' 
changing develo pment needs, future workshops are expected to include: (i) further updates on the 
latest online tools and techniques ; and (ii) how best to convey extremely legal WTO Agreement 
provisions to a variety of target audiences.  
3  PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT  (IT, LANGUAGE TRAINING, INDUCTION, REDIFINING 
WORK)  
3.1.  Demand for IT training in 2022 continued to be extremely high. Brief, thirty -minute IT 
"Expresso" webinars were conducted on various aspects of Microsoft 365 Suite Office. Sessions 
included training on WORD (Creating F orms, Formatting & Replacing & Special Characters, Mail 
Merge), OUTLOOK (Outlook Calendar, Manage Views), and EXCEL (Create simple Gannt Chart, an 
Attendance Record Workbook).  
3.2.  A new International Certification in IT skills was also made available to staff.  The International 
Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) certification, a globally recognised information and communication 
technology (ICT) and digital literacy qualification, was introduced as a means of encouraging staff 
to enhance their IT skills. The WTO IC DL programme consists of 4 modules – Computer Essentials, 
Online Essentials, Word Processing and Spreadsheets. Staff may attain certification in one or more 
of the four modules. Interested staff members first undertake an assessment of their skills prior t o 
enrolling on the training programme which is approximately eight hours long. A pre -examination, 
examination and certification process occurs subsequent to the training programme. All 23 staff 
members who undertook the ICDL programme in EXCEL and all 9 st aff members who were trained 
in WORD attained international certification.  
3.3.  UNOG's Centre for Learning and Multilingualism continued to be the key language training 
provider for Secretariat staff in the organization's three official languages (French, Engli sh and 
Spanish). Of the 70 staff members who undertook language training at UNOG, 42 studied French. 
The overall pass rate for 2022 was 82%.  
3.4.  As an alternative to UNOG's scheduled classes, BELL Switzerland SA continued to provide 
flexible blended learning o ptions (online self -paced study with e -tutors or F2F tutors) and bespoke WT/BFA/W/621  
 
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  in-house programmes for staff. In 2022, 25 staff members benefitted from language programmes 
delivered by BELL Switzerland SA.  
3.5.  Modular Induction programmes covering (i) History of the  WTO; (ii) Staff Support and 
Wellbeing ; (iii) Medical Insurance , Compensation ; and (iv) Performance Management, Learning & 
Development, were conducted for newcomers. Tours of the WTO building have also been included 
as part of the induction process, as a m eans of quickly orienting new staff.  
3.6.  A series of webinars in English & French on Redefining Work Post Pandemic , provided managers 
and staff with an opportunity to discuss the changing "psychological contract" i.e., the unwritten, 
intangible agreement betwe en employees and their employers regarding their expectations of each 
other. The specific aims of the webinars were to (i) surface any hidden employee expectations; 
(ii) rethink employee engagement ; and (iii) re -create connection and trust in a post pandem ic 
working environment. Among other issues, the webinars addressed the importance of work/life 
balance, of having a clear purpose in the workplace and the need for increased communication and 
ongoing perfo rmance conversations. The importance of managers de monstrating empathy and duty 
of care was also emphasised.  
4  EXTERNAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES  
4.1.  Training requests from individual staff members to undertake external training initiatives 
increased twofold compared to 2021. Of the 69 training requests, 28 were onlin e courses on subject 
matters such as "Introduction to Records Management" and "Climate Change Policy: Economics and 
Politics". Offsite courses, which were mainly restricted to Europe, included "Technological Tools in 
Translation", "Crisis Management for Pu blic Officials" and "Immersive Investigations Workshops".  
5  MENTORING , COACHING , PEER  COACHING, LEARNING NETWORKS  
5.1.  As in previous years, mentors  were identified for new recruits to help them navigate the 
Secretariat and to network colleagues outside of their division. In 2022, 13 mentors and 6 internal 
coaches were identified to support those participating in the Young Professional s Programme. 
Internal coaches continue to play an increasingly active role in supporting staff on matters pertaining 
to enhancing working relationships and career development.  
5.2.  Facilitated peer coaching / action learning networks were conducted for 12 managers. Peer 
coachi ng consists of small groups of managers who assist each other via the use of coaching 
techniques to address work -related issues and to take appropriate courses of action. With the 
assistance of a facilitator, the peer -coaching method is aimed at introducin g Secretariat managers 
to a non -directive form of supporting their team members which ultimately encourages the latter to 
take better thought -out decisions on their own.  
5.3.  In 2022, the Learning Service continued to provide administrative support to cross -Secretariat 
learning networks, including those focusing on Transparency, Climate Change and Digital 
Transformation.  
6  FUTURE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT INITI ATIVES  
6.1.  In 2023 and beyond, the Learning Service will further advance needs arising from the 
diagnostic phase  of the transformation exercise. For example, an exercise to identify future 
managerial, core/generic and technical skills will be undertaken.  
6.2.  In addition, a range of 2023 programmes to celebrate International Awareness Days on various 
aspects of Diversity , Equity, Inclusion and Gender will be made available to staff with particular 
emphasis on ensuring inclusion in the workplace for LGBTQ+ staff members.  
 
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