RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/489  
 
11 June 2019  
(19-3992) Page: 1/7 
 Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  Original: English  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WTO SECRETARIAT 'S RESPONSES TO  
THE 2018 PERFORMANCE  AUDIT OF HUMAN RESO URCES   
 
 
  WT/BFA/W/489  
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION  
The External Auditors prepared an Audit Report1 on the 2018 Financial Statements of the WTO, for 
which they gave an unqualified opinion. In addition, the Auditors undertook a Performance Audit on 
Human Resources matters and provided a number of observations and recommendations. On the 
whole, the Secret ariat finds the observations and recommendations helpful. Nonetheless, there are 
areas that the Secretariat deems as requiring elaboration and clarification. The extracts of the 
concerned paragraphs from the Audit Report are copied below with corresponding  comments from 
the WTO Secretariat.  
 
Audit Report Paragraph 121  
1.1.  The responsibility of HR in the recruitment process is not clearly defined. The requesting 
divisions are already involved in the  long-listing process before short -listing. Irrespective of the  fact 
that Human Resources Division already needs technical experience for the pre -selection , any conflict 
of interest should be avoided.  
WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.2.  The recruitment process is set out in the Staff Regulations and Rules as well as in the policy 
on "Staff Promotions and External Recruitment through Vacancy Notices"  contained in Administrative 
Memorandum 976.  
1.3.  Administrative Memorandum 976 sets out the overall selection process for internal and external 
vacancies. In addition, Administrative Memorandum 972 , on Internal Staff Mobility , sets out the 
process for Calls for Expressions of Interest in section 5.1, whi ch precedes all vacancy notices.  
1.4.  Furthermore, the Administrative Memoranda are complemented by "WTO Recruitment 
Procedures ", an internal document in the Recruitment Service w hich sets out the details of each step 
and suggested tools to be used.  
1.5.  Hiring dec isions are of utmost importance in the WTO and the involvement of hiring Divisions 
early on in the process is conducive to ensuring the best result possible in terms of recruiting the 
best available talent.  
1.6.  In summary, all recruitment for fixed -term vacan cies follow the following steps:  
a. Preparation of a Vacancy Notice (VN): The VN is prepared by the hiring division and HR , 
through discussion s.  
b. Issuance of a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI): The content of the vacancy notice is 
used to prepare an EOI.  The purpose of the EOI is to provide staff meeting the 
requirements opportunities for lateral transfers.  
c. Internal VN: If the EOI is unsuccessful, an internal VN is issued to current fixed -term and 
regular staff. If there are at least two applicants meeti ng the requirements, a selection 
process takes place. A selection panel is composed, consisting of the hiring manager, two 
staff members from two other divisions at the same grade of the post or higher, and an 
HR representative. The selection panel prepare s the questions for the interview s and the 
written exam s, during which time assessment criteria are agreed upon. Shortlisted 
candidates are invited to an interview and written exam. The written exams are 
anonymized before marking. Depending on the subject of the written exam, an external 
technical expert may be invited to assist with the marking. Only once the interview scores 
and written exam scores are put together by the panel will the names for the written exam 
be revealed. Based on the overall outcome of the scores, the panel agrees on the 
candidate(s) to be recommended for the job. The performance evaluation report from the 
past three years for the recommended candidates are shared with panel members as 
complementary information to consider. A panel re port covering the process of the 
selection as well as performance of each interviewed candidate and suitability for the job 
                                                
1 WT/BFA/W/488  WT/BFA/W/489  
 
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  is submitted to the Appointment Board2 for review. The Appointment Board reviews the 
panel report and other supporting documents such as the vacancy notice and the CVs of 
shortlisted candidates,  and makes its recommendation to the Director -General for 
consideration. The Director -General consid ers the recommendation and approves as 
appropriate.  
d. External VN: If the internal VN either does not result in at least two candidates meeting 
the requirements, or if the outcome of the internal selection process  that does not present 
any appropriate candi date, an external VN is issued. A shorter  longlist is drawn up by HR 
depending on basic requirements and response to screening questions , if this formed part 
of the application process. The hiring division reviews the CVs and provides a shortlist with 
the further screening criteria used for this purpose. Depending on the number of 
candidates on th is list, a remote test may be conducted, either through an online video 
interview platform or through a written exam, with a view to arrive at a reasonable shortli st 
of 6 to 8 candidates. The subsequent selection process is similar to the one described 
above for internal VNs, except that professional reference checks are conducted by HR for 
external candidates to be recommended for the job.  
Audit Report Paragraph 12 2  
1.7.  The process of staff budgeting and staffing of vacancies is mainly based on budget restrictions 
and not really based on real demands by the respective tasks and workflow. Therefore, recruitments 
have been carried out position by position. WTO did not us e the opportunities for collective 
recruitments to establish a roster and to recruit staff with a wider range of potential qualifications 
and services required by the entire organization.      
1.3.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.8.  The operations of the WTO Secretari at have to be managed within the budget approved by the 
General Council. Taking this into consideration , the WTO Secretariat strives to ensure optimal 
recruitment and deployment of posts according to priorit ies. This is done in the framework of an 
approved  structure which was developed based on a comprehensive assessment of the needs and 
priorities of the Organization. This is evidenced by the reallocation of posts from several divisions to 
the legal divisions from 2015 to 2017 , to cover the surge of cases , whilst respecting the ceiling of 
total posts .  
1.9.  Processes whereby candidates are put on a roster have been undertaken. Examples include  
the following VN :  
a. VN EXT/F/16 -11; 
b. VN EXT/F/17 -23; and 
c. VN EXT/18 -40. 
Audit Report Paragraph 12 4 
1.10.   In general , the absence of process description may lead to a conflict of interest as well as 
limited transparency. This might cause unclear tasks and responsibilities. Furthermore, this always 
entails the risk of inefficient and ineffective processes as well as poor workflows. Additionally, in 
parts of the processes I detected interface problems, duplication of efforts, and redundant workflows. 
I appreciate that WTO already has carried out a significant work in terms of process mapping and 
the development of Standard Operating Procedures as well as progress to avoid conflict of interest. 
However, the final adjustments and decisions are still pending.       
                                                
2 Composed of Members representing the Administration and the Staff Council  WT/BFA/W/489  
 
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  1.4.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.11.   The WTO Secretariat takes the comments of the External Auditor on board and will finalize 
the necessary documentation 20 20, as this is a component of the HRIS project . 
Audit Report Paragraph 12 5 
1.12.   I recommend that the W TO finalize the process description soon to ens ure a smooth workflow 
with a transparent and clear allocation of tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, the Human Resources 
Division should immediately define and harmonize the ownership of the processes and clarify the 
roles and responsibilities. On that basis, the Human Resources Division should coordinate the 
finalized process description internally with all process participants. The consensual version of 
process descriptions should then be authorized accordingly.  
1.5.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments    
1.13.   The WTO Secretariat takes the comments of the External Auditor on board and will finalize 
the necessary documentation in 2020, as this is a component of the ongoing HRIS project.  
Audit Report Paragraph 128  
1.14.   The Human Resources Division is divided into different sections such as recruitment, payroll, 
entitlements etc. It seems that the Human Resources Division staff only has access to the part 
belonging to their section of work. This often impedes their work, in particular if files are not complete 
or basic calculations have been done by different Human Resources sections and in separate systems 
or manually.  
1.6.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.15.   The Human Resources Division (HRD) is organized into five Services as set o ut below , under 
the overall management of the Division Director, with significant collaboration between the Services 
on a daily basis, including information sharing and collaboration on common areas of work and 
projects. An example of the close level of te amwork between the Services in HRD is the hiring of 
new staff where the Recruitment, HR Staff Services and Learning Service work closely together to 
ensure a smooth and efficient onboarding, with a range of actions coordinated between the three 
Services.  
1.16.   Whilst access to HR data and information is generally not restricted within HRD, access to 
some information of confidential nature is limited to a need to know basis relative to the work of 
each Service : 
a. Learning Service and Career Development ; 
b. Recruitment  Services ; 
c. HR Staff Services, comprising the payroll Unit and the Staff Administration Unit ; 
d. Compensation & Benefits, Policy and Insurance Service ; and  
e. Resource Allocation and Data Service . 
Audit Report Paragraph 136 
1.17.   The Human Resources Division uses five different salary scales. The salary scale used for each 
staff member depends on the date of recruitment (vacancy note) or on the date the staff member 
started his/her  first fixed -term contract. In 2019 the WTO could already reduce one of the scales.  WT/BFA/W/489  
 
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  1.7.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.18.   The first frozen salary scale was introduced in 2012 following a negative adjustment of the 
official WTO salary scale. Additional frozen scales, applicable to existing staff, were introduced in 
subsequent years following negativ e adjustments of the official salary scale, as reported to the CBFA 
on an annual basis. The downward movement of the WTO official salary scale is largely the 
consequence of a significant drop in the value of the Euro vis -à-vis the Swiss Franc.  
1.19.   In accordan ce with the salary adjustment methodology set out in Annex B of the Staff 
Regulations, the conversion of Coordinated Organization salary levels from Euros to Swiss Francs is 
done on the basis of a 50/50 formula of Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) and the No minal Exchange 
Rate (NER). The freezing of salary scales for existing staff when the official scale is reduced is 
consistent with the practice in the United Nations, the main WTO comparator for the purpose of 
salary scale adjustments. As of January 2019, o ne frozen scale was overtaken by the official salary 
scale and thus removed.  
Audit Report Paragraph 138 
1.20.   The use of five different salary scales leads to inefficiencies and non -transparencies in the 
payroll process. Further, the use of different salary scal es in the same grade leads to a lack of 
fairness for the employees  
1.8.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.21.   The application of the four different salary scales does not introduce inefficiencies or reduce 
transparency  because t he Enterprise Resource Planning  system has been programmed to manage 
several salary scales and does not cause additional work or complications for the payroll team, nor 
does it lead to non -transparencies in the payroll process. All staff have access to their salary history, 
including wh ich salary scale they are paid against , in the ORACLE self -service module . An Office Note 
is issued to all staff each year setting out the adjustment of the official salary scale as well as the 
frozen salary scales in effect.  Successful applicants hired ar e aware of the salary level for the position 
as indicated on the respective Vacancy Notice.  
Audit Report paragraph 150 
1.22.   I recommend that WTO should revise the performance evaluation system. This should include 
the implementation of valid and measurable indi cators to enable an objective target achievement 
evaluation due to the agreed objectives.  
1.9.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.23.   The performance management system has recently been reviewed . A significant amount of 
work has been  done in this area in the context of the strategic review and takes into account the 
most modern and up -to-date trends and practices in the area of performance management. Th is 
includes major improvements to the management of under -performance, including a llowing for 
appropriate  action to be taken in any cases identified. Performance management is an area which 
has seen major developments in the last several years, with more traditional models being replaced 
by systems that are more effective in developing performance, including based o n forward -looking 
feedback.  The Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) is reviewing the proposed changes and  is expected 
to make a recommendation  to the Director -General within the next few months . 
1.24.   The WTO Secretariat further notes th at the External Auditor conflated the role of performance 
rating in the promotions process as he states that people with the rating "Significantly Exceeds" are 
entitled  to promotion. The reality is that people with a rating are eligible  to be considered fo r 
promotion as this is one of several cri teria for eligibility to apply for a promotion.   
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Audit Report Paragraph 154 
1.25.   I recommend that WTO review and adjust the rules for the secondary dependency allowance. 
In this context, WTO should consider granting secondary dependent 's allowance to a limited number 
of staff only, taking into account the economic status of the staff member as well as the social 
situation of the final beneficiaries. WTO also might wish to conside r abolishing this regulation.  
1.10.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments   
1.26.   In accordance with Staff Regulation 6.5, "Staff members shall be entitled to a dependency 
allowance in respect of a primary or secondary dependent."  It is common practice among most, if 
not all, International Organizations, inc luding the United Nations, to provide a secondary dependent's 
allowance to defray part of the additional cost of supporting a parent or sibling for whom the staff 
member provides at least one half of the financial support. It is also common for many nation al 
taxation systems to take account of such financial burden through tax abatements.  
1.27.   In order for a staff member to be entitled to a secondary dependent's allowance, the Staff 
rule requires not only that at least half of the financial support is provided f or by the staff member 
but also that the financial support amounts to at least twice the amount of the allowance. The 
allowance is only paid to those staff members who meet the above conditions.  
1.28.   The secondary dependent's allowance may only be granted in re spect of one secondary 
dependent.  
1.29.   To take into account the economic situation of individual staff members in receipt of the 
allowance and of each secondary dependent's social conditions would be highly complex from several 
perspectives, including the cost of implementation. The resources required to manage a 
differentiation of the allowance based on specific social conditions in different locations would, if at 
all feasible, incur significant costs that would likely outweigh any savings made. It should also  be 
noted that a new methodology for adjusting the dependency allowances, including the secondary 
dependent's allowance, was recently agreed by the General Council following extensive debate on 
the matter.  
Audit Report paragraph 155 
1.30.   As in the past years, even in 2017 and 2018 the WTO offered a Summer Student Programme 
(internship) for children of staff members. This special internship is just for children of current WTO 
employees holding fixed -term or regular contracts, and runs from June through the end o f August 
each year for a period of 10 working days (two consecutive weeks).  
Audit Report paragraph 156 
1.31.   The internship was remunerated at salary grade 1 in 2017 and adjusted to a fixed daily fee 
of CHF 60 in 2018. In 2017 WTO spent CHF 48,719 and in 2018 C HF 17,700 for this internship.  
Audit Report paragraph 158 
1.32.   The practice of rewarding such internship does not conform to the usual international 
standards for internships. E.g. the United Nations does not pay any salary for internships. The 
absence of regul ations or guidelines leads to a lack of governance and transparence. Furthermore, 
the opportunity to just a closed circle of staff member 's children represents a disadvantage to others 
and does not meet the requirements of fairness.  
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  1.13.1   WTO Secretariat's Comments  
1.33.   The Organization was already offering the summer student programme in 1972, when it was 
still known as the GATT, i.e. long time before it became the World Trade Organization. It is an 
opportunity for children (age range 18 to 24  years old) of staff members to experience the work 
place of their parent(s)  only once  to experience the wo rking environment of the WTO . As per Staff 
Rule 103.2(b), children of staff cannot be considered for jobs at the WTO so long as their parent(s) 
is (are) working at the Organization . 
1.34.   Other organizations known to have similar programmes are CERN, which has offered 
opportunities to children of staff a number of jobs for paid summer work for a period of 4 weeks, 
and Merck which offers a similar programme.  
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