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WT/BFA/W/333  
27 June 2014 
(14-3676) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
  STRATEGIC REVIEW  
REPORTS FROM  STAFF  WORKING GROUPS  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  In December  2013 the Director -General launched a  Strategic Review  of the WTO Secretariat . 
Its aim was to generate ideas for reforming and reinvigorating  the Organization  agains t a backdrop 
of rising demands  and static  resources .  
1.2.  The chosen approach tries to make the staff at all levels throughout the Secretariat 
stakeholders of this process.  After an internet survey to establish the 10 most burning  issues, the 
four top subjects were identifi ed: Rules, Mobility, Promotions, Management.  All four were 
discussed in plenary meetings and then transferred to working groups (WGs). These WGs were 
open to all staff and attracted an average of 30 participants  per group . They operated in a self-
organize d fashion and had a varying number of meetings.  
1.3.  In this paper , information is provided on the deliberations of the WGs. The Secretariat 
thereby  wants to meet the request of the Members to be involved in the ongoing process , as 
opposed to simply being confr onted with a definitive  outcome.  
1.4.  Attention is therefore drawn to the fact that the information aims at summarizing the findings 
of WGs. It does not reflect the view s of the management of the Secretariat. Members are 
presented with an unfinished "product",  that will go through several more phase s of "sculpturing ". 
Currently a process has commenced where the rapporteur  plus three members  of each WG try to 
resolve issues that need to be decided but did not meet consensus in the WGs.  
2  CREATING A TRANSPARENT, AC COUNTABLE, RULES -BASED ORGANIZATION  (RULES 
WORKING GROUP)  
2.1.  The universal  and consistent  application of staff rules is critical to creat ing certain ty and 
fairness , and to limiting conflicts and the abuse of power . Although  the working group on rules 
identifi ed several areas where the Organization 's existing rules , regulations and policies  need to be 
clarified or strengthened —especially as regards contracts —it concluded that the central  problem 
was not the rules themselves but an arbitrary  and inconsistent way  in which they were applied . 
The WGs emphasised the value of  shining more light on the Organization —through stronger 
transparency and accountability mechanisms —so both staff and management have a greater 
incentive to conform to the rules and to serve the Organization 's interests . The WG's 
recommendations included amongst many others:  
 Establish ing an independent Office of Internal Oversight  to provide a  systematic, 
objective and impartial assessment of whether rules are being respected, resources are 
being allocated  effectively , and expected results are being achieved . 
 Appoint ing an internal ombuds person  as part of an accessible  and well -resourced dispute 
mediation process , as a necessary first step in conflict resolution.  
 Strengthen ing the internal justice  system so  that—if mediation fails —processes are 
efficient , impartial  and timely . WT/BFA/W/333  
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   Changing the role of the Office of Legal Counsel to avoid conflicts o f interest in internal 
disputes.  
 Reiterating the different functions of regular staff , short-term staff , and interns —and 
implementing existing  policies consistently and transparently . 
3  SECURING MORE PREDICTABLE CAREER ADVANCEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PATHS  
(PROMOTIONS WORKING GROUP)  
3.1.  A motivated, inspired  and committed  Secretariat  is vital to meeting  Member's needs , 
attract ing qualified personnel,  and maximizing  investments in human resources . The working 
group on promotions felt that the WTO's current personnel  policies  were often more a hindrance , 
than a help , in efforts to incentiviz e staff and promot e job satisfact ion. Declining opportunities for 
career advancement —reinforced by the current  promotion s freeze—had created a sense of 
professional stagnation . The subjective means by which performance was often assessed —and the 
perception that performance was too frequen tly unrelated to promotion and appointment 
decisions —added to staff frustration . 
3.2.  The group stressed the critical importance of developing a new personnel  policy which 
restor ed an expectation of long-term career progress  within the WTO ; and it demonstrated,  based 
on detailed salary simulations, that this could be achieved in a budget -neutral way . It also 
emphasized that  eligibility for advancement —either  within a post or in competition for higher  
posts—needed to be based on objective criteria , and transparen t and inclusive selection processes . 
More generally, t he group noted that explicit incentives and performance -based rewards were not 
the only means of motivating staff —indeed, if poorly designed and implemented, such policies 
could have the opposite effect . Even m ore important to creating a productive, innovative, 
collaborative Secretariat  was restoring a sense of pride, purpose  and professional satisfaction in a 
WTO career . The group recommended:  
 Re-instating promotions for 2014 -15 within the context of av ailable resources . 
 Defining more objective eligibility criteria for promotion s, including minimum time in 
grade and satisfactory job performance . While organizational need was integral to 
establishing strategic priorities and resource requirements, it shou ld be distinct from 
decisions regarding eligibility for promotio n. The self -nomination option for staff to 
identify themselves as eligible for promotion  should be maintained . 
 Ensuring that all vacancies above entry level were open first to existing staff . A 
simplified "recruitment" and selection process for internal vacancies should be 
considered as a way of reducing costs . 
 Creating a joint body — e.g., an Appointments, Promotion and Performance Board 
(APPB) — to ensure transparency, inclusiveness and fairn ess at all relevant stages in the 
promotion and appointments process . Consideration should be given to a formalized 
system of peer -assessment of promotion  candidates . 
 Improving , updating and clarifying post bench -marks—and ensuring individuals' ca reer 
paths, including training and objectives , are linked to these benchmarks . 
4  ENCOURAGING A CULTURE OF MOBILITY, FLEXIBILITY, AND ADAPTABILITY  
(MOBILITY WORKING GROUP)  
4.1.  Policies that encourage d mobility, flexibility , and adaptability within the Organization  can 
increase staff experience , improve resource allocation  and alignment , and enhance  the delivery of 
services —all in a cost neutral way . The working group on mobility highlighted the need for senior 
management to develop a less passive, more pro -active policy on  mobility , and for staff to 
embrace the opportunities to expand their knowledge and experience . At the same time, the group  
acknowledged the importance of balancing the need for a more flexible  and adaptable workforce 
with the need to retain technical expe rtise and institutional knowledge . While the request  to move 
between divisions should come from  individual staff members, it stressed that the Organization  
should do more to actively facilitate mobility by creating stronger incentives  for staff to take on  WT/BFA/W/333  
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  new challenges and responsibilities , and by constructing a  more transparent  marketplace —or 
"mobility platform" —for better linking  supply and demand for mobility . Creating a more flexible 
and adaptable Secretariat  required  a change in the way mobility was p erceived , as well as a 
change in incentives . The group recommended:  
 Opening a ll vacant posts to mobility  first. If no mobility candidate applies—or if the 
candidate is unqualified —the post  would then be open to an internal vacancy 
competition . 
 Creating a "mobility platform " that matches candidates to opportunities thr ough regular 
mobility exercises.  
 Encouraging external mobility with other institutions or organization s by more effectively 
implementing existing cooperation agreements and by examining the sco pe for 
expanding similar agreements to other relevant Organization s. Ensuring that work skills 
and experience gained from transfers or exchanges to other  accredited bodies and 
during special leave without pay  for work related reasons counts towards perform ance, 
pensions and time -based entitlements in the WTO.  
 Establishing a Joint Mobility Committee to administer the Mobility Platform  with the aim 
of ensuring  decisions on mobility requests  are transparent, impartial and timely . Ensure 
that the mobility polic y is reviewed annually by the J oint Advisory Committee (the JAC) . 
5  FOSTERING MORE INCLUSIVE AND COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT  (MANAGEMENT 
WORKING GROUP)  
5.1.  The purpose of management is to mobilize resources effectively and to achieve the 
Organization 's goals while empowering staff and encouraging initiative . The working group on 
management felt that across relevant areas —goal-setting, decision -making, staff consultation and 
performance assessment —past management frequently failed to meet these objectives . In 
particu lar, the group expressed concern about senior management's tendency to adopt new 
policies and rules without following required procedures, about the Director -General's Office's 
involvement in the detailed administration of the Secretariat , and about decisi ons to downgrade or 
even abolish joint staff -management consultative bodies . A more robust system of 
checks -and-balances was needed to ensure that management operated within the Organization 's 
rules and was held accountable for its decisions.  
5.2.  The group als o expressed concern  that individuals had sometimes been appointed to 
managerial or supervisory positions on the basis of seniority or technical expertise without 
sufficient regard to whether they processed the necessary management and interpersonal skills . 
To ensure that management ability was a prerequisite to management appointments, the 
Secretariat  needed to develop an explicit policy on the qualities and qualifications required for 
managerial responsibility backed by adequate training and assessment . Finally concerns were 
expressed about the inadequacy and arbitrariness of the performance evaluation process . While 
there were various proposals for making the process a simpler and more "constructive" two -way 
dialogue about shared goal setting and career de velopment, all emphasised the need to improve 
communications between supervisors and supervisees, and the importance of using objective 
criteria for assessing progress . Overall the group stressed that changes were needed not just to 
policies, rules, and in stitutions, but to the management culture . The group recommended:  
 Establishing a High -Level Management Group  that would bring together the three 
management tiers —the Director -General, the Deputy Director -Generals, and Directors —
in periodic meetings to provide a transparent , accountable "clearing house" for 
address ing horizontal issues, such as resource allocation  and alignment . Its agenda  and 
deliberations would be communicated to staff . 
 Renewing the JAC's role in developing and revising policies rela ted to  staff work ing 
conditions.  WT/BFA/W/333  
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    Reviewing the Secretariat 's management structure —and specifically the number of 
managers/supervisors —with a view to examining the scope for simplifying and 
harmonizing supervisory/managerial roles  across the Organization . 
 Establishing objective eligibility criteria for management and supervisory responsibility —
including requisite training and experience . Ensure that training is offered to staff 
seeking  managerial/supervisory positions at all  levels, including with regard to WTO 
rules, regulations and policies . 
 Developing procedures an d mechanisms to address underperform ing directors, including 
review by the APPB. 
 Undertaking further reflection  on the annual performance evaluation process . 
 Establishing a Health, Safety and Risk Man agement Committee to evaluate health and 
safety risks, and to formulate risk-mitigation policies for consideration by the JAC . 
 Developing a comprehensive sick leave management and health and safety policy that 
clearly defines the roles and responsibilities  of the Organization , the Human Resources 
Division, the Occupational Health Service, the WTO Pension Plan Management Board and 
the WTO Pension Plan medical advisor and insurance provider . 
 Evaluating t he adequacy and effectiveness of the  Occupational Health  Service—and, in 
particular, assessing the costs and benefits of current arrangements versus re -affiliating 
with the UN medical service . 
5.3.  The problems fac ed by  the Organization are inter -related so the recommendations need to be 
viewed as a mutually reinfor cing whole. Several can be addressed relatively quickly; others will 
require more time and reflection. The "built -in agenda" for future work should focus, for example, 
on developing detailed plans for career progress, training policy, and the role of the H uman 
Resources Division, as well as on reviewing success in implementing the policies outlined in the 
WGs. All the recommendations embody the same basic goals: transparency, objectivity, 
accountability and inclusiveness.  
5.4.  Finally it is acknowledge d that ref orms must be in the direction of working smarter and more 
effectively with the resources we have. Given existing budgetary constraints and the rising 
demands of Members, many of the recommendations set out in the WGs —from encouraging 
mobility to restoring predictable career advancement —depend on answering broader strategic 
questions about the kind of Secretariat that will be needed in the years ahead.  
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