Mishall RehmanIn an effort to support diversity and inclusion in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the promotion selection board has made a number of steps this year to shake up the current system.
According to CANFORGEN 009/22, these steps, along with other changes in the Canadian Forces Personnel Appraisal System (CFPAS), have been highlighted in the promotion selection board reports. The main findings from these reports were disseminated recently to all members of the CAF.
While the formal annual selection boards for the promotion year 2022 have come to a close, selection boards for the promotion year 2023 will begin on Sept. 19, 2022.
PER processing and CFPAS Observations
When analyzing PER processing and generally CFPAS, the selection board found a number of worthwhile notes to mention.
According to the CANFORGEN, the CAF, since Sept. 1, approximately 1476 PERs were received, 500 arrived while in-house, and 1191 were not ready for the boards due to clerical or formal issues.
Recently, one of the biggest challenges seen with PERs has been the submission of late PERs, which “affects selection board preparation and can potentially necessitate time-consuming supplementary boards.”
“To this end, only rank and surname of individuals should be reflected in per text. Noncompliant PERS will be returned to units for correction in an effort to obscure gender,” CANFORGEN
Receiving the PERs in a timely manner allows Director General Military Careers (DGMC) staff to provide the best quality boards and ensures members are fully represented.
“All members deserve unique PER. Cut and paste and duplication of previous year appraisals are counter to the aim of CFPAS, which is to develop CAF personnel through constructive feedback and to accurately assess the level of demonstrated performance and potential for career administration purposes,” stated the CANFORGEN.
Other notable points for CAF members to keep in mind in relation with PERs is:
- PER should be written in the official language of choice of the member, regardless of the language designation of the unit.
- Final printouts must be done on a laserjet printer.
- Photocopies and scans are not processed.
- CAF members must use the PER monitoring function in Monitor Mass
- Special instructions during COVID 19 are available at http://cmp-cpm.mil.ca/recruitment-careers/cfpas/alternate-signature-process.page (DWAN).
Selection Board Observations
A number of new initiatives were implemented for this year’s selection boards to support diversity and inclusion. According to the message sent to the CAF, in the coming years, there will be further steps taken to strengthen the military’s initiative to be more inclusive.
The measures taken this year include:
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- Steps were taken to subject selection board scoring criteria to a gender-based analysis plus.
- Each selection board required a minimum of one member from a CAF Employment Equity Group or the Defence Team Pride Network. These groups include women, indigenous peoples, visible minorities, and people with disabilities.
- Selection board membership conducted a focused bias awareness training to generate reflection on the bias that can impede a fair and transparent board process.
In other areas, to support fairness and accuracy with selection boards, the CAF message noted that “quality control at the unit level must be enforced” since some PERs are overinflated. All supervisors must write and score their members according to the guidance provided. PERs that exceeded the nine-line limit were returned to the unit for correction.
Other errors that supervisors need to watch out for include entering data correcting in Guardian and entering the correct academics, professional development, and second language qualifications.
CFPAS updates for 2021/2022 Reporting Year
Other critical changes CAF members have experienced as of late include that fitness is no longer considered by the selection boards as criteria necessary for promotions.
Additionally, the selection board has recognized that the opting-out process is “not always respected.” Therefore, those who wish to opt out must do so a minimum of 30 days before the end of the appraisal year in order to allow for proper ranking procedures within the units and organizations.
The selection board also stressed that PER should continue to be written using gender-neutral pronouns.
“To this end, only rank and surname of individuals should be reflected in per text. Noncompliant PERS will be returned to units for correction in an effort to obscure gender,” read the CAF message.
Pace Instructions
The following occupations will draft and submit both CFPAS PER and Pace PAR for 2021/2022:
- RCN: 00342 Clearance Diver Technician, 0034 Naval Combat Systems Engineering, and 00345 Marine Systems Engineering
- CAF: 00130 Weapon Technician (Land/ CAF employed Only)
- RCAF: 00019 Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator
- CANSOF: As Identified SEPCOR
- Health SVCS: 00190 Physiotherapy office
These members are part of the pilot project to switch PERs to the Pace PAR for national selection boards in fall 2022.
For additional information or assistance regarding CFPAS or the selection boards, contact DMCSS 2 Staff:
LT (N) P.R. Henry or WO D.W. Nicholl.
For additional information or assistance regarding Pace or to receive contact information for your Pace pilot group MOSID, contact DMCPG 6 Staff.
