CAN-ASC-1.1 Standard on employment: Public Review Draft – Annex C (informative) Continual improvement
Table of contents for Annex C
Note: This Annex is not a mandatory part of this Standard.
C.1 Continual improvement
Continual improvement can support the ongoing improvement and adaptation to new conditions and needs of an organization’s efforts around inclusive employment policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices by drawing on the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) framework. An organization’s unique situation will bear on the optimal characteristics of its inclusive employment policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices that best suits its needs and how the PDCA framework is operationalized to meet those needs.
C.2 Planning
Planning is a necessary first step and entails:
- reviewing current internal and external policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices;
- identifying existing gaps and areas for improvement;
- establishing objectives and targets for the current cycle of continual improvement appropriate for the organization; and
- developing an action plan to achieve the objectives and targets.
This planning stage is a critical step towards success with inclusive employment policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices and includes a commitment to continual improvement. Planning not only provides a clear understanding of the strengths and improvement opportunities within the organization’s current situation, but also enables the development of a vision for the future. With well-defined objectives and targets, the organization will know what is to be achieved, as well as when and how to achieve them. Each organization creates an action plan that reflects its unique realities and outlines action steps that fit organizational capacity. Planning also provides an early opportunity to bring together all key internal stakeholders.
C.3 Implementation
Implementation in accordance with an orderly and well-thought-out plan is essential to the success of inclusive employment policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices. It is important that those who are tasked with administrative functions are competent and diligent in carrying out their role. The organization will need to closely monitor the initial roll-out of the new initiatives to quickly identify any potential problems or gaps and address those problem areas in a timely fashion. In addition, when there are changes in the organization, such as changes to the workforce or place of work, the system might need to be expanded or other provisions made to accommodate those changes.
C.4 Performance monitoring, evaluation, and continual improvement
Monitoring and evaluating ensure the effective implementation of inclusive employment policies, processes, program, procedures, and practices and enable continual improvement by enabling the organization to identify successes, recognize opportunities to intervene when development is not optimal, reduce risks, and increase efficiencies. Monitoring and evaluation should be appropriate to the size and the nature of the organization and its activities. Both qualitative and quantitative data should be used to evaluate the performance of the organization’s policies, processes, programs, procedures, and practices, with consideration of the complexity of the activities involved.