Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
As appropriate, staff should be provided with opportunities for further education,
training in new skills and professional development. Where possible, education and
training should be carried out in conjunction with the staff member’s particular
Forward Job Plan. The personnel department should monitor the results. Comments
should be noted on the personnel file and entered in a skills register. The register
should be organised by skills, followed by the names of staff who have acquired them
and the level obtained.
Attendance at overseas education and training courses usually requires approval from
the central agency and the employing department. Bonding may be required, whereby
the person agrees that in exchange for training, he or she will undertake to work for
the employer for a specific period of time upon return from studying. It is wise to
monitor the training process closely to ensure staff complete the course and return to
their post within the allotted time. This monitoring process may generate
considerable correspondence between the employing department, the civil service
department and perhaps the high commission or embassy in the host country, as well
as with the individual concerned. The institution in the host country may also become
involved.
Records Issues
A skills register should be established if there is not one in use. Abstracts of
education, training and development courses attended and their results should be
placed on the personnel file. A separate series of correspondence files on overseas
education and training should be kept in the civil service department and in the
employing departments.
PROMOTIONS
Promotions should be based primarily on merit, though seniority may also be a
consideration. Traditionally, candidates for promotion have been required to attend a
promotion board, but increasingly managers have been allowed to advertise for
applications when a vacancy occurs and to carry out the selection themselves,
possible with the involvement of personnel staff. Promotion boards may be restricted
to internal candidates only, but may also include outside candidates.
Appeal procedures should be in place to consider cases where individuals were not
selected for promotion or were not promoted.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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