Mentoring Program

Section 1 – Privacy Impact Assessment Overview

  1. Name of Program or Activity: Mentoring Program
  2. Institution responsible for delivering Program or Activity: Public Safety Canada
  3. Government Official Responsible for the Privacy Impact Assessment: Director General, Human Resources; Manager, Learning and Development
  4. Head of Institution/Delegate: Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management Branch
  5. Description of Program or Activity (from Program Activity Architecture) :
    1.5 Internal Services
    1.5.2 Resource Management Services
    1.5.2.1 Human Resources Management
  6. Description of the class of records associated with the program or activity:
    Description: Includes records related to formal and informal training received by employees to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies, maximize their potential and increase their productivity. Records may include information related to special development programs, university fellowships, language training, training requirements, professional development, leadership development programs, learning and training policies, monitoring and reporting requirements, continuous learning and career counselling. May also include records related to liaison with training providers.
    Document Types: Annual training reports, individual learning plans, employee orientation information, educational leave criteria, training and skills needs analysis documents, knowledge assessment criteria and results, performance level descriptions, criteria, assessments and agreements and second language training requirements.
    Record Number: PRN 927
  7. Personal Information Bank:
    Training and Development
  8. Legal Authority for Program or Activity:
    The Human Resources authority to collect personal information associated with the Mentoring Program is from the Financial Administration Act (FAA). Section 12 (1) (a) of the FAA, with respect to human resources management, states that ‘‘every deputy head in the core public administration may, with respect to the portion for which he or she is deputy head, determine the learning, training and development requirements of persons employed in the public service and fix the terms on which the learning, training and development may be carried out.''
  9. Summary of the project / initiative / change:

    Public Safety's (PS) Mentoring Program supports the Departmental Policy on Learning, Training and Development. This policy promotes the growth and development of PS employees, so that they can effectively contribute to delivering on strategic and operational objectives related to the organization's mandate.

    The objective of the mentoring program is for participating employees to gain knowledge and develop skills so they can further develop their career at PS. Providing access to a mentoring program supports Public Safety Canada's Destination 2020 Action Plan by enhancing development opportunities for employees. It also responds to the Department's Public Services Employee Survey results that pointed to the need for more support in career development and contributes to the continuous improvement of the departmental culture by promoting collaboration among employees. Ultimately, the program will help improve employee development and retention within the Department.

    Phase 1: Recruitment of mentors and mentees

    A call letter is sent out once a year by the Learning and Development Team inviting interested mentors and mentees to enroll in the program.

    Potential mentees are invited to sign up for either the one-on-one or mentoring circle programs by adding their name and branch to the Individual Mentoring Form. Potential mentors are required to complete the Mentor Profile. All information provided by potential mentors is used to assist mentees in identifying the right fit for their mentoring needs. The profile form covers the following:

    Personal Information

    • Name
    • Gender (Optional)
    • Preferred Language
    • Years of seniority
    • Objectives and expectations
    • Expectations in term of mentoring relationship
    • Career highlights
    • Competencies
    • Objectives and expectations
    • Expectations from a mentee

    Professional Information

    • Branch
    • Directorate and division
    • Professional Group and level
    • Current Job Title

    HRD's role during phase 1:

    The program coordinator collects information of potential mentors and mentees and then establishes a pool.

    Phase 2: Matching Process

    Interested participants (mentors and mentees) are invited to a networking and matching event. At this event, the HR advisor responsible for coordinating the program presents the program's objectives and creates a forum by which the group of potential mentors and mentees can meet. After the event, every mentee is responsible for contacting the mentors and to communicate their interest in establishing a relationship. Mentees who have the same developmental objectives may want to establish a mentoring circle. In that case, together they will need to contact their selected mentor to communicate their interest in creating a mentoring circle.

    HRD's role during phase 2:

    The program coordinator is informed as soon as the mentees have identified their mentors. If a mentee has not found a mentor, the coordinator then provides assistance in finding a mentor based on the mentoring needs of the mentee. The program coordinator ensures that a mentoring relationship is established with an individual who works in a different unit, directorate or even branch than the mentor or the mentee.

    The program coordinator also ensures that mentoring relationships between mentees and mentors (direct reports) do not get established.

    Phase 3: Agreement and Objectives Setting Exercise

    The mentor and the mentees who decide to establish a mentoring relationship have to complete an agreement form together. This agreement is scanned and saved in RDIMS, by the mentees, under file IS 2154, Protected B, Agreement, and mentees provide their mentor and the Learning and Development Team with normal access. Normal access does not allow them to change the security settings, so the control of access remains with the employee. This allows the program coordinator to confirm that the document exists and to link the forms to the program report (e-binder tool) to confirm form completion. Because these forms are training related, employees are then required to send them to the department's records office so that they can be placed on the participants' training file.

    The two agreement forms for the program are the one-on-one mentoring form and one the mentoring circle form. The agreements in the Appendix of the Departmental Mentorship Program cover the following:

    • Objectives of the relationship for the mentee(s);
    • Mutual understanding of the importance of confidentiality, respect and trust;
    • Availability;
    • Type of mentoring relationship (one-on-one mentoring or mentoring circle)

    The mentor and the mentees also establish objectives for their meetings/relationship. This document is kept only by the mentor and the mentee(s). The mentor and mentee(s) may also develop an action plan together, which will be reviewed and evaluated during meetings and at the end of the program.

    HRD's role during phase 3:

    The program coordinator ensures that the proper forms are completed and sent to the department's records office.

    Phase 4: Meetings between mentor and mentees

    The mentors and the mentees decide together on the frequency and the duration of their meetings. It is recommended that they meet formally and regularly for at least one hour per month. The meetings may be held once every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on their initial agreement. However, the employees participating in this program are strongly encouraged to have discussions informally and more frequently depending on the needs of the mentees and the availabilities of the mentors.

    To ensure they have the support of their immediate supervisor, mentors and mentees are encouraged to indicate in their learning plan their intention to participate in the mentoring program.

    Meetings can be held during or outside normal working hours. If the meetings are held during working hours, the employees must specify to their immediate supervisor when the meetings will be held and their duration to justify their absence from work. Time spent outside normal working hours for discussion with the mentor is not subject to overtime.

    HRD's role during phase 4:

    The program coordinator acts as a resource person for mentees and mentors during phase 4.

    Phase 5: Evaluation

    Mentors and Mentees evaluate whether they have met their objectives and if the program has met their expectations and needs. Participants' performance is not evaluated.

    HRD's role during phase 5:

    HRD, in relation with the personal information, evaluates the program and adjusts to ensure continuous improvement.

Section 2 - PIA Risk Area Identification and Categorization

The following section contains risks identified in the PIA for the new or modified program. A risk scale has been included for each risk area lettered "a – f". The numbered risk scale is presented in ascending order: the first level represents the lowest level of potential risk for the risk area; the fourth level (4) represents the highest level of potential risk for the given risk area. Please refer to “Appendix C” of the TBS Directive on PIAs to learn more about the risk scale.

  1. Type of program or activity
    Administration of program or activity and services
    Risk Scale - 2
  2. Type of Personal Information Involved and Context
    Only personal information, with no contextual sensitivities, collected directly from the individual or provided with the consent of the individual for disclosure under an authorized program
    Risk Scale – 1
  3. Program or Activity Partners and Private Sector Involvement
    Within the institution (among one or more programs within the same institution)
    Risk Scale - 1
  4. Duration of the Program or Activity
    Long-term program
    Risk Scale - 3
  5. Program Population
    The program's use of personal information for internal administrative purposes affects certain employees
    Risk Scale – 1
  6. Technology and Privacy
    Does the new or modified program or activity involve the implementation of a new electronic system, software or application program including collaborative software (or groupware) that is implemented to support the program or activity in terms of the creation, collection or handling of personal information? No
    Does the new or modified program or activity require any modifications to IT legacy systems and / or services? No
    The new or modified program or activity involve the implementation of one or more of the following technologies:
    Enhanced identification methods? No
    Use of Surveillance? No
    Use of automated personal information analysis, personal information matching and knowledge discovery techniques? No
  7. Personal Information Transmission
    The personal information is transferred to a portable device (i.e., USB key, diskette, laptop computer), transferred to a different medium or is printed
    Risk Scale - 3
  8. Risk Impact
    Risk Impact to the Institution:
    Managerial harm
    Risk Scale - 1
    Risk Impact to the Individual or Employee
    Reputation harm, embarrassment
    Risk Scale – 2
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