Personnel statistics

(1)     By correspondence and through consultations held at the time of the 22nd session of ICSAB (in 1974), CCAQ agreed to the establishment in the International Computing Centre (ICC) of a CCAQ personnel data file comprising nineteen items of basic information regarding each staff member on the rolls as at 31 December of each year. The data would be supplied by each organization either in the form of a magnetic tape extract of the organization's own EDP personnel file or by code sheets for organizations not having computerized records. Basic tabulations of data to be prepared annually by ICC for CCAQ were agreed as well as the rules to govern the security and utilization of the data file (see CCAQ/SEC/338 (PER)).

(2)     In deciding to establish the data file described in para. (1) above, CCAQ agreed that the manually-prepared "Annual List of Posts" could in future be abandoned in favour of a computer-produced Annual Tabulation of Staff by Duty Station and Organization (CCAQ/SEC/336 (PER), para. 12).

(3)     At its 41st session (March 1975), CCAQ reviewed a preliminary set of tables produced from the CCAQ personnel data bank and suggested certain improvements of content and format (CO-ORDINATION/R.1087, paras. 113 and 114). At the Special Session, in August 1975, CCAQ received the definitive tables and reviewed the procedures for organization submissions with the objective of achieving at the end of 1975 a more efficient and less expensive operation. It was agreed that in the future ICC costs of correcting agency errors would be charged to the organization concerned.

(4)     At its 51st session (August 1979: ACC/1979/R.55, paras. 53-54) CCAQ agreed that organizations submitting data through computer techniques should establish validity programmes in order to test the accuracy of their data before they were submitted.

(5)     Starting in 1983, the yearly CCAQ statistics produced by ICC, contained several more tables (mainly on employment of women), based on the existing data.

(6)     In 1985-86, an effort was undertaken in order to make the yearly statistics more complete (ACC/1985/PER/CM/17, ACC/1986/PER/CM/16 and 20 refer).

(7)     At its 65th session (July 1986: ACC/1986/10, para. 110), CCAQ expressed reservations concerning the proposal of the ICSC secretariat to include some data in the yearly CCAQ statistics. CCAQ considered that the definition of these statistics was in its terms of reference; it agreed that the possibility of inclusion of additional data in the annual CCAQ statistics should be left for discussion between the CCAQ and ICSC secretariats.

(8)     At its 78th session (March 1993: ACC/1993/6, paras.142-145) the Committee was informed of action taken to rationalize the process of data analysis and report generation and make them more flexible, after the upgrading of the secretariat's computer capacity. A technical review of the database was being undertaken with the ICC.

(9)     At its 82nd session (April 1995: ACC/1995/5, para. 161) the Committee was informed of a validation program for several platforms that would be provided to all organizations to enable them to validate their data prior to submission to ICC.

(10)     At its 86th session (April 1997: ACC/1997/6, paras. 121-123) CCAQ underscored the importance of maintaining reliable system-wide personnel data and urged organizations to provide correct data in a timely manner. The secretariat was asked to study the feasibility of a complete conversion to a PC-based system. Organizations agreed to respond to proposals by the secretariat for additional data elements.

(11)     At its 88th session (April 1998: ACC/1998/5, para. 46) CCAQ noted that late submission of data and errors in the data of some organizations had again delayed publication of the CCAQ personnel statistics. It underlined their importance and took note of the secretariat's plea to organizations to ensure the quality and timeliness of their submissions.

(12)     At its June 2003 session (CEB/2003/3, para. 33) HLCM expressed regret at the delays in reporting personnel data and drew members' attention to the imperative need for organizations to provide annual computerized personnel statistics in an accurate and timely manner. These statistics were the basis for almost all analyses by ICSC, CEB or others affecting common system conditions of employment and for reporting to ECOSOC and the General Assembly. It requested the secretariat to pursue its review of the feasibility of extending the coverage of common system data to staff under contractual arrangements other than those currently covered.