25 February 2017 Seoul, Republic of Korea GO WHO Workshop to Improve Geographical Representation of WHO Staff 25 February 2017 Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Meeting Report GO WHO WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF WHO STAFF 25 February 2017 Seoul, Republic of Korea GO WHO Workshop to Improve Geographical Representation of WHO Staff 25 February 2017 Seoul, Republic of Korea WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC RS/2017/GE/15(KOR) English only MEETING REPORT GO WHO WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF WHO STAFF Convened by: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC Seoul, Republic of Korea 25 February 2017 Not for sale Printed and distributed by: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Manila, Philippines October 2017 NOTE The views expressed in this report are those of the participants of the Go WHO Workshop to Improve Geographical Representation of WHO Staff and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the conveners. This report has been prepared by the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific for Member States in the Region and for those who participated in the Go WHO Workshop to Improve Geographical Representation of WHO Staff in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 25 February 2017. 2 CONTENTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 4 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Meeting objectives and expected outcomes .................................................................................. 5 1.3 Participants .................................................................................................................................... 6 2. PROCEEDINGS ................................................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 6 3. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 8 3.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 8 ANNEXES .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Annex 1. Workshop programme Annex 2. Go WHO Korea: workshop announcement Annex 3. Go WHO Korea: websites posting the workshop announcement Annex 4. Go WHO participants list KEYWORDS: Health personnel/Capacity building/Staff development/Regional health planning 3 SUMMARY The human resources policy of the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for the recruitment of staff from as wide a geographic basis as possible. Four Member States in the Western Pacific Region including the Republic of Korea are listed as underrepresented countries. Member States have urged the WHO Secretariat to put more effort into addressing the issue of underrepresentation. As such, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea, together with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, convened a half-day workshop in Seoul on 25 February 2017 to encourage Korean national, English-speaking graduate students and health experts to build a career with WHO. The workshop was attended by 86 participants. Overall feedback from participants was positive. The workshops also provided opportunity for WHO to strengthen ties with participating agencies in the Republic of Korea. 4 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The human resources policy of the World Health Organization (WHO) on recruiting personnel from “as wide a geographic basis as possible” aims to ensure the Organization’s work reflects and benefits from the contributions of all Member States. In the Western Pacific Region, there are four Member States—China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore—listed as underrepresented countries (WHO workforce data as of 31 December 2016). The desirable range for Chinese national staff is 46–63; the actual number is 36 staff members. The desirable range for Japanese national staff is 94–128; the actual number is 41 staff members. The desirable range for Republic of Korea national staff is 19–27; the actual number is 16 staff members. The desirable range for Singaporean national staff is 4–11; the actual number is 2 staff members. During recent WHO governance meetings, including the 136th and 138th sessions of the Executive Board and the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly, Member States urged the WHO Secretariat to put more effort into addressing the issue of underrepresentation. The WHO Secretariat has observed that some applicants from underrepresented countries, while qualified, do not succeed in WHO's recruitment process. To respond to this issue, a half-day workshop, known as "Go WHO" was initiated in Japan in 2016. Japan's Minister of Health expressed appreciation of the workshop and the ministers of health of China and the Republic of Korea expressed their interest in WHO convening similar workshops in their countries. 1.2 Meeting objectives and expected outcomes The objectives of the meeting were: 1) to attract talent from underrepresented countries with a large human resource gap; and 2) to coach young professionals on how to prepare should they wish to join WHO. At the end of the meeting, participants were expected: 1) to be familiar with WHO's core functions and role in international and global health; 2) to be familiar with WHO's recruitment process; 3) to be familiar with WHO's competency model; and 4) to understand how to respond to written test for WHO vacancies and competency-based interview questions using the STAR (situation, task, action, result) model. 5 1.3 Participants Through an online system, 160 applicants registered their interest in attending the workshop. A target of 70 participants was set to ensure opportunity for interaction and active engagement of workshop attendees. Participants were screened based on their English skills, motivation and expectations for the workshop as well as being in the age range of WHO staff members (20–62 years). Of the 160 applicants, 111 were invited to attend the workshop. Eighty-six participants attended the Seoul workshop. 2. PROCEEDINGS 2.1 Overview The workshop comprised three sessions: 1) Getting to know WHO; 2) Writing your resume and written test: briefing and exercise; and 3) Competency-based interviews: theory and practice. Five WHO staff members, led by Mr Jeffery Kobza, Director of Administration and Finance, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, guided the sessions. The workshop programme is available in Annex 1. Dr Jong-Koo Lee, Director of the JW Lee Center for Global Medicine, and Mr Jaemon Park, Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, provided opening remarks. Dr Dong-il Ahn, a retired senior WHO staff member from the Republic of Korea, followed with a presentation on international health in the 21st century. Dr Lee also provided a message of encouragement to close the workshop. The workshop objectives and expected outcomes were achieved through interactive sessions that included live polling, question and answer periods, audience participation and group work to practise competency-based interview skills. 2.2 Findings 2.2.1 Announcing the workshop, screening and selecting participants A workshop announcement with a link to a registration form was posted on 22 websites (Annexes 2 and 3). Registration opened on 25 January and closed on 20 February 2017. Of the 160 applicants who registered their interest in attending the workshop, 111 passed the screening process and were invited to attend. Eighty-six participants attended the Seoul workshop. Brief participant details are available at Annex 4. 2.2.2 Quality of participation in the workshop Participants were actively engaged throughout the workshop, particularly during the live polling and group work sessions. During the session on resume and written test preparation, participants were asked to answer an essay question. Participants were given the option to submit their response to WHO by email for informal feedback. About 30 out of 86 participants submitted their essay. Based on the experience of the Go WHO workshop in Japan in August 2016, the time allocated for the written test was reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes so as not to lose momentum during the workshop. 6 Due to the shortened time frame, the answers were somewhat short and difficult to assess in terms of quality. However, most of the responses complied with "tips" given during the workshop, such as structuring the answer, using short paragraphs and sentences, applying direct communication and plain English, following the rule of three and using relevant examples and referencing. Competency-based interviewing was a new concept for most participants. Some participants were able to provide good examples and use the STAR (situation, task, action, result and lessons learnt) model in their responses. Others became aware of the need to practise more to build their confidence and improve their English