Hired relatives not part of EQC review
MARTIN VAN BEYNEN Last updated 05:00 16/03/2012

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A $25,000 review of Earthquake Commission (EQC) recruitment processes did not interview four relatives of management employed by the commission and left questions over its examination of nepotism, an assessment report says.

The report shows the review was open to comment only from those selected by the reviewers, Wellington recruitment firm KSJ Associates, and was conducted over a period "not conducive to the best outcome" – the Christmas-New Year break that involved only one week of work.

The criticisms were made by former State Services Commission deputy commissioner Malcolm Inglis in his peer review of the KSJ report. The review and the report were released yesterday.

Inglis said it was not clear from the KSJ report "the extent to which a full forensic examination for evidence of inappropriate influence was done or indeed possible".

The four relatives were considered "passive participants" and not interviewed.

"These factors leave the review and its conclusions subject to criticism," Inglis said, although he concluded that had the shortcomings been remedied, the result would have been the same.

The KSJ review was prompted by The Press revelations of children of senior staff being appointed to highly paid field staff positions after last year's Christchurch earthquakes and again when the field staff workforce was reduced from about 800 to 200 for this year. Field staff currently employed earn $105,000 for a one-year contract.

The review looked only at the processes for appointing field staff for this year.

EQC board chairman Michael Wintringham said the KSJ review found the commission's processes were appropriate and that it had gone to some lengths to ensure they were fair.

"Naturally, not everyone got their preferred outcome, but it's pleasing that the processes used in these unusual circumstances measure up to external scrutiny, were robust and there was no evidence of bias or nepotism," he said.

"Where KSJ identified weaknesses in the process, there were checks and balances that mitigated these."

Wintringham said the selection process had been criticised because it was not open to external candidates and that too few successful candidates were from Canterbury. "The fact is EQC already had a large pool of experienced assessors and estimators to choose from," he said.

"Given the dramatic reduction that was to take place in their numbers, there was no justification for seeking external candidates. Furthermore, candidates were selected on merit."

With regard to claims of bias and nepotism, Wintringham said the KSJ findings were supported in a peer review by Inglis.
 
"As Mr Inglis says, a family relationship should not favour or disfavour an applicant," he said.

"Selection should be on merit, and that was the basis for appointments in the 2012 recruitment ... The process required a declaration of any conflicts of interest, including family and other connections with EQC.

"The moderation process and final approval of appointments involved three decision-makers, making it highly unlikely an appointment would be inappropriately influenced."

Despite clearing the EQC recruitment process, KSJ recommended, where staff were required to assess the on-the-job performance of others, proper training in performance assessment and the use of rating scales.

The report shows the recruiters did not consider work experience in selecting field staff and reveals shortcomings in a conflict-of-interest form provided to applicants.

"It appears the relevant question on the application form was not well stated."

MANAGER'S ROLE IN JOB DECISIONS OPEN TO DOUBT

An Earthquake Commission (EQC) manager whose son asked her 800 staff for money appears to have played an ambiguous role in a controversial recruitment process.

Late last year, the commission whittled down its 800 field staff in Christchurch to about 200 appointees for this year's complement.

The Press revealed assistant human resources manager Sue Harrison arranged last September for her 17-year-old son to petition all EQC field staff for $100 donations each for his overseas cycling campaign. A bulletin published on the field staff's iPads gave a bank account number and asked for details so receipts could be provided.

EQC field staffers told The Press they felt a donation would help their chances of securing employment for the following year.

At the time, the commission said Harrison had no influence over the appointments. However, a review of the appointments conducted by Wellington firm KSJ Associates, which was released yesterday, shows that once a shortlist of candidates was drawn up it was "moderated" by two senior field supervisors meeting with "the HR [human resources] manager, Wellington, and the assistant HR manager, Christchurch".

Asked about the apparent inconsistency, EQC organisational development general manager Heather Stewart said: "Just to reiterate, the assistant HR manager had no influence over the appointments. The assistant HR manager's role was to take notes and document the decisions made."
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