National Communications Authority Human Resource Experience

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National Communications Authority
Human Resource Experience

• A presentation at ITU/EC Workshop Capacity
  Building in Regional Workshop on Regulatory
  Practices 11,
• Cape Verde, Praia.
• 12th 16th December 2005
• By Mr Charles K. Nuoriyee
• E-mail nuoriyee_at_yahoo.com
• NCA,Ghana.

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ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
AUTHORITY,(NCA)

• The National Communications was established by
  an act of parliament , ACT 524,1996, and its
  functions among others are to regulate
  communications by wire,cable,radio,
  television,satellite and similar means of
  technology for the orderly development and
  operations of efficient communications services
  in Ghana to provide for related purposes.

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OBJECTS OF THE AUTHORITY

• To ensure that communications systems operators
  achieve the highest level of efficiency in the
  provision of communications services and are
  responsive to consumer and community needs.
• To promote fair competition among persons engaged
  in the provision of communications services.
• To promote research into and then development of
  technologies and uses of new techniques by
  providers of communications services and to
  develop adequate human resources in collaboration
  with such other government departments and
  agencies as the Authority considers appropriate.

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SOME FUNCTIONS OF THE NCA.

• To assign, allocate and regulate the use of
  frequencies in conformity with international
  requirements pursuant to any relevant treaties,
  protocols or conventions to which Ghana is
  signatory.
• To prepare and review National Frequency
  Allocation Plan.
• To establish training standards for
  communications operators and to monitor the
  implementation of the training standards.
• To maintain a register of operators etc.

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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

• The National Communications Authority has
  four major Divisions under the leadership of the
  Director-General. The Director-General is
  responsible for the day to day running of the
  Authority. He reports to the Board of Directors
  of which he is a member. The Director General is
  assisted by the Divisional Heads who are
  Directors. These Divisions are,
• Frequency Management
• Regulations and Licensing
• Legal
• Finance and Administration.

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AN ORGANIGRAM OF THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
AUTHORITY
NCA BOARD
AG. DG
DDG
AG. DG SECRETARIAT
DIRECTOR FINANCE ADMIN
DIRECTOR LEGAL
DIRECTOR REG.LICENCING
DIRECTOR FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT
DD,FA, SR MGR, MGR AST MGR-4, OFFICERS-2,
TRAINEE OFFICERS-1, DRIVERS-8 SR CLERK-1, REC-2
SENOIR MGE - 1
SR MGRS-4, ASST MGR-1 OFFICERS-3 TRAINEE
OFFICERS-1
SR MGR-1, MGR-2, ASST MGR-2, OFFICERS-2 TRAINEE
OFFICERS-1
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STAFFING POWERS UNDER THE ACT.

• Part IV of the NCA Act on Administration and
  finance sets out the divisions of the Authority
  and their Heads.
• Section 29, (I) states that there shall be
  appointed for the Authority a Director General
  who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the
  Authority, who shall subject to the direction of
  the Board be responsible for the management and
  administration of the Authority. The President
  has the power of appointment of the
  Director-General on advice by the Board and
  consultation with the Public Service Commission.

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STAFFING POWERS UNDER THE ACT

• Similarly,the other officers of the Authority
  shall be appointed by the president in accordance
  with the advice of the Board in consultation with
  the PSC. The President may delegate the power of
  appointment .
• Public officers may be transferred or seconded to
  the Authority. The Board may engage the Services
  of such consultants and advisers.

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START- UP STRATEGY

• Some transitional issues often do arise at the
  creating of a regulatory body. The timing of the
  set up, either before or after the reform has an
  impact on the stakeholders perception of
  reforms.Temporary staff on secondment from
  industry or ministry may provide specialized
  skills that are unavailable .The NCA benefited
  from staff from the Ministry at the formative
  stages. The first batch of staff of the
  Authority, ie the Acting Director- General, the
  Director Regulations and Licensing, the Technical
  Adviser to the Minister were redeployed from
  Ghana Telecom.

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START-UP STRATEGY, CONTD

• The Director Frequency Management now the Acting
  Director General was the Chairman of the
  Frequency Registration Control Board under the
  Office of the President.He brought into the
  Authority his staff with huge experience in the
  industry and public service management.The NCA
  also benefited from the services of some
  specialist at the formative year. The services of
  some legal experts and Accounting personnel from
  the ministry highly supported the infant
  Regulator.

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START-UP STRATEGY, CONTD

• The Minister who was the sole Board Member and
  Chairman in the absence of a substantive Board
  served as the authorizing/ spending Officer for
  the Authority
• When the Authority finally took off with the
  three top management staff, the first attempt to
  recruit staff yielded the following results
• Private Secretary, Messenger, Janitor, Human
  Resource Officer, Administrative Officer,
  Engineer, Regulations and Licensing and Driver.

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START-UP STRATEGY, CONTD

• Filling of vacant positions at that time was like
  a camel passing through the eye of a needle. The
  reasons were simple ,
• Dearth of expertise in Regulatory issues
• Poor conditions of service
• Fear of new environment due to the history of
  revolutionary divestiture and collapse of State
  institutions

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CURRENT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

• DIRECTOR-GENERAL
• DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL
• DIRECTOR, FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT
• DIRECTOR, REGULATION LICENSING
• DIRECTOR, FINANCE ADMINISTRATION
• DIRECTOR, LEGAL

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE DEVT

• Hire, Develop and Retain a strong Human Capacity
  to enable the efficient and effective
  administration, management and implementation of
  strategic and tactical initiatives relating to
• Strategic planning/economic valuation
  studies/business development
• Frequency Management
• Regulation Licensing
• Legal Services and Finance Administration

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NCA CURRENT NUMBERS ACHIEVEMENTS

• The Authority staff strength of 50 under the
  leadership of the current Acting Director-General
  has achieved a lot of successes, eg.
• Authorised FM stations 140
• No. of operational FM stations 84
• Fixed Lines as at 1/12/2005 331,000
• Mobile Lines as at 1/12/2005 2,655,000
• Payphones as at 1/12/2005 11,037
• Total of all services 1/12/2005 2,997,037

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RECRUITMENT PROCESS

• In the absence of training institutions in the
  Ghana on Regulatory issues the NCA recruits from
  the vast reserves of young graduates in the
  labour market. The NCA makes use of
  recommendations of potential candidates by
  members of staff,
• Recruitment is also made from the Universities.
• The National Services Secretariat also post
  National Service Personnel to the Authority and
  after the service period if found suitable he is
  interviewed and retained.
• Adverts are also placed in the dailies for some
  personnel according to the job requirements.

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STAFF DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING

• The two most important and reliable tools used
  are coaching and mentoring. After selection and
  appointment, the new entrant is fully inducted
  into the organisation.
• Coaching As a formalised, one-on-one process,
  coaching has been used in developing potential,
  enhancing performance and aligning goals within
  the organisation. Among the numerous benefits
  realised, include but are not limited to

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STAFF DEVT/TRAINING CONTD

• Setting targeted goals and taking action
• Becoming more self-reliant
• Feeling more satisfied
• After selection and appointment, the new entrant
  is fully inducted into the organisation through
  mentoring. Mentoring has proved to have the
  following benefits
• Assists the assimilation of new recruits
• Eases transition into a new culture

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STAFF DEVT/TRAINING CONTD

• Can improve succession-planning
• Can improve internal communication
• Can reduce staff turnover
• Source of greater motivation
• There are opportunities for formal training for
  second degrees relevant to the functions of the
  Authority in and outside the country. These
  training programmes may either be sponsored or on
  scholarships.

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STAFF DEVT/TRAINING CONTD

• Conferences, Seminars and Workshops are also some
  sources of training for the staff.

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STAFF DEVT/TRAINING CONTD

• Delegation by superiors is another effective form
  of developing staff. This is effective at the
  In-House Technical Committee Meetings where staff
  are supported to make technical presentations
• On the job training has been identified as a very
  important training ground for new entrants.
• Coaching also help train new staff.
• The internet is now the new source of training.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT /APPRIASALS

• Performance Management is at the heart of
  defining, seeking and measuring achievement in
  the organisation (National Communications
  Authority), thus the Authority conducts
  performance appraisals as a sum up of what has
  been happening in the review period (usually a
  year) by Directors and Departmental Heads and
  thereby giving rise to dialogue on
• Past Performance
• Future Plans

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PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS, ADVANTAGES

• Ongoing performance progress, including training
  needs. Among the various other reasons for
  appraisals are that of
• Promotions,
• Salary Increments,
• Determination of staff and logistic requirement

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PROBLEMS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

• The invincible hand
• Dearth of expertise in regulatory issues
• Harassment by the numerous unemployed graduates
• Favoritism and bending of rules and regulations
• Expensive foreign course due to lack of domestic
  training institutions.
• finance

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THE WAY FORWARD

• Human resource management deals with human beings
  the most unpredictable resource in the
  organization.
• Organisational reality is usually chaotic with
  strategy and culture constantly evolving rather
  than being deliberately planned. Culture differs
  and the best way is to manage the human resource
  towards the achievement of organisational goals.

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THE WAY FORWARD, CONTD

• In a reformed public sector like ours, we reckon
  that it is the responsibility of managers and
  directors to fulfill government expectations in
  relation to issues of good governance,
  transparency of policies, accountability and
  economic efficiency. Thus the Chief Executive
  should know the boundaries between the political
  and telecommunications environment and where they
  meet.
• The Chief Executive should not just manage but be
  a true leader with his eyes on the horizon.

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THE WAY FORWARD, CONTD

• He should not be afraid to introduce changes but
  he should know how to manage change. By putting
  in place a good Human Resource Plan, he will
  ensure that in relation to its people, the
  organisation is
• Setting up structures to monitor and evaluate
  performance
• Ensuring that Human Resource practices are
  consistent across the organisation
• Managing resources efficiently and effectively.

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THE WAY FORWARD, CONTD

• There is a need to put in place an effective
  performance system as a way of checking the
  strengths and weaknesses of employees to maximise
  productivity.
• Building quality organisation by analysing the
  internal and external environments.
• Analysing the internal environment involves
• Identifying strengths to determine those things
  that are done well or which can be built upon for
  future performance and

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THE WAY FORWARD, CONTD

• Analysing the external environment involves
• Identify opportunities that often build on
  existing internal strengths and
• Identifying threats which can potentially weaken
  the competitive position of the organisation.
  This will enable stakeholders to engage in
  dialogue over future strategy using a common
  frame of reference.
• Utilising Information Communication Technologies
  for effective internal communication.

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CONCLUSION

• The National Communications Authority under the
  dynamic visionary leadership of the Acting
  Director-General, Major J.R.K. Tandoh (Rtd.) has
  pushed the Telecoms Industry in Ghana to new
  heights through the support of the few dedicated
  and committed staff.

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Thank You..