1. About the ILO
2. Topics
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4. Meetings and events
5. Publications
6. Research
7. Labour standards
8. Statistics and databases

6. Service and support

Internet and Intranet

A key development during the 1998-99 biennium has been the widespread use of Internet and Intranet to access information and this has been exploited both as a means of dissemination of information to constituents (the on-line publication of the Report of the Director-General on the activities of the ILO since 1996 is one such example) and within the Office. Naturally the Internet and Intranet are important information-gathering tools for officials both at headquarters and in the field.

The trilingual ILO websites (both Internet and Intranet) have been reorganized to reflect the new organizational structure and redesigned for easier access. An effort has been made to render them more visible by adding thematic searches using a new search engine and further creating comprehensive thematic websites. In addition, the Intranet was further enhanced for the use of ILO officials in Geneva and in the regions, on which internal circulars and reports were posted. An ILO mirror site for the Americas at Cornell University was set up to distribute access, relieving some of the bandwidth and access time problems. Publicity material (business card-sized CD-ROMS, brochures and postcards) promoting the ILO website was produced and disseminated during the ILO Enterprise Forum and will continue to be distributed to delegates and other constituents.

Information technology

The responsibility for the development and maintenance of computer applications was devolved to departments in Geneva and in the regions, while the central programme became more focused on information technology. The fully networked ILO now enables the field structure to have full access to electronic information at headquarters and vice versa through e-mail and access to the Internet/Intranet. Although there has been a minimal reduction of distributed printed material, a culture change is needed to turn the ILO into a paperless office.

The impact analysis of the year 2000 problem (Y2K) was completed in early 1998 and the Y2K compliance project was officially launched to ensure full compliance of the mainframe-based applications, mini-computers service platforms and PCs at headquarters and in the field. The project was completed at the end of 1999 and the Office thus successfully avoided any Y2K problems. 

Finance

Extensive testing took place to ensure financial computer systems were Y2K-compliant and contingency plans were drawn up for financial operations. Installation of PC-based software was completed for imprest accounts, local payrolls, budget preparation and management in external offices in Africa, the Arab States, Asia, Europe and the Americas together with related training for programme and financial staff using these applications. Similarly, PC-based software was installed to permit programme managers at headquarters to establish, approve and control financial obligations concerning their programmes.

Initial analysis and development took place on a strategic approach to the replacement of the ILO's computerized financial systems, development of ILO user requirements, improvements in electronic banking facilities and the rationalization of bank and imprest account management. 

Internal administration

The construction of the ILO office in Islamabad was completed and the offices in Beirut, Moscow and Yaoundé were renovated.

In order to ensure that services were managed in a rational and economical way, statutory procedures concerning transport and travel were revised, work on a unified procurement and inventory computer system began and outsourced contracts were reassessed with a view to reducing costs.

Programming and management

The reform and modernization process initiated by Director-General Somavia became operational in 1999, a year which saw the setting in motion of a process of strategic budgeting in a move away from the previous structure based on 39 major programmes to one centred on four strategic objectives and their corresponding operational objectives. Under each strategic objective, a number of international focus (InFocus) programmes were identified. The budget review undertaken during 1999 revealed opportunities for increases under some budget envelopes and reductions in others. Development needs and gender dimensions are cross-cutting issues which must be considered for the purpose of defining specific activities under all the strategic objectives. The Programme and Budget proposals for 2000-01 that were prepared by the Bureau of Programming and Management along these lines met with strong consensus in the Governing Body in March 1999,⁽¹⁾ at the International Labour Conference at its 87th Session in June 1999⁽²⁾ and at the Governing Body at its 276th Session in November 1999.⁽³⁾

In the final semester of the biennium, the Bureau assisted the Director-General in the development of structural reforms and management initiatives based on the strategic objectives. A Senior Management Team was formed at headquarters, the Office's technical programmes were restructured around the four strategic objectives and an internal structure was established for each technical sector. For each operational objective, work began on identifying performance indicators, establishing cost-effective ways of measuring progress for each indicator, and setting realistic but challenging targets for achievement within the biennium. An in-depth review of the Office's monitoring, evaluation and reporting system was started with a view to making it more flexible and more responsive to the new strategic budgeting framework.

A review was launched of measures to strengthen field services and to make them even more responsive to ILO constituents and priorities. Efforts were also made to identify how the support services could improve the quality of their work while identifying savings that could be used for action in favour of constituents. In addition to the savings identified, some progress was made in setting service standards, so that results-based budgeting techniques could be applied throughout the Office in 2000.

Personnel

A review of personnel policies, practices and institutions in the ILO which took place in the second semester of 1999 concluded that they were outdated and inappropriate to the effective delivery of the mission and strategy of the ILO. If the ILO was to be able to deliver the highest quality products and services, its people management strategy must ensure:

• high organizational capability and flexibility;
• high levels of individual, team and organizational motivation; and
• a fair deal at work.

A new strategy framework for people and career development was formulated and the new human resources strategy for the ILO was presented to the Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee of the Governing Body at its 276th Session in November 1999. The key elements of this strategy were:

• core human resource issues;
• personal and career development;
• prospection, recruitment and selection;
• classification;
• people management skills;
• employee relations; and
• external awareness.

Once it had obtained the views of the Governing Body in order to have a shared understanding of the direction to be taken on the human resources strategy envisaged, the Office undertook to carry out further consultations -- including with the Staff Union and within the common system -- so that further detailed changes in practices and procedures could be elaborated during 2000 and resubmitted to the Governing Body.

In the area of health insurance a major achievement was made in the development and implementation of the Health Insurance Information System (HIIS) to enable rationalization of the accounting and payments processes. This system became operational in 1999 and represented a major computerized cost-containment tool. In parallel, financial responsibility was delegated to the Staff Health Insurance Fund management. Negotiations with a number of medical care providers for reduced costs and prices also proved successful. In spite of the extra workload imposed by the establishment of the HIIS, delays in the reimbursement of medical claims experienced in the 1996-97 biennium did not recur. This was due to improved work organization measures adopted at the recommendation of a Management Advisory Services review, as well as to careful monitoring.

Although the development of the Personnel Information and Payroll System (PERSIS) fell behind schedule, the entitlement module of the system was completed for final verification in 1999.

Publications

The biennium witnessed the establishment of an integrated publication process, comprising topic selection, manuscript preparation, a review process, revision, editing, translation, production, marketing and sales. This called for tighter scheduling and placed greater emphasis on a multi-level review process aimed at ensuring quality control. Enhanced visibility came from the development of the ILO publications website, with an e-commerce capability allowing secure payment by credit card, the opening of a new, enlarged and much more attractive bookshop, and the development of a wide range of marketing and promotional instruments, such as publications catalogues in three languages, new title flyers, bulletins and information kits, subject brochures, and book review publicity kits. A market-driven approach announced new ILO titles to the book trade in advance of their publication.

The Publications Bureau delivered 39 new books, including nine translations into French and Spanish, and was involved in the marketing and sale of a further 26 new publications. The fourth edition of the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety became available in a four-volume print version and on CD-ROM. Promotion and sale of this landmark 4,000-page reference work was aided by the creation of an Encyclopaedia website. During the biennium, the ILO's flagship journal, the International Labour Review, featured special issues on "Labour rights, human rights" and "Women, gender and work". The biennium also saw the development of the electronic version of the Review in all three working languages. This marks the ILO's first on-line subscription product.

Relations and meetings

A key feature of the Relations and Meetings programme during the biennium was the restructuring and modernization of the document production and distribution operation by means of:

• the introduction of computer-generated printing equipment and new desk-top publishing and text processing software; and
• the reorganization and streamlining of work distribution and work methods, including the creation of a specialized computer unit to manage the change effectively.

This restructuring resulted in increased productivity, cost reduction and faster, improved service. The expenditures incurred were fully counterbalanced by productivity gains; as a result the new strategy, expected to yield benefits in future biennia, was implemented at no additional cost.

One of the benefits of the new technology was the considerably faster conversion of text for document dissemination on the Internet. Indeed, the efforts of the previous biennium to make all official documents available on the Internet have been consolidated. This approach has meant a much wider and faster dissemination of ILO documents everywhere -- although it has not replaced hard-copy distribution. Nevertheless, the cost of hard copies should diminish in future thanks to the possibility of restricting stocks by printing on demand.

Linguistic staff increasingly used new opportunities provided by the Internet such as a wide variety of terminological databases and specialized on-line dictionaries. Little progress was made, however, on the introduction of computer-assisted translation tools since these have not yet been demonstrated to be cost-effective.

Public information

The Bureau of Public Information (PRESSE) worked under the strategic concept of a media-first information approach while enlarging its professional and technical support to the ILO's constituency and in-house. Through the installation of two specialized multimedia servers the Office was able to broadcast audio and video material in real-time or from recorded media.

The 1998-99 biennium saw the production of 41 video releases as a visual complement to press releases on major ILO achievements. During the visit of President Clinton to the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference (1999), live coverage was set up for transmission in more than 50 European countries. Electronic monitoring registered 421 TV channels transmitting news stories on the International Labour Conference. Video documentaries, such as The despair and the hope, were also important tools for sensitizing donor countries in their support of the ILO's programmes.

World of Work, the main source of information for the ILO's constituency, was published ten times during the biennium in five languages and its articles were reprinted by general and specialized press around the world. Chinese, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Hungarian, Norwegian, Russian and Swedish editions were also published. In 1999 the English print run of the World of Work reached 24,500 issues; the French print run reached 9,000 issues and the Spanish 8,000.

In the 1998-99 biennium the public information site in English, French and Spanish on the Internet featured press releases, an abridged version of video news releases, a photo shop and the complete issue of World of Work.

Library

During the 1998-99 biennium the headquarters Library core collection reached over 24 million items. A specific effort was made to increase coverage of the countries from which the Bureau of Library and Information Services receives national statistics, national legislation and official gazettes. The collection is directly available to its clientele through a worldwide loans service.

Access to the Library's information resources was improved considerably during the biennium following the electronic conversion of several thousand pre-1965 historical records previously stored in the Library's card catalogue. The fifth edition of the ILO Thesaurus was published in 1998.

Notes 

1. Governing Body doc. GB.274/PFA/9/1, 274th Session, Geneva, March 1999.

2. Governing Body doc. GB.274/PFA/9/1, reissued as a supplement to Report II, International Labour Conference, 87th Session, Geneva, 1999.

3. Governing Body doc. GB.276/PFA/9, 276th Session, Geneva, November 1999.

Updated by SD. Approved by RH. Last update: 30 May 2000.