Canada’s top bureaucrat is raising the stakes in the federal government’s Phoenix crisis by linking deputy ministers’ performance pay and bonuses to progress in stabilizing the system.

Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick notified deputy ministers this week that he is making the stabilization of the malfunctioning Phoenix pay system and “well-being” of federal employees a top management priority in their performance contracts for this year and next.

“I want to reiterate that the pay system, as well as the well-being of our employees, is a collective responsibility,” he wrote in a letter.

“I expect that you will assure that within your organization all employees know where they can go for help, that their concerns are being heard and that they will be addressed without delay.”

In the letter, Wernick said he was troubled by media reports suggesting some employees are still confused about where to turn for help if they are short of pay or face other pay problems.

Performance agreements are drawn up between the clerk and deputy ministers every year, laying out what is expected of the senior management team. Deputy ministers will now have to report on their progress in managing the Phoenix crisis during their annual performance reviews in the spring.

Wernick’s letter said stabilizing Phoenix will also be a “corporate” commitment in performance agreements with deputy ministers for 2018-19.

Every year, the clerk selects a corporate priority. Wernick has added the pay crisis to his previous goals of improving mental health in the workplace and promoting diversity.

There are four levels of deputy ministers, earning between a minimum of $192,000 and a maximum of $326,500 per year. Depending on their level, they can make between 26 per cent and 39 per cent more if they exceed all expectations in their performance agreements.

There has been much debate over what fixing Phoenix means; Wernick’s letter steers clear of using the word “fixed.”

Last week, Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough said she was hopeful Phoenix would be “stabilized” and paying people on time by the end of 2018. She warned, however, that the state-of-the-art payroll system the government expected when the $309 million project was first approved could be years away.

The pay crisis has consumed the public service for the past 20 months, particularly Public Service and Procurement Canada, which is responsible for the pay system.

It rolled out last year as the new pay system for 101 departments and their 300,000 employees. Problems quickly escalated, with thousands of public servants going underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all. More than half of all public servants have had some kind of pay problems and that number is expected to grow.

Wernick’s most recent letter was a follow-up to one he sent to deputy ministers last month asking for summaries on what they are doing or plan to do help stabilize Phoenix. Cabinet ministers have also asked for regular updates from their deputy ministers.

Wernick has since received responses, which have also been given to the ministers’ working group appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to oversee Phoenix. A committee of deputy ministers also went through them to pluck out ideas that could be implemented by other departments.

Wernick summarized some of the actions that have been taken, but urged deputy ministers to implement four “best practices” in their departments that will “have a positive impact on the health of the pay system.”

At the top of Wernick’s list is mandatory Phoenix training for all employees and managers.

This week, Treasury Board began rolling out the first comprehensive and mandatory training program since Phoenix went live. Many courses will be offered online and Treasury Board will be tracking who completes the training and update departments on their employees’ participation levels every pay day.

“I am confident that the secretary (of Treasury Board) can count on your support to promptly implement this important initiative,” Wernick said in the letter.

Several reports, including a recent one by Auditor-General Michael Ferguson, flagged poor training as a key reason for Phoenix’s failure. Training plans were cut by the previous Conservative government, a decision which proved disastrous because public servants were not prepared for massive changes in how they work and process pay.

Wernick also urged deputy ministers to “blitz” their departments, between now and the end of the year, to ensure employees update their personal contact information — name and mailing addresses — in both the pay and human resources systems so tax slips can be issued properly. Last year, thousands of tax slips had to be reissued.

Wernick said the government also plans to beef up internal communications to “do a better job of meeting our employees’ information needs.” All departments are expected to attend a major meeting of heads of human resources and director-generals of communication called for January to identify ways to improve communications on pay. Communications’ staff have already been asked to propose better links on departmental and intranet sites.

Finally, Wernick said departments will have to comply by June 2018 with service standards and performance measures for approving human resource transactions that trigger payments.

One of the big bottlenecks for Phoenix is that the managers, who have the authority to approve transactions, don’t always do it on time, which means they can’t be processed when they arrive at the pay centre, creating delays.

Wernick said Treasury Board and PSPC are monitoring to see what actions departments take that have the “greatest positive impact” on speeding up and smoothing out the pay process and will share their findings.

Wernick said the responses he received from deputy ministers show departments have taken plenty of steps to improve the problems faced by their employees — especially by ensuring emergency payments get to those who have been underpaid or not paid at all.

Depsite this, Wernick said it’s not clear that all employees are aware that emergency and priority payments are available to them.

He noted departments have hired more people to cope with the work created by Phoenix foul-ups or have sent staff to help the pay centre in Miramichi, N.B. and its various satellite offices. Many say departments that laid off their compensation advisers to generate Phoenix’s promised savings have rebuilt the compensation units they had before.