The black hole

One of the major problems of the United Nations is that it attracts geniuses who move on after a short stint, bequeathing their unworkable inventions to our Organization. This has been the case with the PAS evaluation system, with the promotions system and with the Galaxy interstellar recruitment system, whose originator has just taken early retirement – undoubtedly well-deserved.

After a few months in operation, this sys- tem is about to implode and, like a dying star, be transformed into a black hole. OHRM is totally unable to cope with the hundreds, even thousands, of on-line applications that Galaxy has generated.

From the user’s point of view this system is a boon. As we are now all obliged to move to get promoted, just cut ‘n’ paste your CV, then ‘click’ and bingo! Everybody can do it and in fact everybody is doing it.

From the administration’s point of view, it is a nightmare! Until there’s a computer pro- gram that will automatically sort applications using key words – which will enable those who know these keywords to be automatically selected – everything is manual. Even the paper applications are entered manually into the system.

So some brave staff members are obliged to read several hundred applications for each vacancy. That explains why many posts remain vacant for months.

What will the next chief of personnel come up with, I wonder. One suggestion: why not abolish the personnel service and replace it by a lottery. That would make recruitment simple and cheap. Except that « simple and cheap » are key words that our administration does not seem to be familiar with.

Editor-in-Chief, Jean Michel Jakobowicz