Professional EMB members and staff need appropriate skills and, most importantly, a commitment to the principles of electoral management, including integrity, impartiality, independence, transparency, efficiency and service-mindedness.
The use of public service staff in EMB secretariats can provide the benefits of public sector experience, but can create challenges for EMB professionalization, especially in governmental EMBs, where electoral work may not be the vocation of EMB staff. EMBs that can hire their own staff and are not subject to public service rules may be able to use other incentives to attract higher-quality staff. The existence of attractive career paths in EMBs will help professionalize and retain staff.
EMB staff requirements are cyclical, with very high peaks that cannot justify the maintenance of sufficient permanent staff throughout the entire electoral cycle. Each EMB needs to devise appropriate strategies to promote the effective use of temporary staff, which may include timely recruitment processes, availability of incentives and training opportunities, and mechanisms for regular contact.
Equitable recruitment and employment practices — including open, merit- based selection processes, gender balance, and a fair and safe working environment — fulfill an EMB’s internal responsibility as an institution that promotes equity in public life.
Investment in staff training and development is critical for improving overall EMB effectiveness. This could be through internal courses, professional associations, academic qualifications, or mentoring and skills transfer by consultants and senior managers, or through the use of an electoral management curriculum such as the BRIDGE course.
Operational training for temporary staff has been found to be most effective if it concentrates on specific technical processes and includes simulations, backed by good-quality materials such as manuals and checklists, instructions, appropriate audiovisual aids and rigorous training evaluation. Such training for permanent EMB staff needs a greater emphasis on systems, contingency planning and problem solving.
EMBs typically need to provide operational training quickly for large numbers of electoral event staff. Mobile team training requires a relatively long training timetable, and simultaneous training a relatively large number of trainers. Cascade training is commonly used, although it requires strict timing and quality controls to ensure that accurate and complete information reaches the lower levels in a timely manner.
EMBs may have to overcome negative influences on their professionalization, such as conflict environments, flawed legal frameworks, the temporary nature of EMBs, or insufficient or late release of funds.
