The institution implements ICT management processes aligned to the planning, building, running and monitoring of ICT-related activities, and to full coverage of ICT services within the institution.

The institution carries out data development and operation activities in a systematic and consistent way.

Data development concerns the analysis, design, implementation, deployment and maintenance of data and information systems. Data operations, which involve database and data technology administration, aim at managing the availability of data throughout its life cycle, optimizing the performance of database operations and protecting the integrity of data assets.

The institution incorporates security measures in its database systems, especially those storing critical data.

This involves: database administration procedures and practices; system accounts, privileges and roles; identification of users of applications; and database infrastructure.

Should the master data not be of adequate quality, the functions involving these data will probably fail. In order to avoid the failure of key social security functions, it is necessary to carry out activities that ensure that the quality of the master data will be adequate for the tasks in which they will be used.

The specific guidelines in this section are:

• Master data quality management
• Preventive measures to foster the quality of master data
• Improvement of master data quality

The institution defines administrative principles to manage the main operations and resources of the international agreement.

The main operations include data exchanges based on requests/responses, notifications of changes and relevant information about persons covered by the agreement. The main resources comprise information models of the data exchanged, digital certificates and signatures, and the software systems to be used for the implementation.

The institution, in coordination with the other institutions participating in the international agreement, specifies processes to notify changes and other relevant information related to individuals covered by the agreement.

The board and management have a fiduciary duty in administering and managing the funds of the social security institution.

The board and/or management seek professional safekeeping of the investment assets of the social security institution, whether internally or externally managed.

Sufficient procedures are put in place to ensure that an appropriate level of operational due diligence is conducted on external fund managers.

The institution has an appropriate human resources policy to support its prevention programme.

A sound human resources policy will define the technical, legal and social competences required to conduct a successful prevention programme, address the need for qualification of existing staff (through training), identify knowledge gaps within the institution that may be compensated for through recruitment of external experts, and allocate adequate staff to the prevention department.

The prevention of occupational diseases is a major challenge for social security systems. Accident ratio studies can predict the exact probability of the occurrence of a major accident or injury. However, calculations on the probability of the occurrence of occupational diseases must take into account factors that are difficult to measure or predict, such as prevalence, the duration of medical treatment and environmental factors that foster occupational risks.

The institution maintains a “risk observatory” in order to identify new and emerging occupational risks and enable it to demand political, administrative and technical support that ensures high levels of safety and health at work.

The ISSA Guidelines for Social Security Administration were prepared by the ISSA General Secretariat with the ISSA technical commissions.

The continued labour participation of older workers is supported.

The competent institutions ensure that jobseekers receive a replacement income. This provides security during transition between jobs and facilitates reintegration into the workforce. At a macro level, financial support acts as a counter-cyclical instrument in maintaining stability and demand during economic downturn.

The specific guidelines in this section are:

A proactive reporting strategy facilitates early identification, timely intervention, case management, accommodation, successful return to work and job retention. The management and all relevant stakeholders cooperate in establishing such a strategy.

Effective prevention and management of injury, illness or a health condition is the result of the coordinated efforts of a multi-disciplinary team and the promotion of partnerships.

An effective multi-disciplinary team will involve such actors as health-care professionals and providers, rehabilitation professionals and suppliers of assistive devices, and community resources such as government programmes and those operated by special interest groups which offer information, education, counselling and support.

This set of seven guidelines provides a service quality model that addresses seven areas of common concern to social security institutions. Service quality in social security, and in the public sector in general, takes its cue from the commercial sector. The guidelines are consistent with best practice in the commercial sector.

The following guidelines are organized in three parts:

The guidance that follows is organized in three parts:

Part A, Basic Conditions for Workplace Health Promotion, deals with the structural issues to be addressed so that social security institutions can encourage and enable their clients – public and private sector enterprises and organizations – to develop comprehensive approaches to workplace health promotion.

Assessment of health needs is an essential step when defining issues that must be addressed in a workplace health promotion programme. A health needs assessment (HNA) is a systematic method of reviewing the health issues facing a population, while also assessing the structures and programmes already in place that support workplace health promotion. The results of a health needs assessment contribute to developing effective workplace health promotion strategies.

Support to companies and other organizations may be provided in a number of ways, including providing consultancy advice and support as a specific contractual arrangement or as part of general service provision. Four specific ways in which a social security institution can facilitate the development of comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes (based on the Luxembourg Declaration) are presented below.

The valuation methodology is consistent with the social security scheme financing approach and enables the actuarial assessment of its sustainability measures or indicators. The actuary provides an opinion on the appropriateness of the methodology.

The social security institution applies automatic adjustment mechanisms in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the scheme. The social security institution analyses how the application of these adjustment mechanisms affects benefit adequacy and/or the financial sustainability of the scheme.

Automatic adjustment mechanisms link certain decisions on benefits and financing to internal or external parameters or indicators. This guideline should be read together with Guideline 43.

Once risk has been identified and measured, the social security institution makes appropriate decisions regarding the mitigation and treatment of risk.