Predictability refers to the consistent and uniform application of the law, including the rules and regulations to implement it. Stakeholders are generally averse to sudden or unannounced changes in contributions to and benefits from the programme. The methodical application of the programme will strengthen stakeholder confidence and support for it.
The effectiveness of the strategic plan to advance the institutional mandate is evaluated. There is an assessment of lessons learnt from achieved goals, delivered targets and proven strategies, as well as unsuccessful initiatives. The performance review serves as input to the next cycle of planning activities.
For social security institutions that have a mandate to manage the investment reserve funds of the programme, whether through internal and/or external fund managers, the board and the management are duty bound to ensure that the funds are invested in accordance with basic prudential rules such as profitability, safety, liquidity and diversification.
The raison d’être of a social security institution is to administer the rights and obligations of members and beneficiaries. Efficient administration and the provision of quality service strengthen the credibility of the institution and enhance member and beneficiary support for it.
These three guidelines will assist in providing service quality standards to programme members and beneficiaries.
The ISSA Guidelines for Social Security Administration were prepared by the ISSA General Secretariat with the ISSA technical commissions.
Taking into account the corporate impact and dynamics of ICT, investment proposals in ICT should be considered with appropriate care, diligence and soundness.
The institution implements effective and efficient mechanisms for information retrieval and analysis which provide the means to exploit existing data assets, especially to support decision-making.
The effectiveness and efficiency of processes using information will, therefore, strongly depend on the mechanisms to retrieve and analyse the information.
The institution implements security measures in software application development, especially for Internet-based applications.
The institution implements preventive measures to foster the quality of the master data, especially by communicating data quality requirements to development teams and to master data operations and personnel responsible for master data-related tasks.
The institution, in coordination with the other institutions participating in the agreement, defines an architecture enabling it to perform international data exchanges in an efficient and secure way.
In the case of multilateral agreements, the international architecture may include a “trusted third organization” storing key common information, such as a log of transactions, digital signatures and certificates.
The ICT operations of the international agreements comprise the system administration activities that enable the use of ICT systems to perform specific case transactions of the agreement.
Managing the ICT operations for the agreements involves the following main aspects:
This part of the guidelines refers to the processes that the investing institution must put into place to meet governance requirements and ultimately meet its investment objectives. These processes apply whether the investment itself is carried out by an internal investment unit or an external manager.
Performance and risk analysis is conducted and reported as part of the monitoring process. Performance and risk analysis and reporting is undertaken for the portfolio as a whole and also by asset classes, direct investments and external managers. Performance and risk is reported and aggregated by an independent performance measurer.
The ISSA Guidelines for Social Security Administration were prepared by the ISSA General Secretariat wih the ISSA technical commissions.
The institution has an adequate and reliable reporting system for occupational accidents and suspected cases of occupational disease.
This is an indispensable tool for data collection and data analysis. It enables the institution to conduct targeted prevention activities based on identified occupational risks and contributes to the evaluation of prevention activities by comparing longitudinal data from interventions.
The institution – if it covers occupational diseases – participates in the development of a national strategy on occupational diseases and the regular updating of the national list of occupational diseases.
The institution cooperates with national and international institutes to share research and development work and establish global research and development networks.
Member organizations of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) that are involved in the management of employment insurance and assistance schemes, either directly or indirectly, comprise a broad and diverse group of social security institutions. In addition to evolving economic, demographic and labour market changes, new and significant challenges are being imposed on many of these organizations.
Continuous training and appropriate guidance are available for workers throughout their careers.
The benefits are delivered on time and accurately.
It is essential that social security institutions engaged in the promotion, advocacy and support of effective return-to-work programmes include a broad range of institutional and individual stakeholders in this process.
Internal and external business units and professionals play important roles in the return-to-work process to support and facilitate the return to work.
Key professionals include the human resources manager, employee representatives, medical and other care and rehabilitation professionals, and other collaborators in the return-to-work field.
The return-to-work field is complex and involves many stakeholders, including the social security institution, other government agencies, employers, trade union organizations, health-care professionals, service providers and people whose jobs are in jeopardy as a result of an injury, illness, or acute, long-term or chronic health condition.
The institution adopts a formal methodological approach to service quality starting with a clear statement on the importance of service quality and how it intends to deliver and measure it.
The social security institution must have a legal and financial mandate for its role as a workplace health promoter. The mandate defines the institution’s scope of action and allows individualized services as well as community-based workplace health promotion activities. The mandate establishes a statutory right to health promotion services for insured persons. It may also state that a specified amount of the social health insurance budget may be used for (workplace) health promotion.
