A WCO mission was held in Bolivia from 8th to 12nd May 2017 to conduct a Human Resource (HR) Diagnostic to Aduana Nacional de Bolivia (ANB).

The mission, funded by Eurocustoms, aimed at assessing the current HR structure and needs of ANB, benchmarking with WCO standards and good practices, and identifying recommendations to strengthen on-going HR management (HRM) reform. Together with the WCO Framework of Principles and Practices on Customs Professionalism, the WCO People Development Diagnostic Tool offers a complete set of instruments available to sustain Members’ continuous efforts in relation to Customs modernization. These HR standards and methods are practical tools to assist Customs in aligning their HR processes to specific operating models and competencies in order to attract, develop and retain a motivated and agile workforce.

During the mission, the WCO experts worked with a highly committed project team composed of HR managers and representatives of managerial and operational levels. The team, previously familiarized with the WCO competency-based approach for HR through the WCO Framework on Customs Professionalism, performed a thorough analysis of ANB’s current HR processes, policies and capabilities. Moreover, the WCO experts interviewed a number of HR stakeholders and clients, including senior and middle managers from both strategic and operational areas, who provided valuable feedback regarding their experiences of how the current HRM set-up is serving the organization.

The assessment resulted in the identification of recommendations and priorities for an enhanced implementation of an organization-wide competency-based HR management and development process.