THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE

PROFESSIONALS IN THE BIG 4 AGENDA

22ND ANNUAL NATIONAL HRM CONFERENCE

Dr. Alice A. Otwala, (Mrs) CBS

Chief Executive/CEO

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

OUTLINE

Introduction- HR in public the public service;

Public Sector Employment – Personnel Administration

Public Sector Employment- Human Resource Management

Role of HR in Achieving BIG FOUR AGENDA

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

The public sector has over the years developed a

distinctive approach to HRM featuring many

innovations that delivered significant rights and

entitlements to employees;

The public service was for a long time perceived

as the ‘MODEL EMPLOYER’ in many countries

and conditions of service have been at the

forefront of employment reform and innovation;

INTRODUCTION

The notion of the MODEL EMPLOYER in

terms of employee welfare encapsulated the

principles of best practice and was argued to set

an example of to the private sector in terms of:

Fair treatment of employees and providing

good conditions of service including high levels

of job security;

Superior leave entitlements; and

Generous pensions (non- contributory)

PUBLIC SECTOR

EMPLOYMENT

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

TRADITIONAL MODEL

Traditionally, employment in the public sector

was based on the notion of a ‘career service’ of

security of tenure and lifelong employment;

Employment was framed through the operation

of an “internal labor market”;

Where employees were recruited to the public

service at the lower ranks of departments and

promotion to higher-level positions was restricted

to internal public sector applicants, unless the

position was highly specialized;

TRADITIONAL MODEL

The traditional employment system was highly

centralized and run by powerful central agencies

that were responsible for:

All hiring decisions,

Setting establishment numbers; and

Formulating rules for employment, training and career

development;

Career was managed through rigid schemes of service-

with little room for horizontal movement

TRADITIONAL MODEL

The sector had service-wide remuneration and

conditions, so that variation on the basis of

performance was not allowed; payment was based on

the job or position;

Job positions were narrow, specific task-based and

highly routinized;

Strict seniority or length of service was the basis for

promotion

TRADITIONAL MODEL

The traditional model of personnel

administration began to be replaced by the

application of HRM principles in the early 1990s

The HRM in the public sector emerged as the

sector experienced a shift from a ‘rule-bound’

bureaucratic culture to a ‘performance-based’

culture;

TRADITIONAL MODEL

The transition in the public sector from Personnel

Administration to Human Resource Management

was, hence occasioned by the reforms to move

away from the traditional bureaucratic process

orientation to results and performance orientation

in line with modern managerial practices.

Managerial objectives of greater efficiencies were

thus seen to be achieved through effective human

resource practices offered by adopting HRM

principles;

NEW MODEL

HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE MANGEMENT

Emphasis on transferring private sector

management techniques into the public sector

shifted the emphasis in the public sector from

administration to management;

This was part of a broader strategy to achieve

efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service;

Elements of this managerial shift included-

managing for results, performance measurement,

strategic planning, and citizen focus;

HUMAN RESOURCE MANGEMENT

These new management practices also embraced

new ways of managing public sector employees;

At the job level, broader and multi-skilled jobs

were introduced;

There was also a greater concentration on

PERFORMANCE and OUTPUT MEASURES

HUMAN RESOURCE MANGEMENT

The new models of HRM in the public sector introduces

the notion of human resources having the capacity to

achieve performance outcomes in line with the strategic

direction of the public sector;

Emphasis is increasingly turning on securing and

retaining staff who can achieve desired outcomes,

thereby dismantling or making little or no commitment

to maintaining job for life principle;

The human resource system, hence focuses more on

performance management for workforce flexibility and

productivity;

HR PROFFESSIONS AND

THE BIG FOUR AGENDA

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Under the 'Big Four' agenda, the Government plans to:

I. Deliver by 2022 up to 1 million affordable new homes;

II. Achieve 100% universal health coverage;

III. Achieve 100%, food and nutrition security; and

IV. Increase the contribution of manufacturing to 20% of GDP;

o This unprecedented ambitious undertaking, poses a

huge challenge to the capacity of government to deliver

in scope, importance and urgency;

o To implement this objective within the stipulated time,

the public service must be innovative and futuristic;

BIG FOUR AGENDA

It is the responsibility of the HR professions to ensure

that:

a. “Fit for Purpose” delivery institutions are developed;

b. They are staffed with the right people at every level; and

c. The two are done in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Attracting the right people and placing into the right

positions, goes beyond recruitment and calls for careful

acquisition of talent;

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Organizations who keep an eye on the big picture know

there is an important difference between the two closely

related terms- RECRUITMENT and TALENT

ACQUISITION;

Recruitment and talent acquisition are comparable to

short-term and long-term—quick fixes versus long-term

planning;

Both approaches may be used depending on the

circumstances, but one tends to be tactical in nature

and the other, strategic;

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Recruitment is about filling vacancies as they fall due,

while talent acquisition is an ongoing strategy to find

specialists, leaders, or future executives for an

organization.

Consequently, talent acquisition tends to focus on long-

term human resources planning and finding

appropriate candidates for positions that require very

specific skill-sets;

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Implementing the BIG FOUR AGENDA require public institutions to be staffed at the right levels;

The term 'staffing levels' refers to having :

The right people;

In the right place;

At the right time.

It is not just a matter of having enough staff, but also ensuring that they have:

Suitable knowledge;

Skill; and

Experience to operate safely

20

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Strategic positions requiring highly specialized skill-

sets and leadership roles may be difficult to fill when

such vacancies come up (as it inevitably will);

The complexity and magnitude of staffing levels for

achievement of the Big Four Agenda, therefore require

the Human Resource professionals to be strategic in

identifying people to be appointed to specific positions;

Such positions need to be identified, and a thoughtful,

long-term approach to talent acquisition and

management developed;

BIG FOUR AGENDA

Talent acquisition and management strategies can

ensure that the public service, in the implementation of

“BIG FOUR AGENDA” not only has the right people in

the right place at the right time;

But also that, the people occupying those positions have

suitable knowledge, skill and experience to deliver on

their mandates;

In today’s talent-hungry market scenario, one of the

greatest challenges that the public service is facing is to

successfully attract, recruit, train and retain talented

employees;

CONCLUSION

The fundamental difference between the developed and

developing countries is the rate of progress in human

capital;

Human capital is hence central to economic growth and

development. It is the source of both increased

productivity and technological advancement in

developed economies;

When HR professionals strategically develop plans for

recruitment, and managing talent based on the goals of

the country, it is ensuring a greater chance of realizing

the goals;

QUESTION AND ANSWER

SESSION