Enhancing Public Sector Human Resource Management

Participants at the seminar on 'Managing Public Sector Human Reosurces' in Singapore.

A Commonwealth seminar for human resource management policy-makers in developing countries was held in Singapore from 20 June to 1 July 2005. The event, 'Managing Public Sector Human Resources -- Attracting and Retaining Talent in Public Services', was co-funded by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation and the Singapore Co-operation Programme of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
The event brought together 21 government officials from 17 Commonwealth countries to analyse areas for improvement in public service organisations. It enabled participants to enhance their knowledge of global developments in public sector organisations, while understanding the requirements and implications for decentralised human resource management functions.
 
The seminar focused on the linkages between national strategic plans and human resource management requirements. The aim was to build knowledge and skills for the design and development of relevant human resource management systems on recruitment, retention and performance management. Best practices in international human resource management were also explored.
 
Singapore's public service reform programme was examined as a development model on the basis of its principle of meritocracy, talent identification, development and harnessing of potential as well as the offer of market-rate salaries and benefits to attract and retain staff.
 
Roger Tan, Director of the Singapore Civil Service College, said the country's civil service has played a major role in nation-building and has been a source of competitive strength for Singapore. "By sharing our experiences in managing human resources in the public sector, we hope to help promote good practices and generate greater co-operation between different governments across the world. While you learn from Singapore, in a globalised world, we too need to learn from all of you."
 
Taboka Nkhwa, Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division, which co-organised the seminar, stated: "The sharing of Singapore's experience gave participants an opportunity to appreciate different strategies for identifying and nurturing talent, as well as managing poor performance. The drive for continuous innovation and the rewards system for excellence were also looked at. Part-time employment, flexible working hours and tele-commuting initiatives were highlighted as some of the strategies for responding to the changing workforce dynamics and other technological developments. This included the use of online services for enhancing efficiency in the delivery of public services in Singapore."
 
Ms Nkhwa noted the increased global pressure on public sector organisations to improve their service delivery through reform. But some Commonwealth countries have inadequate technical and human capacities to deliver reform initiatives.
 
She said: "Weak integration of reform strategies with human resource management systems, particularly those relating to the attraction and development of talent, was an issue of concern among many countries. The high levels of migration and attrition in public service organisations are problems commonly faced by governments. Therefore, designing and managing human resource strategies that are aligned to an organisation's goals and mission are important for public sector improvements."
 
Seminar participants discussed the development of recruitment and selection systems that would attract and retain talent. This included a compensation and benefits system; career progression management strategies; and performance management, appraisal and reward systems. Staff restructuring and retrenchment and their implications on human resource management were also discussed at the seminar.
 
Mohun Aujayeb, principal job analyst at the Mauritius Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, who was one of the participants, commented: "The insights gained from this seminar on performance management and attracting talent into the public sector will help our government in the reformulation of our action plans for public sector reform."

 

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 242, 6 July 2005