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Topic 4 Public Personnel Management part 2

Strategic Human Resource Management in the Public Sector Human capital the most important asset in the public sector Public service challenges: meeting the challenges justify the use for strategic human resources management (SHRM), a HRM that is attuned to the changing context, transform the workplace, and align the organization to the public service goals and agenda (Xavier, 2013: 51). Enhancing national competitiveness (challenges from emerging economies), managing growth with equity, unlocking human capital to enhance public sector performance High performing public service: sustaining transformation Professionalism and good governance: the challenges of maintaining politicization and professionalism, careerism and competition

Meeting stakeholder and customer expectations: increased expectations, public service needs to be much more relevant Information-ization of governance and commerce: the rising important of ICT Fiscal discipline and integrity: unique responsibility of safeguarding the national and public interests, prudence in the use of public funds and delivery of public service, increased transparency and integrity Managing diversity: workforce diversity in terms of skills, knowledge, values, beliefs, attitudes, etc. All these challenges point to the necessity of strategic and visionary leadership, and HRM policies, practices, and strategies need to be aligned with the strategic direction of the organization.

Six Strategic Thrusts

Strategic Thrust 1: Setting Strategic Direction Strategic Goal: HRM integrated with the agencies strategic planning process and aligned to vision, mission and goals of agencies Focus Area: Planning at the leadership level Actions and Initiatives: Alignment of HRM with organizations SP, top management accountability, communication of organization and HR strategies, placement and continued development of HR personnel, Establishment of HR units, Enhancing HR capacity, capability, skills, technology

Strategic Thrust 2: Ensuring Organizational Capacity


Strategic Goal: Develop sufficient capacity and capability in terms of structures, schemes of service, systems and work processes to meet challenges Focus Area: organizational structure, scheme, procedure Actions and initiatives: review of agency role, structure, staffing, review and reclassification of schemes, leveraging of technology, reorganization of structure, formulation of new schemes, classification of critical schemes, system and process improvement, ICT utilization, performance measurements

Strategic Thrust 3: Implementing Quality Staffing Strategic Goal: to attract, acquire and retrain desired talents through implementation of systematic recruitment process, proper placement to ensure job matching and planned career development Focus Areas: recruitment, selection, placement, career management; right talents are prerequisite for creating values and outcomes Actions and Initiatives: systematic recruitment, selection, placement, based on competencies, job rotation, succession planning, networking to share the best practices, reassessment and forecast of talent needs based on strategic direction, development of consistent hire criteria, appropriate orientation and support, succession planning strategies, HRMIS (HRM Information System)

Strategic Thrust 4: Building Workforce Competence Strategic goal: develop necessary skills, knowledge, and work ethics through systematic, comprehensive needbased training programmes. Focus areas: leadership development, continuous learning, knowledge management Actions and initiatives: develop leadership competency profile and relevant programmes, mentoring/coaching, knowledge and intellectual resources, pre-service and inservice scholarships, Training Policy, public-private cross-fertilization program, PRISMA (Public Sector Human Resource Knowledge Repository Database)

Strategic Thrust 5: Managing Performance, Recognition and Reward Strategic goal: motivate high performance by establishing performance expectations, evaluate results, hold people accountable and provide rewards and recognition based on performance Focus areas: performance management Actions and initiatives: determination of performance appraisal goals and measurements, enhancement of performance feedback, appropriate grievance handling, communication of strategic goals and targets, MRS, KPIs, annual excellence award, employer-employee consultation, merit-based promotions

Strategic Thrust 6: Shaping a high-performance work culture Strategic Goal: Build a work culture that is customeroriented, focused on results and outcomes and infused with positive ethics and values and establish a working environment that allows employees to improve performance. Focus Areas: Ethics and Values, customer-focused service, employer-employee relations, conducive working environment Actions and initiatives: Client Charter, National Integrity Plan, code of conduct, ensuring customer satisfaction, etc.

Strategic HRM Innovations


HRMIS integrated, technology-enabled system incorporating best HR practices, linking all government departments electronically about HR practices PRISMA repository of knowledge papers, documents, government circulars, government directory with updated staff information MRS pay for performance reforms Total Quality Management customer orientation and client charter ISO documentation of processes Benchmarking: emulating the best practices locally and abroad, setting very high standards KPIs for Senior Executives GTP, PEMANDU and NKRAs Ministerial KPIs

KPIs for Senior Executives


Accountability: accountable for their personal leadership effectiveness and organizational performance Collective responsibility: for national development, GDP growth, national competitiveness, etc. Uniformity: uniform set of KPIs rating by Auditor General and MAMPU, compliance rate of clients charter, same set of survey questionnaires (but to different respondents) Four dimensions: National competitiveness (common for all jobholders); public service delivery and effectiveness (agency specific); governance and accountability (rating by Auditor General and MAMPU); civil service transformational leadership (measure leadership effectiveness and ability to create an environment that fosters a climate of high performance)

Incorporation of past and current practices Focus on outcomes and output quality Standards: below targets, on target, exceed target, and significantly exceed target Scoring system: total weightage of 100 points based on the four dimensions Potential for fixed-term contracts, fixing of performancerelated bonus payout Achievable yet ambitious targets joint negotiations on KPIs between steering committee and jobholders Performance feedback

Assessment of Malaysias Public Sector SHRM

Over centralization and rigidity of HR functions Inadequate supportive infrastructure Mismatching organizational and individual KPIs Inflexibility of tenure Productivity and Output measurement versus outcome evaluation (program evaluation): the lack of sufficient program evaluation Best practices universal everywhere? Really need the reforms or mere compulsion to follow that is the best?

Annual measurement versus long-term impact Impatient political leadership expecting quick fix and quick result (I had to achieve big results fast!) Number crunching and data massage Appearance vs. Substance Sustainability Relationship between overall political reforms and administrative reforms

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