Integrating People Management into Public Service Reform

Description

In the context of major public sector reform efforts in many OECD countries, increasing attention is being focused on the people-side of the reform equation -- the human resource management policies and practices available to public sector managers to shape and direct the workforce to achieve new organisational goals. The experiences of OECD countries show, however, that improving individual policies and practices is only part of the reform equation. The key factor lies in integrating human resource management with the core business of the public service -- the outcome and output goals of individual departments and agencies -- and in doing so, ensuring that effective management of people is recognised as an indispensable ingredient for accomplishing the business of government. Using surveys and selected country case studies, this monograph identifies the factors driving human resource management reforms in the national public administrations of OECD countries. In offering the lessons drawn from these wide-ranging experiences to the attention of policy makers and practitioners, it identifies promising reform strategies for ensuring that human resource management policies evolve in ways consistent with broader public management reforms aimed at building more productive, performance-oriented and responsive public services.  Read more... FOREWORD -- CONTRIBUTORS -- SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS -- Context of Public Sector Human Resource Management Reforms -- Major Human Resource Management Reform Trends -- Summary Assessment of Country Experiences -- CHAPTER1. WHY REFORM HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT? -- The Study -- Factors driving reforms -- CHAPTER 2. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORM TRENDS -- General Observations -- Decentralisation and Devolution of Human Resource Management -- Pay and Classification Systems -- Staffing Practices -- Progress of Human Resource Management Reforms -- CHAPTER 3. ASSESSMENT OF COUNTRY EXPERIENCES: REFORM STRATEGIES AND IMPACTS -- General Observations -- Downsizing -- Decentralisation and Devolution -- Devolution and the Position of Line Managers -- Key Role for Training and Development -- Rule of the Centre in a Decentralised Environment -- Decentralisation and a Unified Public Service -- Need for Comprehensive Reform Strategies -- Core Business Planning and Human Resources Management -- Performance Management -- Evaluation -- Balancing Competing Reform Pressures -- The Need to Push Human Resource Management Reforms Further -- Chapter 4. €POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS -- A.€Develop a strategic approach to managing people -- B.€Articulate and promote key human resource management principles and values -- C. Ensure performance oriented management that links individual staff performance with organisational goals -- D. Raise the profile of training and development as a key element of strategic human resource management -- E. Ensure conditions of employment and working arrangements support the staffing needs of the public service -- F. Invest in monitoring and evaluation of human resource management practices or programme of reforms -- GLOSSARY OF TERMS -- Annex€1.€HRM DEVELOPMENTS (SURVEY RESPONSES) -- Annex 2.€MAIN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORMS 1980-1994. -- Annex 3. SUMMARY TABLE ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORMS IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE -- Annex 4. COUNTRY CASE STUDIES.