Western Australian Auditor General Des Pearson has warned of worrying signs in the management of the public service workforce as the state's economy grows and the labour pool shrinks.
Western Australian Auditor General Des Pearson has warned of worrying signs in the management of the public service workforce as the state's economy grows and the labour pool shrinks.
These concerns were part of a report entitled, "Help Wanted: Public Service Workforce Management", tabled in the WA parliament today.
Mr Pearson has called for a debate on the approach to public service workforce management to stem the increasing problems confronting government agencies in attracting and retaining staff.
He said the biggest issue was a lack of clear leadership for management of the public service as a whole.
Since 1996 there have been 20 reviews or reports repeatedly identifying public service workforce issues, but little action in responding to them.
In particular, there has been inadequate response to the tight labour market and changing workforce demographics and a lack of evaluation of the effectiveness of some workforce policies.
This situation has contributed to difficulties in attracting and retaining public servants and consequently has resulted in serious delays in the delivery of some government services and in the implementation of critical new initiatives.
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RETHINK NEEDED ON MANAGING THE PUBLIC SERVICE, SAYS AUDITOR GENERAL
Worrying signs are evident in the management of the public service workforce in a time of change as the State's economy grows and the labour pool shrinks, warns WA Auditor General Des Pearson in a report, "Help Wanted: Public Service Workforce Management", tabled in Parliament today.
With Government experiencing increasing problems in managing the public service and agencies struggling to attract and retain staff, he has called for a revisiting of the approach to public service workforce management via an informed debate that leads to action.
The biggest issue is a lack of clear leadership for management of the public service as a whole, says Mr Pearson
This was evident from the lack of a concerted, whole-of-government response to the many reviews over recent years that have identified weaknesses in public service workforce arrangements.
Since 1996 there have been 20 reviews or reports repeatedly identifying public service workforce issues, but little action in responding to them.
In particular, there has been inadequate response to the tight labour market and changing workforce demographics and a lack of evaluation of the effectiveness of some workforce policies.
This situation has contributed to difficulties in attracting and retaining public servants and consequently has resulted in serious delays in the delivery of some government services and in the implementation of critical new initiatives.
Mr Pearson found there is too much central control and not enough coordination and practical support, with workforce management weighed down by bureaucratic controls which have accumulated over time and that are seen by agencies as not contributing to improved management of public services.
There was also a lack of accountability for many of the existing policy instruments being used - agencies having to satisfy convoluted provisions when seeking central agency approvals but with no equivalent accountability for the decisions made by the central agencies.
Commenting on the situation, Mr Pearson says: "In hindsight, it seems that there has been an under-investment in the public service workforce over the past 20 years, at both the leadership and entry levels.
"The major focus during the 1990s was on making the public service leaner and meaner.
"Priority was given to reforms such as increased use of contractors and not-for-profit organisations, and more recently restructuring, amalgamating and splitting agencies; shifting individual agency corporate services to shared service centres; and procurement reform.
"While each of these has merit in itself, the challenge of ensuring that there are motivated, capable staff and an alignment between services, outcomes and workforce management has gone largely unaddressed.
"I am thus urging the government, Members of Parliament and the wider community to recognise the fundamental importance of, and very high expectations placed on, the public service.
"There needs to be a rethink about how best to provide a management framework that delivers coordinated responses and high-quality services into the future."
