How civil services are meeting the challenge of change

New public sector remits, an ever-expanding use of digital technology, demographic and territorial shifts – these are just some of the elements that are forcing government administrations to transform themselves. To maintain the vital balance between budgetary constraints and citizens' expectations, public sectors around the world need to update their HR strategies and develop new management tools.

Several countries have undertaken reforms to promote mobility. Support for staff continues to play a major role in this process as it is the cornerstone of success.

Faced with a refocusing of its remit, the Canadian federal administration was obliged to reorganise its workforce. Under the terms of a directive, the system it put in place included prioritising placements for civil servants whose department was restructured, as well as special access to a job exchange programme.

To revitalise certain medium-sized Danish cities, the Danish government has relocated several of its ministries and agencies. Staff who have agreed to move have been granted two days of telework and commuting is included in working time.

Mobility is also a means to transfer skills: The goal of Ireland's Civil Service Mobility programme is to encourage civil servants to apply for positions outside the capital region to fill territorial vacancies in certain counties. For spouses who are unable to find positions in the same area, an experiment carried out by three departments allows secondment to the private sector.

At a time when careers are divided into successive phases, providing support also means enabling public servants to move into a variety of career paths and to take advantage of new opportunities.

As part of the Dutch administration's implementation of a new integrated HR management system, an application allows civil servants to make algorithm-driven career forecasts. Group professional development workshops are also being offered.

Making certain positions more accessible to staff wishing to make a career change is the goal of the British "Success Profiles" programme, with eligible positions prioritising behavioural skills and recognition of professional experience.

To support staff at the end of their careers who may encounter difficulties with respect to mobility, the Swedish government HR service is developing a specific offer to help these staff to better adapt to a new environment.

This transformation is also bringing about changes in how work is organised, with the arrival of new models that combine autonomy, flexibility and accountability – models that must be supported.

There is a growing need for flexibility at work. Introducing flexible working times can be achieved by creating a "time savings account" that is valid for an individual's entire career, and therefore transferable in the event of a change of employer. This will shortly be rolled out for German civil servants, who can put aside overtime hours and unused holidays, and even compensation with which employees may be credited.

Similarly, encouraging government departments to facilitate work/life balance is a trend that is quickly gaining traction. Under the terms of the Lavoro Agile (Agile Working) directive (which came into force in 2018), the Italian administration has committed itself to ensuring that 10% of public employees benefit from temporal and spatial flexibility arrangements by 2020.