Computerisation and HR data at the service of the South Korean government

It is becoming essential for all public employers to use all available data in an optimal manner to guarantee high-performance, as well as proactive or even forward-looking, human resource management. 

The South Korean government topped the InCiSE 2019 (1) ranking for the extent to which databases are used for HR management and now has a system that allows for administrative management of its employees as well as determining the HR policy using a number of decision-making assistance modules. The Ministry of Personnel Management and its departments share the same databases and servers within an integrated information system. 

E-Saram is a single application that enables managers to carry out all steps, from recruitment to retirement, including appointments, performance evaluations, educational training, work schedules, positions, promotions and salaries.

Interaction between officials and managers has also been fully computerised using workflows up to the validation stages

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In order to get around space and time constraints, there is now a mobile version of the application. A control panel supplemented by a system of notifications provides fast access to the essential topics, in particular those which require a response.

Drawing on all the information contained in the database and based on occupation profiles, recruitment and training managers, and mobility advisers, carry out simulations that culminate in targeted proposals.

The volume of data, which is updated in real time by the HR departments, represents a resource that the Ministry of Personnel Management (responsible for the civil service) closely examines to adjust and plan for staff changes.  

For instance, it is possible to:

• Set out the core skillsets for positions for which supply outstrips demand to adjust training programmes upstream

• Model career paths to foster applicant selection

• Arrange for the transfer of knowledge by determining mentoring partnerships

As it meets the most stringent requirements in terms of IT security, e-Saram enabled HR managers to ensure continuity and the same standard of service during the lockdown period.

¹ "International Civil Service Effectiveness Index". This ranking has been prepared every year since 2017 by the Blavatnik School of Government of the University of Oxford.