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The vision RH editorial team

Public-sector managers share certain qualities. They are assertive, flexible, proactive and highly qualified. But these days, is that enough to inspire your teams and get them to do better? Being a protagonist in transformative change means communicating your enthusiasm, encouraging creativity and daring to take on new challenges.

Despite the highly-regulated aspect of public administration, however, management methods have greatly improved and now give pride of place to both participatory approaches and the contributions of the behavioural sciences. Several countries are implementing initiatives that play a part in this management style of the future.

They might take the form of incentive schemes. In Portugal, for example, managers who are innovative in supervising and managing their teams are awarded a bonus as soon as significant and measurable results are achieved. The aim is to create an "ecosystem" that federates all types of motivational leverage.

Intervening as early as the recruitment stage for future managers – this is the approach of the Fast Stream programme in the UK. Selection is based on behaviour anchored rating scales. Customised monitoring is then carried out for each civil servant based on the candidates' qualities and weaknesses identified during the tests.

Attracting top talent is not enough; we must also strive to convince them that they can develop professionally. The Netherlands has introduced a training programme for "high potentials." The goal is to develop participants' personal skills (creativity, leadership), thus helping them become actors of change in their departments.

Exploring new areas of management is the objective of the Newton programme in Estonia. It trains managers how to effectively drive innovation, improve their ability to absorb complexity and design new work organisations.

Providing customised support is the aim of Belgium's In Vivo programme. In this renowned centre of expertise in coaching and experiential learning, twenty employees design two types of "journeys" – individual and organizational – that are accessible to all managers. They are available in multiple modules to provide progressive and tailor-made support.

Successful project work often involves adapting management methods. The Danish government has developed an educational tool, Teamunivers, which helps users choose the most appropriate solution, based on a clear identification of the team's composition and the challenges to be met.

Striving to remain neutral and objective in all circumstances is an obligation that requires personal effort. To limit the risk of unconscious bias, Ireland has chosen to raise awareness among all senior managers on how to recognise and combat the prejudices they, or their teams, may have in the performance of their missions.

Remote management concerns an increasing number of departments (spread across remote sites or those where a portion of the workforce teleworks). To assist managers, Norway has developed a best practices guide on the use of digital tools, how to hold meetings and remote monitoring of work.

Through innovative and complementary approaches, public administrations are making managers a part of their efforts to modernise.

Ministers from 40 countries officially adopted the OECD Declaration on Public Sector Innovation, a set of five principles, and associated actions, to promote and support an area which is often still considered to be of secondary importance. The Declaration includes concepts of how to put it in place and calls on governments and public administrations to include such concepts in their modernization strategies.

Italy has adopted a new Civil Service Act. In addition to modernising competitive examinations (online pre-selection procedure and professional tests), the new act allows mobility to the private sector for all civil servants (for a period of five years, renewable once) and introduces biometric systems to record working times. 

This website for sharing and spotlighting the HR community federates initiatives by government departments to transform services or carry out innovative projects on various themes (appeal, change management, management, mobility, quality of life at work, etc.). New contributions are gradually being added. An interactive map allows users to locate projects.

This new campaign aims to dismantle the many preconceived ideas that deter potential candidates for government positions. By providing concrete and factual answers on eligibility, hiring, assignments and career development, the Australias Public Service hopes to win over a generation that can sometimes be sceptical.

An agreement aimed at providing "trainings that more closely meet the needs of staff in the newly-reorganised administrative regions" has been signed between the Regions of France and the National Centre for Local Civil Service (CNFPT).  The agreement provides for support for regional HR functions and specific changes to management methods due to mergers and dual hierarchies.

Palkeet, the Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR, is expanding its career path and mobility management system by integrating Osaava, a new module that matches personal and professional skills with the on-the-job assignments. This new feature is in great demand by government departments, as it makes it easier to locate experts and skillsets.

Under the title "Accelerating the Gears of Transformation", the Office of Personnel Management has developed three new toolsets intended for managers and HR departments. They provide practical advice and guidelines to help Federal workplaces reskill/upskill employees due to changing technology and workforce needs.

Whereas the gap between the duties performed by women and men in Japan's civil service was still quite wide only a few years ago, it is narrowing sharply at every level. The country's fast-track leadership scheme, which is more concentrated over time, and a recent policy encouraging the employment of women (called "womenomics") are helping to gradually increase the percentage of women. 

The British government is encouraging senior managers and executives to accept secondment to advanced industrial and service sectors. The goal is to allow senior civil service leaders to "witness the benefits of a culture of experimentation and empowering them to adopt these practices when they return to government”. It is expected that this will provide professional experience that will enhance these managers' career paths.

VerDi, Germany's main civil service union, is launching its first major national consultation on working time. This is in preparation for negotiations to renew collective bargaining agreements. The survey is expected to reveal employees' expectations regarding the organisation of and compensation for increasing amounts of overtime (whether freely-chosen or imposed).

New regulations have come in force for the autonomous community of Aragon: the government has raised the quota for people with disabilities from 5 to 8 per cent. It also decided to set aside the additional 3% for those who are often absent from recruitment: 2% for people with developmental disabilities and 1% for those with crippling mental illnesses.

An initial worklife quality agreement was signed between the insurance group and all of the trade unions. It includes several strong commitments, including training managers and social partners in how to prevent psychosocial risks, recognising the right to make mistakes, implementing collective and individual support and assistance measures, integrating co-development and a culture of feedback, and bolstering the right to disconnect.

At a time when the provisions on the Obligation to Employ Workers with Disabilities (OETH) will be strengthened as of 1 January 2020, some companies are pursuing an active inclusion policy and are exceeding the thresholds set by law.

This is the case with Randstad, a temporary employment and HR services company that was the first in its sector to sign an agreement with AGEFIPH, French non-profit organisation that helps people with disabilities find employment.

Fighting against discrimination and for equal opportunities on a daily basis, Randstad is active on many fronts: morning information sessions, recruitment forums and awareness-raising actions for employees and managers, in an effort to provide the best welcome possible.

More recently, it has involved its employees in serious games to draw attention to non-visible forms of disability.

The company has set up a nationwide network of agencies specialising in disability employment that are active in every sector of activity. Trained counsellors, specially-adapted tools and national leadership provided by the group's Diversity Department promote the support of companies in employing workers with disabilities.

It is part of the "Hangagés" network, which works to encourage employment of those with disabilities, sharing their expertise and carrying out joint projects.

In Canada – where there have been major fluctuations in federal staffing levels over the past two decades –public servants' mobility has often been foregrounded to accompany restructuring¹, whether territorial or structural.

Even though they are not guaranteed lifetime employment, federal civil servants (who are hired on permanent contracts) may – like their French counterparts – be reassigned or seconded.

The Treasury Board (which oversees the public service) has gradually adapted the regulatory framework concerning voluntary mobility, which now offers significant opportunities.

Through the Interchange Canada job board, government employees can – for a limited period of time – be recruited for another job in the public or private sector or a non-profit organisation. An agreement is then signed between the two employers. It sets out the conditions of the assignment (length, tasks and terms of compensation). The system supports career development and talent management.

Making mobility even more flexible is the idea behind the Free Agent programme that was introduced in late 2016 by Natural Resources Canada, and is currently being rolled out in two other departments.

This innovative approach gives civil servants recruited to these posts the freedom to select work that corresponds to their skills and interests. It also allows HR departments to quickly and easily find the profiles they are seeking for short assignments.

Organized in small groups within each department, free agents are experts with a wide variety of profiles who can intervene in the following situations:

• When there is a need for an emerging skill that is not available within a given group

 • To replace an employee on long-term leave

• To scale up a project with more human resources

The program has been a resounding success – more than 700 applications were submitted for the first 80 positions available.


¹ Restructuring efforts are legislated by the Work Force Adjustment Directive.