The monthly focus of this 26^th issue is dedicated to new work organisation and more particularly the need to brainstorm on successful outcomes. As usual, we present you the last trends in several countries on this theme and the inspiring ways in which they are implementing them.
Beyond the news, you will get acquainted with the forward-planning approaches initiated by Thales and the HR information system of the South Korean government.

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We wish you a good reading and a nice summer!

The vision RH editorial team

After several weeks during which teleworking became the norm for all those who were not imperatively required to attend their workplace, the various economic sectors are arranging for the resumption of on-site working. How can office life be recast by factoring in adaptations and learning from the challenges that were faced?

According to the most-recent World Bank survey, public administrations in 136 countries have had massive recourse to home-based work. These unprecedented circumstances have highlighted real differences both in terms of the level of equipment and the expansion of infrastructure, and as regards getting used to working differently.  

Logistics departments and management will be deeply involved in doing everything to ensure that the work spaces earmarked for employees are safe whilst rekindling collective momentum. The experiments or initiatives conducted could represent potential solutions for tomorrow’s organisational structures.  

Certain countries, such as the Netherlands or Finland, are already well ahead of the pack and have announced plans to mainstream teleworking so that more employees are eligible by making regulations more flexible, as is the case in France. With work schedule rotation (in South Africa, Croatia, Spain and Italy), discussions are ongoing to introduce a permanent combined model with equal time allocation which has benefits in terms of premises’ occupancy management. In Ireland, the government is even considering maintaining the current arrangements on a voluntary basis for all positions that, after an assessment, are shown to have ensured continuity of service with the same performance levels.

A few government departments (the Department of Finance in Australia or the Federal Public Service - Social Security in Belgium) had already upended habits by introducing a clean-desk strategy to streamline space: no more offices allocated to individuals but interchangeable spaces used according to flows and which have to be left empty. Although, besides the financial angle, this option could be one of the answers to the new health constraints, it is still unpopular with civil servants. But, why not push the idea of workplaces being spaces for sharing and creativity?

The multiple innovations rolled out during the crisis testified to the responsiveness of public services. The OECD is strongly inciting its Member countries to standardise and enhance their approaches:

• Specific public service job exchanges to foster internal recruitment and the reassignment of staff through skills sharing (in Austria and Canada)

• Online meetings leading to a marked reduction in travelling (in Germany and Sweden)

• Remote training resources using cutting-edge technologies (in Denmark and the United Kingdom)

 • Team management in agile mode based on trust and acknowledgement of the outcomes achieved (in the United States and Norway)

There is no doubt that this last factor will be the cornerstone for the organisational changes that are required.  Drawing on the initiatives introduced, it will play an active part in implementation of the provisions of the Recommendation of the Council on Public Service Leadership and Capability, which was adopted in January 2019.

Nevertheless, nothing should be done without taking feedback from all the stakeholders into account. The “Bureaucracy Lab” initiative, in conjunction with a consortium of three universities (1), has prepared a survey framework, which is available to all countries to gather the impressions of all public officials. This information will be highly useful for decision-makers.

¹ "Global Survey of Public Servants" conducted by University College London, Nottingham University and Stanford University.

Having been a thorny issue since the most-recent enlargement of the European Union, the matter of balanced geographical representation within its institutions, agencies and bodies (employing 60,000 people) has been subject to an initial agreement negotiated under the Croatian Presidency. It is set to be applied in a wider scope in terms of function groups and grades to reflect the diversity of the 27 Member States.

Having flagged up the fact that HR professionals are not always representative of the Civil Service as a whole (in terms of age, training, origin and/or career path) and that this could generate certain unconscious biases, the government is focusing on diversifying recruitment. A Capability and Talent team provides support to departments and raises their awareness of inclusion issues.

The OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation tracks all the innovative responses to the health crisis rolled out worldwide, some of which concern public employees directly. A virtual networked event on the topics “Rethinking and rebuilding through innovation” and “Collaboration for systemic change beyond crisis” will be organised in mid-November to allow practitioners and managers to share their experiences.

A number of Sweden’s government departments have pooled their resources to spur inter-department mobility which is less common for the position-based civil service. Positions, whether temporary or not, and one-off assignments for specific purposes, are offered on a special website. This new network provides applicants with onboarding services and a mentoring system.

Encouraged by positive feedback from users when training in its premises was interrupted, the national training institute is speeding up rollout of its remote offering. It now provides exclusively online interactive sessions in a connected and participative format which is conducive to exchanges between participants. The first series is devoted to gender equality in the public sector.

Faced with an ageing workforce, the government is looking to formalise inter-generational skills transfers. With the “Jedes Alter zählt” (every age counts) initiative, it has laid down a set of standardised and structured recommendations (documentation, interviews, procedures) which are slated to be applied during the eighteen months preceding an employee’s retirement in order to capitalise on all his/her experience.

Against the backdrop of the gradual resumption of on-site working, the issue for government departments is to organise and buttress their employees’ return after several weeks of lockdown. The purpose of the guide, which was prepared by the network of HR organisation and change management advisers, is to enable local managers to support their teams during this crucial transition stage.

Expanding leadership skills is an imperative for the federal civil service. Managers and executives have to take regular training in one of the Federal Executive Institutes. To allow everyone to pinpoint their development needs, an online assessment tool is available. As an extension of the ad hoc framework, it comprises six assessment modules with situation-based judgment questions and self-rating questions.

Lifting digital expertise will help ensure the success of the transformation. To this end, the government has decided to develop a Digital Professional Stream which will cover, in time, around 150 digital roles and professions, at all hierarchical levels, and will allow for true career development. Members of the APS are being called on to get involved so that the required profiles can be selected.

Having been instigated by the coordination team of the Incentive System for Innovation which called on a broad range of partner government departments for its preparation, this Collaborative Work Plan aims to provide support for officials in their new work environments. It puts forward tailored and tangible solutions for their changing activities which are drawn up using feedback and in a participative manner.

Following the example of the existing private sector model, a new Commission represents civil servants on the Tripartite Council, the national body for social dialogue. It is tasked with negotiating and executing – at national, regional or even sector level and for fields for which it is competent – collective bargaining agreements with the various public employers. It must also be consulted in other cases.

The civil service is looking to gather impressions and proposals for improvement from officials and management on agile and flexible work methods, which have been mainstreamed in recent weeks. The data collected during the consultation should supply a knowledge base which will support innovation policies with an eye to determining which methods best meet the requirements expressed.

With a presence in 68 countries, the Thalès group – one of the world leaders in aeronautics, defence, space and transportation – is constantly striving to boost its employees’ expertise, which maximises their employability.

The Thalès Learning Hub is the beating heart of the in-service training system. Its offering is designed to address both new technological trends and changes affecting the 62 job families. This approach has been well-received in-house as, in 2018, the firm posted the highest satisfaction levels (1).

Forward-looking management of jobs and skills (GPEC) was introduced to reassign staff to new occupations but the strategy was limited in the event of the structural discontinuation of a business activity which is a very real risk in a competitive environment.     

In April 2019, management and the unions signed the first “joint agreement for improving professional development and job opportunities through effective anticipation”.

It is based on a single body called the Central Anticipation Committee which is tasked with providing support for the changes required by the digital transition.

By formally introducing “active job management”, the agreement provides – in economic and/or industrial circumstances which jeopardise jobs – for adjusting and safeguarding employment, for a maximum of 18 months, through transfers of expertise and skills.

¹ List developed with the Statista Institute and integrating surveys of 500 French companies. Thalès took first place in three categories: creativity, balance between work and private life, and continuous learning.

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.