Help Wanted: Public Service Workforce Management

Report No 6 - June 2006

Background

The Western Australian public service is significant in the context of both government spending and government’s capacity to deliver services. Around 25 000 public servants are employed across 69 government agencies, in a range of jobs such as social workers, safety and environment inspectors, scientists, accountants, planners, engineers, managers and administrators. They are critical to delivering services to the community and business; they regulate key aspects of the economy and the environment, as well as plan and administer the State’s education, health, and justice systems. They make up nearly 20 per cent of the total government workforce and are differentiated from other groups of government workers by legislation and their industrial agreement.

This report aims to draw attention to the growing problems government agencies are experiencing in managing the public service workforce. The report draws heavily upon advice from CEOs and human resource managers. It focuses on individual agencies’ workforce recruitment and selection practices, as well as the role of central government agencies in managing the public service workforce as a whole.

What the examination found...

There are significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public service workforce management in WA. 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 affected the delivery of services in some critical areas.

Our key findings are:

• Government agencies are struggling to attract and retain staff. This is causing serious delays in the delivery of some services and in the implementation of critical new government initiatives.
• Central government controls and the human resource practices of government agencies contribute to attraction and retention problems.
• There has been little coordinated response to identified workforce issues such as the ageing workforce and anticipated skill shortages.
• There is little accountability for central government workforce controls that limit the capacity of agencies to attract and retain skilled staff.

Since the completion of audit fieldwork, central government agencies have begun to address some of the above findings. These initiatives include:

• enhanced centrally organised leadership development programs and a revised leadership competency framework
• release of additional publications to promote innovative recruitment and selection practices
• funding of $10.7 million under a five-year program commencing in 2006-07 to address recruitment and workforce development issues.

What the examination recommended...

The above initiatives are an important first step. Central agencies involved in public service workforce management should, in conjunction with government, build on these steps to develop a management framework that delivers coordinated responses so that high-quality services into the future are assured. Issues that need to be addressed include:

• leadership of the service
• ensuring central controls have a demonstrable benefit and that there is ongoing accountability for their implementation
• implementation of whole-of-service initiatives that complement effectively the roles and responsibilities of CEOs.

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