DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
RECRUITMENT STRATEGY IN THE PUBLIC
SERVICE
1.
The Public Service is in
principle a labour intensive employer and its efficiency relates directly to
the quality and performance of its employees. Viewed from this perspective, it
is of paramount importance that the recruitment policies and strategies of
departments and the Public Service is properly aligned to face the challenges
stemming from the competition for skilled and suitable human resources.
2.
A HR recruitment strategy
broadly comprises the following:
2.1
Human resource planning,
taking into consideration supply and demand;
2.2
Measures to address
challenges in terms of current recruitment practices;
2.3
Analyzing shortages of scarce
skills; and
2.4
Developing different
strategies to ensure that the organization has the right people at the right
time at the right place.
3.
Currently, the Public Service has no single recruitment
strategy in the true sense of the word. This should, however, not be seen as an
omission as the regulatory framework concerning human resource management makes
ample provision for a variety of principles, approaches and minimum standards
that, combined, establish a strategic basis for the recruitment and retention
of the human resources needed by the Public Service. This is further supported
by national policies developed by the DPSA in areas such as remuneration,
employment equity and human resource development.
4.
The current recruitment
approach draws directly from the employment policies adopted by Government as
contained in the White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public
Service, 1997 and the White Paper on Affirmative Action in the Public Service,
1998. The direction set in the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public
Service, 1995 and especially section 195 of the Constitution, 1996, in turn,
inform these policies.
5.
Apart from the aforementioned
internally focused policies, the recruitment practice in the Public Service
is also subject to national legislation such as the Labour Relations Act, 1998,
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997, the Employment Equity Act, 1998
and the Public Service Act, 1994 to name a few.
6.
The values and principles
that underpins recruitment in the Public Service are, in a nutshell, the
following:
6.1
Open employment system
Job opportunities in the Public Service will be
filled on the basis of competition, the aim being to
(a)
make the Public Service more
accessible to all the people of South Africa;
(b)
achieve and maintain
employment equity;
(c)
provide equal opportunities
for advancement to serving employees; and
(d)
effect the recruitment of the
most suitable person from the widest possible pool of talent.
6.2
Selection on merit
The selection of candidates will be based on
selection criteria derived from the inherent requirements of the position to be
filled as well as the competencies possessed by candidates, without an undue
focus on academic qualifications.
6.3
Careerism
The Public Service will offer opportunities for
development and advancement through improved performance and career management,
the removal of unnecessary barriers between occupational groups and increased
opportunities to compete for positions at higher levels.
6.4
Decentralisation
The execution of the practice of recruitment should
be devolved to departments and decision-making should take place as close as
possible to the point of actual service delivery.
7.
Recruitment must be
integrated with and informed by other human resource practices such as human
resource planning, job design and evaluation, affirmative action and
performance management. Human resource planning forms an essential part in
aligning the workforce with the strategic objectives of the
organization/department. As such, human resource planning provides the basis
for:
7.1
Recruitment and retention
7.2
Skills development
7.3
Employment equity plans
7.4
Performance management
7.5
Transactional HR
7.6
Employee wellness
8.
Provision exists that staff
can be employed in different employment capacities (permanent or temporary) to
provide the necessary flexibility to utilize staff according to the operational
needs of the Public Service.
9.
To ensure fairness, selection
decisions have to be made on the recommendation of a selection panel.
10.
Given the particular dynamics
involved, different recruitment measures and processes have been introduced for
the recruitment of heads of departments and staff for positions in the senior
management service.
11.
Studies and anecdotal evidence show that the quality
of recruitment in the Public Service needs to be improved in a number of areas.
A recent report of the Public Service Commission also highlighted that
departments do not have proper policies and procedures in place, or do not follow
them during the recruitment and selection process. The main areas of concern
can be summarized as follows:
11.1
Recruitment is not strategically orientated and
informed by proper human resource and employment equity planning. As a result,
recruitment and placement practices tend to be of a transactional nature. In
respect of especially scarce talent, the flexibility lacks to allow for the
effective deployment of human resources.
11.2
Inconsistencies exist with regard to the employment
of persons on contract.
11.3
There is an over reliance on interviews as a
selection technique.
11.4
The use of information technology to support the
recruitment and selection processes, and to permit proper quality control in
this regard, needs to be improved.
11.5
Selection criteria are poorly defined and do not
facilitate the assessment of potential and recognition of prior learning.
11.6
Limited capacity to use competency based selection
methods especially to assess potential and recognition of prior learning
and to apply the merit principle.
11.7
Selection committees are not sufficiently
representative and members are not prepared or capacitated for their roles.
11.8
The efficiency of recruitment practices and decision
is not properly monitored.
11.9
People with disabilities are significantly under
recruited.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
12
The need to develop employees has been recognized for
some time now in the Public Service. To give effect to this, a HR Development
Strategy 2002-2006 was developed for the Public Service. The main focus of the
strategy is on:
12.1
Learnership Programmes
12.2
Internship Programmes
12.3
Mentorship Programmes
12.4
Scarce Skills Programmes
13
The sustainable pools concept is another initiative
that is currently being implemented to enhance the capacity of middle managers
and to make the Public Service as employer more attractive for high potential
people. The pools concept is focused on developing participants towards
predetermined sets of competencies. Their development is not tied towards
specific jobs or roles and participants are to be enrolled in stretching
developmental interventions