DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

 

 

 

RECRUITMENT STRATEGY IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

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. 

 

FEATURES OF RECRUITMENT IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

 

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.

 

RECRUITMENT CONSTRAINTS

 

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