Strategies for Human Resource Management and Development

1
Strategies for Human Resource Management and
Development

• Bobby Soobrayan
• Presentation to the SMS Conference, 15 17
  September 2003
• Port Elizabeth

2
Approach

• More important to focus on factors that are and
  should shape our selection of strategies for
  human resources management and development

3
Public Sector Transformation

• Transformation of the Public Service relates to
  the function and purpose of the Public Service
  effective efficient service delivery (within
  governments mandate)
• Also relates to nature and profile of the public
  service race, gender, values, norms and
  orientation
• Transformation of the Public Service inextricably
  linked to social and economic transformation

4
Public Service and social and economic
transformation

• Most strategic and receptive site for state
  intervention
• Mobility between public and private labour
  markets
• Bureaucratic petty-bourgeoisie historic
  possibilities
• Feed skills into societal institutions
• Articulation with the economy including the
  commanding heights of the economy

5
Conditions and challenges

• Rapidly constituting systems and institutions of
  governance and government
• Mandate and scope of new state fundementally
  different from apartheid state
• No support for minimalist state, but focus on
  effectiveness and efficiency
• Nature of work and delivery re-defined

6
Conditions and challenges (continued)

• Strong emphassis on policy development
• Dynamic new way of working, not
  institutionalised
• Various modes of delivery outsourcing,
  insourcing
• High levels of donor funding
• Favourable fiscal conditions
• Labour market very dynamic

7
What is the current practice of HR management and
development?

• Clearly provided for in policy and law
  especially budget reform and public sector reform
• Capacity to identify and procure effective and
  credible training very week
• Performance management still far from optimal
• Market frivilous, providers often disappoint
• Senior managers dont always give proper
  attention to this

8
Taking a closer look at the strategies

• HRD? beyond a limited conception of education
  and training
• Usefulness of Human Capital as a concept?
• Clear generic skills training improve efficacy
• Responsive to the context post-industrialisation
  , huge public sector reform (not catching up
  with the past), global parallels, focus on
  performance, results and service delivery
• Articulation with business process reform,
  systems redevelopment, new practice

9
Strategies (continued)

• Effective and transformed HRM
• Training generic skills procurement, basic
  business process, people skills, service delivery
  ethos
• High level analytical skills policy analysis,
  data analysis beyond narrow quantitative
  applications, problem-solving, strategic
  planning, monitoring and evaluation
• Link between doing and learning moving
  beyond rhetoric, articulating with system design,
  development and implementation

10
Strategies (continued)

• Integrated approach extent collaboration
  between departments and spheres
• Mentoring, experiential learning, career pathing
• Track a career path in the public service in
  addition to own department
• Sustainable pools.

11
Strategies success factors to a training and
development strategy

• Needs based and linked to strategy of
  organisation
• Systematic and aligned to performance
  requirements and skills development plans
• Consistently evaluated for impact and relevance
• Supported by expert coaching and mentoring

12
Conclusion

• Opportunities context is becoming more enabling
  policy and law, better sense of role of public
  service, maturing institutions
• HRD has immense potential leveraging power. Can
  be done
• Human resources management and development must,
  increasingly, be shaped by our specific
  challenges not simply whats available