THE TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE
A PAPER PRESENTED BY MS OR RAMSINGH TO THE 2007
INAUGURAL CARIBBEAN REGION PUBLIC SECTOR
HR-CONFERENCE IN BARBADOS HELD FROM 19 T0 21 JUNE
2007
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

• Background
• The Human Resource approach in the Apartheid
  Public Service
• Transforming Public Service Human Resources
  Journey from Personnel Administration to HRM
• Milestones attained during the journey
• Challenges in ensuring effective HRM in the South
  African Public Service
• Conclusion

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BACKGROUND

• The South African Public Service represents the
  machinery through which Government has
  transformed South Africa since 1994. It employs
  approximately 1,1 million public servants.
• These employees comprise a tenth of the labour
  force of South Africa, making the Public Service
  the single largest employer within the country.
• Understandably human resources are the South
  African Public Services most valuable asset and
  Constitutional emphasis has been placed on the
  transformation of HRM.
• This paper represents the celebration of a
  journey in HRM in the South African Public
  Service over the 13 years of democratic rule in
  South Africa.

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THE HUMAN RESOURCE APPROACH IN THE APARTHEID
PUBLIC SERVICE

• The democratic government of South Africa
  inherited an oppressed society where persons were
  treated in a discriminatory way based on the
  colour of their skin.
• The Public Service was a microcosm of the
  Apartheid society with HR practices designed to
  enforce oppression and marginalise persons
  representing the majority of South African
  citizens.
• As with all oppressive regimes power was held
  very close to its centre, and the Apartheid
  Public Service was characterized by
  over-centralisation and was excessively rules
  bound.
• The human resource practices were geared towards
  maintaining control and tight reign on
  departments to ensure the implementation of the
  Apartheid governments racist objectives.
• HRM did not exist in the Public Service and
  public administration or personnel components
  merely administered the implementation of the
  Apartheid agenda.

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THE HUMAN RESOURCE APPROACH IN THE APARTHEID
PUBLIC SERVICE

• The personnel systems were designed to promote
  inequalities. For example, more than 300
  different salary scales applied in the Public
  Service, resulting in pay inequalities between
  public servants of different races.
• To illustrate the practical implications of such
  policies
• Different salary scales applied to educators in
  white and black schools.
• White public servants were paid danger allowances
  to work in black areas.
• Recruitment allowances were paid to lure whites
  to join the Public Service.
• The Public Service inherited was severely limited
  by outmoded and inappropriate HRM practices.
• It lacked the capacity to predict and meet its
  human resource requirements and manage its HR.
• Given such context the challenge of transforming
  human resources in the Public Service was immense.

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TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES
JOURNEY FROM PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION TO HRM

• 1994 onwards saw the Public Service shedding its
  rules bound focus and bureaucratic environment to
  a new management philosophy that placed people at
  the centre.
• HRM transformation had to be viewed from the
  perspective of the transformation of the Public
  Service and Society as a whole.
• The change had to be inclusive and people based.
• A solid foundation for the required changes was
  provided by the Constitution of the Republic of
  South Africa, 1996 which provided basic values
  and principles governing public administration
  amongst others
• Public administration must be accountable.
• Promoting efficient, economic and effective use
  of resources.
• Maximising human potential by cultivating
  practices good human resource management and
  career development practices.
• Employment and personnel management practices on
  ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to
  redress the imbalances of the past.

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TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES
JOURNEY FROM PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION TO HRM -
CONTND

• A revised HRM framework was introduced based on a
  comprehensive legislative and policy formulation
  process which included White Papers, Acts and
  Regulations.
• This framework provided the following guiding
  principles for HR transformation in the Public
  Service
• The Public Service must be coherent, transparent,
  efficient, effective and accountable to the needs
  of all.
• The Public Service must be characterized by
  equality, equity, timeousness and a strong code
  of ethics.
• The Public Service must be people centered and
  devoted to addressing and responding to the needs
  of the community that it serves.
• The Public Service must reflect the demographics
  of the community that it serves.
• Such principles underscored an HRM ethos that
  went beyond the technical and academic
  requirements attached to HRM practices. They
  outlined a vision for change, placing a huge
  responsibility on public managers to drive the
  transformation agenda.

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TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES
JOURNEY FROM PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION TO HRM -
CONTND

• HRM had to undergo the following fundamental
  changes in order to actualize this
• Increased delegation of managerial responsibility
  and authority to national and provincial
  departments, and the delegation of day-to-day
  management decisions to line managers.
• The development of a service delivery oriented,
  multi-skilled and multi-cultural workforce.
• The continuing drive for effectiveness and
  efficiency.
• Creating a flexible environment that takes into
  account the operational needs of the organisation
  and the needs of employees.
• The net effect of the changes introduced was that
  the Public Service had moved from personnel
  administration to actual HRM.
• HRM policies were now designed in-house to
  reflect the unique needs of departments and human
  resource practitioners started to play a
  proactive advisory and enabling role.
• The HRM framework was supported by a legal
  framework that entrenched fairness, impartiality,
  equity and lack of bias in the Public Service.

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TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES
JOURNEY FROM PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION TO HRM -
CONTND

• Such legislation included the Promotion of
  Administrative Justice Act, 2000, the Promotion
  of Access to Information Act, 2000 and the
  Employment Equity Act, 1998.
• Includes mechanisms for explaining administrative
  action, providing redress and requires public
  officials to understand what constitutes lawful
  administration.
• Collectively these pieces of legislation have the
  potential of addressing the residual
  discrimination that is present in the South
  African Society and which manifests itself
  adversely in the quality of life of its citizens.
• Examples illustrating this
• Introduction of a fixed salary grading system
  with fixed salary ranges that is linked to a job
  evaluation system.
• Performance management system that measures
  performance against agreed outputs and outcomes.
• Establishment of a Senior Management (SMS) out of
  recognition of the critical role senior
  management plays in the effective and efficient
  functioning of the Public Service.

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MILESTONES ATTAINED DURING THE JOURNEY

• A comprehensive legislative framework has been
  put in place that set a clear vision for HRM in
  the Public Service.
• The decentralization of HRM through the revised
  Public Service Act and the introduction of new
  Public Service Regulations has led to improved
  decision-making, better implementation and
  enhanced service delivery.
• Affirmative Action policy has made clear inroads
  in addressing the imbalances of the past. The
  workforce has shifted from a white Afrikaner male
  dominated Public Service to one that represents
  the demographics of the community that it serves.
• Government had to rely on a Public Service driven
  by integrity and to achieve this heightened focus
  was given to the promotion of ethics.
• A comprehensive ethics framework is reflected
  through the Code of Conduct, the Financial
  Disclosure Framework, Anti-Corruption Hotline and
  reporting on financial misconduct.
• Promoting professional ethics has not just been
  about making the Public Service corruption
  resistant but also cultivating a work ethos based
  on public interest.

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MILESTONES ATTAINED DURING THE JOURNEY - CONTND

• Performance contracting has been introduced. The
  focus has moved away from personnel evaluations
  based on behavioural attributes to outcomes and
  outputs with emphasis on the enhancement of
  service delivery.
• Independent oversight has been established to
  promote and protect our nascent democracy. HRM
  practices are monitored and evaluated by the PSC,
  a Constitutional oversight body, with the mandate
  amongst others to monitor, evaluate and
  investigate personnel practices in the Public
  Service.
• Bold initiative of Government by placing on an
  annual basis its programme of action for the year
  on its web-site.
• Public Service has become more accountable,
  transparent and responsive.

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CHALLENGES IN ENSURING EFFECTIVE HRM IN THE SOUTH
AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE

• One of the major challenges facing HRM in the
  Public Service is to deal with the effect of HIV
  and AIDS in the workplace.
• Whilst the delegation of authority on HRM matters
  facilitated decision-making and flexibility, the
  capacity to manage decentralisation has not
  matched the pace of the decentralisation process.
• Limited capacity continues to impact on
  governments performance and its ability to
  realise its developmental objectives (skills,
  vacancies, delegation of responsibilities,
  co-operative governance).
• Retention of staff and the challenge to increase
  the skills pool to ensure continuous and enhanced
  service delivery.
• Whilst the transformation of HRM within the
  Public Service have contributed to improved
  service delivery, challenges around
  implementation and accelerated service remains,
  particularly at local government level. Moving
  towards the creation of a Single Public Service
  which will align the three spheres of Government
  (national, provincial and local) to ensure
  optimal utilisation of resources to promote
  integrated service delivery.

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CHALLENGES IN ENSURING EFFECTIVE HRM IN THE SOUTH
AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE - CONTND

• The Batho Pele White Paper introduced a
  comprehensive framework to enhance service
  delivery, and states A transformed Public
  Service will be judged by one criterion above
  all its effectiveness in delivering services
  which meet the basic needs of all citizens.
  Internalising a mindset that sees Public Service
  as a legitimate expectation rather than a
  privilege has not been easy.
• There have been challenges with the
  implementation of the new performance management
  system as witnessed through various studies
  conducted by the PSC. There is widespread failure
  to uphold the performance management systems
  underlying principles.
• Striking a balance between basic technical HRM on
  the one hand and strategic HRM on the other. Move
  from ensuring basic compliance with prescripts to
  ensuring that HRM practices strategically support
  service delivery imperatives.
• At the heart of improving the management of the
  human resource management value chain is senior
  managers who provide leadership and develop a
  richer appreciation of the strategic imperatives
  of their departments and how HRM impacts on these
  imperatives.

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CONCLUSION

• Despite the challenges identified, the Public
  Service machinery has succeeded in giving effect
  to the transformation initiatives of Government
  in the area of HRM.
• The task ahead is to intensify the transformation
  process in order to address the weaknesses and
  challenges that remain.
• This will not be an easy task. However, the
  Public Service has shown the necessary resolve to
  tackle matters head-on.

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THANK YOU