Transforming Human Capital For Public Service Excellence In The 21st Century

This book combines academic wisdom and practitioners’ insights to critically examine the challenges faced by civil service systems in the 21st Century. Moreover, the book evaluates what types of civil servants are needed to tackle critical issues such as rapidly ageing populations, increased urbanisation, environmental degradation, swift technological advancement, and globalisation of the market place in the social and economic realm of the 21st Century. Its topics range from civil service development in post-Soviet countries indicating that peer-to-peer learning is the way forward, to civil service reforms in China, Japan, and Korea in their quest to satisfy their citizens demands and expectations in the 21st Century. Other topics span across regional analyses by focusing on current dominant trends and challenges confronting administrative and civil service systems, vis-à-vis technology, innovation and “big data”, and their disruptive effects on society and government. This book will be of interest to both academics and practitioners, and would-be builders of the 21st Century world.

An executive briefing on developing a successful human capital strategy in government from a knowledge management perspective.

The fed. gov¿t. is facing new & more complex challenges in the 21st century because of long-term fiscal constraints, changing demographics, evolving governance models, & other factors. Strategic human capital mgmt. must be the centerpiece of any serious change mgmt. & transformation effort to meet these challenges. However, fed. agencies do not consistently have the modern, effective, economical, & efficient human capital programs, policies, & procedures needed to succeed in their transformation efforts. In addition, the Office of Personnel Mgmt. must have the capacity to successfully guide human capital transformations. This testimony focuses on strategic human capital mgmt. challenges that fed. agencies continue to face.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed ways to improve the federal government's approach to managing its people. GAO noted that: (1) federal employees should be viewed not as costs to be cut but as assets to be appreciated; (2) strategic human capital management recognizes that employees are a critical asset for success, and that an organization's human capital policies and practices must be designed, implemented, and assessed by the standard of how well they support the organization's mission and goals; (3) the experiences of leading private sector firms underscore these ideas; (4) in studying nine selected private sector organizations known for innovative or effective human capital management, GAO found that human capital considerations were commonly included at all stages of management, from strategic planning through day-to-day business operations, and these firms focused on building and maintaining the competencies of their leaders and other employees and rewarded them for performance; and (5) although the civil service system is viewed by many as outdated and in need of reform, there is much that can and should be done today--by individual federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, GAO, and Congress--to improve the way the federal government manages its human capital, even in the absence of any fundamental legislative change.

Successful businesses have spent the past two decades retooling and rethinking how to manage their people better. Most big companies that have survived and prospered in the 21st century view employees as a vital strategic asset. In comparison, the U.S. federal government is a Stone Age relic, with its top-down bureaucracy, stovepiping of labor and responsibilities, and lack of training and investment in its own public servants. The inevitable result is a government not keeping up with the complex demands placed on it. In T he People Factor, Linda Bilmes and Scott Gould present a blueprint for reinvigorating the public sector in order to deliver results for America. Their premise is that the federal government can achieve the same gains as the best private sector and military organizations by managing its people better. Their new vision for public service is based on "The People Factor," a set of management tools drawn from best practices in successful companies, the military, and high-performing government agencies. Part One of The People Factor book shows why the U.S. personnel system needs reform, revealing the high price of inaction. Part Two lays out the specific steps that must be taken to achieve the necessary gains. Part Three focuses on how to implement the People Factor and make the authors' vision a reality. They argue that the next president needs to turn this issue into a top priority and use political capital to push reform. Highlights of the book include: • Extensive original survey research • Case studies from government and the military • Interviews with leading thinkers on strategic human capital • A number of specific proposed innovations • A detailed proposal for a nationwide effort to train and revitalize the public service