By Vivienne Russell
20 December 2010
The government’s public service reforms will fail unless
they are accompanied by a ‘step change’ in human resources management, experts
have warned.
A report
produced jointly by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and
the Public Sector People Managers’ Association argues that the success of the
Big Society initiative will hinge on whether frontline managers are armed with
the leadership skills to engage and empower staff.
The report also notes that HR will have a crucial role in
ensuring GP consortiums have the skills to lead and manage changes and so that
Jobcentre Plus advisers can provide more individualised support to benefit
claimants.
Stephanie Bird, director of HR capability at the CIPD, said
public service transformation depends
on the development of new skills, changing ingrained behaviour and managing
uncertainty and conflict.
‘Unless HR is involved at the heart of the process to ensure
the key people management issues are addressed, public service reform plans
will remain frustrated,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately, HR in the public sector has been seen by
successive governments as a cost to be managed, or a way of making
redundancies. It is no coincidence that attempts by previous administrations to
create a step change in the quality of public service delivery have failed. The
government cannot afford to make the same mistakes.’
PPMA president Dean Shoesmith added that the public service
reform agenda provided an opportunity for HR to consolidate its reputation as a
strategic function within an organisation.
‘However, if HR is preoccupied by its traditional
activities, such as hand-holding line managers, then it will be left behind and
its reputation as a transactional function will be reinforced,’ he added.
