The Royal Family in the modern age is to all intents and purposes part of the public sector. And, like the rest of publicly funded organisations, they are seeking to do more with less. They must work with a more austere budget – funding for maintaining Royal Palaces is down – and there have been reforms to ensure efficiency, with the chancellor agreeing new arrangements for the Civil List.
However, the Royal Family has been able to do something, from which the rest of the public sector has been seemingly discouraged. They have been able to bring in a new skill set with the addition of a much needed new post – the Duchess of Cambridge.
Catherine Middleton was the successful candidate; she got the job as the new working member of the Royal Family. It is hoped she will help to bring the institution in line with the times.
I caricature for effect. However, it cannot go unnoticed that this outcome is unique in publicly funded bodies.
Public services are under fire for wasting taxpayers’ money on unnecessary posts and paying too much. Press headlines appear poking fun at public sector job titles and booing at the salaries offered. Indeed, just this week Westminster Council has had to defend its decision to hire new senior staff.
There clearly are posts in public services that should go and cost savings must be made. I worry, though, that every time a post is lost, the current climate means HR departments cannot consider whether skills might be required elsewhere and whether, in another area of the organisation, shrewd recruitment might in fact help to do more with less.
Well-judged recruitment prevents salami slicing, stripping services of the long-term capacity and skills to achieve the big cuts needed across the public services.
There is awareness, as in the Royal Family, that public services must move with the times and new blood is needed. Nevertheless, by demonising recruitment of any kind we are confining the public sector to constantly being behind the curve, never quite delivering what citizens expect.
I am sure that the new Duchess of Cambridge will be a huge success. I just hope that reformed public services, in whatever form that may be, will have the skills at hand to do the same.
Gill Kelly is the associate director of CIPFA Recruitment Services
