PUBLIC SECTOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Investing in human capital is the single most effective way of promoting growth, argues Akintola Benson-Oke

The task before public sector entities in contemporary times is very daunting indeed. In particular, the challenges confronting the governments of multicultural, cosmopolitan, and global cities such as Lagos with an ever-expanding population are herculean. Among many others, the government has to provide for the security, transportation, education, and housing of a teeming and diversified population. In order to do this, the government has to craft policies and strategies that take into consideration the demographic composition of residents of Lagos State; these policies and strategies have to be constantly tested, monitored, reviewed and, when found adequate, have to be fully implemented. Add to all these, the all-important task of raising the revenue required to execute and fund these strategies and policies.

However, the good news is that the Lagos State Government has discovered the secret to success in public sector administration. Indeed, the government of Lagos State has discovered that, by placing premium on the welfare and capacity of its human resources, all its seemingly daunting tasks can be satisfactorily discharged. Thus, in order to faithfully execute her responsibilities, the government of Lagos State wholly depends on the resilient officers of the Lagos State Civil Service. In particular, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode specially values the unquantifiable contributions of civil servants to governance.

It is for this reason, therefore, that Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has profound respect for the work and contributions of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM). Indeed, the policy thrust and strategic focus of the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in Lagos State has many similarities with the core objectives of the CIPM. Any careful observer would know that the Lagos State Government has been heavily investing in the training and re-training of her most valued resource: the civil servants in Lagos State. At the forefront of this effort is the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) which, I am delighted to note, has forged a relationship with the CIPM.

The trainings instituted by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Trainings and Pensions and championed by the PSSDC have been focused on the re-tooling of the fundamental skills that are required for exceptional performance and enhanced productivity. From the focus on the development of the soft skills required to transform formally-acquired hard skills to tangible value right to the efforts to enhance the leadership skills of the senior officers in the civil service; from the emphasis placed on the need for re-evaluating work ethics to the sharpening of problem-solving skills; from the search for a strategy for keeping Lagos clean to the efforts to maintain and enhance integrity in the revenue accounting processes of the government, one finds that the present administration in Lagos State is focused on transforming the human resources of the civil service to resources that are able, prepared and ready to engage with modern challenges of governance in the 21st century.

Along with CIPM, the Lagos State Government believes that its human resources are the most important and valuable of all its resources. For us, this is not merely an attempt to be ‘politically correct.’ Rather, it is the result of a rigorous and reasoned inquiry into why and how organisations succeed or fail. In an article published by the Harvard Business School, the important point was made to company directors that, “the most important asset at your company isn’t something you can put your hands on. It isn’t equipment or the physical plant, and it isn’t data, technology, or intellectual property. The most valuable part of your company is the people—the human capital—and any plans to move your business forward have to start there. Yet today’s business leaders are often running a full-time sprint just to keep up with the day-to-day demands of business. This means that human capital—the single most important asset a company needs to take the next step in growth and innovation—is often under used, or under developed. In fact, only 32 per cent of global leaders are confident their organisation has the necessary leadership talent and skills to achieve their strategic goals, according to a recent Harvard Business Publishing Survey of global professionals.1”

In a more comprehensive writing on the subject,2 Katie Taylor writing for an online policy journal addressed the three issues of: (a) why human capital is important for development, (b) the opportunities available for human capital development and (c) the challenges confronting organisations desiring to invest in human capital development.

On the question of ‘Why human capital is important for development,’ she wrote that “the confluence of rapid technical change, globalisation and economic liberalisation in recent years has prompted governments in developed and developing countries alike to prioritise skills development as a key strategy for economic competitiveness and growth. In developing countries, especially the poorest ones, the challenges are profound and complex. Policymakers acknowledge the critical role of a strong human resource base in complementing other investments and policies to boost productivity and economic progress. Yet while these countries report lower average levels of educational attainment than industrialised countries, in some countries significant numbers of those with high levels of formal qualifications end up unemployed, working in jobs that under-utilise their skills or emigrating to other countries. The result is a misallocation and waste of resources that these countries can ill-afford. Developing countries are therefore in urgent need of new strategies and approaches that focus more explicitly on the links and coherence between investments in skills development and employment and productivity.”

On the opportunities that human capital provides, she wrote that, “Skills affect people’s lives and economic and social development in many ways. Skills improve labour market outcomes both in terms of employment rates and earnings. But the positive role of skills extends beyond its impact on career prospects: adults with low levels of foundation skills have a higher likelihood of reporting poor health and participate much less in community groups and organisations; and adults with high levels of foundation skills are much more likely to feel that they have a voice that can make a difference in social and political life. These results are consistent across a wide range of countries, confirming that skills have a profound relationship with economic and social outcomes across a wide range of contexts and institutions. Skills are also key to tackling inequality and promoting social mobility. Investing in human capital is the single most effective way of not just promoting growth but also of distributing its benefits more fairly. Investing in skills is far less costly, in the long run, than paying the price of poorer health, lower incomes, unemployment and social exclusion – all of which are closely tied to lower skills.”

Again on the myriad of challenges that governments face to make the most of human resources, the article profoundly notes that governments face a number of challenges to make the most of available skills and that getting the best returns on investment in skills requires the ability to assess the quality and quantity of the skills available in the population, determine and anticipate the skills required in the labour market, and develop and use those skills effectively in better jobs that lead to better lives. These represent major challenges in developing countries where data on the available skills is of poor quality and the demand for skills, present and future, is often a black box.”

Dr. Benson Oke is Lagos State Commissioner for Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions