PS must look ahead, top bureaucrat says
Charette targets policy-making and recruitment, writes Kathryn May.
Canada’s top bureaucrat is making recruitment, policy development and mental health top priorities as she strives to turn the public service into a “high-performing” workplace.
Privy Council Clerk Janice Charette Wednesday released her first report to Prime Minister Stephen Harper since becoming clerk last fall. It lays out the public service’s accomplishments over the past year and explains where she hopes to guide it in the coming year.
“The forces of change are many ... as our world continues to evolve, our focus continues to be and must remain excellence in delivering quality programs and services to Canadians and evidence-based advice to government,” she said.
Charette, the second female clerk in Canada’s history, has been called the “transition clerk,” leading change on many fronts. She is rolling out Blueprint 2020; preparing the bureaucracy for an election; and managing a workforce that feels embattled after six years of job cuts and budget freezes.
In her report, Charette said she is “unequivocally and personally” committed to the Blueprint 2020 vision, unveiled by her predecessor, Wayne Wouters, as the road map for the public service in the digital age.
The public service is in the throes of a major transition and Blueprint has a strong appeal to young, techsavvy public servants, as it is built around new technology and cutting red tape. It’s aimed at making the public service more networked, innovative, efficient, productive, better-managed and tech-enabled.
A big complaint about it, however, is that it dodges some of the politically sensitive issues dogging Canada’s largest employer. These include: the lack of trust between bureaucrats and their political bosses; the public service’s diminished policy-making role and relevance; and what many call a “toxic” workplace that has one of the highest incidences of mental health claims in the country.
Charette’s three priorities could go a long way to address those perceived gaps.
The public service has faced an exodus of retiring baby boomers whom Charette said have to be replaced with recruits who bring new skills and fresh ideas to “manage in the modern world” dominated by technology and big data.
Charette said she isn’t looking to “grow” the public service but that new hiring hasn’t come close to replacing the record number of departures. About 4,300 permanent employees were hired last year and about 2,870 the year before. Rather than recruiting, departments are filling gaps with casual, term and student employees.
The recruitment and retention patterns are reflected in the experience levels of public servants. Today, 13 per cent of public servants have fewer than four years of experience compared with more than 17 per cent the previous year. The proportion with five to 14 years’ experience, however, increased from 45 per cent to nearly 49 per cent.
“I think it is important for me to send a signal about where I see the priorities,” Charette told the Citizen. “Departments are making their own decisions right now about their HR priorities, and I think it is important for me to signal that when I look at the public service as a whole, that this is one area where I think we have a public service-wide need.”
Here’s a quick look at what Charette said. examine how it recruits. It typically relies on a major post-secondary campaign on campuses, as well as online recruitment. The public service also needs an infusion of mid-career and senior talent from the private sector.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT:
The public service is no longer the only or the primary source of policy advice for ministers. Politicians expect public servants to consult and collaborate with stakeholders, and it’s up to public servants to quickly “synthesize” various interests to create advice in the public interest.
Public servants also have to strengthen the links between policy and service delivery.
“Who is responsible for integrating that information, synthesizing it and trying to weed through what is in the public interest as opposed to the interests of the person who may be advocating a position is the job of the public service. (That’s) evidence-based public policy,” she said.
MENTAL HEALTH:
Charette has “no tolerance” for the situation in which one in five public servants complained about harassment in the last public service survey.
She also worries about the rising incidence of mental health claims that approach half of all long-term disability claims. Public servants’ reliance on medication to combat mental illness is also on the rise.
“The challenge is to have stigma-free dialogue that allows for honesty and compassion as well as a focus on how to prevent harm in workplace while promoting health and resilience. These are key characteristics for highperforming public service.”