Case Study Two (2): Challenges in public sector recruitment

Public sector organisations face significant staffing challenges. Many reports that they need to be adequately staffed. And an increasing number of reports that more staff must be in critical areas. Human Resource professionals training and expertise must be utilised to the fullest extent to address these challenges. Human Resources importance to the overall success of an organisation should not be underestimated. Further, the constant push to do more with less means many employees now wear more hats in taking on responsibilities outside their core area. These issues contribute to the mounting pressure on Human Resources to find and attract the right person for the correct position as quickly as possible. Necessity is the mother of invention, or in this context, the mother of innovation, as many responding organisations aptly exemplify in their varied approaches to recruiting. At the same time, the study findings indicate there are things Human Resources could be doing as an organisation to see improvements in all Human Resource functions. Many public sector organisations continue to work without any thoughtful, proactive, strategic plan for Human Resource Management, recruiting, and staffing. Much can be inferred from the lack of a guiding plan. Many organisations struggle to deliver regular services and complete daily transactional activities to keep the organisation going. Suppose management does not see Human Resource Management as providing value or being an asset to the organisation. In that case, there may be little impetus to take time away from critical activities to complete a formal plan. However, a systematic internal review as part of a planning process is essential to identify whats working and whats not regarding current processes, procedures and services. Business process improvement depends on first understanding the current state and locating areas with potential improvement. An effective strategic plan and the priorities and improvements this plan details can drive the collection of more accurate and reliable information. Better information and data will allow Human Resources to act more strategically and have the evidence to justify decisions or new directions. Human Resource Management may not correctly collect the correct information or data to evaluate recruitment strategies without a strategic plan. Numerous organisations cited that the strategies or programmes work well for recruiting and staffing. Further exploration would likely demonstrate that many organisations have only anecdotal evidence of the success of these solutions rather than hard data. Accurate and timely information is essential for organisations moving from specific transactional tasks to more strategic ones.

(a) Analyse the issues contributing to the mounting pressure on public sector recruitment.

(b)What is the relevance of a human resource plan for effective public sector recruitment?