Issue 3
Recruitment and Retention
April 2013
APS Human Capital Matters: Recruitment and Retention
April 2013, Issue 3
Editor’s Note to Readers
Welcome to the third edition of Human Capital Matters for 2013—the digest for time poor
leaders and practitioners with an interest in human capital and organisational capability. This
edition focuses on the challenges surrounding recruitment and retention of staff in the APS and
the broader public sector.
The rhetoric of the ‘war for talent’ is ubiquitous but if the APS is to be able to meet the current
and future needs of the Government and the Australian population, its ability to recruit and retain
a highly-skilled and capable workforce is paramount. As such, the military analogy, if nothing
else, conveys the importance of this human capital function.
This month’s edition of Human Capital Matters contains a mix of papers from both the public
and private sectors, but that have cross-sectoral implications. The study by Grant Thornton,
while focussing on privately-held companies’ quest for high-quality people, identifies six main
approaches that go well beyond the specific needs of this element of the private sector. The
identification of the multi-faceted nature of improving recruitment and retention was the focus of
a series of workshops that are reported in the Institute of Governance paper. Dina Medland,
writing in the popular press, notes the changing nature of the civil service over time but also the
enduring need to find the right people.
Some specific examples from the US Federal Government are covered in the papers by the
National Academy of Public Administration and the Partnership for Public Service focussing on
the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the specialist workforce within the Food and Drug
Administration, respectively. The 2009 paper by the Partnership for Public Service takes a
broader and more forward-looking view as it forecasts the hiring needs of the US Federal
Government.
For a change of pace, the study undertaken on behalf of the Principal Financial Group highlights
some of the novel ways companies within the private sector are structuring employee
compensation to better attract and retain employees. The Public Policy Forum in Canada looks at
means of making public policy issues more appealing to younger employees in order to better
retain them.
As always, this is an eclectic collection of papers all addressing a single theme that, rhetoric
aside, is a constant challenge for APS managers and HR practitioners: recruiting and retaining
talent.
About Human Capital Matters
Human Capital Matters seeks to provide APS leaders and practitioners with easy access to the
issues of contemporary importance in public and private sector human capital and organisational
capability. It has been designed to provide interested readers with a monthly guide to the national
and international ideas that are shaping human capital thinking and practice.
Comments and Suggestions Welcome
Thank you to those who took the time to provide feedback on earlier editions of Human Capital
Matters. Comments, suggestions or questions regarding this publication are always welcome and
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should be addressed to: humancapitalmatters@apsc.gov.au. Readers can also subscribe to the
mailing list through this email address.
Grant Thornton, Recruitment and Retention: The Quest for the Right Talent, 2008, 22pp.
This document, Grant Thornton’s ‘International Business Report’ (IBR) for 2008, deals with the
issues of recruitment and retention in the private sector; however, many of the considerations
raised and recommendations proffered extend beyond business. The IBR provides insights into
the views and expectations of over 7,800 privately held businesses (PHBs) rather than
multinational corporations and large public sector bodies, though many of its findings have
relevance for the public sector and global companies. This report begins with the observation, ‘In
the war for talent, the talent won’—an insight as relevant to public as to private sector
organisations. In an environment in which talented employees have greater and greater
bargaining power in the jobs they apply for and/or remain in, the onus on organisations to meet
the expectations of prospective employees is increasing. What does this involve? Grant Thornton
outlines several key factors to be taken into account by employers. Employees today are more
socially aware than in the past, want to contribute to society and have better defined values.
Accordingly, organisations should incorporate social responsibility-related policies into their job
offerings. These are attractive to potential employees, especially younger ones. The more
effectively these are enunciated by organisations, the easier it is for employees to see the effects
of their work and the contribution they make to the organisation. This provides a strong
foundation for an attractive ‘employer brand’. An organisation’s brand is not only the image of
the business in the minds of its current workforce, but also that in the minds of any external
stakeholders such as potential employees, clients and intermediaries. Larger organisations
generally offer a more stable and attractive brand; an associated challenge for medium and small
organisations is to create an attractive brand within an environment in which they have a smaller
presence.
Talented employees are today far less restricted than in the past by traditional borders; they have
greater scope to choose for whom they work, where they work and in balancing the location of
their jobs with the requirements of their life-stage. As the global market for talent tightens,
organisations must develop more systematic approaches to recruitment and retention; an
ambitious start is to develop a roadmap and a competency framework to enable employers to
recruit the right people, to ensure they are in the right job, and can be developed over time in the
right way. The global survey on which the report was based revealed that 59% of PHBs had
streamlined their recruitment and retention approaches, which had as a result become more
focused than in the previous year. The survey also indicated that well-developed performance
management and talent development strategies also enhance retention rates.
Figure 3 of the report (p. 9) contains details of the six main approaches used by PHBs in the
countries surveyed to foster retention.
1. Ensuring employees understand company values (Argentina, Armenia, Botswana, Brazil,
Canada, People’s Republic of China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, the UK and the
USA).
2. Training and mentoring top performers (Argentina, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Mexico
and Spain).
3. Developing competitive reward systems (Hong Kong, Japan, Poland, Russia and
Vietnam).
4. Monitoring and acting on employee perceptions (New Zealand, Thailand and Turkey).
5. Flexible attitude to working patterns (Australia and Ireland).
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6. Training/developing all employees (Philippines).
Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading independent assurance, taxation and advisory
firms.
Institute on Governance and Monster.ca, Responding to the HR Challenges of
a New World: The New Face of the Public Service (Workshop Series Output
Report), 2012, 8pp.
In early 2012, the Institute on Governance and Monster.ca conducted five half-day workshops
exploring how governments can respond effectively to the human resources challenges that face
the Canadian Public Service as a result of ever-mounting fiscal pressures, new policy demands
and demographic changes affecting the workplace. Canadian Public Service employees
comprised the bulk of participants, with HR personnel setting the stage for discussion and
facilitating dialogue on key matters to be considered. The first workshop, which is the focus
here, and which was held on 23 February 2012, examined three themes that interact with each
other: 1) the recruitment and retention challenges faced by governments in attracting Generation
Ys; 2) the role of technology in changing how things are done in the workplace, including the
creative potential of, and access to, the new social media tools of the ‘Relationship Age’; and 3)
branding the public sector so as to attract the best and brightest potential employees.
Workshop participants concluded that enhancing recruitment and retention outcomes is a
multifaceted exercise involving several factors. This is becoming increasingly obvious as
BPublic Service Commissionaby Boomers retire in greater numbers and Generation Ys enter (or
consider entering) the Canadian Public Service. In order to fill the severe skills gap generated by
Baby Boomer retirement, the Workshop recommended that the public service must develop/and
or foster:
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a more attractive, modern recruitment brand offering greater challenge and opportunity;
more responsive recruitment strategies and processes;
21st century work environments and management systems that are more engaging and
more empowering;
greater flexibility and mobility around career movement;
enhanced learning and development opportunities, including the acquisition of language
skills; and
more creative use of new technologies and social media.
Participants agreed that the public service was well-placed as a recruiter of top talent, in terms of
the range of career opportunities available and its overall financial compensation package.
However, while noting that many of the work intentions of Generation Y employees were shared
by other public service cohorts, Workshop members concluded that Generation Ys were not so
committed to a single career path, are prepared to be more mobile, flexible and less secure in
employment, and expect to enjoy higher levels of trust and responsibility earlier in their careers
than their Baby Boomer counterparts. Accordingly, they recommended seven approaches aimed
at addressing the Generation Y recruitment and retention challenge:
1. Develop an online recruitment presence with an employer brand that attracts and
resonates with younger potential recruits.
2. Emphasise the unique qualities of employment in the Canadian Public Service by
focusing on the career aspirations of Generation Ys.
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3. Experiment with innovative work design environments that support the creation of a
workplace culture designed to promote collaboration, sharing and trust.
4. Develop and widen access to the creative use of new Web 2.0 technologies and social
media for both personal networking and work purposes.
5. Continue to encourage the development of networks, such as the Federal Youth Network
and the National Managers’ Community.
6. Build a culture of empowerment and trust, by rewarding a management style that engages
employees.
7. Harness the passion and enthusiasm of staff in order to improve public sector and
government ways of working.
The Institute on Governance, founded in 1990, is an independent, not-for-profit organisation
which aims to improve governance outcomes for Canadians. Monster.ca is the Canadian arm of
the global online employment organisation, Monster Worldwide Inc.
Dina Medland, ‘Working in the Public Sector: Entrepreneurial Skills Top the
Wanted List’, Financial Times, 27 March 2013, <http://www.FT.com>
The author notes that, although public sector employment in the UK has fallen by 300,000 since
the Coalition Government was elected in 2010, and chiefly at lower pay levels, the sector still
needs to find the right people, with commercial and entrepreneurial skills, to revitalise and lead it
forward with fewer resources. This is an international problem for governments and not one
restricted to the UK alone. She quotes Ms Uschi Schreiber, global head of Government and
Public Sector at Ernst & Young, who emphasises that governments and public sectors need to
realise that they cannot provide solutions to all challenges by themselves: interaction and
partnership with the private sector are often necessary.
She goes on to discuss one of the issues raised in the inaugural Ernst & Young Global Public
Leaders Series lecture given at the G20 Heads of Civil Services meeting in Singapore in 2012. It
concerned recruiting not only senior leaders who have the potential to reach the top in either the
public or the private sector, but also equipping them to work in both in order to enhance their
entrepreneurial and commercial skills and benefit both sectors. This was taken further at the
meeting by the then Head of the UK Civil Service, Sir ‘Gus’ (now Lord) O’Donnell, who
suggested that more grass-roots development of such talent and skills at lower-level jobs would
also benefit both sectors. The author has interviewed several executive recruiters about their
experience in hiring senior managers with private and third sector experience to deliver large
public sector projects. Their general view is that this approach could contribute greatly to
enhancing public sector capability in today’s tough times.
Dina Medland is a regular contributor to Britain’s Financial Times newspaper and a consultant
in several public policy areas, including executive searching and organisational branding for
recruitment purposes.
National Academy of Public Administration, Recruiting and Retaining a
Diverse High-Performing Workforce, October 2008, 176 pp.
In September 2007, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) asked the National Academy of
Public Administration to help it develop effective national strategies for attracting and retaining a
diverse, high-performing workforce for its mission-critical occupations. Ensuring a vibrant
workforce pipeline for VA’s mission-critical positions is central to addressing VA’s human
capital challenges. The pipeline is becoming more stressed particularly in the health care field as
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the demand for these positions outpaces supply at an accelerating rate. VA’s pipeline challenges
are being driven by the slowing growth of the labour force; the ageing veteran population, which
is increasing the demand for health care workers; and the decline in educational performance and
participation of US students in science and mathematics. The latter are essential in replenishing
VA’s health care and research occupations.
The National Academy’s report makes a number of recommendations as to how VA could
improve its recruitment and retention strategies, especially in meeting health care demands.
These include:
Recruitment
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Foster transparency in VA’s human resources systems, fairness in the selection process
and ensure that top level job selections are based on expert knowledge, vision, high
performance and executive-led leadership skills.
Invest in raising awareness of available positions at forums, conferences and events and
in publications focused on diverse audiences.
Expand the geographic scope of VA’s recruitment presence.
Design programs, education and outreach campaigns targeted at a diverse pool of young
potential employees.
Establish and support a national VA ‘branding’ initiative.
Streamline the hiring process through electronic processing and improve the performance
of Delegated Examining Units (DEUs) in order to improve hiring times.
Expand the use of Subject Matter Experts as recruiters.
Increase the VA’s presence at continuing medical education events so as to reach midcareer doctors/nurses as recruitment targets.
Retention
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Concentrate supervisory training on communications, interpersonal relations and
teambuilding skills.
Examine attrition data in order to identify particular retention challenges and inform the
development of long-term strategies designed to address them.
Conduct focus groups and exit surveys to assess the pulse of the workforce as a basis for
reframing and improving retention strategies.
Substantially expand the pool of candidates suitable for promotion to management and
leadership positions to create a cohort available to rapidly replace retiring senior
employees and address diversity challenges.
Greatly expand mentorship in VA as a means of inculcating the department’s values,
enhancing retention and increasing the numbers of staff from minority employment
groups.
Develop a set of metrics able to be used in evaluating the effectiveness of selected
recruitment and retention strategies.
The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, not-for-profit organisation
comprising top management and organisational leaders seeking to address the USA’s most
critical and complex public management challenges. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA)
oversees the provision of patient care and health benefits to America’s war veterans and their
families.
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Partnership for Public Service, The State of the FDA Workforce, November
2012, 42 pp.
This report, undertaken by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) at the request of the Pew
Charitable Trusts, contains the findings of a PPS assessment of how well the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) is developing its scientific and technical workforce since a 2007 FDA
Science Board report identified major problems with the agency’s capability. The Science Board
found that funding shortfalls and intense work pressures had caused top FDA scientists to leave,
created problems in carrying out fundamental research, harmed recruitment of both young and
mature scientific talent, and left the agency with significant gaps in scientific expertise.
Between November 2011 and January 2012, the PPS engaged in an extensive literature review,
analysed government data from a number of sources, reviewed the FDA Strategic Human
Capital Plan 2010–2012, conducted interviews with a cross-section of FDA managers and
directors, and spoke with key stakeholders in industry and academia. Given the ambitiousness of
its inquiry brief, the PPS focused on five FDA Centres and Offices which employed 74% of the
agency’s entire workforce: the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER); the
Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH); the Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research (CDER); the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA).
The Centres and Offices have different histories, cultures and leadership models and do not
always operate the same way in respect of human capital management. However, the PPS found
that, despite considerable improvement in ways of working and human capital outcomes since
2007, they continue to face similar challenges in the spheres of recruitment, development and
retention. The PPS also concluded that, while some Centres and Offices had devised and
implemented ‘commendable’ HRM policies, more could be done to share these practices and
resources across management teams throughout the agency.
In order to address present recruitment and retention deficiencies and anticipate possible future
trends, the PPS recommended the following:
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develop targeted recruitment programs and talent pipelines for high-priority scientific and
medical positions;
expedite the hiring process;
recruit executives from outside the FDA in order to bring fresh perspectives to the
organisation;
ensure that subject matter experts, not just HR managers, are meaningfully involved in
the assessment of job applicants for critical leadership and project management positions;
include HR managers and those involved in restructuring the HR system in the gathering
and updating of information that will help to assess progress in meeting the agency’s
scientific hiring needs;
develop replacement strategies, using temporary or term appointments, so as to ensure
that a pipeline of mission-critical talent is available when needed; and
take steps to address job categories that have high rates of attrition, for example,
pharmacists and consumer safety officers.
The Partnership for Public Service (PPS), founded in 2001 and based in Washington, DC, aims
to revitalise US government through its publications program, survey work and analysis of
public sector trends. The Pew Charitable Trusts is a global research and public policy
organisation which functions independently of government.
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Partnership for Public Service, Where the Jobs Are 2009: Mission Critical
Opportunities for America, and its accompanying summary and projection
document, September 2009, 12 pp.
This report, compiled by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS), is the only (and most recent)
comprehensive projection of hiring needs for permanent, full-time, mission-critical occupations
in the Federal Government (previous editions were published in 2005 and 2007, but none have
appeared since 2009). This edition covers the period from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2012.
As well as agency-by-agency hiring predictions for mission-critical jobs, it outlines the specific
types of permanent, full-time Federal Government positions being filled. Data for the 2009
survey was drawn from 35 agencies, each employing 1,000 or more workers. The PPS estimated
that, by the autumn of 2012, the Federal Government will hire 273,000 new workers for missioncritical jobs—positions considered crucial by agencies to fulfil their essential obligations to the
American people. These jobs cover almost all occupational fields and are spread around the
world. The projected growth in mission-critical hiring—a 41% increase compared to the
previous three fiscal years (193,000 in 2007–2009)—reflects, in part, a need to replace retiring
Baby Boomers, those leaving federal service for other reasons (241,400 between 2008 and 2012)
and a need to address the exigencies of two wars, homeland security exigencies and the Global
Financial Crisis.
The majority of new mission-critical hires were expected to fall within five professional fields
led by jobs in the medical and public health category, and in security and protection. The number
of medical and public health positions was projected to be 53% higher than in 2007–2009, while
demand for security and protection jobs was predicted to grow by 46%. Other top categories
were expected to be compliance and enforcement, legal occupations, and administration/program
management. The legal job category, including attorneys, paralegals and claims examiners,
catapulted from the ninth largest category of hiring to the fourth between the 2007–2009 and the
latest survey periods. The largest increase in new hires is expected to come at the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs (VA) in the wake of increased demand for services. In 2007–2009, the VA
needed about 30,000 new workers, but it planned to recruit 49,159 new hires by the end of 2012.
The Department of Homeland Security projected a jump from almost 48,000 hires in the
previous three-year period to an estimated 65,730 new job openings between 2010 and 2012.
The Department of Defence (including the Army, Navy and Air Force) estimated it would hire
43,514 new employees, an increase from the 35,000 it needed in the 2007–2009 period.
The Partnership for Public Service (PPS), founded in 2001 and based in Washington, DC, aims
to revitalise US government through its publications program, survey work and analysis of
public sector trends.
Principal Financial Group, 2012 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Survey
Results: Select Findings, December 2012, 14 pp.
This report contains the findings of a study conducted by the Boston Research Group for the
Principal Financial Group into the success US private sector employers have had in securing
better recruitment and retention outcomes since the Global Financial Crisis by offering their key
employees ‘nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans’, which are designed to assist
them in planning more systematically for their financial future, especially retirement. The study,
undertaken in 2012, found that 91% of organisations offering NQDC plans indicated these plans
are important in providing a competitive edge when they recruit employees—a 7-percentage
point increase from 2011. Eighty-six per cent of organisations say these plans are a significant
retention tool, up 8 percentage points from 2011.
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So-called ‘key’ employees—those identified as being most critical to organisations—confirmed
in the survey on which the report is based, that NQDC plans can be important factors in their
decision-making about which organisations to work in. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said
these plans are significant when taking a decision to accept the offer of a new job, while 61%
made clear that these plans shape their decision to remain with their current employer. The
number of participating employees contributing $25,000 or more to NQDC plans has steadily
increased in the past three years, and was at 44% in 2012. Participants also indicated that they
intend to save more in these plans, with 1 in 3 of those surveyed (35%) planning to increase their
contributions to the NQDC in 2013. Nearly 9 in 10 of those key employees surveyed stated that
NQDC plans are important in planning for, and reaching, retirement goals.
The Principal Financial Group is a leading global financial services company. The Boston
Research Group, established in 1987, is an international research organisation.
Public Policy Forum, The Road to Retention, 2010, 51 pp.
The report, by Canada’s Public Policy Forum (PPF), sets out the results of a series of six crosscountry discussions convened by the PPF between February and December 2009 as part of its
PPX initiative. PPX was launched in January 2009 with the aim of increasing youth engagement
in mainstream public policy discourse by making conversations about Canada’s public policy
challenges more ‘accessible, meaningful, and relevant to young people’. The discussions (with
300 young Canadians) were held in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Saint John, Regina and Montreal.
Participants were aged between 18 and 30 years. A range of employers also took part. Each
workshop brought together approximately 40 young people, with sessions being facilitated by
the PPF.
The main theme for discussion in the workshops was how to retain younger employees in the
public sector—individuals who collectively have a different philosophy of work to their older
colleagues. The report notes that there often seems to be a disconnect between young people and
the organisational cultures they encounter at work—an argument substantiated in the workshop
discussions. But the PPF asserts that, ‘The good news is that youth are not inherently nomadic—
they can be retained’ (p. 5). The PPF adds that this must be a two-way process, one not only
about transforming organisations so that they will attract and retain young employees. The latter
have also to understand workplace expectations and adjust to the values and ethics of the
organisation. An ‘intergenerational conversation’ is central to achieving this balance. How to
arrive at this balance?
The report outlines 10 approaches for agency leaders and managers to bridging existing gaps in
understanding between younger employees and their older colleagues, many of which can be
pursued fruitfully by the young as well as their managers and senior leaders. They are:
1. Recognise and nurture new ideas and creative thinking.
2. Understand that the boundaries of the office have shifted.
3. Maintain a real open-door policy.
4. Show young employees how they can grow.
5. Shift the focus from the bottom-line to people.
6. When thinking about benefits, put yourself in the shoes of young people.
7. Stimulate intergenerational conversation.
8. Be a corporate citizen.
9. Re-evaluate and renew relationships with labour unions.
10. Eliminate gender and culture-related inequities.
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The Public Policy Forum (PPF) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in
1987 which seeks to improve the quality of government in Canada. The report was researched
and written by Vinod Rajasekaran, a Research Associate with the PPF.
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