Government HR Executives Describe Need for Reform in Public Sector Human Capital Management According To New Study By EquaTerra

Survey suggests that inattention to needs may negatively impact the delivery of critical citizen services

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2006 – According to a study released today by EquaTerra,  government human resource (HR) executives are dissatisfied with how the public sector’s human capital processes and resources are currently being managed as well as its overall direction and believe more could be done.  Nearly 90 percent of them said that HR could be more helpful to their organizations in achieving their strategic goals and objectives. 

The study of 250 public sector senior executives entitled, “Improving Human Capital Management in the Public Sector: HR Services Delivery Strategies for the New Millennium,” was conducted by EquaTerra, a leading provider of advisory services that enable large enterprises, including public sector organizations, to achieve greater value within their IT and business processes.

Among public sector HR executives’ greatest challenges are:

• Insufficient resources and lack of executive management attention;
• Inability to focus on strategic issues due to competing demands;
• Attrition of skilled/affordable employees capable of addressing current issues;
• Competition from the private sector for talented people; and
• Lack of appetite and insufficient funding for investments in IT systems and HR processes.

In response to these challenges, public sector HR executives were asked to prioritize their goals for the coming year.  Specific objectives, in order of importance, include:

1. Make HR more strategic (52 percent)
2. Improve services to employees (50 percent)
3. Gain access to critical technology in order to improve various HR functions (42 percent)
4. Align workforce to key objectives (41 percent)
5. Hire new talent (31 percent)

Interestingly, reducing costs, increasing self-service, and implementing pay-per-performance systems all scored quite low.

In light of achieving these overarching goals, and to begin addressing some of the challenges outlined above, public sector HR executives identified HR processes that need the most improvement: 

• Succession planning and career/staff development 
• Performance management
• Management training
• HR information technology
• Staff training

When asked how best to improve HR and align its operations with the overall mission and goals of the larger organization, “transforming policies and procedures” was cited most often (31 percent), with acquiring new skills as a distant second (16 percent) and hiring new internal HR staff as third (14 percent).

“Given the competing demands for limited resources – be they financial or human in nature – government must find new ways of doing business in order to meet the expectations of citizens and taxpayers,” said Glenn Davidson, EquaTerra’s lead for the public sector. “Taking a page from their commercial counterparts, public sector

HR organizations should adopt alternative service delivery, technology and sourcing models in order to provide critical services more effectively and efficiently.”

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