Governments at all levels acknowledge that, at current retirement rates, they could lose up to 40% of staff over the next five years. In a report on public sector recruitment and retention, the Conference Board of Canada concluded that to address this retirement “wave,” governments must work to improve their image, redesign recruitment practices and support learning opportunities. Ian Cullwick, leader of the public sector Human Capital practice in Canada, explains what the public sector is doing to manage these human capital challenges.
How significant an issue is talent management in the public sector?
It is necessary to define what we mean by the public sector. Broadly speaking, the public sector includes the federal, provincial and municipal governments, related Crown corporations and agencies, and parapublic organizations such as health and education. For most of the public sector, talent management is an emerging critical issue, especially for those employers that rely on a skilled and knowledge-intensive workforce.
Two main challenges have surfaced in recent years: the pending wave of retirements and competitive recruitment pressures from other industries. These create significant attraction challenges for public sector employers, especially for the skilled trades and technical professions (such as plumbers, electricians, economists and accountants), as well as the senior management cadre.
| "Public sector employers are recognizing that in order to attract new workers, they need to market their workplaces and innovative practices — and then deliver a progressive employment proposition." |
— Ian Cullwick |
Another significant concern for the public sector is succession: as seasoned professionals leave, who will take their place? Attracting experienced talent is difficult in today’s competitive climate. Other industries have initiated aggressive marketing and attraction strategies to acquire top talent. Senior leaders across the federal public sector understand these challenges, and are beginning to respond effectively.
What strategies are public sector leaders implementing to attract and develop talent?
The federal public sector is arguably the largest and most diverse employer in the country, and its leaders have to manage challenges across a dynamic workforce. Recent federal legislation — the Public Service Modernization Act — now gives federal departments more control over their employment practices. The Act provides for decentralized HR decision-making and increased accountability.
Other initiatives include “public service renewal,” which is an attempt to look at the many different dimensions that can make the federal public service more efficient with respect to performance, culture and development — and therefore, a more attractive career option for top talent. Governments are also starting to embrace employment branding and marketing strategies commonly used in other industries.
How can the public sector manage its talent needs?
First, it must examine the way jobs and work are designed. This can lead to modifying work structures and using technology to improve productivity. Other strategies include recognizing education and certification standards external to Canada, embracing immigrant skill sets, and forming third-party partnerships. Another key is hiring retirees with specialized skills sets, who may defer some of their pension to work on a contract or a full-time basis.
What is one critical step the public sector can take to improve its employment strategies?
Public sector employers at all levels are recognizing that in order to attract new workers, they need to market their workplaces and innovative practices — and then deliver a progressive employment proposition. More specifically, many provincial and federal jurisdictions are now developing and implementing focused and practical attraction and retention strategies that are centred on critical workforce needs. For instance, the federal government has initiated rebranding campaigns around such positions as economists, policy analysts, HR specialists and auditors. Another strategy includes offering employees very specific career paths with an opportunity to acquire specialized certifications or designations.
In order to sustain this new-found focus, governments need measurement and performance information on their attraction and retention strategies. This also means ensuring that contemporary human resources practices and infrastructure are in place to support this new management and accountability agenda.
What other kinds of best practices are we seeing in the public sector?
British Columbia has not only embarked on a strategy to attract new technical and professional talent, but it has also implemented flexible working arrangements and responsive developmental programs, as well as new reward and recognition policies. In Ontario, the Youth Opportunities Ontario initiative is an example of a best practice to communicate and reach out to young graduates.
At the municipal level, the city of Calgary is doing things extremely well. To ensure a “skill pipeline” of talent, the city has a number of innovative strategic partnerships with educational institutions and other very successful public-private partnerships.
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