Public HRM in the United States: Facing the Future

1. Public HRM in the United States: Facing the Future Stephen E. Condrey, Ph.D. President, American Society for Public Administration

2. Overview • United States Federal Government • State and Local Government

3. Recent U.S. Civil Service Reform History: 2009 to Present

4. President Obama

5. President Obama • Appoints John Berry as Director of OPM • Berry is most visible OPM Director in 30 years – now set to become Ambassador to Australia • Obama initially poised to make major HR reforms • Obama harkens back to President Kennedy and a call to public service • American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) – HRM Policy Committee • Chairman, Federal Salary Council

6. “I believe this is an historic opportunity for comprehensive reform of our civil service system. The stars are aligned in a way that occurs only once in a generation. We have a President who deeply values service and wants to restore the dignity and respect for our civil service to what it was during Kennedy’s stirring call. We have a Congress that is willing to help and a public that increasingly recognizes that our current approaches to hiring, rewarding, appraising and training our employees are inadequate.” John Berry, OPM Director December 2009

7. Change in National Mood from 2009-2010 “When I first took office in the spring of 2009, I spoke to our members about what appeared to be an inflection point in our recent history, where we seemed to embrace government as the solution and not just the problem. Many of us posted our new president’s inaugural remarks on our walls and refrigerators: “It’s not a question of right or left but what works.” Well, that is the unique calling card of professionals and academics in public administration. ASPA members are the first people that political leaders turn to when they get serious about improving the delivery of public services throughout the nation. By the time I turned the leadership over to the next ASPA president, the environment had changed drastically. In the short space of one year, we went from what was heralded as era of hope to one of seeming despair and public anger. Paul Posner, Past-President American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) October 2010

8. Reasons for the Change in Mood • Deep recession • High unemployment – greatest since the Depression of the 1930s • Resource scarcity results in fractious politics

9. Politics of 2013 • Republican-controlled House of Representatives • Two-year pay freeze for Federal workers extended for a third year • Republicans continue to push for cuts to the Federal workforce and a continuing pay freeze • Sequestration forces automatic cuts and furloughs

10. 2013 State of the Union Speech – “Smart Government” Needed • “The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another.”

11. Memos to National Leaders • Sponsored by ASPA and NAPA • Cover topics vital to the functioning of the Federal Government • Aimed at the 2013 transition – Obama or Romney • Workforce memo co-authored with Rex Facer and Jared Llorens

12. Workforce Memo Topics • Compensation • Recruitment and Selection • Training and Development • Employee/Labor Relations • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

13. Compensation • Federal Pay has received significant attention over the last few years • Our focus was to look at ways to improve the current system to make federal pay more competitive

14. BLS/Federal Salary Council Wage Comparisons

15. Recommendations: Compensation • End uniform pay comparability increases for GS employees and allow grade-level adjustments based upon disaggregated pay disparities • Continue ECI-based adjustments for all grade levels • Expand pay ranges within the existing GS pay system to allow for greater pay progression within GS grade levels • For example, current range is 30% • Grade 11: minimum $50,287 – maximum $65,371 • Expanded range of 50% • Grade 11: minimum $50,287 – Maximum $75,430

16. Recruitment and Selection • 60 percent of the federal workforce will be eligible for retirement between 2012 and 2016 • Inefficient and overly complex hiring systems, inadequate employment branding strategies, ineffective assessment systems and, in some cases, a lack of expertise among federal human resources managers in cutting-edge recruitment and retention strategies • Starting in 2008 good movement in many of these issues, but there must be more

17. Recommendations: Federal Recruitment and Selection • More strategic hiring efforts • Review and adjust internal hiring processes, procedures, and policies • Enhance assessment strategies emphasizing selection quality, not just cost and speed • Manage the applicant pool while making the process manageable for applicants • Train human resources staff and selection officials to think and act strategically

18. U.S. Conclusion: • Possible policy window for extensive HR reform is closing • Necessary to find common ground • End goal should be an enhanced federal workforce

19. New Public Management – A Global Phenomenon • Private Sector Model Used as a Guide • Downsizing • Flatter Organizational Structures • Reduced Employee Rights – At-Will Employment • Use of Performance Measures • Pay-for-Performance Compensation Systems

20. State and Local HR Issues • Diminution of Employee Rights and Protections • The Great Recession • Renewed Importance of the Public HR Manager

21. State merit protections abolished for new hires in 1996. Decentralized state human resources administration. “I will also bring you legislation to revise the State Merit System, which was established more than 50 years ago to create a professional workforce that was free of political cronyism…But too often in government, we pass laws to fix particular problems of the moment, and then we allow half a century to roll by without ever following up to see what the long-term consequences have been…A solution in 1943 is a problem in 1996. The problem is governmental paralysis, because despite its name, our present Merit System is not about merit…It can take six to eight weeks to fill a critical position in state government. It takes a year to a year-and-a-half to fire a bad worker, because of the mountain of endless paperwork, hearings and appeals.” - Former State of Georgia Governor Zell Miller (1996) State of Georgia

22. Right-to-work state with weak public employee unions Gubernatorial success in passing his legislative agenda Editorial support of the state’s largest circulation newspapers Support of the state’s bureaucratic leadership Today over 90% of state employees are “unclassified” Georgia – A Perfect Storm?Factors Influencing the Legislative Success of the Georgia Reform

23. HR Professionals’ Experience with EAWProper Use of At-Will Employment* Cronbach’s Alpha = .842 *Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with survey statements related to employment at-will using the following scale: 1 = “Strongly Disagree”; 2 = “Disagree”; 3 = “Neither Agree/Disagree”; 4 = “Agree”; and 5 = “Strongly Agree.” Percentages reported in the table do not sum to 100 percent due to rounding and omission of “neither agree or disagree” responses.

24. HR Professionals’ Experience with EAWMisuse of At-Will Employment* Cronbach’s Alpha = .802 *Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with survey statements related to employment at-will using the following scale: 1 = “Strongly Disagree”; 2 = “Disagree”; 3 = “Neither Agree/Disagree”; 4 = “Agree”; and 5 = “Strongly Agree.” Percentages reported in the table do not sum to 100 percent due to rounding and omission of “neither agree or disagree” responses.

25. Fundamental Flaw? “EAW systems may have a fundamental flaw in that they may undermine trusting workplace relationships necessary for effective public management.” - R. Paul Battaglio & Stephen E. Condrey Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

26. Has EAW Diffused? Among the U.S. States, the overall trend is toward lessening of employee rights and decentralized methods of personnel administration.

27. Great Recession • Public Sector is still feeling the effects • Public Employment has contracted – lowest level in 30 years • Some positions will not return • Doing more with less is now standard operating procedure

28. Source: http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/jobs/posts/2012/08/03-jobs-greenstone-looney

29. Renewed Importance of the Public HR Manager • Role shift from gatekeeper/rule enforcer • Organizational consultant and leader • Involved in the actual management of organizations • Skilled at navigating difficult economic and political times • Rising retirement rates – increased importance of strategic recruitment and selection • Key to a successful and healthy organization • All managers are HR Managers

30. Conclusion There is no “one best way” to organized public human resource management systems HRM is never neutral – can help or hurt an organization New Public Management continues to have a global influence on HRM – positive and negative HRM solutions should fit your organization – learn from others but find your own path Effective HRM now more important than ever