What do these states have in common? They are some of the states that have undertaken civil service reform in an attempt to modernize and streamline all those laws and rules associated with human resources.
The U.S. federal government is no stranger to reform efforts either. In the latest issue of Government Executive magazine, there is an interesting article about the challenges associated with the current state of affairs in the U.S. federal civil service--the largest employer in the world. Things like excessively long time-to-hire, outdated hiring rules, and onerous discipline systems. There are efforts afoot (again) to fix this.
They could very easily have been talking about state or local civil service systems. Or--in many places--HR in general.
Here are some selected quotes. See if any of them sound familiar...
"...'if you don’t view your HR specialist as a consultant prior to posting the vacancy announcements, then you are going to get people who are not qualified for your job.'"
"USAJobs, the government’s online warehouse of job vacancies, is still difficult to navigate and lacks sophisticated search capabilities to help applicants find positions that meet their interests and qualifications."
“'What we’ve seen across managers,...they are almost sourcing a unicorn...They could be looking at too technical or specialized of a skill set, or they are looking for too many competencies or experiences creating this kind of applicant that we can’t actually find.'”
"When HR and program supervisors work closely throughout the hiring process, communicating at every stage, it increases the likelihood that the system works the way it should: fairly, as expeditiously as possible, and yielding the most qualified candidates for the job."
It's worth a read, and I bet many of you will find much that resonates. None of the principles behind reform are particularly revolutionary, but for various reasons many organizations have difficulty getting it right. There are no shortcuts to outstanding HR systems, and only those organizations that recognize the strategic and competitive value inherent in a talented, engaged workforce will put the required resources into ensuring that it's done right.
Next time: research update
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