Retaining public sector talent

Public sector / 20 July 2011

With swingeing cuts hitting the public sector, how do leaders make sure they retain their top talent? Nick Martindale investigates

According to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, some 330,000 public sector workers will lose their jobs over the next four years, with the blood-letting having already begun for many.

Inevitably, this kind of uncertainty is having an impact on those currently working in the sector. A recent survey by recruitment consultancy Hays found 21% of public sector employees are currently living in fear of redundancy, while 46% say they are looking to leave.

While such departures can help to minimise compulsory redundancies, this can also present a real challenge for managers looking to retain top talent, and those skills that are needed to help adapt to the new model envisaged by the Localism Bill in particular.

Over half (56%) of public sector managers are worried about losing skilled staff, the Hays research found, while 59% admit they are concerned about the impact voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes will have on top talent.

Talent leak?

One option for public sector managers is simply to be restrictive in terms of who is offered voluntary redundancy, or which applications are accepted. “There’s a balance to be struck between trying to achieve the reductions as much as possible through voluntary means and not having all the skills, knowledge and experience that you have walking out of the door,” says Anne Gibson, head of HR and organisation development at Norfolk County Council and president of the Public Sector People Managers’ Association (PPMA).

“Certainly in my own organisation we’re always very clear that we won’t necessarily take those offers up and it will require us to do a match against the business needs.”

There’s a balance to be struck between trying to achieve the reductions as much as possible through voluntary means and not having all the skills, knowledge and experience that you have walking out of the door.

Anne Gibson, head of Norfolk County Council

Yet there are also ways in which top talent can be encouraged to stay. Being as open as possible with staff about the changes that are taking place and creating a vision as to how things might look the other end can help reassure employees that there is a future; albeit one that is notably different to how things have operated in the past.

“People need to understand where their place is and what contribution they can continue to make, even though things are quite tough,” says Andy Robling, public services director at Hays.

Continuing to invest in skills development can also be beneficial, and needn’t mean expensive training courses. “There’s a lot you can do even if your budgets have been cut back,” says Robling. “A lot of training can be done online and you can use coaching, mentoring or buddy systems to continue people’s skills development.”

The changes currently taking place in the public sector can also create career progression opportunities which could be beneficial for employees choosing to remain in their current roles. At Norfolk County Council, for instance, those involved in the personalisation of adult social care and other community-focused initiatives are helping to pass those skills on to others.

Aside from the insecurity surrounding job prospects and the future shape of organisations, many within the public sector are also worried they are no longer be able to achieve what they signed up to do in the first place.

Making a difference

The research by Hays found 35% of people within the sector say making a difference to society is the main advantage to their job – making it by far the main motivation behind choosing a public sector career – yet 91% feel spending cuts will adversely impact on their ability to effectively deliver frontline services.

Robling, however, cites the example of one housing association which has promoted the good work it has done with the community, even in such challenging times, to its employees as an example of how to reaffirm the benefit of working in the sector. Entering awards designed to recognise individual and team achievement can also help, he adds.

Despite all this, however, some loss of top talent is inevitable. Gibson says she is particularly concerned about the possibility of losing those who joined the public sector when the recession first hit the wider economy, and who may be tempted back into the private sector once the economy recovers.

“Public sector organisations in a year’s time will face some real difficulties,” she admits. “If we’re now seeing the start of an upturn in the private sector, those in the public sector with the right skills and experience to go and get jobs in the private sector will go because salaries will be increasing while those in the public sector will still be frozen. It’s that mismatch in timing that’s going to be difficult to manage.”