What is the ideal workforce make-up for the Public Sector?

Every Public Sector organisation across the world is facing the same challenges caused by the current tough economic climate, which means that - as part of wider organisational considerations such as property assets and reducing duplication - workforce make-up is crucial in helping Public Sector organisations to become adaptable/agile and survive economic pressures.

 

Public Sector organisations need to become more aware of the types of employees they employ, including those who can best support the adaptability and transformation needs the organisation needs to consider in becoming more efficient and leaner, and those who are able to help the organisation manage the peaks and troughs of demand, and all this without negatively impacting on service delivery and local economic growth. 

 

There is a trend which has been set by some Public Sector bodies in London in working with Private Sector giants for both back office and community facing service delivery. These giants however face the same challenges as any Public Sector body in managing peaks and troughs. And they have an extra challenge, and that is 'winning business' of other Public Sector bodies in order to achieve local efficiencies through collaboration and partnership working. The question is however: 'Are Private Sector giants best-placed or even interested in supporting local collaborations and partnerships? Plus are they themselves agile and flexible enough to negotiate the same tough economy as faced by the Public Sector?'

 

The answer to sustainability and continuity of high-quality service delivery may be closer to home than first thought, namely the (often hidden) strengths of the Public Sector workforce. Public Sector workforces are often made up of people who live locally, who have worked in the Public Sector for some time and who are willing to be contributors and creators of a stronger local future for all. A great source of local knowledge and strengths!

 

The key is taking time to analyse the perfect workforce make-up for your organisation!

 

There are three types of employee status I would like to highlight in this blog:

• The 'permanent' workforce - Many organisations perceive this type of workforce to be ideal as they undoubtedly work hard and have extensive internal knowledge. They are also willing to work to organisational rules, policies and procedures. In reality this type of employee will only reluctantly offer challenge to something which could be improved upon out as they worry they might lose their job and are mostly driven by job security, stability, money and/or status. These drivers often mean the permanent workforce are less resilient to organisational change/transformation and some may even (wittingly or unwittingly) sabotage transformation initiatives due to lack of objectivity.
  
  
  It is noticeable that organisations who employ high numbers of permanent staff often have to resort to expensive and highly disruptive staff restructures in order to continuously improve and evolve. Moving staff around based on strengths rather than job descriptions is difficult as traditional contracts and consultation policies make it time consuming to change hierarchical management structures. The result is often the creation of more bureaucracy and higher complexity of decision-making processes, slowing down and at times paralysing transformation initiatives and service delivery.
 
• The 'free agent' workforce - This type of workforce has two subcategories. The internal free agent aka the intrapreneur, or the external free(lance) agents aka the entrepreneur. Both are highly committed to creating efficiencies and sustainability by breaking hierarchical silo mentalities. They are self-driven and on the whole take responsibility for their own learning and performance. They are less driven by job security, stability and status, and are not concerned about working themselves out of a job as they enjoy variety and more likely to work from the principle of empowerment of others (the 'teach a person to fish, ...' principle) which means they can step away. The intrapreneurs are often perceived as 'disruptive' by traditional managers as they challenge the status quo and act outside of their job descriptions.
  
  
  In case of the external freelancer, it has been noted that organisations often invite back employees who have worked for them in the past. This may be perceived as expensive by permanent employees, however this is a myth. Freelance staff, while they may be more expensive in relation to pay, actually save organisations a lot of time and money by being a highly flexible workforce, which mitigates the need for costly and highly disruptive restructure programmes. Freelancers bring an objectivity to transformation programmes which require tough decisions which are likely affect the organisational structure, its corporate centre controls and its workforce, and as such help drive the transformation forward. Organisations are better able to attract and where needed switch off knowledge and skills based on fluctuating demand. 

Given the economic pressures and the need to encourage more local economic growth I would argue that the ideal workforce for any Public Sector organisation who seriously needs to consider 'downsizing' is to identify and work with its internal Free Agents, but also with local external Free(lance) Agents. Internally Free Agents make for a highly flexible and resilient workforce and using local Free(lance) Agents utilises local strengths and knowledge, engages citizens into local action for a better future and supports the local economy.

 

So what is your organisation's ideal workforce make-up for surviving tough economic times?