Training and Human Resource Development in the European Union Member States: New Practices and Innovative Trends

Training and Human Resource Development in the European Union Member States: New Practices and Innovative Trends

ISBN 978-90-6779-210-3 2008, European Institute of Public Administration. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher, EIPA. For translation or reproduction rights please contact: European Institute of Public Administration, O.L. Vrouweplein 22, P.O. Box 1229, 6201 BE Maastricht, the Netherlands. EIPA s website: http://www.eipa.eu Sales and distribution worldwide: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg ISBN 978-92-9203-007-0 Typeset and printed by the Publications Service, EIPA, the Netherlands

Training and Human Resource Development in the European Union Member States New Practices and Innovative Trends Edited by Danielle Bossaert The European Commission supports EIPA through the European Union budget 2008, European Institute of Public Administration / Institut européen d administration publique Maastricht, the Netherlands / Pays-Bas http://www.eipa.eu

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not in any way intended to reflect those of EIPA. The revision of this text was done externally.

Table of Contents Pages Note on Editor Acknowledgements Preface vii ix xi Introductory Remarks 1 New Trends in Human Resource Management and Training in the Context of Public Sector Reform 5 Training and Human Resource Development in the Context of Organisational Change 11 How Can Training be Organised in an Effective Way: Main Questions 15 Case Studies: Innovative Practices in Training Policies and Management 21 Spain: Continuous Training Improvement Focusing on Professional Profiles Pablo Saavedra and Antonio Sanchez 25 The European Commission: Strategic Training in the Context of HRM Reform José López Calvo 45 v

Finland: Tike An Overall View of Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD) with an Emphasis on Competence Development at the Operative Agency Level Eeva Sankari 65 Emilia Romagna: The Regional Competence Centres Training Initiatives in the Context of e-government Enrico Memo 87 Ireland: Knowledge Management in the Context of Organisational Changes Séan Fitzpatrick 101 Austria: Training in the Context of the Implementation of Management by Objectives Thomas Henökl 115 Denmark: Combining Quality Management and HRD Eeva Sankari and Lisbet Hjort 121 Computer Science Corporation: Synchronising Human Resource Development: A Model Case from the Private Sector Lauren Bagnasco Covre 139 Conclusions and Evaluation of the Best Practice Examples 151 vi

Note on Editor Danielle Bossaert Seconded National Expert (part-time), Unit European Public Management, European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht (NL); Attachée de gouvernement at the Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reform in Luxembourg (LU) vii

Acknowledgements This publication is a revised version of a comparative study on best practices in the field of training and human resource development in public administration of some of the Member States of the European Union that EIPA carried out for the Italian Government. I would like to express my most sincere thanks to: Tony Bass, Seconded National Expert, EIPA, Maastricht and Guadeloupe Soto-Mora, former Seconded National Expert, EIPA, Maastricht for the important preparatory work on the study. The authors of the case studies, all of whom have lengthy experience as consultants, managers or researchers in the field of public administration and human resource management. And Denise Grew, responsible for computer-aided publications for her valuable contribution to get this volume published. The Editor ix

Preface Human Resource Management has undergone deep changes during the last century, both in its theoretical and practical applications: considered by some as a revolution. Today, it has become a new paradigm of human capital management, based on the human assets of employees, along with their needs, motivations, safety and security. It is important to stress the impact of different kinds of change on the organisation of public administration and on personnel; such as mergers, privatisations, decentralisations and the conferring of public functions, streamlining and rationalisation. Given the evolution of social context and the above-mentioned organisational changes, most public administrations of the EU Member States have undergone major reform processes. The main concept behind these reforms has been to consider the civil servants core competencies and characteristics as very relevant, in order to enhance the attractiveness of public employment. Therefore, the Italian Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation is paying special attention to the analyses and, where possible, comparisons and exchanges of experiences on the issue of training and human resources development in the public sector. This study, financed by the Italian Department for Public Administration and carried out by the European Institute of Public Administration, responds to the Italian request to analyse the new reality of Human Resources Management, through the study of cases and good practices in the fields of training and human resources development in the public administration of some EU Member States. The recent enlargement of the European Union has amplified the need to reach a comparable approach to European issues. This requires a special xi

effort with training activities; particularly on topics related to the formation and implementation of European policies, as well as by developing adequate training programmes. This study provides some useful information and recommendations on the subject, giving the opportunity to further develop the analysis in order to evaluate the applicability of these experiences to the Italian public administration, the key factors for the successful implementation of these systems as well as any obstacles and related negative aspects, should they exist. Antonio Naddeo Head of Department for Public Administration Italian Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation xii

Introductory Remarks The origin of the following publication derives from a study that EIPA carried out for the Italian government some time ago. Its objective is threefold and can be described as follows: To obtain a comparative analysis of best practices in the field of training and human resources development in public administrations of some of the Member States of the European Union To identify innovative practices in training policies and management To verify to what extent the practices used in the private sector can potentially be applied to public administrations The core of the publication comprises eight case studies on innovative training approaches from different areas and from different European countries and administrative contexts. The idea behind its publication was mainly motivated by the following reflections: All over Europe, our public sectors are involved in important change processes, whose major concern is to do more with fewer resources, to better serve the citizen and to improve the quality of management. In so doing, some key elements of the functioning of the public sector are questioned, such as the dominant administrative culture, by switching from an inputoriented management to a more result-oriented management; the management of the senior civil service, by introducing a more effective, professional and motivating leadership as well as deep-rooted principles such as the uniform management of staff by promoting a more individualised human resource management, which puts a stronger focus on the individual s competences, performances, skills and know-how. The implementation of these public sector reforms, which in some countries began a decade ago, illustrates very well that there sometimes exists a wide gap between reform rhetoric and reality, that such far reaching 1

Danielle Bossaert (ed.) changes take time and their success over the longer term ultimately depends on whether they are accompanied by a cultural change process, which also includes a change in the attitude and behaviour of public employees. A comparison of the reform processes in the different EU countries also shows that although these modernisation efforts all aim at promoting a more effective, efficient, performance and customer oriented civil service, they vary in scope, ambition and objectives considerably, according to the respective cultural and administrative traditions and history. We can, for example, distinguish between Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Southern European, Central European and Eastern European contexts. 1 When taking these differences into account, it is observed that typical reform concepts in the field of human resource management such as staff assessments, performance-related pay, codes of conduct and the introduction of specific rules for the senior civil service are very differently interpreted in different traditions and that they take on very different meanings according to where they are put into practice. Case studies and research evidence clearly show that the introduction of new sophisticated tools, techniques and instruments do not guarantee success alone, nor is it as experience shows sufficient to bring forward a change of attitudes and behaviours: Thus, it is essential that this technical approach of reform is complemented with an effective training approach as well as by a professional human resource management approach. Some of the relevant literature 2 even illustrates by way of examples that a certain risk exists that these instruments in the field of performance management might overwhelm public employees and lead in the long run to de-motivational trends, to a lack of organisational trust and to certain ethical problems. These developments make a professional training strategy a crucial factor in public sector reform, which is becoming even more important when we consider the rapidly changing political, socio-economic and technological environment, which requires a permanent adaptation to challenges such as increasing Europeanisation and globalisation. Examples in this context are the staffing of the growing number of working groups at EU level with highly competent civil servants, the implementation of e-government, the 1 Countries with an Anglo-Saxon tradition: Ireland, Malta, UK; countries with a Continental European tradition: Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Netherlands; countries with a Mediterranean/South European tradition: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal; countries with a Scandinavian tradition: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden; countries with an Eastern European tradition: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia. 2 See for example Emery Y., Giauque D., Paradoxes de la gestion publique, Paris 2005. 2

Training and Human Resource Development improvement of the quality of public services etc. Against this background, one main objective of this publication is to inspire practitioners, who have to muddle through sometimes difficult reform processes, and academics, with innovative training practices and approaches as well as to point out their strengths and weaknesses. A review of the literature on public sector reforms shows that there is not much research on the impact of reform processes on training in general and how and whether NPM has changed training strategy and training policies in practice. Thus, the aim of the following publication is to look closer at some modern practices in the field of training, by focusing on questions such as how training is organised at the different administrative levels, who are the key actors in the field of training, how training is evaluated and how to establish an effective evaluation methodology, etc. 3

New Trends in Human Resource Management and Training in the Context of Public Sector Reform Most public administrations of the EU Member States under the pressure of budgetary cuts and the development of new technologies went through important reform processes during the last decade. Albeit they differ in scope, content and ambition, they share in common that they promote measures and instruments in the three fields of financial management, organisational restructuring and human resource management, to enhance quality, performance, efficiency, motivation and effectiveness in public administrations. To differing degrees, the EU Member countries introduce a more managerial approach in the three fields, while they very often look for inspiration to the private sector. Key tools include a more strategic and resultoriented management and the introduction of quality and performance management instruments. This more strategic management of the public sector organisation entailed a slowly evolving perception of human resource management (HRM), which is no longer seen as a mere cost factor, but increasingly as a valuable investment in the organisation. Alongside this development, we can observe in more and more EU Member States an enhanced trend to change from a uniform administration of personnel to a more individualistic HRM, which takes into account individual performance, skills and competences, know-how and work preferences. Examples in this context are the growing significance of staff evaluations, more flexible working patterns and working times and a reduced significance of the principle of seniority. This trend to a certain extent gives also satisfaction to a changing and more individualised civil society which is characterised by new demands, ideas and needs with regards to job content, mobility or the reconciliation of family, professional and private life. 5