Policy on Decentralization of Human Resource Management in the Civil Service

REPUBLIC OF KENYA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Policy on Decentralization of Human Resource Management in the Civil Service May, 2014

Policy on Decentralization of Human Resource Management in the Civil Service

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 PREAMBLE... 1 2 THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE IN THE CIVIL SERVICE... 1 3 THE RATIONALE FOR REFORM... 3 4 DECENTRALIZATION POLICY... 4 4.1 Institutional Realignment and Strengthening... 4 4.2 Development of Career Progression Guidelines... 4 4.3 Review Current Human Resource Acquisition and Management Practices... 4 4.4 Implementation of Contributory Pension Scheme... 5 5 POLICY IMPLICATIONS... 5 6 EXPECTED OUTCOMES... 5 7 CONCLUSION... 5 8 IMPLEMENTATION ROAD MAP... 6 iii

1 PREAMBLE The Government aims at securing prosperity for all Kenyans through ensuring honest and transparent government, public services that are open and accountable to the people; swiftly ending corruption; implementing devolution and the constitution in full; protecting citizen rights and freedoms; ensuring peace for citizens; creating jobs; and extending basic services to all Kenyans. The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 imposes a framework that requires the creation, recreation and re-engineering of Government at both the national and county levels. With emerging resource constraints, it becomes necessary for a lean, rationalized, and well-coordinated government focusing on identified national development priorities to be created. Unity of purpose must be secured between and within the two levels of Government to avoid unnecessary confrontation and tensions and resource wastage. This effort must deal with alignment of mandates and remove overlaps to secure better service delivery to Kenyans, enhance the capacity and capability of government to make and implement public policy, making it more open and accountable, ensure that public agencies are able to respond and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, as well as improve their efficiency and effectiveness. It requires focused performance management, rationalization of processes and procedures to remove unnecessary red tape, as well as a review of existing and planned policies and programmes. It is about building a joined-up, functional, costeffective and efficient government at all levels that will ensure smooth and faster implementation of policies and programmes necessary for economic growth and development. 2 THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE IN THE CIVIL SERVICE The public service is the primary means at the disposal of Government for translating policies into programmes and implementing projects for overall national development. To secure a functional public service, professional management of human capital plays a key role. The Public Service Commission is established under Article 233 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, with its mandate and functions spelt out in Article 234.The Commission has appointed Principal Secretaries in State Departments as Authorized Officers to assist in the discharge of the human resource function and the day to day management of the human resource. The current HR system was inherited at independence and has held the civil service together over the years. Its merits include: 1

i. The professionalization of civil service through application of uniform norms and standards; ii. Encourages mobility of staff within and across ministries, thus exposes staff to varied experiences and transfer of skills, knowledge and competences; and iii. Protects officers from unfair treatment. Despite the above merits, the model has various challenges. These include: i. Lack of control by the Cabinet Secretary over such staff; ii. Increased inefficiency; iii. Unethical behavior and patronage; iv. Disruption of service delivery and achievement of performance targets due to transfer of officers during the year; v. Bureaucracy in implementation of human resource issues; and vi. Dual reporting relationship in support functions. Currently, career progression of civil servants is undertaken in accordance with various schemes of service. Each scheme of service has an administrator domiciled in a state department. For common cadre staff, promotion, deployment and transfer is managed by the respective administrator of the scheme. Inter-ministerial deployment and postings of officers in job groups P and above is done by the Central Human Resource Posting Committee in the Presidency. The existing model of human resource organization and management that was inherited at independence is no longer responsive to service delivery needs of today. The Public Service Commission (PSC) has therefore found it important to evaluate and re-design the management of HRM in the Civil Service. For instance, following the reorganization of Government under the Executive Order No. 2 of 2013, merger of ministries and transfer of devolved functions to counties was not followed with new organizational structures and human resource realignment to enable the ministries operate efficiently and optimally. The current framework of central agency management of human resources in the public service, in light of constitutional imperatives, has had adverse effect of stifling efficiency and effectiveness of the service, and ultimately affecting service delivery. Concentration of human resource functions in the Commission as a central agency requires the Commission to have a commanding knowledge of the strategy, execution plan and level of implementation for each Ministry and State Department which is not 2

realistic. Compelling considerations underlie the need to formulate a new approach to Human Resource Management in the Public Service. These include: i. The Constitution has redefined the power structures of the public service. It has redefined the role of government and the people it serves. There is therefore an urgent need to evaluate, review and redesign the human Resource function so that there is clarity in its strategic intent, and shaping it into a fit for purpose organization; ii. The increasingly complex issues and rising demands for quality public service that the government confronts on a daily basis requires a new approach to managing human resource; iii. To enhance productivity in the service, Cabinet Secretaries need to have total control of their staff hence the urgent need to place all common cadre staff under them for accountability; iv. The Human Resource Function needs to be re-calibrated so that there is a change in attitude that focuses on delivering citizencentered service; and v. There is need for heads of departments as line managers to be held accountable for the management of staff performance and results. 3 THE RATIONALE FOR REFORM For enhanced accountability and responsive civil service, it is necessary to have a HR design that ensures employees are answerable to a single authority at the national level and in the counties with regard to national government functions. In light of the Constitution, there is need to review the current human resource management approach for effective service delivery. The broad objective is to decentralize the human resource management in the civil service to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery, enhance transparency and accountability and reduce bureaucracy. The reform is expected to: i. Provide mechanisms for ensuring movement of people and therefore skills, between and within the various levels of government; ii. Have a key focus of ensuring enhanced delivery of public services by identifying and deploying skills where and when they are needed. Critically, it should address the challenge of ensuring 3

that areas in need of skills but face challenges attracting and/or retaining them are adequately provided for; and iii. Ensure that great care is taken not to undermine the Executive Authority of either level of government, while ensuring adequate mobility of skills between and within them. 4 DECENTRALIZATION POLICY The Commission is introducing a decentralized model of human resource management in the civil service to address the challenges. The successful implementation of the model will require the following key actions: 1. Institutional Realignment and Strengthening including full empowerment of Cabinet Secretaries; 2. Development of career progression guidelines; 3. Review current HR practices including recruitment and selection, training and development, discipline, promotions, rewards and sanctions, and performance management; and 4. Implementation of contributory pension scheme. 4.1 Institutional Realignment and Strengthening The institutional framework for managing the Human Resource will be restructured to reflect the realities on the ground and to respond to Constitutional imperatives. Delegation to Cabinet Secretaries and implementation of the new approach will ensure there is complete control of their establishment, workforce and delivery of results. However, the Commission will retain the oversight, regulatory and appellate role to guard against unfair treatment of employees. 4.2 Development of Career Progression Guidelines Career progression guidelines will be developed to replace the current schemes of service for harmonization purposes. 4.3 Review Current Human Resource Acquisition and Management Practices Various policies, systems and programmes related to recruitment and selection, training and development, discipline, promotions, rewards and sanctions, and performance management will be reviewed. 4

4.4 Implementation of Contributory Pension Scheme The model requires a review of terms and conditions of service including the introduction of Contributory Pension in order to encourage staff mobility in and out of the service. 5 POLICY IMPLICATIONS The implications of the new approach will lead to: i. Moving away from permanent and pensionable terms of service and introduction of fixed contracts of service for some categories of staff; ii. Strengthening of current performance management systems and introduction of an effective rewards and sanctions framework; iii. Replacement of schemes of service with career progression guidelines; iv. Outsourcing of non-core functions, multi-skilling and introduction of flexible work arrangements; and v. Rationalization of the public service. 6 EXPECTED OUTCOMES Implementation of these specific actions will result in: i. Effective and efficient service delivery that meets expectations of Kenyans as contemplated in article 232(b) of the Constitution; ii. Economic use of the public resources through enhanced transparency and accountability; iii. Improved performance management and employee productivity; iv. Higher standards of professionalism in the service; v. Encourage and promote creativity and innovativeness; and vi. Adherence to public service values and principles. 7 CONCLUSION The new approach is expected to ensure that the civil service is supported by an adequate human resource planning and policy architecture that will enable the government to deliver on national development goals. 5

8 IMPLEMENTATION ROAD MAP For the model to work, certain conditions need to be put in place: S/NO. ACTIVITY BY WHEN ACTOR/S 1 New organization structures 30th June, 2014 PSC and MODP for Ministries/state Ministries/ State departments departments 2 Issue instruction letter to 30th June, 2014 PSC the service 3 Roll out of contributory 1st July, 2014 National Treasury/MODP pension scheme 4 Staff Capacity Building July, 2014 PSC and MODP Ministries/ State departments/national Treasury 5 Put in place mechanism for compliance and reporting. 6 Monitoring & Evaluation framework 7 Development of career progression guidelines 8 Strengthen performance management system through implementation of the rewards and sanctions framework 9 Review and issue new HR Manual 31st July, 2014 July, 2014 30th 2014 September, 30th September, 2014 31st 2014 November, PSC PSC PSC and MODP Ministries/ State departments PSC and MODP Ministries/ State departments/national Treasury PSC/MODP 10 Rationalization of the Civil Service Framework Implementation October, 2014 January, 2015 Ministries/State Departments/PSC/MODP 6