Diocell R. Togas
Department of Education-Schools Division of Ilocos Sur
ABSTRACT:
This research sought to review and discuss to better understand the current
discussion on recruitment and selection-related issues within the public
sector. By addressing this topic, possible solutions and recommendations will be
given as it may help in solving those issues. The purpose of this research is
to further explore recruitment for a better selection of public servants. The
significance of this paper is that government entities can benefit from the
overall application of new recruitment methods suggested through previous
research. Finally, this paper adds to the continuing discussion on recruitment
as an important topic among researchers and those within public sector
organizations, especially those within the human resource management field.
Keywords: Ethics,
Public Sector, Recruitment and Selection Issues, unethical.
Introduction
According to Bratton and Gold
(2007), recruitment is the process of generating a pool of capable people to
apply to an organization for employment, while Selection is the process by
which managers and others use specific instruments to choose from a pool of
applicants the person(s) most likely to succeed in the job(s), given management
and organizational goals and legal requirements. Recruitment and selection
therefore primarily aim at attracting the maximum number of highly talented
applicants to enable selection of the best candidates that will help the
organization achieve competitiveness. According to Gommans and Musumbu (2014)
in research on the role of ethical practice in recruitment in improving the performance
of an institution, initiation to ethical or unethical conduct within an
organization starts at the recruitment and selection stage and sets the stage
for ethical or unethical conduct which finally affects an organization’s
performance as witnessed by the police service. It is important to not only
follow ethical practices during hiring but to also hire employees who are
ethical and value-driven.
Who wants to work for the government? An article written by Lewis and Frank (2002), pointed
out that in an era when everyone wants to be a millionaire, governments
struggle to attract and retain highly qualified employees, making it more important
than ever to understand what attracts people to public service. Job
security may still be the strongest attraction of government jobs, but high
income and an opportunity to be useful in society also attract. In addition,
past recruitment strategies used in government were impediments towards
attracting and retaining the "best and the brightest" (Lavigna &
Hays, 2004). Some of these issues involved slow bureaucratic recruitment
processes, non-competitive wages and narrow job descriptions (Lavigna &
Hays, 2004). With an ever-changing society, the need for diversity, inclusivity and
the hiring of the most talented people, the public sector needs to step and
think of many ways that can benefit from reviewing and transforming its
recruitment strategies to better service delivery and customer service
practices.
This article tries to put forward some
issues of recruitment and selection in the public sector. Many
other authors have written about the current concern but lack of clarity on the
issues that are encountered by many public government employees. This article is written based more on personal
experience than a literature review.
Recruitment and Selection Issues
Recruitment
and selection issues in the Philippine government are complex and complicated.
It is hard to be hired and enter the public sector. There are various
reasons why some are hesitant to enter and work for the government. Some
reasons may be due to low salaries for entry-level, a lot of requirements,
inconsistent recruitment and selection process, delays, politicization, nepotism
and patronage, lengthy and bureaucratic processes, transparency and
accountability.
Nepotism and patronage
Nepotism
and patronage a practices in which positions are awarded based on
connections rather than merit. Positions are given to relatives, normally
in the form of employment opportunities, which is a pervasive problem in public
sector employment around the world (OECD, 2014). It is extremely toxic in the public sector because people
generally anticipate that public employees deserve their jobs,
irrespective of whether they are hired through merit-based criteria or not
(Fisman and Golden, 2017). Favouring
family members in the workplace has been a significant problem in the
Philippines, particularly in government agencies where nepotism is prevalent.
This goes against the Civil Service Commission's (CSC) rule that disapproves of
political appointees of family members in GOCCs who are within a third degree
of consanguinity or affinity in the national, provincial, city, and municipal
civil service (Civil Service Commission, 2018).
Nepotism
allows more unqualified individuals than qualified ones. Selection policy
which has been written in Civil Service Commission regulation are not being
followed because decisions are left to individuals who are in the position. Those
practices may influence people’s career choices and can have negative outcomes
that deter talented people from entering the public sector. It is unfair for
someone who is striving for career growth, education and training when the
selection board selects someone they know. It appears that an application is
useless when one does not have any connections or family members who are
holding positions.
The
"padrino system," the Philippine equivalent of the patronage system,
undermines merit and provides nepotism throughout the nation. In addition to
undermining public trust, these long-standing practices give new hires a sense
of insecurity as they enter the workforce and fear being shut out by
incumbents. (Agaton, 2024).
Lengthy application process because of bureaucracy
Silzer
(2010) says that selection is a process of finding and hiring the best and most
qualified candidate for a job opening in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Devi and Comi (2018) define selection as a process of putting the right person
on the right job. It is a procedure of matching organizational requirements
with the skills and qualifications of people. That is the main purpose of selection,
recruitment, and promotion of employees (Tucker (2010). Selection and promotion
should be based on merit, fitness, and equality.
Based on personal experience,
the hiring process is very slow, taking several months or even years to fill up
a vacant position and this is common in the Philippines, particularly in the
government sector. Long waiting times between job interviews and poor
communication can make candidates lose their patience and opt for another
offer. As a result, applicants are forced to search for other job opportunities while
waiting.
The environmental
dynamics such as globalization, economic competition, social and political
upheavals, technological change, the threat of terrorism, and a quickly changing
labour market, force the government to respond effectively and one of the
answers lies in the recruitment and retention abilities (Lavigna & Hays,
2004). Selecting competent applicants can make public sector employees effective and competent in performing their jobs which will have an impact on
the progress and success of the organizations.
Low Salaries
It cannot
be denied that government positions often offer lower salaries compared to the
private sector, making it challenging to attract top talent. This problem has
been a major concern for decades, affecting not only the morale and
productivity of government workers but also the overall efficiency of public
services. They offer low salary but the workload is excessive. Such a situation
leads high rate of turn-over and this is common to teachers and nurses. They
choose to leave the country because better opportunities and salary are given
outside the Philippines. Talented and skilled individuals are often lured away
by companies offering high salaries and better benefits.
The
reasons behind the low salaries in the government is the limited budget
allocated for personnel services. Additionally, the government’ s salary scale
is often based on outdated standards, failing to keep pace with inflation and
the increasing cost of living.
Lack of transparency
Some
positions are not publicly advertised and criteria for selection are not also
clearly defined which may open the door to favoritism. This is a room where power
is abused accountability is ignored
which is the main concern of corporate governance.
Transparency
prevents corruption by reducing opportunities of secretive transactions. This
is essential because it allows the access to information about activities
policies and decisions. It promotes accountability by providing a clear record
of government actions and decisions.
CONCLUSIONS
HR professionals and selection boards have a role in ensuring that they hire the right candidates. It is also their responsibility to promote ethical, and legal recruitment and selection processes to ensure applicants are hired on their merit. There is no form of discrimination or favouritism during the hiring process. It is a major challenge for them not to allow political interference or pressure where powerful individuals influence recruitment and selection decisions because nepotism and favouritism can lead to labour turnover.
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