October 17, 2020

Public service to revamp how officers are assessed from 2021

By brit

Addressing more than 9,200 public officers via a virtual ceremony, Mr Chan Chun Sing (centre) said their career road map should be for the next three to five years, to reflect a need to change with the times.

Industry disruptions and the Covid-19 pandemic have created new challenges that organisations and individuals must respond to, and the public service is no exception, said Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing yesterday.

Public officers will need to be flexible and gain exposure to diverse experiences, even beyond the public sector, to respond to uncertainties and outliers, he added.

The public service will also need to adapt its systems for assessing public officers, Mr Chan said during the One Public Service Observance Ceremony that was held virtually for the first time.

“It is not sufficient for good officers to be posted to different ministries or agencies but doing the same roles,” he said. “It is even more important for them to be posted to different roles.”

The event is part of the annual Public Service Week which has been held since 2008 to celebrate and recognise the work done by government officers.

Noting the need to update the Currently Estimated Potential (CEP) system, Mr Chan said: “It cannot be, as some of you jokingly call it, the ‘Career Ending Point’ system, as if your fate is predetermined and unchanging. Instead, we must have a system of continuous meritocracy,” he added.

He told the more than 9,200 public officers who attended the ceremony that the career road map for public officers should be for the next three to five years, not the next 30 years.

“We will also update how we assess high potential. To show leadership potential, we must not only be able to make sound policies, we must also be able to implement well, innovate, work in teams, communicate effectively and mobilise relevant stakeholders for collective action,” said the minister.

“It is not easy or realistic to find and develop all these attributes in one single individual. This is also why we will be paying greater attention to the formation of leadership teams in ministries and agencies. Ultimately, it is the team that must do well for Singapore and our organisation, beyond the individual doing well. We will progressively augment the CEP system with this new approach from 2021.”

Mr Chan said senior public service officers should gain exposure to policy, operations and communications or mobilisation work.

They should also have stints done outside the public service – in the people and private sectors or overseas. “The world is becoming more complex. We cannot expect to know everything if we do not venture out. We cannot preach agility when we do not practise it.

“We cannot develop policies and rules for tomorrow when we do not know how society and the world operate beyond the public service,” he pointed out. “We must walk the ground, know our people, our stakeholders and our businesses even better.”

Institute for Human Resource Professionals chief executive Mayank Parekh said: “The public service’s ability to attract and retain talent and having an effective talent management process is a critical success factor given that it predominantly looks within to fill leadership ranks.

“Refreshing the approach to leadership potential helps the public service remain relevant to changing needs and take advantage of innovative tools and practices that are available today.”

During the ceremony, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed public officers in a video message and thanked them for their work during the pandemic.

He said: “The Government’s Covid-19 response was not perfect, and there were many things it could have done better in retrospect. But overall, the public service more than rose to the occasion.

“This Public Service Week, I salute all our public officers for your dedication and efforts. Thank you for what you have done, and continue to do.”