Page 1 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 1 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Human Resource Management in the Russian Federation Federal Civil Service : Diagnostic Study Report prepared by Talaibek Koichumanov and Olha Lukashenko and edited by Neil Parison February 2004 Moscow World Bank 36136 Page 2 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 2 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Table of Contents 1. METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. R EVIEW OF E XISTING L EGISLATION AND L ITERATURE ........................................................... 6 1.2. C IVIL S ERVICE A SSESSMENT M ODELS .................................................................................. 6 1.3. H ORIZONTAL F UNCTIONAL A NALYSIS ................................................................................... 6 1.4. C OVERAGE OF THE D IAGNOSTIC S TUDY ................................................................................ 7 2. MODELS USED IN ASSESSMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEMS IN EU AND EU ACCESSION COUNTRIES........................................................................................................ 8 2.1. C OMPREHENSIVE A SSESSMENT F RAMEWORK (CAF)............................................................. 8 2.2. OECD SIGMA B ASELINE M ODEL ....................................................................................... 8 3. ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RF FEDERAL MINISTRIES ..............................................................................................................................12 3.1. B ASELINE M ODEL : R EVIEW OF THE C IVIL S ERVICE S YSTEM ................................................12 3.2. CAF M ODEL : R EVIEW OF H UMAN R ESOURCE M ANAGEMENT ..............................................18 3.3. I NSTITUTIONAL A RRANGEMENTS .........................................................................................23 3.3.1. Role of the Administration of the President..................................................................23 3.3.2. Role of the Apparat of the Government........................................................................23 3.3.3. Role of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labor and Social Development ..........23 3.3.4.Methodological Support to Personnel Department Activities ........................................24 3.3.5. Coordination of Personnel Department Activities........................................................24 3.3.6. Interdepartmental Connections....................................................................................24 3.4. S TRUCTURE AND S TAFFING OF L INE M INISTRY P ERSONNEL D EPARTMENTS ..........................24 3.5. P ERSONNEL D EPARTMENT A CTIVITIES .................................................................................25 3.6 L EGISLATION .......................................................................................................................31 4. RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................................32 4.1. C IVIL S ERVICE AND H UMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT .........................................................32 4.1.1. Coordination of the Human Resource Management System .........................................32 Establish a civil service agency in charge of civil service management..............................32 Provide for clear allocation of civil service management responsibilities to civil service agency................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 4.1.2. Role and Functions of Line Ministry Human Resource Management Departments.......33 Modernize HR departments’ management processes and systems......................................33 Standardize line Ministry HR department structures and functions ....................................34 Stimulate and recognize innovation...................................................................................34 Appoint career civil servants to head line Ministry HR departments..................................34 4.1.3. Training and Re-Training............................................................................................34 Provide training to HR departments in human resource management issues.......................34 Modernize and upgrade training and re-training.................................................................35 4.1.4. Competitive Selection, Personnel Reserve, and Attestation ..........................................35 Provide for more flexible combination of career-based and job-based system....................35 Improve recruitment and selection processes.....................................................................35 Strengthen the system of appeals against the decisions of selection commissions...............36 Broaden staff rotation........................................................................................................36 Implement performance-related pay systems with some caution........................................36 4.2. R EFORM M ANAGEMENT AND C HANGE M ANAGEMENT .........................................................36 Page 3 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 3 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Improve the awareness of civil servants about the reform process......................................37 Identify reform champions.................................................................................................37 A TTACHMENT 1 : H UMAN R ESOURCE M ANAGEMENT IN THE F EDERAL C IVIL S ERVICE OF THE R USSIAN F EDERATION : D IAGNOSTIC S TUDY Q UESTIONS .............................................................38 A TTACHMENT 2 : P RINCIPLES F OR A NALYSIS OF G ENERAL F UNCTIONS .......................................39 A TTACHMENT 3 : L IST OF O FFICIALS I NTERVIEWED ....................................................................40 A TTACHMENT 4 :C AREER -B ASED AND J OB -B ASED C IVIL S ERVICE S YSTEMS : E XAMPLES FROM E UROPEAN C OUNTRIES ..............................................................................................................42 Page 4 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 4 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc List of Acronyms Used CAF Comprehensive Assessment Framework HRM Human resource management HSE State University - Higher School of Economics MA Ministry of Agriculture MAP Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship MEDT Ministry for Economic Development and Trade MLSD Ministry of Labor and Social Development MTF Ministry of Taxes and Fees RAGS Russian Academy for State Service RF Russian Federation WB The World Bank Page 5 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 5 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Introduction This diagnostic study of human resource management in the RF Federal civil service was conducted by World Bank consultants in the context of the World Bank’s support to civil service reform in the Russian Federation. The objective of the study was to identify possible systematic issues which would hinder effective implementation of the then-draft Civil Service Law of the Russian Federation ( On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation ) and to suggest possible ways to remove these obstacles. The study examined twelve human resource management units. A well-developed system for human resource management in line ministries is a critically important element of the institutional framework for civil service reform. Experience from Central and Eastern European and CIS countries shows that effective implementation of the civil service legislation was often compromised by an underdeveloped human resource management system. At present, human resource management units in RF line ministries tend to perform predominantly routine tasks while the central civil service management units are comparatively underdeveloped structures with limited authority and inadequate institutional capacity. It is therefore very important to resolve this issue in the Russian Federation at an early stage of the reform. This diagnostic study of human resource management departments accordingly identifies possible priority directions which both the government of the Russian Federation and donors should focus on in the near future so as to ensure the successful implementation of civil service reform at Federal level. The analysis includes assessment of the general capacity of human resource management departments to support civil service reform inside their line ministries and the specific capacity of these departments to implement the new civil service legislation. The authors would like to thank all the management and staff of the appropriate line ministry units who participated in the diagnostic survey. We hope that this diagnostic will contribute to a more effective implementation of the new Civil Service Law. Page 6 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 6 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 1. Methodology 1.1. Review of Existing Legislation and Literature The team reviewed the appropriate Federal laws and specific regulations issued by various ministries. The then-draft RF law On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation was also reviewed and an assessment made of what capacity would be required to support enactment of this legislation (with supporting secondary legislation and regulations) once enacted. 1.2. Civil Service Assessment Models To assess the baseline status of the RF civil service human resource management system, two models were used: the OECD SIGMA baseline model and the Comprehensive Assessment Framework. Both models are widely used in EU countries and the accession countries. 1.3. Horizontal Functional Analysis Use of the two models was supplemented by horizontal functional analysis. This type of functional analysis may include assessment of the extent of uniformity in performing similar functions among different structures of the overall management system (see Figure 1). Use of this approach in this case has the following advantages: · Identification of methods and approaches to improving the efficiency of execution of a certain public management function; · Development of recommendations on strengthening human resource management in state bodies based on identification and dissemination of existing best practices; · Conducting a comparative analysis of performance of identical functions in different ministries and agencies and their compliance with the existing legal requirements; · Possibility to implement a uniform approach to interactions between various management levels in the framework of the whole system including various aspects of interactions (financing, reporting, decentralization); · Identification of duplicate functions in the concerned public administration management structures. Page 7 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 7 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Data collection of information was based on structured interviews with staff of the appropriate units in ministries and agencies responsible for the functions included into the analysis (Attachment 1), as well as on interviews with the staff of the central civil service management units. Further details of the principles underlying the analysis are presented in Attachment 2. The gap analysis was undertaken based on the comparison of the requirements implied under the new civil service law, interviews with central management agency experts, and horizontal functional analysis of the existing human resource management system. This analysis led to identification of areas of activity of ministry personnel departments which need to be strengthened to allow for effective implementation of the new civil service law. 1.4. Coverage of the Diagnostic Study During this study, staff of personnel units of eleven ministries and one state committee were interviewed 1 : · Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship; · Ministry of Press, Broadcasting, and Mass Communications; · Ministry of Taxes and Fees; · Ministry of Health; · Ministry of Education; · Ministry of Natural Resources; · Ministry of Agriculture; · Ministry of Transport; · Ministry of Labor and Social Development; · Ministry of Finance (Treasury); · Ministry for Economic Development and Trade; · State Customs Committee. The complete list of the diagnostic study participants is presented in the Attachment 3. 1 Interviews were conducted before the March 2004 restructuring of the Russian Federation Federal Government. Figure 1. Comparative Horizontal Analysis Scheme function 1 PROCESS function 2 function 3 function 4 Legislation International practice M I N I S T R Y M I N I S T R Y Page 8 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 8 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 2. Models Used in Assessment of Civil Service Systems in EU and EU Accession Countries Two main models have been developed to assess the status and capacity and evaluate the efficiency of public administrations. The “baseline” model was developed by OECD SIGMA for use when assessing the public administration of countries acceding to the European Union. The second model – the comprehensive assessment framework – is used in the EU member countries to benchmark the quality of management in EU member state public administrations. 2.1. OECD SIGMA Baseline Model This model was developed to evaluate public administration systems in the EU accession countries. It is designed to identify the deficiencies and weaknesses which have to be corrected before the country accedes to the EU. The baseline model was developed based on assessment of best practice in EU member states in the area of public management. The model was called “baseline” as it aims to allow for assessment of the minimum levels which should be achieved in the public administration in question. Indicators have been developed for the following six areas: civil service; external audit; financial control; public expenditure management system; decision-making and implementation process; and public procurement management system. In undertaking the assessment set out in this report, the indicators of the baseline model in the area of civil service and the CAF criteria for human resource management have been used. 2.2. Comprehensive Assessment Framework (CAF) The Comprehensive Assessment Framework (CAF) presented in Figure 2 was developed to support the identification and dissemination of best practices in public administration in and across the EU member states. Many CAF elements are borrowed from approaches to quality management in the private sector. Page 9 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 9 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc The CAF provides a tool for self-assessments of organizations wishing to improve their performance and raising their efficiency. The model includes assessment of a number of indicators that allow for a comprehensive analysis of activities, resources used, and results achieved by the organization. The following nine groups of criteria are used in the CAF for assessment of organizational performance: 1. Management and leadership of the organization . This involves assessment of how the management of the organization develops objectives and leads the organization to meet those objectives; and whether the organization has any values needed for achievement of longer-term objectives and how the management contributes to instilling these values across the organization. Managerial involvement in development and implementation of performance management systems is also assessed. 2. Human resource management . This involves the assessment of the organizational capacity to manage and develop the skills of individual staff members and of personnel as a whole. This also includes assessment of policies for staff rotation, both internal and external; development of individual learning plans and their fit with organizational and staff needs; and evaluation of human resources planning. 3. Strategy development and planning. The involves assessment of whether the programs, plans, and processes developed by the organization are oriented to the needs of all involved/interested participants/stakeholders; whether collection and analysis of information on existing or future needs of all stakeholders is being carried out; whether strategic and Figure 2. Comprehensive Assessment Framework Human resource management Strategy development and planning L E A D E R S H I P Partnership and resources Processes and change management HRM Results Results aimed at clients/citizens Impact on society Main perform- ance results RESOURCES RESULTS INNOVATION AND TRAINING (experience ) Page 10 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 10 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc operational plans are being developed; evaluation of quality of existing strategic and operational plans; and assessment of how performance evaluation methods are developed and applied at all organizational levels. 4. Partnership and resources . This covers assessment of the way the organization manages the available resources including key partners, clients/consumers of services, financial resources, technologies, and equipment. Special attention is paid to issues related to knowledge management. 5. Processes and change management . This covers assessment of issues of managing, improving, and developing organizational processes/procedures with a view to ensuring effective implementation of activities, as well as degree of involvement of clients and other stakeholders. Assessment in this area also covers change management approaches. 6. Results relating to clients/citizens . The indicators grouped under this heading aim at identifying the results achieved by the organization for the purpose of satisfying the needs of external and internal clients. Besides, the procedure of measurement/identification of satisfaction of clients/citizens with the performance of this organization is taken into account. 7. Results relating to staff. This includes assessment of the organizational performance vis- à- vis satisfaction of the staff needs, including work conditions; satisfaction with the existing management system; motivation; and perceptions of career development inside the organization. 8. Socially important results . This includes an assessment of longer-term outcomes of the organization’s performance and its impact on society as a whole, including ethical aspects of organizational performance; quality of life; programs supporting healthy life-style, and environmental activities. 9. Main results of activity . This includes assessment of two core factors: degree of achievement of the organization’s objectives; and financial indicators of the organization’s activity. All indicators are assessed along a scale from 0 to 5. This also allows for comparison with other organizations inside the country or equivalent organizations in other countries. The results of assessments of 212 organizations in 13 countries including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Slovakia are presented in Table 1 below. Page 11 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 11 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Table 1. Average CAF Rating in EU and Accession Countries (indicators as of 2002) Average rating 1 Management and leadership 2,8 2 Human resource management 2,5 3 Strategy development and planning 2,7 4 Partnership and resources 2,8 5 Processes and change management 2,6 6 Results relating to clients/citizens 2,4 7 Results relating to staff 2,0 8 Socially-important results 2,3 9 Main results of activity 2,6 Page 12 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 12 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 3. Assessment of Human Resource Management in RF Federal Ministries 3.1. Baseline Model : Review of the Civil Service System 3.1.1. Legal Status of the Civil Servant Existence of appropriate legal base defining the status of civil servants responsible for development and implementation of government policy 2 . A number of laws aimed at regulating the status of civil servants have been adopted in the RF. At the Federal level, these laws include the law On the Fundamentals of the Civil Service of July 31, 1995, and the law On the System of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation of May 27, 2003. However, both laws have a number of references to regulatory acts and Presidential decrees which have not been developed so far; this complicates the assessment of the existing civil service system. At the same time the draft of the new Law on the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation was examined. The law On the Fundamentals of the Civil Service is a framework law which regulates all state authorities both at the Federal level and at the level of the subjects of the RF. The law On the System of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation clarifies the concept of the civil service and identifies three types of service: state civilian service, military service, and enforcement service (including service in the police bodies and customs.) It is expected that separate laws on each type of service will be developed. Such an approach would allow for the identification of clearer criteria for different categories of civil servants and would take into account the specifics of their service. 3 The existing legislation provides for competitive recruitment to civil service positions with the system of “personnel reserves” existing in parallel. However, no clear criteria are set for using either of these procedures either in the laws, or in Presidential Decree No. 664 On Approval of the Provision of Conducting a Competition for Filling a Vacant State Position of the Federal Civil Service dated April 29, 1996. The existing laws not surprisingly do not establish all principles corresponding to the EU practice in this area. Equal access of citizens to the civil service is guaranteed in the law. The merit principle is not provided for : the present legislation also does not contain any norms on the career-based civil service principle which includes staff selection and promotion based on professional qualifications and merit. Civil servants’ professional performance evaluation is undertaken based on attestation. There is a system of qualification ratings which are assigned based on results of qualification examinations. However, there is no direct link between attestations, qualification examinations, and career growth. In addition to the above a considerable amount of work on the development of the legal and regulatory base has been undertaken in the framework of implementation of the Presidential Program Modernizing the Civil Service of the Russian Federation (2003 – 2005) . 2 The baseline model criteria used are presented in italics at the beginning of each part of this section of the report. 3 As at February 2004, the draft Law on the State Civil Service has been developed and submitted to the State Duma. This draft provides for the correlation between the civil service and other types of the state service, as well as the municipal civil service. Page 13 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 13 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Subject to the enactment of the new draft civil service law, one may conclude that Russia has almost created the necessary conditions related to the legislative base. However, some provisions related to the standards of professional performance, the principle of transparency and the principle of the career-based civil service need additional work. 3.1.2. Legitimacy, Responsibility, and Accountability of Civil Servants · A clear basis for all actions of civil servants in the form of a law or a regulation/directive is in place. · Legal base defining the subordination in decision-making and implementation process is in place. · Efficient mechanisms for enforcing responsibility and accountability of civil servants for their actions are in place . Legal Base for Civil Servants’ Actions and Subordination As confirmed by the interviews and the analysis of the legislation, currently there are no regulatory or legal acts defining all activities of civil servants including standard procedures of communications inside and outside the structural units; formats for incoming and outgoing information; and responsibility for violation of the existing procedures. State bodies’ mandates and regulations on their structural units are usually limited to a listing of functions and of the general official responsibilities and authority needed to perform these functions. However, the job descriptions regulating both horizontal and vertical interactions inside the structural units as well as external communications are not based on unified standards and are produced with varying levels of detail in various departments. The existing legal framework does not provide for the principle of subordination in decision- making and implementation as one of the core civil service principles. However, this principle is included into the Concept for Reforming the System of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Concept) approved by the President in 2001. Besides, the draft RF Law On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation states that execution of the tasks assigned by the appropriate managers within the scope of their authority is one of the duties of the civil servant. Responsibility and Accountability of Civil Servants Mechanisms of accountability for a civil servant’s responsibility for his/her actions include disciplinary, administrative, and criminal responsibility. Disciplinary responsibility of a public official for non-performance or improper performance of his/her duties is provided for in the civil service legislation and includes elements of transparency. Presidential Decree No. 810 dated June 6, 1996 includes a requirement that within two weeks after information about the violation of legislation, regulatory acts, or court decisions by the public officials or federal bodies staff was published in the mass media, the heads of such federal bodies should submit the results of the consideration of such violation to the mass media. General oversight over disciplinary responsibility system is carried out by the Administration of the President and the General Office of Public Prosecution of the RF. Administrative responsibility is defined by the RF Code on administrative violations enacted in 2001. Administrative responsibility involves imposing fines on public officials in cases where they are found guilty. Some violations of the civil servants such as abuse of power and Page 14 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 14 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc commercial bribery involve criminal responsibility as defined in articles 201, 204, and 290 of the RF Criminal Code. The study demonstrated that a number of federal ministries had developed and implemented additional mechanisms of control of civil servants’ responsibility. This work is being undertaken by civil service management units. Ethical Behavior Since 2002, the work on development and implementation of legal and regulatory acts aimed at improving the ethical standards of civil servants behavior has been intensified. During this period of time, a Presidential decree was enacted, and a Code for Civil Service Conduct was approved by the State Duma in the first reading. Ministerial regulatory acts related to civil servants ethics have been developed in some state bodies. The draft Law On the State Civil Service provides for setting up of commissions in this area. There is a need for some additional measures to be taken , including ensuring the efficiency of the existing mechanisms for enforcing civil servants’ responsibilities and improving the legislation in this respect; and developing and implementing civil service accountability mechanisms. The legislation defines a number of measures related to calling civil servants to account. However these mechanisms (i) are not fully adjusted to the principle of division of responsibility for political and administrative decisions; and (ii) do not present an efficient and adequate instrument for prevention and reduction of violations. This situation is closely related to the vague definition of the state bodies’ authority and of activities of each individual civil servant, as well as the absence of an administrative justice system that would protect the citizen in case his/her rights were violated through the abuse of power on the part of civil servants. The procedures for regulation of all actions of the civil servants in accordance with their professional duties and responsibilities also need to be improved. 3.1.3. Impartiality/Objectivity and Integrity of Civil Servants · Mechanisms allowing the civil servants to act regardless of their personal interests and lobbying of other illegal interests, are in place. · Efficient disciplinary measures and sanctions (criminal prosecution) in cases of corruption and abuse of power are in place. · Structure of pay is determined by law. · Mechanisms of publicity of public officials pay levels are in place. · Legal framework that allows civil servants to act regardless the interests of the political parties and/or organized political influence, is in place. Mechanisms preventing from lobbying, corruption and dependence from personal interests Currently, a number of anticorruption draft laws are being considered by the RF State Duma. One of them, draft law On Resistance to Corruption was approved in the first reading back in 2001. In late 2003, a Council for Combating Corruption and a Commission for Resolving Conflicts of Interest were established under the RF President 4 . The latter has been established with a view to regulate the situations when personal interests of the persons holding state positions (except military state servants) affect or may affect the objective performance of their official duties. 4 Establishment of such a commission is provided for in the draft civil service law. In accordance with this law, the commission should be established inside the body in charge of management of the civil service (both at the Federal and at the regional levels). Page 15 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 15 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc The RF legislation provides that a civil servant may not engage in any gainful occupations except pedagogical, scientific or other creative activities. The legislation also prohibits the civil servants from accepting presents and cash remuneration from physical and legal entities for performance of his/her official duties. The legislation currently in force applies this provision to the period after the civil servant retires; however, the new draft civil service law does not provide for such a measure. In addition, the civil servant is obliged to transfer his/her securities and/or shares in the stock of commercial organization in trust management for the period of his/her employment in the civil service. The draft civil service law also restricts the right of the former civil servant to work in organizations that used to fall into the area of his/her direct influence during his/her employment in the public administration. However, the mechanisms aimed at preventing and mitigating the use of personal interests and illegal lobbying on the part of the civil servants are quite vague. The respondents highlighted examples where despite unattractive labor conditions and low pay, people joined the civil service from business structures; in such cases civil servants were often felt to have used their official positions to lobby for their personal/business interests. Imperfect legislation and lack of sufficient mechanisms allowing to identify instances of abuse together with corruption on the part of public officials do not allow the existing legal and regulatory provisions aimed at application of disciplinary and punitive measures to such public officials to be applied consistently and effectively. In cases where violations are identified, the existing sanctions are insufficiently clear and efficient. Such problem of the RF civil service should be considered comprehensively, including: (i) improving the remuneration system; (ii) introducing clear and exact procedures aimed at reducing opportunities for violations; (iii) exclusion of conflicts of interests in the organizational and functional structures of ministries and agencies. “Transparency” of Pay Currently, the core elements of the civil service pay structure are defined by the law and include the following: (i) base salary; (ii) allowance for qualification rate; (iii) allowance for special conditions of service; (iv) allowance for seniority; and (v) bonuses. The structure and amount of each of the elements mentioned above are defined by a Presidential Decree. The Presidential Decree currently in force was approved in April 1997 and had been changed 36 times by December 2003. There are also a number of decrees regulating remuneration for certain specific categories of public officials. MLSD is responsible for developing the remuneration policy while the amount of the total wage bill is defined by the RF Ministry of Finance. The draft civil service law defines both the main remuneration elements and clear amounts of all additional payments and their maximum annual amount (as a percentage of base salary). The draft law also provides for an annual indexation of the base salaries based on the law. The number of additional payments included into the pay structure still remains quite high. There are no systematic mechanisms for publication of information related to remuneration of all categories of civil servants. Official statistics usually presents aggregate data on salary of some categories of civil servants (average, minimal remuneration). These data are presented in the summary statistical reports on social and economic development, and official reports of the President and the Government. Political Neutrality Page 16 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 16 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc RF legislation establishes the principle of civil service neutrality and therefore introduces restrictions on civil servants holding any elected positions in legislative or self-governing bodies. The law prohibits the civil servants from using their official position in the interests of political parties and/or public organizations (including religious organizations). It is prohibited to create any political or public unions inside the state bodies with the exception of trade unions. The draft civil service law also prohibits the civil servants from holding elective offices in the trade unions. Overall, the survey revealed the existing mechanisms are not sufficient to prevent or reduce abuses on the part of public officials; actions in personal interests; or lobbying of other illegal interests. The insularity of the executive, together with politicization of the management appointments process and a “patronage” system all prevent the Russian civil service from meeting this criterion. 3.1.4. Efficiency of the Civil Service Management and Control over Staffing/Recruitment · The structure coordinating the civil service operations as a whole is in place. · Personnel management system is in place. · A practice for stimulating conscientious performance of public officials duties is in place. · Control over staffing levels in the public administration bodies is in place. · Control of expenditures related to civil servants pay is in place. · Information on number of staff and expenditures on civil servants is open. In Russia, there is no single structure in charge of coordination of civil service operations as a whole. This role is partly performed by the Administration of the President, the Apparat of the Government, MLSD, and MEDT. Based on the assessments of the respondents, coordination of personnel units activities is weak which leads to a number of problems in operation of these units in some ministries and agencies. Currently various options of establishment of a body in charge of civil service reform implementation are being discussed, including establishing a special structure in the Government or in the Administration of the President. The personnel management systems in various ministries are not homogenous. The interviews demonstrated that the role of line ministry personnel departments in human resource management varies significantly. In a number of ministries, personnel departments have a secondary role and are predominantly involved in purely administrative tasks. However, in some ministries such as the Ministry for Economic Development, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Press, Broadcasting, and Mass Communications, as well as in the SCC and Ministry of Taxes and Fees, personnel departments play an important role in implementing civil service reform and have an opportunity to be actively involved in human resource management. The civil service reform Concept identifies the need to form the system of civil service management and to create a system for coordination of the civil service. The new draft civil service law lists the main functions of personnel departments; the draft law also provides for establishment of Federal and regional bodies for management of the civil service. Though the draft law only contains somewhat vague references to this management body, the analysis from this diagnostic supports the conclusion that establishment of such a body is badly needed in order to create a system for coordination of the RF civil service. To fully meet the criterion in this area, it is necessary to expedite the adoption of the new civil service law and establish the bodies in charge of civil service management. Such steps would Page 17 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 17 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc support “leveling” of the personnel management system in the state bodies, and facilitate implementation of advanced management approaches and techniques in the public administration. 3.1.5. Professionalism and Stability of the Civil Service · Legal framework and management practices support openness and competitiveness of the selection/recruitment process; the selection procedure is based on the merit principle and on transparent criteria. · The civil service system has conditions and opportunities for career growth which allow to attract staff with the qualifications needed. · The civil service system conditions guarantee professional development and re-training of civil servants. The Russian legislation defines a possibility of conducting competitions for filling a vacant position in the civil service. The provision On Conducting Competitions (approved by the Presidential Decree in 1996) includes only one requirement conforming to the EU practice in this area – publication of the advertisement. The interviews conducted in the ministries demonstrated that a competition for filling civil service positions is organized only rarely due to a number of reasons :low pay; financial and time-related costs of conducting competitions; and lack of candidates for participation in the competitions. The Federal civil service also has a system of “personnel reserves” used for appointments to managerial positions. This significantly limits the scope for application of competitive procedures. The draft civil service law assumes preservation both of the “personnel reserve” system and of competitive selection. The draft law contains criteria for application of these two selection systems. A competition would be conducted when a citizen is joining the civil service and when a civil servant needs to be appointed to other civil service positions except those classified as “managers” and “assistants/advisors”. For the “managers” category, the appointment would be made out of the candidates included into the “personnel reserve” which in turn would also be formed on a competitive basis. The draft law does not mention any criteria or principles for conducting such competitions. The Presidential Program declares that professionalism and competence of the public official is one of the principles of the RF civil service. Besides, it is expected that a new provision on conducting competitions for filling the civil service positions would be developed so as to clearly define the order and conditions for such competitions. The survey carried out in the ministries proved that there is a practice of examination/conducting attestation for forming a personnel pool which constitutes the main element for the career growth system in the RF civil service. In some ministries, the attestation system is not just based on an oral interview, but also includes testing professional knowledge of the staff member. Working conditions of civil servants vary significantly among the ministries. However, these conditions remain very basic : lack of computers, non-renovated buildings and low pay are familiar characteristics of the Russian civil service. The civil service system provides for quite good conditions for training and re-training of staff. Special attention to this area is paid in the ministries which have functions related to the new role of the state in market economy conditions. Budget planning and financing of re-training activities is carried out by the Ministry of Finance with MLSD with the participation of the line Page 18 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 18 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc ministries. The training is conducted by educational institutions which have won open tenders for delivering educational programs. The Russia State Service Academy has been operational for many years. Based on a recent sociological survey 5 , about 60 per cent of civil servants have been trained or re-trained over the past three years. However the diagnostic study revealed that the possibility of staff to participate in training and re-training programs is limited in some of the ministries. One of the reasons for this is an obsolete management practice which in many cases leads to continu ous “overloads” which do not allow civil servants to focus on training or re-training. Russia is at the initial stage of introducing the principles of stability and professionalism into the work of the civil service. Declaration of these principles and the legal framework for their implementation should be strengthened through developing appropriate procedures. It will be necessary to improve both the legal base and also management practices supporting openness and competitiveness in recruitment of civil servants, together with providing for greater clarity in defining and implementing career growth models in the civil service system which would facilitate the recruitment of specialists with the required qualifications. 3.2. CAF Model: Review of Human Resource Management The CAF model provides for assessment of human resource management in accordance with three sub-criteria focused on determining a linkage between organizational policy and human resources policy; assessing the organizational capacity to use and develop the competences of its staff; and evaluating the degree of staff involvement into the management of the organization. These tasks are usually achieved by the appropriate human resource management departments inside the organization. The study showed that such units are present in all Russian ministries and agencies. However, the role and functions of these departments vary significantly – from performing exclusively administrative functions (preparation of documents, maintaining work-books, preparation of selection commissions meetings) to designing and implementing human resource development policies. Assessment of these units’ performance conducted in accordance with CAF criteria shows that the average rating of the RF ministries is much lower than the average rating of the EU organizations (see criterion 2, Tables 1 and 2). The results of the survey of 11 state bodies in accordance with CAF criteria (including the detailed data for each sub-criteria mentioned above) are presented in Table 1. Assessment of the first sub-criterion “planning, managing and developing human resources in accordance with a strategy and a plan” showed that most of the human resource management departments of ministries and agencies are at the initial stage of developing a clear HRM policy. Only three out of 11 organizations may be rated with “1” point. These ratings may be explained by the following factors: · MEDT: Since the government assigned the responsibility of conducting administrative reform (including some issues relating to civil service reform) to this ministry, the human resource management issues play an important role in the policy of the ministry. The Ministry has good technical capacity and professional human resources to actively participate in developing and implementing the civil service reform policies. 5 Data of the sociological survey conducted by RAGS. Page 19 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 19 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc · Ministry for Taxes and Fees: This has a personnel department which is well equipped and which has professional staff who can be broadly involved in human resource management issues. A Concept for Human Resource Management in the Tax Bodies has been developed and is being implemented. · Ministry of Natural Resources: The leadership and interest of the Minister in human resource development contributes to comparatively high-profile development of HRM policy in the ministry and allows the personnel department to come forward with some innovations and to actively promote human resources issues in the ministry. · Ministry of Labor and Social Development: The Ministry has good traditions of preparation of methodological materials and regulatory acts in the areas of labor legislation, personnel policy, and remuneration, as well as good track record in coordination of other ministries’ and agencies’ work in this area. The Ministry has also preserved the professional capacity to carry out this work. Human resource management issues inside the ministry are seen as quite important. Assessment of the second sub-criterion “identifying, developing, and using staff competences” demonstrates that the ministries have a developed practice of staff training and re-training. However, neither the practice of developing and reaching formal agreement on individual learning plans, nor the system aimed at developing leadership qualities are in place. In addition, the mobility of staff inside the system is quite low. Assessment of the third sub-criterion allows to conclude that the ministries do not have well developed communications and “feedback” systems. Ministerial staff are not meaningfully involved in the management of the organization; there is no system for evaluating management performance by staff; although trades unions exist, their role is not significant. All the 11 ministries included into the survey have been rated lower than “1” for this sub-criterion. Undertaking the CAF-based assessment suggests that personnel management in the Federal civil service is not based on the principles of quality management widely recognized in the EU member states. The Federal civil service bodies assessed significantly lag behind in all areas of human resource management policy. Page 20 H R M i n t h e F e d e r a l C i v i l S e r v i c e W B C S R t e a m P a g e 2 0 0 5 / 1 9 / 2 0 0 6 3 6 1 3 6 0 R U 0 H R M 1 D i a g n o s t i c 0 1 P U B L I C 1 . d o c T A B L E 2 . R a t i n g s f o r t h e C a t e g o r y “ H u m a n r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t ” ( C A F M o d e l ) MAP MEDT Ministry of Health MA MTF SCC Ministry of Education Ministry of Natural Resources Ministry of Press Ministry of Transport MLSD Ministry of Finance S u b - C r i t e r i o n 3 . 1 O r g a n i z a t i o n p l a n s , m a n a g e s , a n d d e v e l o p s i t s h u m a n r e s o u r c e s i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h a s t r a t e g y a n d a p l a n . . D e v e l o p m e n t o f H R M p o l i c y b a s e d o n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y a n d p l a n n i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i n g t h i s p o l i c y t o s t a f f . 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 B . R e g u l a r a n a l y s i s o f t h e c u r r e n t a n d f u t u r e h u m a n r e s o u r c e s n e e d s w i t h a c c o u n t o f t h e n e e d s a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s o f s t a k e h o l d e r s 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 C . D e v e l o p m e n t a n d a p p r o v a l o f a c l e a r p o l i c y c o n t a i n i n g o b j e c t i v e c r i t e r i a r e l a t e d t o r e c r u i t m e n t , p r o m o t i o n , r e m u n e r a t i o n , a n d a p p o i n t m e n t f o r m a n a g e r i a l f u n c t i o n s . 1 3 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 3 D . L e v e l i n g / b r i n g i n g c o n f o r m i t y b e t w e e n t h e t a s k s , a u t h o r i t y , a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ( f o r e x a m p l e t h r o u g h j o b d e s c r i p t i o n s ) 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 E . C o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e n t h e j o b d e s c r i p t i o n s a n d p e r s o n n e l r e c r u i t m e n t , a s w e l l a s d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n s i s e n s u r e d . 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 F . C o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e n t h e p l a n n e d t a s k s a n d t h e c r i t e r i a o f p l a c i n g a n d d e v e l o p i n g s t a f f i s e n s u r e d . 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 G . T h e m a n a g e r i a l a n d l e a d e r s h i p s k i l l s n e c e s s a r y f o r m a n a g e r s a r e i d e n t i f i e d ( t o b e u s e d f o r r e c r u i t m e n t ) 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 H . G o o d w o r k i n g c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e w h o l e o r g a n i z a t i o n a r e e n s u r e d . 2 3 1 0 3 2 0 2 1 1 2 I . M a n a g e m e n t o f r e c r u i t m e n t a n d c a r e e r d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n b a s e d o n t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f e q u i t y d u r i n g r e c r u i t m e n t a n d p r o v i s i o n o f e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s ( f o r e x a m p l e , r e g a r d l e s s g e n d e r , d i s a b i l i t y , r a c e , r e l i g i o n ) 1 3 1 0 2 2 0 3 1 1 3 J . A t t r a c t i o n o f a t t e n t i o n t o t h e d i s a b l e d a n d t h e i r n e e d s i n s p e c i a l e q u i p m e n t 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 K . W o r k / l i f e b a l a n c e o f s t a f f i s t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 P O I N T S 0 . 8 1 1 . 7 2 0 . 7 3 0 . 1 8 1 . 5 6 0 . 7 3 0 . 1 8 1 . 1 8 0 . 7 3 0 . 6 4 1 . 8 1 0 . 1 8 S u b - c r i t e r i o n 3 . 2 Page 21 H R M i n t h e F e d e r a l C i v i l S e r v i c e W B C S R t e a m P a g e 2 1 0 5 / 1 9 / 2 0 0 6 3 6 1 3 6 0 R U 0 H R M 1 D i a g n o s t i c 0 1 P U B L I C 1 . d o c O r g a n i z a t i o n i d e n t i f i e s , d e v e l o p s a n d u s e s c o m p e t e n c e o f i t s s t a f f i n t h e c o n t e x t o f i n d i v i d u a l a n d t e a m o b j e c t i v e s a n d t a s k s a s w e l l a s o b j e c t i v e s a n d t a s k s s e t f o r t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a s a w h o l e . . I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e e x i s t i n g s t a f f s k i l l s b o t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d a t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l e v e l i n c l u d i n g k n o w l e d g e , q u a l i f i c a t i o n s a n d a t t i t u d e t o w o r k . 2 3 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 2 B . L e a r n i n g p l a n b a s e d o n t h e c u r r e n t a n d f u t u r e n e e d s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d i n d i v i d u a l s i s d e v e l o p e d a n d c o m m u n i c a t e d t o s t a f f ( f o r e x a m p l e , m a n d a t o r y a n d v o l u n t a r y t r a i n i n g ) . 2 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 2 C . D e v e l o p m e n t a n d a g r e e m e n t o f p e r s o n a l l e a r n i n g a n d d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n s f o r a l l s t a f f . 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 D . D e v e l o p m e n t o f l e a d e r s h i p q u a l i t i e s a c r o s s t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 E . S u p p o r t a n d a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e n e w s t a f f ( t h r o u g h t r a i n i n g a n d m e n t o r i n g ) 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 2 F . S u p p o r t t o i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l m o b i l i t y o f s t a f f . 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 G . D e v e l o p m e n t a n d p r o m o t i o n o f m o d e r n t r a i n i n g m e t h o d s ( i n c l u d i n g m u l t i m e d i a a p p r o a c h e s , i n t e r n s h i p s , I n t e r n e t - b a s e d l e a r n i n g ) . 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 2 H . M a n a g e m e n t a n d m o n i t o r i n g o f g l o b a l a n d i n d i v i d u a l l e a r n i n g p l a n s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 I . D e v e l o p m e n t a n d p r o m o t i o n o f i n t e r p e r s o n a l s k i l l s a n d c a p a b i l i t i e s n e e d e d f o r t h e w o r k w i t h c i t i z e n s / c l i e n t s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 J . M o n i t o r i n g o f t h e w a g e b i l l s h a r e s p e n t o n t r a i n i n g 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P O I N T S 0 . 7 1 . 3 0 0 1 . 2 0 . 8 0 0 . 7 0 . 4 0 . 2 1 . 1 0 S u b - C r i t e r i o n 3 . 3 O r g a n i z a t i o n i n v o l v e s s t a f f t h r o u g h d e v e l o p i n g a d i a l o g u e a n d d e l e g a t i n g a u t h o r i t y . P r o m o t i o n o f t h e c u l t u r e o f o p e n , n o n - h i e r a r c h i c a l d i a l o g u e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n . 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B . A c t i v e u s e o f s t a f f s u r v e y s o n i d e a s a n d p r o p o s a l s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e m e c h a n i s m s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C . I n v o l v e m e n t o f s t a f f i n d e v e l o p i n g p l a n s a n d s t r a t e g i e s , d e v e l o p i n g p r o c e s s e s a n d i n d e f i n i n g a n d i m p l e m e n t i n g m e a s u r e s f o r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e i m p r o v e m e n t . 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 D . M e c h a n i s m s f o r r e a c h i n g a g r e e m e n t o n o b j e c t i v e s a n d i n d i c a t o r s m e a s u r i n g a c h i e v e m e n t o f t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s b e t w e e n m a n a g e r s a n d s t a f f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E . O r g a n i z a t i o n a n d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f r e g u l a r s t a f f s u r v e y s . 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 F . S t i m u l a t i o n o f s t a f f t o e v a l u a t e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e i r m a n a g e r s ( f o r e x a m p l e , t h r o u g h 3 6 0 ° e v a l u a t i o n ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Page 22 H R M i n t h e F e d e r a l C i v i l S e r v i c e W B C S R t e a m P a g e 2 2 0 5 / 1 9 / 2 0 0 6 3 6 1 3 6 0 R U 0 H R M 1 D i a g n o s t i c 0 1 P U B L I C 1 . d o c G . C o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h s t a f f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ( f o r e x a m p l e , t r a d e u n i o n s ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P O I N T S 0 0 . 2 9 0 0 0 . 4 2 0 . 4 3 0 0 . 1 4 0 0 0 . 2 9 T O T A L 0 . 5 1 . 1 0 . 2 4 0 . 1 1 . 0 0 . 6 5 0 . 1 0 . 6 7 0 . 3 8 0 . 2 8 1 . 0 7 0 . 1 Page 23 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 23 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 3.3. Institutional Arrangements 3.3.1. Role of the Administration of the President The main functions of the Personnel Department of the Administration of the RF President include: · Coordination of various types of the civil service (civilian service, military and enforcement service); · Appointments within the authority of the RF President; · Approval of the Federal state bodies structure. Personnel departments of ministries practically do not cooperate with the appropriate structures of the Administration of the President on a day-to-day basis though, in the opinion of the respondents, it is the Administration which plays the main coordinating role in the civil service system. 6 3.3.2. Role of the Apparat of the Government The Personnel Department of the RF Government Apparat is in charge of civil service issues in the executive. In accordance with the Federal Constitutional Law No. 2-FKZ-Z On the RF Government dated December 17, 1997, the Apparat may play its coordinating role only through the RF Government. The Department on the State Apparat Cadre of the RF Government Apparat consists of the division on the civil service; division on management bodies; division on working with the Government Apparat cadre, and the division on personnel monitoring and information. Some respondents noted that the Department on the State Apparat Cadre in the RF Government Apparat controlled the work with the documents, prepared methodic materials and instructions, organized semi-annual meetings for discussion of the personnel policy issues. Personnel departments in ministries and agencies interact with the Department on State Apparat of the Government Apparat on issues such as clearance of appointments of managerial staff, though in the opinion of the former, there are no clearance criteria for this. The respondents noted that the Department on State Apparat Cadre in the RF Government Apparat sometimes interfered in the functions of the minister, or rejected or delayed clearances to the candidates proposed by ministries. 3.3.3. Role of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) play a leading role in developing policy in the area of the civil service pay. The Ministry of Finance defines the amount of wage bill financing while MLSD develops the pay levels in the limits of the authorized scope of financing. MLSD also plays a coordinating role in civil servants re-training. To achieve this objective, an interdepartmental commission led by the Minister of Labor and Social Development has been established under the MLSD. This commission formulates the needs in skills upgrading and re- training of all civil servants. The work of the commission is supported by the division on human resources development of MLSD. MLSD also concludes contracts for training delivery with the appropriately licensed educational institutions. The respondents noted that ministerial personnel departments had close contacts with the appropriate MLSD department on such issues as clearance of the state awards, appointment to managerial positions, pension provisions, day-to-day personnel issues, methodological support 6 The respondents think that the President is above all three branches of power, not just the executive branch. However, the RF Constitution does not define the role of the President in such a way. Page 24 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 24 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc provision, consultations on the issues of pay, labor contracts, training seminars, and definition of seniority. MLSD staff assist in clarifying some provisions of the law On Fundamentals of the Civil Service approved in 1995, which are actually not enforced. MLSD also clears the decisions on assignment of class ranks. In accordance with the existing procedure, the materials related to assignment of class ranks are submitted to the RF Government, and the Government sends these materials for MLSD review. 3.3.4.Methodological Support to Personnel Department Activities Ministries receive methodological materials mainly from MLSD, the Department on State Apparat Cadre in the RF Government Apparat and RAGS under the RF President. There are two approaches to development of methodological recommendations at the ministerial level. Some ministries, such as MTF and MAP, develop internal methodic documents themselves while other agencies such as Ministry of Health assign preparation of methodic recommendations to their sectoral scientific institutes. 3.3.5. Coordination of Personnel Department Activities According to the respondents’ assessment, coordination of personnel departments activities is weak. To strengthen this work, various options for establishment of a body in charge of coordination and control over civil service reform implementation are being discussed, including creating a special department in the Government or in the Administration of the President. Some respondents noted that while coordination of the reforms was important, such coordination body should be outside the executive to mitigate a possible conflict of interest. It could be expedient to establish such a federal agency on the civil service under the RF President. 3.3.6. Interdepartmental Connections From the respondents’ viewpoint, the practice of interdepartmental connections should be better defined with a clearer role of MLSD. The organizational interactions of ministerial personnel departments with MEDT which is in charge of the administrative reform should also be clarified. There are informal relations between the ministerial personnel departments’ staff which are based on personal relations and strengthened through participation in joint events and seminars. There are no ongoing horizontal links between the personnel departments. Overall, one should note lack of clear interdepartmental interactions on personnel policy issues. This is especially evident when the activities involving several ministries are considered. 3.4. Structure and Staffing of Line Ministry Personnel Departments In accordance with the current RF legislation, the minister is responsible for personnel issues. According to the established practice, personnel department activities are coordinated by one of the deputy ministers appointed by the minister. Ministerial personnel department is managed by a head of department appointed and dismissed by the minister. The minister also appoints heads of divisions and units in the personnel department, if any. All other staff are appointed by a deputy minister coordinating the personnel department’s work based on the proposals of the department head. The Minister can change the list of staff members and structure of units. The structure of personnel departments which as a rule consist of directorates, divisions, and units, is defined by the Minister based on total staffing and financing determined by the RF Government. The staffing of the personnel departments in the ministries included into the survey varies between 42 and 114 staff. Page 25 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 25 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc In most of the ministries the structure of personnel departments in based on the following areas of activity: · Work with staff, · Staff training, · Incentives and awards, · Pay and staffing, · Social protection and partnership. However, there is also some specifics in personnel departments operations related to the specifics of the ministry itself. Thus, the MEDT personnel department is dealing with the civil service reform issues while the personnel departments in the Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship, State Customs Committee, and the Ministry for Taxes and Fees are also involved in coordination of their deconcentrated units activities. In MTF, the Department has a unit on analysis and methodology of personnel management which is in charge of development of internal regulations. Ministry of Health established a Council on personnel policy headed by a First Deputy Minister. The Council is in charge of developing and implementing the personnel development strategy. There is an institute of plenipotentiary representatives of the minister in the districts responsible for coordination of federal entities’ activities including the issues of staff training and correction of the curricula of the sectoral higher education institutions. Status evaluation during the interviews · Overall, based on the respondents’ evaluation, there is not clear link between the functions and the structure of personnel departments. · In some ministries, respondents think that no deputy minister is seriously involved in the personnel issues. · Some respondents noted lack of staffing of their personnel departments; besides, despite some state bodies have the same type (for example, a ministry) in some bodies the personnel management functions are performed by a department while in others – by a division. This leads to differences in staffing and pay levels. Assignment of a uniform status of personnel departments in the state bodies of the same type would result in unification of the personnel departments structures. · Only some of the respondents think that the existing legal base allows for innovations to implement tasks with a smaller number of staff and to use the funds released to increase pay levels. 3.5. Personnel Department Activities Administrative and organizational functions. Personnel departments perform such organizational functions as recruitment, selection and appointment of staff, termination of contracts, assignment of qualification rates, competitions for vacant positions, organization of submission of income declarations, and preparation of reports. A personal record is maintained for each staff member, including a form, a record card, and data on assignments and transfers during the service. As a rule, ministries have an electronic database of personnel data maintained by the personnel department’s staff. The most comprehensive system of personnel records has been developed in MTF. Page 26 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 26 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Box 1. Training and Re-Training of Staff in Subordinate Ministerial Educational Institutes In the State Customs Committee, staff re- training is carried out by the Russian Customs Academy (RCA). Professional training includes short term courses for staff. Phased implementation of di stance learning was planned since January 1, 2004. The curricula is developed by the RCA Re- Training Institute in cooperation with the SCC unit on staff training. RCA has three branches covering all regions of Russia. In addition, training of customs offic ers is carried out by 28 higher education institutions; this training is however limited, since these institutions cannot provide training in operations and enforcement activities. RCA graduates are provided support in employment in the customs bodies. The standard of re- training is once in 5 years. In some ministries, such as Ministry for Taxes and Fees, the training process is well-developed, distant learning techniques have been introduced and cover the whole territory of the RF. The students receive certificates upon completion of the courses. The results of training are taken into account for assignment of qualification rates and inclusion into the personnel pool. In addition, personnel departments in cooperation with the sectoral departments prepare forecasts on professional and technical education, and form and coordinate the implementation of the state plan for staff re-training, skills upgrading and internships of the headquarter-based civil servants, as well as the civil servants of deconcentrated units (in some cases). In most cases in the ministries where vertical management system has been preserved, the issues of staff selection for the regions are dealt with at the level of federal ministries and agencies. The minister is in charge of appointment of heads and deputy heads of the ministry’s deconcentrated units. Legislation drafting. Personnel departments participate in development and implementation of concepts, forecasts and targeted programs in the area of staffing and work conditions improvement, and prepare proposals in the area of benefits and compensations. Staff training and re-training is conducted through: · Ministry of Education (educational institutions such as Russian State Service Academy, and the Academy of National Economy); · Ministry of Labor and Social Development (in the framework of the government plan); and · Subordinate institutes for skills upgrading and education (Box 1). Budget planning and financing of staff re-training activities is carried out centrally by the Ministry of Finance and MLSD in coordination with the sectoral ministries. The training is carried out by the educational institutes selected based on open competitions for training programs delivery. Some ministries conduct internal seminars on human resources issues. Page 27 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 27 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc MTF carries out staff training monitoring. In some ministries covered by the diagnostic study, personnel departments were implementing innovative activities. MEDT is one of the leaders in this area with the following activities that have been carried out during the past few years: · Operation testing of the system for planning the efficiency and performance evaluation of staff and departments developed by the Ministry of Economy back in late 1990s 7 . · Staff testing. · Psychoanalytical testing for appointment to managerial positions. · Activities related to introduction of electronic administrative regulations (attempt to simplify the procedure for leaves, official travel, etc. through e-mail), developing the human resources sub- system of the electronic system “Personnel”. It should be noted that despite the first experience in staff testing based on the system developed was not very successful, MEDT continues to work in this area with the assistance from specialists from the Higher School of Economics. In the Ministry of Natural Resources based on managerial initiative a system of rapid career growth was developed to improve staff motivation. In MTF, the personnel department has developed a concept for human resource management in the tax administration comprising areas such as selection of personnel, staff adjustment, resolution of conflict situations, skills upgrading, career growth, material and non-material incentives. In addition, MTF has a provision on internal daily routine aimed at improving the quality of service delivery (ethical aspects). Attestation. Ministries and agencies have attestation commissions which as a rule meet on a monthly basis. Attestation commission comprises a deputy minister and representatives of the personnel department. The usual outcome of the attestation is the decision “complies with the position” while in case the professional qualifications of the staff member are insufficient, the commission may recommend a certain training. In most of the ministries, the attestation is carried out in the form of an interview. However, some ministries introduce new methods of work. For example, attestation procedure in MTF includes staff testing. As noted by the representatives of the ministry, the tests were developed by a company selected on the competitive basis. In MAP, a list of questions and subjects covered in the interview has been developed and is sent to staff prior to the attestation. The attestation process is also one of the forms for interaction between the ministerial headquarters and the regions since the attestation of deconcentrated units management is conducted at the headquarter level. This also applies for the ministries that do not have deconcentrated units. For example, central attestation commission in the Ministry of Health conducts attestation of head physicians from the regions. Personnel pool and competition. Selection commission usually includes representatives of the personnel department and the appropriate sectoral department of the ministry’s headquarters. Many ministries place information on vacancies in the Internet. In fact, competitive selection is a rare practice in ministries and agencies. 7 This system allows for the following: define the annual planning objectives; plan staff activity; estimate the resources needed for implementation of the plan. Such planning allows to evaluate the performance at the individual and division level. Staff training and re-training in the ministry is based on this system. Page 28 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 28 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Conducting a competition requires significant labor costs related to preparation of documents since in case this work is not done properly, the unsuccessful candidates may appeal the commission’s decision. Personnel departments prepares a personnel reserve and individual plans for the staff included into the pool including training and skills upgrading. Personnel departments prepares methodic recommendations on using the personnel pool. As a rule, these documents are of internal nature and are developed by the ministry itself. Since the personnel reserve is used for most of the appointments, in some agencies (such as SCC), special attention is paid to preparation of the pool– special training, temporary execution of responsibilities. Appointment. Formally, in most of the ministries, personnel departments do not define the policy of appointment and promotion of the civil servants and are only involved in providing technical support to this process. However, lack of clear promotion criteria and non-transparency of many human resource management processes noted above in practice leads to the existence of significant informal authority. Given the fact that the current legislation defines the notion of “civil service” quite broadly, personnel departments in some of the ministries do not only work with the category of “civilian servants”. This is especially relevant for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education in charge of appointing head physicians and heads of universities, respectively. In some ministries, the procedure for managerial appointments includes clearance of the candidate with the Government Apparat and the Administration of the President. In the ministries that have deconcentrated units, appointments to managerial positions in these units are cleared with the representatives of the President and Department of State Apparat Cadre of the Government Apparat. Staff rotation within the state body’s headquarters is periodically undertaken. However, as noted by most of the respondents, rotation of staff between headquarters, subordinate organizations, and deconcentrated units was difficult as in many cases it required additional funds related to provision of housing to the newly appointed civil servants transferred from one place to another. Dismissal . The existing legislation and procedures provide complete protection of the civil servants from ungrounded dismissals. Social protection . Personnel departments organize and coordinate work on social protection of staff, participate in preparation and implementation of the measures related to the issues of pay, develop structure and staffing for headquarters, and interact with trade unions. However, the extent of involvement of personnel departments in such activities varies greatly among the ministries and agencies surveyed. Other functions. Some agencies such as Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship, SCC, MTF and others have some functions related to taking decisions of a punitive nature (instituting legal proceedings with pronouncing judgment) which sets special requirements for the professional qualifications of their staff. Status evaluation during the interviews · Most of the time of personnel department staff is spent on routine administrative work related to reporting and maintaining records. In the opinion of personnel departments, the work requiring a lot of time involves manual processing of some documents, including work-books. Page 29 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 29 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc · The respondents noted that there were no significant issues related to staff training and re- training. However, only about 40 per cent of civil servants are trained in the specialized training institutes 8 . In some ministries (for example, in MA and Ministry of Health) not all requests for training are accepted for differing reasons. 9 · RAGS is recognized to be the leading institution in the area of civil servants training. · In the opinion of some respondents, clearance of the personnel reserve formed for the managerial positions in the deconcentrated units with the Administration of the President and Government Apparat would allow to take more justified decisions during the appointments. · In some ministries the practice of appointing staff with inappropriate specialty often related to the managerial decisions was noted as a drawback. · In the opinion of some of the respondents, it is more logical to conduct competitions for vacancies in the subordinate entities, but not in the ministries and agencies. · From the viewpoint of the respondents from the Ministry of Health, vagueness or lack of the necessary legal acts leads to difficulties during appointments to managerial positions. · Civil servant depends on managerial decision in 90 per cent of cases; this situation often leads to partiality during evaluation of his/her performance and further career growth or dismissal. Lack of clear system for coordination of the civil service. Coordination of the civil service system is conducted by at least 4 state bodies: Administration of the President, Government Apparat, MLSD, and MEDT. Unclear authority and responsibility of each of these bodies weakens the system as a whole as mentioned during the interviews. Such situation does not support the development of personnel management systems in each ministry and minimizes their activity to performing purely administrative functions. Besides, due to the inherited management practice, the higher level bodies often exceed their authority. Lack of uniform procedures in work with personnel. Among methodological problems the respondents mentioned the issues related to lack of uniform formats and standards of the procedures related to attestation, skills upgrading, job responsibilities, lack of a model for work with personnel, qualification requirements set to the staff, undecided status of the issue with the personnel departments coordination, control over staff performance, and application of the best international experience. Significant differences in the procedures related to attestation, maintaining personnel pools, rotation. Due to the lack of a clear and uniform detailed regulatory base (instructions, decrees, resolutions), each ministry develops its own documents which significantly differ from the documents of other ministries on the same issues. Lack of a uniform classifier of the civil service positions. Ministerial personnel departments do not have a classifier of positions. The respondents suggested to develop such classifier for the personnel departments and then roll out this experience to other departments. Comparatively low share of competitive-based recruitments. Although conducting competitive selection is included into the responsibilities of the personnel departments, in practice this 8 Based on sociological survey conducted by HSE. 9 In the Ministry of Health, there is no opportunity to meet all requests since because of low number of staff, department managers can hardly send their staff for training (the problem of interchanging). In the Ministry of Agriculture, the personnel department faces a problem of lack of candidates which is either related to considerable age of servants or family problems of the young staff related to baby-minding. Page 30 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 30 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc procedure is not applied in most of the ministries for the following reasons. As far as managerial civil service positions are concerned, in accordance with the law a council for establishment of selection commissions should be created under the RF President. In practice, such a council does not exist. In principle, the ministries would like to conduct competitions, but there is no legal procedure for that. As far as specialists positions are concerned, competitive selection procedure may prove to be too costly. Besides, the demand for the civil service positions through the competitions is quite low. For example, the competition in MEDT was cancelled because of the absence of candidates. Currently, the competitions are not carried out even in cases when there is a demand on the labor market. The reasons vary: lack of funds and lack of specialists for conducting such competitions. Lack of specialists in the human resource management area. As far as staff training and re- training is concerned, personnel departments staff largely have higher education in the appropriate sectoral area of the ministry; as far as education in the area of personnel management is concerned, there was no such specialty in the Soviet universities. In the best case, personnel department staff are trained at skills upgrading and retraining courses for the specialty “public management”. Inflexibility of the existing training and re-training system. The training system in RAGS and other educational bodies is not flexible; the training programs offered by RAGS and other educational institutions do not always meet the requirements of the ministries. In the opinion of the respondents, the curriculum is often based on the availability of trainers but not on the requirements of the clients (in this case, ministries). There are some sectoral issues as well. The Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to the Entrepreneurship is not satisfied with the subjects as they are taught though the curriculum is agreed with the educational organizations. There is no specialty on antimonopoly policy in the higher educational institutions. The ministry does not have its own research institute. There is no scientific base, and there is lack of qualified staff in the area of preparation of methodologies. In the opinion of the respondents, MAP needs to participate in formulating business programs which would improve the quality of such programs. Insufficient motivation of staff. Overall, the civil service pay including the one in personnel departments is low. However, most of the respondents noted that the financing for implementation of their functions was sufficient. At the same time, most of the ministries 10 face lack of financing for creating sufficient incentives and motivation (provision of housing, renovating buildings, equipment, recreational facilities, etc.) for attracting highly qualified staff. This leads to the fact that turnover of staff in many ministries is high. Besides, this has a significant influence on age structure. For example, most of the civil servants working in the Ministry of Agriculture are elderly people while the young are not motivated to work in this ministry. Low level of rotation in the civil service. The respondents noted that it was difficult to rotate staff, attract good specialists from the regions due to the lack of financial resources needed mostly to provide housing to the transferred staff. Obsolete material and technical base and technology of operations. Obsolete technology, lack of equipment and staff are listed among the organizational and technical problems of most of the personnel departments. This leads to the opinion expressed by many interviewees that one of the key problems in the personnel departments operations is lack of staffing combined with a large scope of work. 10 The situation with motivation is somewhat better in such state bodies as MTF or SCC which have possibilities to create attractive conditions for the new staff. For example, the incentive instruments used in MTF include the possibility to lecture in higher educational institutes, post-graduation studies, education for staff children in higher education institutions which have tax policy specialty. Page 31 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 31 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Issues of financing for material and technical base. Finance-related issues of personnel departments operations include lack of funds for equipment and technology modernization. Weak awareness and perception of the reforms. The extent of awareness about the reform process among HR departments of various ministries varies considerably. In the ministries which are better informed about the reforms, perception of the reforms is more positive. During the CAF assessment, a direct dependence between the awareness about the public management reforms and quality in human resource management was identified. Not all the ministerial staff have a status of state civilian servants (i.e. SCC staff). The respondents think that the process of transfer to the civilian service is unclear in terms of staff cash remuneration. 3.6 Legislation There are significant gaps in the legal base which negatively affect the efficiency of implementation of the current civil service legislation. As noted above, currently the activity of personnel departments is regulated by the federal laws On the Fundamentals of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation dated July 31, 1995 and On the System of the Civil Service of the Russian Federation dated May 27, 2003, as well as ministerial regulatory acts. Some respondents noted that the existing law of 1995 differed a lot from the actual practice. It is explained by the fact that this law is not of direct force, it has a lot of references to the documents which are either not developed or which contradict other legal acts. Contradictions with other legislation. Some respondents also noted the existence of contradictions between the civil service legislation and other laws. For example, the guarantees of medical care and appropriate funds are identified in the law on the budget. Social guarantees are often provided only at the level of deputy heads of departments in the federal state bodies and above. There are difficulties in implementing Article 16 of the civil service law related to material support to the civil servants during the period of training, and preserving of the ex-civil servants in the personnel pool within a year from the date they left the civil service. There are a lot of contradictions in the new Labor Code as well. Assessment of the draft law on the state civilian service provided by the respondents varies significantly. Based on the outcomes of the survey, the team noted that not all personnel departments were informed about the new draft law in detail. Some respondents noted that the draft civil service law had not been widely discussed. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that various ministries have various views related to the innovations introduced by the new law. For example, the respondents from MA noted that the new law actually did not have changes as compared to the current law adopted in 1995. Such situation could make implementation of the new law more problematic. Page 32 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 32 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 4. Suggestions for RF Civil Service Reform Policy Makers 4.1. Civil Service and Human Resource Management 4.1.1. Coordination of the Human Resource Management System As noted above, currently the functions directly related to the overall management and coordination of the human resource management system in Russia are either not performed or are distributed among various central government bodies with responsibility for different aspects of civil service management. International experience suggests the need for a single central government body/agency which would be responsible for civil service management and human resource management in the Federal civil service (see Box 2). Establish a civil service agency in charge of civil service management The process of reform and adoption of new managerial processes, systems and methods is a complex and challenging task even for civil service systems which already work comparatively effectively and efficiently. Taking into account the negative experience of implementation of the law On the Fundamentals of the Civil Service of 1995 which has provisions that were not subsequently implemented, we suggest consideration be given to creating a body which ahs clear overall responsibility for civil service reform management. Since the new draft law already provides for establishment of a state body for civil service management, it would be logical also to assign the functions related to managing civil service reform to this body. International experience and the results of the interviews suggest that the new state agency/body responsible for civil service management should, in addition to the functions included in the draft law, also be required to pay special attention to the following functions which are either not performed at the moment or are not performed effectively or efficiently: ƒ Development of criteria and procedures for clearance of managerial appointments; ƒ Development of procedures for assignment of class ranks to civil servants; ƒ Establishment of continuous interactions among the personnel departments of ministries and agencies to facilitate exchange of experience, transfer of innovative technologies, and identification and resolution of common issues; ƒ Development of a uniform detailed regulatory base for all ministries and agencies; ƒ Regulation of civil servants career growth procedures. Simultaneously with establishment of the new body in charge of the civil service management all functions on coordination of activities of ministries and agencies in the area of the civil service should be transferred to this new agency/body from all other state bodies with present responsibilities in this area. Page 33 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 33 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc 4.1.2. Role and Functions of Line Ministry Human Resource Management Departments Article 44 of the draft civil service law provides a description of personnel work including the functions which should be assigned to the structural unit in charge of human resource management in each government ministry/ body. Modernize HR departments’ management processes and systems The continuing use of obsolete technologies and processes does not contribute to efficient implementation of the existing functions. Introduction of the new functions included in the draft civil service law such as performance of official inspections, checking information on income, assets/property, and obligations of civil servants, and supporting the ethics/conflict of interest commissions would of course lead to an increased burden on present personnel departments. Application of modern and more efficient technologies and management processes would allow a perhaps significant decrease in resources to be achieved. BOX 2. Brazil. In mid 1990s, a Ministry of Federal State Management and Reforming the State was established. This Ministry was also i n charge of civil service reform issues. In 1999. this Ministry was merged wit h the Ministry of Planning and Budgeting which resulted in establishment of the Ministry for Planning, Budget, and Public Management. Hungary. In Hungary, there is no single body in charge of civil service management. Development of public management reform policy is assigned to the Department of Public Management and Regional Policy under the Prime- Minister’s Office. In addition, the Ministry of Interior is responsible for policy developments in some human resource management policy areas. The United Kingdom (UK). The UK Prime Minister in effect plays the role of the Civil Service Minister, with responsibility for day-to- day management of the civil service assigned to the Secretary of the Cabinet. The role of the internal civil service head is also playe d by the Secretary of the Cabinet. These responsibilities includes providing consultations on duties and standards, issues of staff selection and promotion, and development and implementation of innovation programs aimed at the civil service modernization. The Treasury is in charge of planning and financial aspects of human resource management. The Civil Service Commission is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the “merit” principle which governs recruitment, promotion, and career development of civil servants. Germany. In Germany, civil service operations are regulated by the Constitution and laws while the Ministry of Interior is responsible for enforcement of these laws. Netherlands. The functions related to coordination of the civil servic e personnel policy are assigned to the Ministry of Interior. This ministry has a General Directorate on Management and Personnel Policy in charge of coordination of personnel policy, pay negotiations, staffing, job responsibilities, staff training and deve lopment; a Division of the Top Managers’ Service which establishes a promotion mechanism; and a General Directorate on Security and Intelligence which ensures civil service integrity. Poland. In accordance with the Constitution, the Prime-Minister is res ponsible for operations of the Polish civil service; however, in practice the key person in charge of the civil service issues is the Head of the Civil Service appointed by the Prime Minister. The Deputy Head of the Civil Service is appointed by the Prime Minister based on proposals submitted by the Head of the Civil Service. The Head of the Civil Service is supported by the Civil Service Office. The Head of the Civil Service is responsible for conducting competitions for the most important civil service p ositions. In Poland, there is also a Council on Civil Service which provides consultations to the Prime Minister on issues related to the civil service and which clears the appointment of the Head of the Civil Service. Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan the Agenc y for Civil Service Issues has been operating since 2000. The procedure for attestations of administrative civil servants, forming personnel reserves, transfer of civil servants’ property in trust management, the rules for conducting competitions for admin istrative civil service positions, and development of standard qualification requirements to various civil service categories have been developed. The Agency reports directly to the President of Kazakhstan. The main tasks of the Agency include implementati on of a uniform state policy in the area of civil service; coordination of state bodies’ activities in training, re- training and skills upgrading of civil servants; monitoring civil service staffing; and exercising control over implementation of civil service legislation by state bodies. USA. In the US, specialized bodies in charge of civil service management include the Office of Personnel Management and a special commission responsible for safeguarding of the merit principle. Page 34 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 34 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Standardize line Ministry HR department structures and functions Personnel departments’ activities should not be limited to performance of administrative functions. These departments should be assigned responsibility for broad areas of human resource management, including functions related to staff promotion, career development, training, civil service reform, evaluation and analysis of the quality of service delivery, improvement of civil servants’ capacity to develop and implement public management policy which optimizes levels of expenditure while re-gaining the trust of the public and business community. Though in accordance with article 44 of the new draft civil service law the structure of the department responsible for civil service personnel policy is to be determined by the head of the ministry/body in question, it could be appropriate to develop a standard regulation on and structure for the new human resource management department of each ministry/agency. This would perhaps help ensure appropriate implementation of the key functions included in the new law at the ministry level and should contribute to overall civil service integrity. Stimulate and recognize innovation A number of ministries and agencies are actively engaged in innovative activities such as implementation new systems for performance planning and appraisal at individual and departmental level; staff testing (including psychoanalytical tests for appointments to managerial positions); developing electronic administrative regulations; changing the human resources sub- system of the electronic system “Personnel” (MEDT); introducing a rapid career growth system (Ministry of Natural Resources); and developing an overall human resource management concept, (Ministry for Taxes and Fees). Critical assessment and successful implementation of innovative pilot activities in the human resource management system as a whole largely depend on coordination of personnel departments’ activities. This function should accordingly perhaps become one of the most important functions of the new agency/body on civil service management. Appoint career civil servants to head line Ministry HR departments The draft civil service law does not define requirements for the appointment of HR/personnel department heads. The draft law provides for the appointment to be made by the “head of the state body” who is a “political” appointee in accordance with article 22 of the new law. Given that there are no transparent mechanisms for identification and separation of political and non-political appointments, there is a risk that this position would be de facto become or be considered to be a political one. While this might perhaps be justified during the reform period, this could result in negative consequences from the organizational management viewpoint over the long term. 4.1.3. Training and Re-Training Provide training to HR departments in human resource management issues In the past, personnel management was in fact limited to appointment, registration, and dismissal. Accordingly, personnel departments were in fact responsible mostly for of administrative and recording functions. The Presidential Program assumes introduction of new approaches which correspond much more closely to generally accepted notions of “human resource management”. This provides for a much broader role for HR/personnel departments. It will also be necessary to develop a special training program for the staff of these departments. Page 35 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 35 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Modernize and upgrade training and re-training Since for various reasons not all ministries can provide their staff with opportunities for skills upgrading, it may be expedient that the educational institutes which conduct re-training courses should broaden the range of short-term courses provided and seek to agree their training programs with the management of ministries and agencies. Such programs should also allow for individual civil servants training. Staff training system in RAGS and in other training institutions should become more flexible and take into account the specifics of various ministries. In order to achieve this, besides clearing the subjects and contents of training programs with the concerned ministries and agencies, it could also be appropriate to then select specialists responsible for curriculum development and tutors on a competitive basis. (See Box 3). The situation when most of the programs aim at improving general knowledge but not specific skills should be avoided. 4.1.4. Competitive Selection, Personnel Reserve, and Attestation Provide for more flexible combination of career-based and position-based system The draft civil service law provides for competitive recruitment to most civil service positions, which is one of the elements of the position-based civil service system. However, the system of personnel reserves for managerial positions is an element of a career-based civil service system (Attachment 4). It appears that overall there is an overall trend towards establishing a modified/flexible career-based civil service system in Russia. In the transitional period it could be appropriate to use elements of the position-based system to allow for flexibility in promotion combined with defining clear procedures for conducting competitions for lower-level vacant positions, rotation, and appropriate use of the personnel reserve. Improve recruitment and selection processes When designing the new provision on competition for filling vacant positions in the civil service which is provided for in the new draft civil service law, the following aspects should perhaps be taken into account: Box 3. Staff Training System International experience suggests that ideal civil service training system should include both on-the-job training and various forms of skills upgrading; sectoral courses; use of regional institutes; provision for re- training of civil servants based on special programs, and specific provision for management development of the civil service elite. The basic condition for that is the orientation of all programs should be completely on the needs of the civil service overall and of individual ministries/agencies and civil servants. In the UK, there are specialized institutes which carry out special training on economics, statistics and other sectoral themes, as well as on organization and management of human resources, decision-making techniques, and management and public administration. Civil servants usually attend short-term training courses. Public officials are also trained at special courses organized by ministries and held at business schools. In the US, significant attention is paid to upgrading of staff skills. Skills upgrading courses are organized in all ministries and agencies. Training centers offer skills upgrading courses for deputy ministers and state secretaries. The Government finances the expenses of the universities for organization of various courses. Experience of the private sector is also used. Many public officials are trained together with managers of private sector companies. Page 36 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 36 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc · Revise the selection procedures to make them simpler for junior positions and more attractive for those interested in joining the civil service. · Allow for the possibility for using a range of different competition procedures depending on the type of the position. · To improve the quality of competitive selection and reduce the possibilities for disagreements between the commissions and the candidates, provide for a clearer regulation of competition procedures and definition of requirements for candidates, and ensure appropriate transparency of the competition process. · Use the approaches suggested above also for competitions for inclusion into the personnel reserves. Strengthen the system of appeals in the area of decisions made by selection commissions Article 22 of the draft civil service law stipulates that a candidate for a civil service position who was not allowed to participate in the competition or was not appointed based on competition results “may appeal these decisions in accordance with this Federal Law”. The draft law does not provide for a separate procedure for consideration of such appeals while the procedure for consideration of official appeals mentioned in article 69 is based on establishing a commission on official appeals inside the state body concerned. Such approach may not be conductive to securing objectivity in the area of administrative appeals regulation, and in some cases given the organizational culture may in fact lead to strengthening of the patronage system in the civil service. There are two options for possible appeals systems. The first option involves creation of official appeals commissions not inside the body where the conflict has taken place, but under the agency/body in charge of overall civil service management. The second option includes creation of a three-level system: (i) state body commission; (ii) commission of a higher level Federal body; and (iii) recourse to the judicial system. In the second case, this role can appropriately be performed by the Federal agency/body in charge of civil service management. Broaden staff rotation One of the areas for personnel departments work should be development of new policies in the areas of staff rotation between ministries, their subordinate structures , and their deconcentrated structures. Securing successful implementation of such a policy would however call for resolution of associated financial and material issues. Implement performance-related pay systems with some caution Implementation of performance-related pay systems requires significant preparatory work. It should be noted that performance-related pay can be regarded as an element of second stage “advanced” reforms, while the Russian Federation perhaps still needs to undertake the first stage core reforms to strengthen formality and discipline within the civil service. There is also considerable negative experience of introduction of such systems at the level of individual civil servants. 11 4.2. Reform Management and Change Management 11 Nick Manning and Neil Parison. Public Administration Reform: International Experience. Ves Mir. Moscow, 2003, P. 54-65 Page 37 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 37 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Improve the awareness of civil servants about the reform process C ommunication and securing meaningful involvement of civil servants in the reform process at early stages is an important element of reform management. In any organization, especially in well-established bureaucracies, moving ahead with attempts at significant reforms and changes are perceived very sensitively by existing employees. Full and appropriate involvement of civil servants might help reduce the internal “sabotage” of reforms which often takes place at the middle management level of organizations undergoing significant change. Create internal incentives for reformers International experience shows that it can be helpful to for accelerating reform outcomes to develop a system of additional benefits to those organizational units which make the largest efforts in promoting and implementing the reforms. Page 38 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 38 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Attachment 1 : Human Resource Management in the Federal Civil Service of the Russian Federation: Diagnostic Study Questions 1. What is the name of your department? 2. How many staff work in the personnel department? 3. What are t he main areas of the department’s activity? 4. How many staff work in the ministry? 5. What is the structure of the organization? 6. Who does the department (unit) report to? 7. What are the main functions of the department (unit)? 8. What problems do you see in your work? 9. What are the problems faced by the personnel department and which of those have been taken into account in the new law? 10. Is it true that personnel departments are performing administrative work and not human resource management? 11. Which functions are redundant? 12. Which functions of personnel departments are not in fact performed? For which functions there are no resources? 13. Which functions should be added? 14. Who is in charge of personnel departments coordination? How is this work performed? 15. What horizontal connections between appropriate departments exist? 16. Who is in charge of coordinating personnel departments work in the government? 17. What should be the practice of interdepartmental interactions? 18. Was the new law on state civilian service discussed in the ministry? At the interdepartmental level? If yes, who organized such discussions? 19. In your opinion, what has been taken into account in the new law on the state civilian service? 20. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the new law? 21. Who is responsible for staff training and re-training? What is the mechanism for this activity? 22. Who is responsible for the issues of conducting attestations, competitions for vacant positions, selection of staff (personnel pool)? 23. Financial issues (salary, allowances)? 24. How are the requests for staff re-training prepared? 25. Which incentives exist in the civil service? 26. What are the connections with similar departments (Government Apparatus, MLSD)? 27. What is the role of the Ministry of Finance in determining staffing, resolving budget issues related to personnel policy? 28. Are there any problem areas in the current situation (lack of incentives in the civil service, inflexibility of structural constraints on departments staffing, poor coordination, lack of financing, etc.)? How will these issues be resolved in the new law on state civilian service, in your ministry? How these issues may be resolved in a long term perspective? 29. Are the financial resources allocated sufficient to implement the functions? 30. Are there any contradictions between the law On State Civilian Service and other laws (i.e. budget legislation)? 31. Are personnel departments involved in evaluation, analysis of the government services provided by your ministry; are they engaged in innovation activities, civil service reform? Page 39 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 39 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Attachment 2 : Principles For Analysis of General Functions Horizontal analysis is widely used for review of the so called “general functions” or processes which are common in all the ministries, such as human resource management, legislative drafting, internal audit, and financial management. The principles which should be taken into account during such analysis are presented below. Comparative quality of functions performed by ministries. Where appropriate, the general functions performed by departments of various ministries and agencies should be similar, while the quality of their performance should be of the same level to the extent possible. Similar staff characteristics. To ensure smooth implementation of horizontal processes in the public administration, it is necessary that the level of staff, qualifications of public officials and functions performed by similar units were comparable among the ministries. As a result, such units should be sufficiently staffed with appropriately qualified civil servants. Institutional framework for “general” functions. Institutional framework and reporting schemes for these units should support an integrated managerial approach in each ministry. All departments performing general or horizontal functions should report to a senior manager, ideally a civil servant who has not been politically appointed. Coordination of activities related to implementation of “general” functions. Horizontal management system in the public administration is an integral element of public management. To make this system efficient, an operating “network” comprising departments of ministries and agencies participating in horizontal management processes should be created. This network should perform a coordination function of the horizontal management system. Clear division of responsibilities among “horizontal” departments of the ministries. Clear division of responsibilities between ministerial departments performing general functions is necessary for efficient operation of the “horizontal” management system. The roles of these departments in the areas of budgeting, legislative drafting, and personnel policy, each of which requires distinct skills and professional staff qualifications, should be clearly defined. Page 40 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 40 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Attachment 3 : List of Officials Interviewed The team would like to thank all who supported implementation of this survey: Apparat of the Government of the Russian Federation - Mr. Gennady Alexeev, Acting Head, Department for State Apparatus Cadre; - Prof. Vladimir Andrianov, Assistant to Chairman of the RF Government; - Mr. Vsevolod Vukolov, Head of Department on Administrative Reform Issues; State Customs Committee - Mr. Vladimir Kudryavtsev, Head, Chief Personnel Department; - Mr. Vassily Slobozhanov, First Deputy Head, Department for Special Equipment and Automation of Customs Technologies Ministry for Economic Development and Trade - Mr. Mikhail Dmitriev, First Deputy Minister; - Ms. Marina Ovsyannikova, Head, Department of Personnel and HR Policy; - Mr. Andrei Sharov, Head, Department of Civil Service; Ministry of Labor and Social Development - Mr. Igor Barabashev, Deputy Head, Department on the Civil Service Issues; - Mr. Alexander Vishnyakov; Head, Department of Professional Education and Civil Service Development; - Mr. Andrei Petrov, Director, Civil Service Department Ministry of Transport - Ms. Nina Levchenko, Deputy Head, Staff Training Unit; - Mr. Valery Orlov, Deputy Head of Department, Head of Unit on Work with Personnel; - Mr. Nikolay Yashkinov, Deputy Head of Department; Ministry of Press, Broadcasting, and Mass Communications - Ms. Lyudmila Hudyakova, Head, Department of Personnel and Training Institutions - Ms. Marina Kalinina, Deputy Head of Department; Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship - Mr. Alexander Egorushkov, Deputy Minister; - Ms. Tatyana Materininskaya, Head, Department for Personnel Policy; Ministry of Taxes and Fees - Mr. Vyacheslav Gunko, Head, Department of Personnel Policy; - Mr. Alexander Nikishin, Deputy Head, Department of Personnel Policy; Ministry of Health Page 41 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 41 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc - Mr. Alexey Drobyshev, Deputy Head, Department for Professional Training and Human Resources Development; - Mr. Igor Kuvshinov; Head, International Cooperation Department; - Mr. Sergey Shevchenko, Head, Department for Professional Training and Human Resources Development; Ministry of Finance - Ms. Tatyana Nesterenko, Head, Chief Department of the Federal Treasury; - Mr. Afanasyev, Head, Personnel Department; Ministry of Education – Mr. Vitaly Korolkov, Head, Department for Scientific and Pedagogical and Managerial Cadre; Ministry of Natural Resources – Ms. Irina Krivach, Head, Department of Personnel, Skills Upgrading, and Social Policy; Ministry of Education – Mr. Victor Aryshkov, Deputy Head, Department for Administrative Work and Civil Service; Russian Academy of Civil Service under the RF President – Mr. Igor Bartsits, Deputy Pro-Rector, Director of Scientific-Information Center. Page 42 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 42 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc Attachment 4 :Career-Based and Position-Based Civil Service Systems: Examples from European Countries Career-Based System Position-Based System Belgium Denmark Germany Italy Greece Netherlands Spain Finland France Sweden Ireland United Kingdom Luxemburg Austria Portugal Among the countries that are not members of the European Union, Japan has a civil service close to career-based system, while the US a system closer to a position-based system. Characteristics of Career-Based and Position-Based Civil Service Systems Elements Career-Based System Position-Based System 1. Recruitment Conditions 1. Recruitment is made only to low level positions 2. Specialized education is needed 3. Term of civil service is restricted 4. Probation period/training upon recruitment is mandatory 1. Recruitment is conducted for any positions 2. There is no requirement for specialized education, but there are special qualification requirements 3. There are no limits to the term of service 4. Probation period upon recruitment is not a mandatory requirement 2. Recruitment procedures 5. Recruitment procedures are regulated in the legal acts (formal procedures) 5. There are no formal procedures; recruitment methods are the same as in the private sector 3. Promotion 6. There is a system of promotion 7. Experience outside the public sector is not taken into account during promotion 8. Restricted choice at promotion 6. There is no established promotion system 7. Professional experience gained outside the public sector is taken into account 8. More opportunities of choice at promotion 4. Civil servant training 9. Mandatory requirement of civil servants training, especially at promotion 9. There are no mandatory requirements to civil servants training 5. Administrative transparency 10. Mandatory advertisement of vacations in mass media as defined by a certain procedure 10. There are no methods of advertisements of vacations that are mandatory 6. Conditions of the civil service 11. Life-long appointment 11. Term appointments 7. Remuneration system 12. Established in legislation 13. Assumed increase after a certain period of civil service 14. Hierarchical system 15. No direct link with performance results 12. Individual pay based on collective agreements 13. Increase is possible only as a result of negotiations in the framework of the collective agreement 14. No hierarchical system 15. Pay is linked to the direct performance results 8. Pension system 16. Established in the legislation 17. Special pension programs for 16. Depends on collective agreement conditions Page 43 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 43 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc civil servants 17. Personal contributions 9.Disciplinary procedures 18. Established in legislation 18. No specific legislation on this issue 10. Labor legislation 19. There is special legislation for civil servants 19. There is no special legislation for civil servants. Page 44 HRM in the Federal Civil Service WB CSR team Page 44 05/19/2006 361360RU0HRM1Diagnostic01PUBLIC1.doc