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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY

Framework for establisihing a formal

graduate recruitment scheme

Background • Public service does not reach students and graduates in
the way that most commercial companies do. This applies
The National Development Plan (NDP) observed that graduates to marketing vacancies, use of electronic recruitment as
and youth with potential, struggle to identify and embark on a well as, for example, increasing knowledge about public
career in the public service while, on the other hand, the public organisations. The methods used to attract students are
service struggles to fill junior positions in scarce occupations often more passive than active.
and critical areas of service delivery. • Changes in employee attitudes and values toward work.
Individual employees demand, to a much greater extent
In order to achieve a high-quality public service, improved than before, conditions tailored for the individual. This
and adequately maintained infrastructure and improved applies to job content, opportunities for development,
conditions for economic development, the country will require career opportunities, work scheduling and salaries. A
a professional public service and a capable state. 1 challenge for government organisations is to create
workplaces that meet the preferences of both the
The NDP further observed that there are a number of organisation and the employees.
department-based graduate recruitment and development
schemes. However, these are not widely known by the public • Career paths are unclear and career planning is
and, therefore, the public cannot make a connection or link insuffi cient. To make career path opportunities clearer,
these to the public service. strategic actions are needed at several stages.
Recruitment situations give employers the opportunity
A Report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation to explain career prospects. Questions include how to
and Development (OECD) (2001) revealed some factors or incorporate career planning in regular performance and
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reasons that the public service is unable to attract and retain career discussions and how to create pay and other
suitably-qualified graduates and youth with potential in its human resource management systems that promote both
employment. These include: kinds of careers: one leading to leadership positions and
one leading to expert positions. Increasing mobility is
• Lower levels of wages compared to the private sector. closely related to this issue.
When competing for new staff, especially young
graduates, salaries are important. This problem mostly • Staff development will be an increasingly important
concerns specialised staff (e.g. professionally qualified competitive factor. The public sector is challenged with
personnel). Wages proved to be a crucial factor in the using knowledge management to ensure that everyday
retention of staff, especially after two to four years of development is kept at a competitive level and that
service. The salary level is not the only critical issue. public organisations are at the forefront of knowledge
There is also the possibility of influencing one’s own salary enterprises.
by performance. The report showed that performance-
based salary systems are attractive to young people. In line with the recommendations of the NDP, in 2015 the
DPSA commissioned a study to investigate the feasibility
• The image of the public sector is not very positive, of implementing a centralised formal graduate recruitment
clear or stimulating. Although there are exceptions scheme embedded within the broader Public Service Human
among departments, young people do not rate public Resource Development Strategic Framework.
employment very highly. The public service is deemed
dull, bureaucratic and old-fashioned, and the prestige The DPSA feasibility study report arrived at three possible
of public service is low. In addition, citizens’ trust in models that would help public service departments to pursue
government has decreased, negatively influencing the a graduate recruitment scheme.
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image of government.
The following options were identified:
• Slow advancement including the fact that seniority is
more important than merit. A common belief is that it • Option one: Coordination of departmental scheme
is impossible to advance by promotion and that there – develop a graduate recruitment policy framework
is a fixed order, independent of performance. There is and establish a mechanism for cooperation through a
a weak tradition of recognising the individual merits of collaboration forum between the various participating
employees. departments.

1 National Development Plan. The Presidency: Department of Planning, Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation – The National Planning Commission (2010)
2 Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Public Sector – Kirsi Äijälä (2001): An Employer of Choice? Report on The Competitive
Public Employer Project - Expert Meeting on the Competitive Public Employer Project, held in Paris On 5–6 April 2001
3 Department of Public Service and Administration (2015) - Feasibility Study and Development of a Formal Graduate Recruitment Scheme for the Public Service
- Comprehensive Report – Final - 30 June 2015
Volume 12 No. 1 of 2018 | SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW 29