The Civil Service Commission (CSC) called on heads of agencies and human resource (HR) management practitioners in the public sector to look into HR’s post-pandemic role and to prepare for the challenges of recovery.
CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala said that the country’s transition to a post-pandemic world brings to fore the compelling role of HR in preparing government agencies and civil servants for changes in the workplace.
“We should now start planning for a recovery strategy. How will the workplace look like after the pandemic? What will public service delivery look like? What policies and programs do we need to review or to introduce to better adapt to a better normal?” the CSC chief said.
Chairperson Bala pointed out that in coming up with strategies, HR managers can take off from the four core human resource management (HRM) systems—Recruitment, Selection, and Placement; Learning and Development; Performance Management; and Rewards and Recognition.
“For example, the pandemic has stressed the importance of flexibility and agility. What does this mean in terms of hiring new employees? What types of training will our workers need to catch up with technology? How will remote work continue to alter the way we manage performance? Now that the pandemic has accelerated innovation in the workplace, how can we use rewards to generate new ideas for better public service delivery?” she illustrated.
Chairperson Bala said that the pandemic can be viewed as an opportunity for HR to look beyond its transactional, paper-pushing functions and assert a more strategic role in the organization.
Award
The CSC chief further explained that the shift to strategic HR would entail a change management intervention that would engage the entire organization toward translating HR excellence to public service excellence. This organizational change process may be achieved through the adoption of the PRIME-HRM (Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management).
She said that the CSC, through its PRIME-HRM, continues to assess the HR systems and competencies of government agencies to determine their current HR Maturity Level. It also assists them in addressing gaps and meeting desired outcomes.
Chairperson Bala added that agencies excelling in HRM can vie for awards and recognition.
Based on the Revised Guidelines on the Conferment of HR Recognition and Award through CSC Resolution No. 2000359 promulgated on 17 February 2020, agencies can vie for special recognition depending on the maturity levels of their HR systems. Agencies which meet the indicators for Maturity Level 2, 3, or 4 in at least one HRM system will be given a Certificate of Recognition in the corresponding level and HRM system.
Meanwhile, those who have met all Maturity Level 2 indicators in Recruitment, Selection, and Placement (RSP) and Performance Management (PM) will be given an Accreditation Award, which grants the agency the authority to take final action on appointments.
Agencies that have met the Level 2 indicators in all four HRM systems will earn the PRIME-HRM Bronze Award; for Level 3 indicators, the Silver Award; and for Level 4 indicators, the Gold Award and a Seal of HR Excellence.
Awardees may be given incentives depending on the type of award, such as invitation to international conferences, promotion of the agency’s programs/projects through CSC’s channels, recognition as a learning center for benchmarking by other agencies, discounted rates in CSC’s trainings/conferences, or nomination to scholarship grants, among others.
For more information about the PRIME-HRM, agencies may get in touch with the concerned CSC Regional or Field Office. The directory of CSC offices is available at www.csc.gov.ph/cscrod.
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The Civil Service Institute is offering related courses on PRIME-HRM for HR practitioners in the public sector. Click on the links below for details:
Performance Management for PRIME-HRM Level 2 (scheduled on 9-30 March 2021)
Recruitment, Selection, and Placement for PRIME-HRM Level 2 (scheduled on 15-29 March 2021)
