The federal civil service is the central link in the entire system of state power. Federal civil servants, in quantitative terms, make up the bulk of employees of state bodies. Moreover, they are directly involved in the preparation of decisions of all branches of government and subsequently organize the implementation of these decisions. Thus, the effectiveness of public administration is determined by the efficiency of the work of federal civil servants and their professionalism and integrity.
To date, a federal civil service system has taken shape that meets modern political realities. However, the state of the bureaucracy still does not meet the needs of the development of society. According to Hitlin and Shutava (2022), only 40% of Americans trust the federal government’s course. The main reasons for citizens’ mistrust of federal civil servants are negative personal experiences, serving some communities better than others, and the belief that federal civil servants are inefficient. Berman et al. (2021) note that the federal civil service has outdated approaches to recruitment, human resource management, operations management, competition for talent, compensation, and leadership. Thus, obsolete methodologies for managing personnel and operations reduce the effectiveness of the public administration system as a whole. This has significant implications for how the public interacts with the government and how well federal agencies can respond to current challenges. In this regard, reforming the federal civil service using methods typical of the private sector seems particularly relevant. The key areas of reform could be the introduction of modern personnel management technologies, changing the working conditions of civil servants, and expanding the use of fixed-term contracts in the federal civil service.
Outdated candidate selection tools, an inefficient training system, and a lack of transparent career development tools with a predominating patronage system make it difficult to develop employees’ potential. Schank and Hudson (2018) affirm that with a lack of motivation, qualifications, and professionalism of civil service personnel, it is impossible to intensively develop and achieve targeted changes in the public administration system. Building work with personnel as an integral interconnected system is possible by updating the personnel policy and methodology for working with employees in the civil service as part of the whole HR cycle, creating a centralized personnel service, and attracting highly qualified HR specialists using modern HR tools.
Since the organizational environment in the civil service contradicts modern requirements for the organization of work, it is impossible to improve the efficiency of administrative processes significantly. Nigro et al. (2014) assert that the federal civil service is characterized by poor communication within and between agencies, interagency competition, and culture of limited trust and closeness. The inconsistency of working conditions in the public sector with the standards existing in the business environment limits the attractiveness of the civil service for talented and young employees. To support transformational processes in the civil service, it is necessary to reorganize the spatial working conditions of civil servants, taking into account new demands for the workplace, centralization, and digitalization of the civil service. Moreover, it is necessary to develop and implement a flexible mode of operation with the help of the partial or complete transfer of working functionality to a remote format. The introduction of modern workspaces in the civil service and providing civil servants with the flexibility to create their work regime will help retain the most valuable specialists, attract young personnel and focus civil servants on the results achieved instead of process indicators.
Nowadays, in the public service, the use of fixed-term contracts is permissible only in temporary replacement positions, the list of which is limited. According to Schank and Hudson (2018), fixed-term contracts are required as a tool for more flexible personnel policies, easier staff turnover, the possibility of hiring specialists for a fixed period, and attracting highly competent specialists who are not ready to go through lengthy competitions. It is proposed to expand the list of situations in which it is possible to resort to fixed-term contracts and to develop a more flexible system of working conditions for them. The possibility of concluding a fixed-term contract by agreement of the parties will allow government departments to more actively attract new personnel from outside and through the more active circulation of employees – the most capable and motivated by the results of their work. For workers, fixed-term contracts mean easier entry into public service, less-risk work experience, and more flexible individual career planning. As a result, more both beginners and established professionals will be ready to try their hand at public service, and the pool of potential permanent employees will increase for departments.
With the implementation of personnel practices typical of the private sector, the American public can be confident in the fairness and integrity of the public service. This is because the personnel policy in the private sector is based on principles such as honesty, responsibility, justice, and integrity. Moreover, Sifunda-Evelia (2017) notes that there are biblical principles embedded in human resource management in the private sector. According to the second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat (2 Thessalonians: Chapter 3, n.d.). The point is that those who work conscientiously and meet established standards will be able to stay in the workplace. Thus, implementing private sector standards in the civil service contributes to civil servants’ conscientious performance of duties. In turn, this increases the responsibility of employees, and they will respond to public needs, and citizens will be able to trust civil servants.
References
2 Thessalonians: Chapter 3. (n.d.). United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Web.
Berman, E. M., Bowman, J. S., West, J. P., & Van Wart, M. R. (2021). Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems. CQ Press.
Hitlin, P. & Shutava, N. (2022). Trust in government: A close look at public perceptions of the federal government and its employees. Partnership for Public Service Privacy. Web.
Nigro, L., Nigro, F., and Kellough, J. (2014). The new public personnel administration (7th ed.). Cengage.
Schank, H., & Hudson, S. (2018). Getting the work done: What government innovation really looks like. New America.
Sifunda-Evelia, M. (2017). Human resource management practices: A biblical perspective. Partridge.