What’s unwieldy, hierarchical, full of silos? Welcome to the Qld public service
Queensland’s auditor-general has warned that there is little planning for what the state’s 240,000 strong public sector workforce will look like in the future and that the bureaucracy is failing to attract and retain talent.
About 6.8 per cent of the state's permanent public sector workers reported resigning in the latest survey, up from 4.9 per cent in 2018. (Image: Johnny Cohen/Unsplash)
In yet another report critical of the direction of the state’s public service, the auditor’s office says the bureaucracy needs to move away form “traditional ways of operating” and put more effort into strategic workforce planning.
In a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday, the audit office includes results from the latest Working for Queensland survey of public servants which shows more of them are leaving the government, fewer are staying more than 10 years and only 60 per cent would recommend the government as a great place to work.
About 6.8 per cent of the state’s permanent public sector workers reported resigning in the latest survey, up from 4.9 per cent in 2018.
“The public sector is unwieldy due to long-established hierarchical structures and processes, and a silo approach,” the auditor’s report says.
Another survey found about 80 per cent of departments only had a limited understanding of what they future workforce looked like.
“Workforce planning in the Queensland public sector is not sophisticated enough to build and grow a workforce that can meet changing needs and priorities,” its report says.
It said recruitment processes “are seen as slow, cumbersome, and overly complex”.
“Lengthy position descriptions written in language understood by public servants are not necessarily easy to understand for external candidates,” the report says.
It said the Public Service Commission had recently begun a review of public service recruitment after it found just 41 per cent of applicants were satisfied with the process.
The auditor’s office urged he commission to show “greater central leadership” in workforce planning and revisiting the bureaucracy’s employment value proposition.
It also urged all government departments to find more innovative ways to attract and retain talent.
“There is an increasing need for whole-of-government solutions rather than a portfolio approach to service delivery,” it says.
“Leadership needs to be systemic: focused across the broader public sector, as well as within individual departments.”
