Unlocking the Human Potential for Public Sector Performance

Abstract

The field of HRM has evolved significantly in the past decades as external and internal pressures have forced governments to redefine the role of the state and recalibrate public administration capacities. A number of innovative policies and practices, many of them borrowed from the private sector, are being introduced in public sector personnel management with—the intent being to deal with escalating costs and to better manage performance and increase efficiency. Recent research however has revealed very strong correlations between the quality of human resources in the public sector and government performance and national development. In fact, it is people coordinated by institutions who deliver public services. How effectively government institutions align the behavior of staff with the public interest is determined primarily by the capacity, motivation and integrity of human resources and the quality of leadership. In other words, people are the lifeblood of the public service.