The Role of Human Resource Management in South African
Public Service Reform
Victor G. Hilliard
INTRODUCTION
After almost four decades of authoritarian rule, South Africa became a democ- racy in April 1994. This momentous occasion in its history had a pronounced effect on South Africa’s public service with its approximately 1.9 million public servants at all three levels (spheres or tiers) of government.
South Africa’s previous public service, under apartheid, was unrepresentative of the population profile of the country in terms of race, gender, and disability.
It was geared to implementing and propping up the apartheid policies devised by the Nationalist government with the prime purpose of sustaining White mi- nority rule. The Nationalist government, which was in power from 1948 to 1994, achieved its aims by excluding Blacks from participating in governance and administration at the highest levels of government.
All this started to change in 1990 with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the switch, in 1994, from a racist to a democratic regime. Since 1994, the South African public service has been at the cutting edge of transfor- mation—so much so that transformation has resulted in a number of untoward consequences affecting the public service’s human resources. Not the least of these are the demoralization of the so-called old guard (i.e., those public servants appointed prior to 1994 by the apartheid regime); the early retirement of some of the “old guard” (mainly White officials); inefficiency and wastage, primarily caused by the lack of training for new incumbents (i.e., the so-called new guard);
and the deterioration of service delivery due to too hasty purging of the “old guard” through offering voluntary severance packages and as a result of rapid, instead of gradual, transformation.
This chapter deals with some of the human resource management problems
encountered in the transformation process(es) of the South African public ser- vice. In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the developments in the human resources field, it is necessary to point out some of the most significant features of the White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service, 1997 (Government GazetteNo. 18594).
SALIENT ASPECTS OF THE WHITE PAPER ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The White Paper on Human Resource Management in the (South African) Public Service, December 1997, has the following core ideals.
That:
(a) The South African public service becomes representative of all the people of South Africa;
(b) The public service treats public servants as a valuable resource;
(c) The public service focuses on service delivery outcomes;
(d) The public service assigns managerial responsibility for results, and for the resources consumed in producing them, to the lowest practicable level;
(e) The public service holds public servants accountable for their actions; and (f) The public service conducts its business professionally, transparently and ethically (White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service, 1997: executive summary).
This chapter will now address these issues.
Representativity and Diversity Management
Two of the many issues that need to be managed properly in the “new” South Africa are the need to make the public service representative—in terms of race, gender, and disability—of the population profile of the country while simulta- neously managing diversity sensitively.
Representativeness
In 1991 it was estimated that 91.5 percent of South Africa’s public servants in the top echelons were White males (see Levy in Cloete and Mokgoro, 1995:
86). However, this personnel profile has changed appreciably over the past few years. In 1997, 79 percent of all public servants were Black, of which 38 percent held positions of director or higher. In 1997, women accounted for 49 percent of the public service, although only 11 percent of the women in the South African public service were at director level or higher. In 1997 only four women were directors-general (see White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service, 1997, sections 1.3.1 & 3.2.2).
Diversity Management
In the process of public service reform, all personnel should be trained in the finer techniques of handling diversity. It is indeed no coincidence that South Africa has been called the Rainbow Nation. For example, South Africa has 11 official languages, a diversity of religions, and a plethora of ethnic groups and cultures. Thus South Africa consists of a potpourri of people who have to live and work together. Furthermore, those demographic features found in the nation as a whole should normally be mirrored in the workplace as well, although this was not the case in South Africa’s minority-dominated past where Whites “con- trolled” the public service and the country. Therefore, to address past imbal- ances, no employer today can evade managing South Africa’s diversity. Some of the steps that should be taken to ensure that South Africa makes satisfactory headway in managing multiculturalism in the workplace are outlined below. It must be remembered that diversity management should not lapse into, or be mistaken for, the old-style separatist (discriminatory) policies of South Africa’s past. This should by no means be the intention (see Hilliard, 1994, 1997d).
Steps in Managing Multiculturalism
Some of the steps that should be taken to ensure that South Africa makes satisfactory headway in managing multiculturalism in the workplace are:
• Check prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice and discrimination are not confined to any one particular racial or ethnic group. Any person could be found wanting in this area of his or her life. Therefore, all South Africans should be ever vigilant to ensure that their actions, and even their thoughts, are constructive and that these promote, instead of spoil, the spirit of nation-building.
• Refrain from stereotyping. Placing people into boxes and labeling them is a dicey pastime. This is so because the values and norms of society are in a constant state of flux. For instance, what one may have regarded as liberal a decade ago may be seen as conservative today. It is highly presumptuous, therefore, to stereotype, or even brand someone, for it may harm good human relations.
• Permit learning-curve mistakes. Workplace transformation is not only painstaking but could also be painful for both mentor and subordinate. Therefore, all tutors should exercise patience and give the newcomer or novice sufficient leeway to learn from his or her mistakes, no matter how tedious the process. People cannot be expected to be experts as soon as they start a new job.
• Affirm the worth of people. To maintain their self-respect, people need, and of course thrive on, praise. It is thus essential that those in leadership positions are hand-picked for their ability to handle people. Undoubtedly, staff who are constantly criticized for their mistakes and who are never acknowledged for a job well done may become withdrawn and depressed. A low morale normally leads to demotivation and low pro- ductivity.
• Practice mutual tolerance. Tolerance is something that all persons need to learn, and it does not usually come naturally because most human beings are inherently self-
centered. Nevertheless, it is imperative that tolerance be acquired and that it is seen to be practiced by all cultural, language, religious, and political groups, for without it South African society could be dogged by dissension and factionalism.
• Expose string-pulling, favoritism and nepotism. Many persons usually favor their own kind at the expense of relatively unknown “outside” job applicants. However, it is a fact that most people only ask to be given a fair chance to prove themselves in the job situation. Therefore, where favoritism is rife, and where persons in leadership positions do not or cannot make objective decisions, a public outcry would be warranted. No one wants to be treated unfairly, especially if it is blatantly clear that cronyism is prevalent. Therefore, fairness always has to be an overriding consideration when per- sons are weighed up for particular posts. Family ties, political affiliation, quotas, or other irrelevant criteria should not matter.
• Avoid arrogance and dogmatism. Supervisors and subordinates should always be aware that there could be better ways of performing a task. These innovative methods should be investigated, developed, put into operation, and perfected. For this purpose, joint consultation and participatory management have been found to be successful in keeping subordinates informed and in avoiding worker alienation.
• Improve communication. Much wastage could be avoided if misunderstandings were cleared up in a timely fashion. Therefore, communication channels from supervisor to subordinate should always be kept open. Supervisors should practice an open-door policy wherever possible. Where communication breakdowns have occurred, they should be restored as quickly as possible to ensure a continuous work flow.
• Build on commonalities and strengths. One of the most difficult aspects of diversity management is to ensure that supervisors and subordinates build on each other’s strengths and that they seek mutual understanding. Hypercritical nitpicking and con- stant emphasis of weaknesses are demoralizing and could in the long term prove de- structive. Negativity usually influences productivity adversely (see Hilliard, 1994, 1997d).
Clearly, South Africa’s diversity can either help to cement the nation together, or it can become a wedge of discord and strife. What eventually happens to South Africa as a nation will largely, but not entirely, depend on how well diversity is managed in the public service.
Valuing and Training Human Resources
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), section 195(1)(h), demands good human resource management to “maximise human potential” and to promote “career-development practices.” Unfortunately, the problem with the previous regime was that it conducted its human resource management on a separatist (segregationist) basis, with each (public) adminis- tration (or department) being responsible for a specific racial group (i.e., Whites, Coloureds, Indians, and Blacks were served separately). This situation changed with the advent of democracy in 1994.
All public service personnel (and their clientele) now have to be treated on
an equal basis, and, to all intents and purposes, no discrimination is permitted on the grounds of “race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth” (section 9(3) of the 1996 Constitution). Every ap- pointment, promotion, and dismissal in the public service should be consistent with South Africa’s constitutional principles and may not contravene any of the provisions of the South African Bill of Rights. This is so because since 1994 South Africa has been a constitutional state. In effect, this implies that every citizen has particular rights entrenched in the 1996 Constitution and that these rights cannot be infringed by any person or body. Thus anyone, including a public servant, has the right to resort to the Constitutional Court should he or she feel that a specific right has been contravened (infringed) (see section 167 of the 1996 Constitution Act).
Valuing Human Resources
Personnel are usually one of the state’s greatest assets; therefore, they should be treated as such. During public service reform and transformation, it may be difficult to determine precise personnel requirements through what are generally known as human resources audits, forecasts, and plans. In South Africa this difficulty has arisen primarily as a result of the legacy of apartheid where the Government of National Unity (GNU) inherited 11 different—and costly—pub- lic service administrations that had to be amalgamated to form a cohesive, uni- fied (single) public service.
Despite the complexities of the formulation process, the need for a compre- hensive human resources plan cannot, therefore, be disregarded (seeWhite Paper on Human Resource Management: section 11). The plan should be drawn up to predict as accurately as possible how many staff members the “new” (post–
1994) public service as a whole will need on an ongoing basis. This plan should also be able to estimate redundancies, retrenchments, early retirements, natural attrition, and “normal” staff turnover. Plans (possibly in the form of legislation such as the Employment Equity Act) should also be drawn up, with appropriate time frames, as to how affirmative action should be implemented. However, it must be emphasized here that the authorities cannot simply purge the public service of personnel on a fast and loose basis as a result of the demands for representativeness and political correctness, or for purposes of political point- scoring. People have to be valued for their contribution to the overall success of the public service, regardless of their race, gender, political affiliation, or any other extraneous criteria.
Furthermore, each staff member who is retrenched or who is given a (vol- untary) severance package should not automatically be replaced by another per- son or persons of a different racial hue. This may be perceived by the prejudiced or dislodged party as a retributive appointment. Each move made in the public service should not only be aimed at ensuring representativeness, but should also ensure that those being appointed will decidedly add value to the public service;
that is, such persons must be able to increase overall efficiency, effectiveness, and economy (see the Basic Values and Principles Governing Public Adminis- tration in South Africa: Chapter 10 of the 1996 Constitution Act, section 195(1)(b) which demands an efficient, effective, and economical application of all resources). Therefore, proper human resources planning and utilization are essential for the long-term survival of any South African public institution.
The “new” public service, after considerable restructuring, will have a “new”
personnel complement (the “new guard”) working side by side with the “old guard” or with any other personnel who are still left behind from the old order (i.e., the government prior to 1994). Therefore, it is essential that the foundations are laid for sound human as well as labor relations throughout the South African public service. In other words, positive and productive working relationships should be forged between the whole personnel corps which will encourage a team spirit among all employees.
Since 1994, however, thousands of South African public servants (mainly Whites) have either opted for voluntary severance packages or have decided to take early retirement. Many of these people have skills and expertise that cannot always be replaced easily or immediately. Without negating the importance of section 9 (2) of the 1996 Constitution Act, which makes provision for affirmative action for previously disadvantaged groups, and without detracting from the need for representativeness in the public service (as discussed above), perhaps the time is opportune to arrest the drain of skills and expertise, particularly from the public service, and to reflect on some new strategies for public service reengineering, for example, “reconditioning” the “old guard” or striving to re- new the so-called mind-set of personnel who served under the previous dispen- sation (in the pre-1994 era) (see Hilliard, 1997c).
Experts in the human resources field usually claim that with sufficient moti- vation and appropriate inducements, people are willing and able to change their behavioral patterns, and thus their attitude(s) toward their employer and their work. The process of revamping the mind-set of the “old guard,” and of retrain- ing these staff members to become a useful (productive) part of a new organi- zational setup, is sometimes called “redeeming” the “old guard.”
From the aforementioned exposition, it would seem that the haste with which the South African transformation process has been tackled will eventually cause a shortage of skilled and experienced public servants. This shortage may hamper service delivery and may exacerbate South Africa’s low productivity levels.
Therefore, the whole purging process should be given a serious rethink. What also seems ironical, perhaps even tragic, is that it is not always the deadwood that are leaving the South African public service. Some of the best professional talent, normally in the prime of their lives, may be exiting the public service, and either emigrating or deciding to open their own businesses. Thus the entire process of transformation may have to be revisited, and new techniques may have to be sought and adopted to (re)train and (re)orient those personnel who are indeed willing to change and to fall in line with the spirit of the new order;
that is, the commitment of all staff to the change process is needed to make transformation and employment equity succeed.
Transformation must not be seen as synonymous with simply wanting to get rid of personnel. The transformation process must be approached in such a sensitive manner that the South African public service is tailored, indeed cus- tomized, to suit specific conditions prevailing in the country at a particular point in time. This does not mean that incumbents who served under a previous regime are now automatically useless and that they have no further purpose. This could be an entirely incorrect assumption. Furthermore, the public service may not necessarily have to downsize but only rightsize itself—but then the authorities must decide what is the right size.
Obviously, superfluous and redundant staff should be given the option of leaving the public service. However, where the best skills and talents can be retained, all the better because, in the end, the public service has to ensure that service excellence becomes the order of the day and that the public gets the best quality goods and services at the most reasonable price(s). That is, the principle of value-for-money should be an overriding consideration in public service re- form. A guiding principle, as outlined in the Green Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery1996, should always be that the South African public service must be of service to the people. Where the service motive could suffer due to the idea that there are simplistic solutions to public service transforma- tion, for example, by replacing Whites with Blacks without due consideration of competence and merit, the metamorphosis process should be reevaluated—
or halted—to ensure that it is not doing more harm than good.
Training Human Resources
After a competent and fairly stable core of personnel has been attained—and when this stage will be reached in South Africa’s public service is uncertain—it is necessary to promote the proper training of currently serving staff as well as that of the new personnel. Education, training, orientation, and development are indispensable functions that will help to produce a competent work force and may assist in boosting South Africa’s low productivity levels. It would seem that personnel development and training activities were somewhat neglected in the past because of financial constraints and wastage on quadruplicated, racially based services. This wastage was particularly pronounced in the so-called Ban- tustans (i.e., the territories or homelands created for the 10 Black ethnic groups under the apartheid regime).
Besides the personnel development and training tasks of public institutions, it will also be necessary to provide clearly defined lifelong career paths for all employees, especially for the previously disadvantaged and marginalized. Career advancement is essential for successful human resources planning and utiliza- tion. All, or the vast majority of, inequalities caused by racial and gender im- balances in the South African public service should be minimized by career mapping, particularly at the management levels.