For this post – the last presenting the results of my survey on PS Renewal – I will simply paste below the verbatim I received from the respondents .
Q8. How will you get involved in PS Renewal, or what are some of ways people like you could get involved in PS Renewal? (Note: wild ideas are welcome!)
Networking within my Department with our recently formed PS Renewal Committee chaired by our Regional Director General.
I will take ideas and implement them in my work as a manager. Also pass them along to my colleagues.
Advise managers & employees to challenge what they are being told to ensure policies, processes, etc. are based on the flexibility allowed for in the new legislation.
Relating to: 'Have the freedom to work on personal initiatives that would support PS Renewal.' - I'd love to see a Google-esque policy (the '20% of your time on your own projects') where eligible public servants could use a percentage of their time for self-directed projects on renewal.
I am Co-Chair of Youth Connect Nova Scotia, our regional youth network. Our committee has been involved in PS Renewal activities in the past and is an issue we continue to focus on.
I would like to get further involved by acting as an advocate/recruiter for the federal public service, promoting the benefits of the federal government to high school and university students all over the country."
I have been selected to the [departmental/regional] Public Service Renewal Committee.
Through National Council of Visible Minorities.
Am currently a member of the core team of the Future Leaders of Ontario (FLO), try to influence, sometimes challenge, policy and initiatives within my direction.
By doing my best to keep people motivated in programs such as the ileadership and the Management Trainee Program. Reading, MTP Conference 2008, applying the PS Renewal Principles.
Work with Bob Chartier to get his LeaderFest idea off the Ground. Bob has this great idea (actually he has many great ideas, but I am only referring to one here) of organizing a festival to focus on Leadership. The approach would not be your normal leadership conference, but would be akin to the rejuvenation for Blues and Jazz of the those festivals.
I really feel that attention needs to be paid to youth/new recruits - how we can make the PS more appealing to them, because as it stands (and I say this being a 20-something myself) it's pretty unappealing. Youth enter the service with great ideas and lots of energy, and I feel that that is sucked up when they realize all the bureaucracy and red tape that is involved in doing the simplest of tasks or exploring the most minor change. When other employers offer innovation, flexibility and creativity, my experience tells me that the PS stifles these qualities.
Identify a mentor and get into a management position. I know what I'd like to do and I want to take action.
I'm still reading. Need time for reading. How about thinking. Need more time for thinking. Actually, time is the big one. But, either way, I'm at year 3 of what I hope will be a 25-year career as a public servant, one that will see major changes in the ways Canadians and their governments make choices. I plan to be part of those changes, in whatever way I can.
Support 'infrastructure', 'planning', and 'development' in the broadest terms possible in day-to-day real ways.
Encourage recruitment by hiring based on potential - ensure they have the education, security, medical, do 2-3 proper references to ensure they are not liars or psychotic - then JUST HIRE THEM!!! Use the probationary period if they really can't do the job. Eliminate all the other nonsense - merit is that they can do the job, so stop wasting time and let them do a work-sample with all the tools, and be fair, transparent, but diligent in using the probationary period.
First I have to consult all the websites listed above to learn about the process.
Start by getting more info on PS Renewal
my expectations with PS Renewal are not so high
Find out more and (time/priorities/ opportunities permitting) see how I might be able to take a more active role in PS Renewal.
What we need is good infrastructure to facilitate renewal and maximization of potential of public servants. This means good career development and assignment programs on an interdepartmental level.
Involving learning and professional development in HR planning and as a way to attract new employees
Promoting Individual Learning Plans, Career Development, HR Planning, Business Planning and measuring our success in meeting the spirit of PS renewal.
I'd like to just begin integrating it in to regular discussion. It tends to get talked about at retreats, etc. and then put on the back burner for the rest of the year.
I will continue to be actively involved with the various Youth Networks/committees in my region !
Think nationally, act locally...Governexx and related intradepartmental committees...social networking sites...
Find out more, spread the word, connect with others when attending regional or national gatherings to discuss the details, subvert the system from within. Participate in a public service renewal summer camp/ retreat!
Setting up a national renewal network (a Champion's network)
Sharing ideas of what others are doing in their departments (via a gc.ca website)
I do it daily, both as a part of my job (HR Advisor) and as a public servant. I also serve on the NB Youth Network Board of Directors.
Do my job well, provide example for others.
I think it is critical that managers be given the tools to facilitate PS renewal. For example - education regarding employee development methods, budgets to support continuing education and training of their existing staff, training and tools to assist recruiting employees from outside the public service - beyond the PSR program.
Clearly these type of suggestions will need to be action and/or modeled by senior public servants more than myself.
But as for my sphere of influence - there could be a discussion forum for middle managers regarding staff development tools and experiences, lunch and learns for 'staffing managers' or a support network to share general HR tools and experiences.
My take is that you guys should explain to us how PS renewal (what does it means anyway?) can be important and useful for my fellow Canadian tax payers…
For me this is one more useless initiative in which too many public servants are wasting to much of their time. Tell me? Why should we (as Canadian) maintain the position you are in if in fact you are able to spend that much time such futile issue?
Let me renew PS for you and make it cost efficient: Let’s just abolish all positions that have been empty from more then a year (ok maybe two) and all position where the incumbent is busy else where working on some futile initiatives that have nothing to do with serving Canadians… Once that done we will have a nice and thin public administration, we will be able to staff back and create new position in priority sectors…
If you guys can make me a proud public servant, proud of the organization I work for, chances are that I will stay in the government. And you want to make me proud, help me make this
Volunteer to represent my department at recruitment fairs at university and colleges.
Q10. Please provide any additional thought or comment...
I have been a federal civil servant for over 35 years and am very pleased that I was chosen to provide input to this committee ... just the thought that after all these years I may still have something to contribute. I'm proud of the civil service and what we've done for Canada. I hope the Renewal Process will enable others to access and choose a rewarding career serving Canada.
Employees should get involved one way or the other (staffing, coaching, mentoring, etc.) in the PS Renewal but it takes time and we need some support from our organization.
We've heard about PS Renewal for years and the powers that be keep talking more than doing. I believe that the next generation will be ill-prepared to manage due to the limited opportunities we have been given to be mentored and gain management experience.
Keep the momentum
I am able to be proactive and to go find information I need if necessary. I don't want to receive too much emails on PS Renewal.
I am currently on assignment with CRA so I probably do not have access to many websites that I may have had if I were with my home org, PWGSC.
I think this is a great idea but keep in mind that anything that requires too much of a time commitment may not be conducive to peoples' hectic work schedules. If a formal network is set up with support from senior management across many departments this might lend more credibility to the process.
Just a note--Unfortunately I have not taken the time to read a lot of the information regarding PS renewal, including your blog. I am also new to the Public Service and I am not aware of all of the issues surrounding this subject yet. This is not due to lack of interest on my part, but perhaps workload and then just plain old forgetting to read up on it when I do have down time.
Overall I find there is a disconnect between what is being said in the Public Service and what happens. We state that we want to be a learning organization, but we provide neither the funds nor the 'risk tolerant' environment to support that development.
We maintain that we want new ideas and people in the Public Service but have created policies surrounding the area of selection for external advertised processes that discourage managers from recruiting outside of the Public Service.
We claim that under the new PSEA we have given new power and flexibility to the delegated manager, but we have undertaken a system of monitoring staffing which fundamentally undermines this flexibility.
Finally, we state that we want to ensure that our hires are the right-fit for the organization, without providing the formal training for managers or requiring formal designation for HR specialist. The result is that we do not have the knowledge or expertise that would allow for the creation of selection tools which… "
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