By Akintola Benson Oke
The task before public sector entities in contemporary times is very daunting, indeed. In particular, the challenges confronting the governments of multicultural, cosmopolitan and global cities such as Lagos with an ever-expanding population are herculean. Among many others, the government has to provide for the security, transportation, education and housing of a teeming and diversified population. In order to do this, the government has to craft policies and strategies that take into consideration the demographic composition of residents of Lagos State; these policies and strategies have to be constantly tested, monitored, reviewed and, when found adequate, have to be fully implemented. Add to all these, the all-important task of raising the revenue required to execute and fund these strategies and policies.
However, the good news is that the Lagos State Government has discovered the secret to success in public sector administration. Indeed, the government has discovered that, by placing premium on the welfare and capacity of its human resources, all its seemingly daunting tasks can be satisfactorily discharged. Thus, in order to faithfully execute her responsibilities, the government wholly depends on the indefatigable and resilient officers of the Lagos State Civil Service. In particular, the administration of His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, specially values the unquantifiable contributions of civil servants to governance.
It is for this reason that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has profound respect for the work and contributions of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM). I have thus been directed by him to express his admiration for the CIPM and to emphasise that the state Government appreciates the potential benefits and ramifications of strategically partnering with the Institute.
Indeed, the policy thrust and strategic focus of the current administration in Lagos State has many similarities with the core objectives of the CIPM. Any careful observer would know that the Lagos State Government has been heavily investing in the training and re-training of her most valued resource: the civil servants in the State. At the forefront of this effort is the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) which, I am delighted to note, has forged a relationship with the CIPM.
The trainings instituted by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Trainings and Pensions and championed by the PSSDC have been focused on the re-tooling of the fundamental skills that are required for exceptional performance and enhanced productivity. From the focus on the development of the soft skills required to transform formally-acquired hard skills to tangible value right to the efforts to enhance the leadership skills of the senior officers in the Civil Service; from the emphasis placed on the need for re-evaluating work ethics to the sharpening of problem-solving skills; from the search for a strategy for keeping Lagos clean to the efforts to maintain and enhance integrity in the revenue accounting processes of the government, one finds that the current administration in Lagos State is focused on transforming the Human Resources of the Civil Service to resources that are able, prepared and ready to engage with modern challenges of governance in the 21st century.
Along with CIPM, the Lagos State Government believes that its human resources are the most important and valuable of all its resources. For us, this is not merely an attempt to be ‘politically correct.’ Rather, it is the result of a rigorous and reasoned inquiry into why and how organisations succeed or fail. In an article published by the Harvard Business School, the important point was made to company directors that, “the most important asset at your company isn’t something you can put your hands on. It isn’t equipment or the physical plant, and it isn’t data, technology, or intellectual property. The most valuable part of your company is the people—the human capital—and any plans to move your business forward have to start there. Yet, today’s business leaders are often running a full-time sprint just to keep up with the day-to-day demands of business. This means that human capital—the single most important asset a company needs to take the next step in growth and innovation—is often under used, or under developed. In fact, only 32 percent of global leaders are confident their organization has the necessary leadership talent and skills to achieve their strategic goals, according to a recent Harvard Business Publishing Survey of global professionals.”
In a more comprehensive writing on the subject, Katie Taylor writing for an online policy journal addressed the three issues of: (a) why human capital is important for development, (b) the opportunities available for human capital development and (c) the challenges confronting organizations desiring to invest in human capital development.
On the question of ‘Why human capital is important for development,’ she wrote that “the confluence of rapid technical change, globalisation and economic liberalisation in recent years has prompted governments in developed and developing countries alike to prioritise skills development as a key strategy for economic competitiveness and growth. In developing countries, especially the poorest ones, the challenges are profound and complex. Policy-makers acknowledge the critical role of a strong human resource base in complementing other investments and policies to boost productivity and economic progress. Yet, while these countries report lower average levels of educational attainment than industrialised countries, in some countries, significant numbers of those with high levels of formal qualifications end up unemployed, working in jobs that under-utilise their skills or emigrating to other countries. The result is a misallocation and waste of resources that these countries can ill-afford. Developing countries are therefore in urgent need of new strategies and approaches that focus more explicitly on the links and coherence between investments in skills development and employment and productivity.”
On the opportunities that human capital provides, she wrote that, “Skills affect people’s lives and economic and social development in many ways. Skills improve labour market outcomes both in terms of employment rates and earnings. But the positive role of skills extends beyond its impact on career prospects: adults with low levels of foundation skills have a higher likelihood of reporting poor health and participate much less in community groups and organisations; and adults with high levels of foundation skills are much more likely to feel that they have a voice that can make a difference in social and political life.
These results are consistent across a wide range of countries, confirming that skills have a profound relationship with economic and social outcomes across a wide range of contexts and institutions. Skills are also key to tackling inequality and promoting social mobility. Investing in human capital is the single most effective way of not just promoting growth but also of distributing its benefits more fairly. Investing in skills is far less costly, in the long run, than paying the price of poorer health, lower incomes, unemployment and social exclusion – all of which are closely tied to lower skills.”
To be concluded tomorrow
Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions delivered this address on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, as chief host at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria Best Practice Awards Ceremony.
Again on the myriad of challenges that governments face to make the most of human resources, the article profoundly notes that governments face a number of challenges to make the most of available skills and that getting the best returns on investment in skills requires the ability to assess the quality and quantity of the skills available in the population, determine and anticipate the skills required in the labour market, and develop and use those skills effectively in better jobs that lead to better lives.
Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions delivered this address on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, as chief host at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria Best Practice Awards Ceremony.
These represent major challenges in developing countries where data on the available skills is of poor quality and the demand for skills, present and future, is often a black box.”
Other challenges identified include the fact that skills policy requires coherence and co-operation across all areas and levels of government, as well as with the private sector, social partners, teachers and parents. Skills development is more effective if the world of learning and the world of work are linked. Compared to purely government-designed curricula taught exclusively in schools, learning in the workplace offers several advantages: it allows young people to develop “hard” skills on modern equipment in a workplace, and “soft” skills, such as teamwork, communication and negotiation, through real-world experience. Hands-on workplace training can also help to motivate disengaged youth to stay in or re-engage with the education system and to smoothen the transition from education into the labour market.
Again, maintaining skills throughout each individual’s lifecycle is another key challenge that has been identified because it requires setting up high-quality, easily accessible opportunities for adult learning – both up-skilling and re-training. This is particularly challenging in developing countries where participation in initial education remains an issue for a sizeable share of the population. In these countries, action will have to balance carefully equal access and completion of lower-secondary education and further learning in school and for adults.
What are the specific human resources management needs of the Civil Service. In an article written for the United Kingdom Cabinet Office, the following observations were made: “The Civil Service is a good place to work, delivering services that make a huge difference to people’s lives. It employs many talented people from diverse backgrounds who are committed to delivering excellent public services. The Civil Service relies on the skills of its people. We have historic strength in policy and analytical skills and have made significant progress in recent years, professionalising finance and HR skills. However, there are significant gaps in organisational capability and individuals’ skills which need to be filled if the Civil Service is to be able to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”
In order to meet these challenges, four priorities were identified. These priorities fully apply to our dear Civil Service as we engage with the CIPM in the effort to continue the revitalisation of the human resources component of the service:
The Human Resources in the Civil Service Must Lead and Manage Change –Change is a constant feature of the modern Civil Service. We need to manage these changes and ensure that our teams are equipped to embrace new ways of working.
The Human Resources in the Civil Service Must Acquire Commercial Skills and Behaviours – This calls for ensuring that many more civil servants feel confident and competent in a world where services are increasingly commissioned from the private and voluntary sectors. We need to take decisions and assess risk based on our knowledge of markets and be judged on whether taxpayers’ money has been spent wisely to deliver the right outcome.
The Human Resources in the Civil Service Must Deliver Successful Projects and Programmes – This calls for increasing our ability to deliver the Government’s priorities, ‘right first time’, drawing on project management disciplines and methodologies to achieve predictable, consistent, robust results.
The Human Resources in the Civil Service Must Be Capable of Redesigning Services and Delivering Them Digitally – ensuring that the Civil Service is equipped to redesign services around the user in order to improve delivery, value for money and agility for the future, using the power of digital.
Luckily for Lagos State, we have, at this point in history, an administration that is wholly and totally devoted to advancing the agenda for making Lagos one of the best-served states in terms of the quality of the Civil Service. We also have an institute that has demonstrated the commitment and capabilities to provide the technical input and impetus required to realise this noble agenda.
For this reason, His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is proud to serve as the Chief Host of the CIPM HR Best Practice Awards Ceremony. He commends the vision of the Governing Council of the institute in initiating these awards and offers hearty congratulations to the 2017 awardees. Please be challenged and encouraged to do even more to further the important cause of promoting excellence in human resources management in Nigeria.
Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions delivered this address on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, as chief host at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria Best Practice Awards Ceremony.