The Auditor General has conducted a performance audit addressing the management of Public Service recruitment, the main objective of which was the analysis of the management mechanisms and structures utilised in controlling this key function.  Central in attending to this responsibility are the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Public Administration HR Office (PAHRO). 

However, equally important is the role played by the various Ministries involved in Public Service recruitment, and it is in this context that the National Audit Office (NAO) also explored the good practices and challenges faced by three particular Ministries, that is, the then Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care (MHEC), the Ministry of Education and Employment (MEDE), as well as the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA).  These three former Ministries were chosen on the basis of their considerable number of employees, and the subsequent implication of replenishing such staff levels through recruitment.

Summarily, this Report adopts three main perspectives of analysis. The first perspective essentially provides a process-oriented overview of the entire recruitment process.  NAO’s main concern in this respect relates to the overall duration of the recruitment process, as calls for non-General Service grades issued in the period 2008 to 2010 took an average of 38 weeks from commencement to completion.  In NAO’s opinion, this lengthy period of time to complete a standard call for recruitment is one that leaves ample scope for improvement.  NAO’s concern regarding the excessive time taken to complete calls for recruitment further intensifies with respect to the resourcing of staff in General Service grades. The reported average of 71 weeks is, in NAO’s opinion, a highly unacceptable duration of what in effect are straightforward standardised calls.

NAO put forward a number of recommendations intended at addressing efficiency and effectiveness considerations in relation to the adopted process-oriented overview of recruitment.  In the main, NAO’s recommendations focus on measures intended at rectifying the inadequate information management infrastructure, particularly apparent in the case of PAHRO, yet also prevalent in varying extents in the case of PSC and the reviewed Ministries.

The second perspective adopted in this performance audit addresses key issues emerging with respect to the management of Public Service recruitment. 

Foremost among these issues was the delegation of authority, which is, in principle, fully supported by NAO.  In essence, the delegation of authority with respect to human resource management envisaged the shift of various aspects relating to recruitment, away from central control (embodied by PAHRO and PSC), and more towards a decentralised setup (that is, Ministry-level control). 

This delegated recruitment function has, in fact, now come into effect. Nonetheless, NAO’s concerns relating to this evolving resourcing environment still bear direct relevance in the minimisation of risks and maximisation of benefits associated with such a fundamental shift in Public Service recruitment.  Aspects of NAO’s analysis that have been addressed in considerable detail in this Report include, among other issues, the Ministries’ over-reliance on PAHRO as a means of ensuring quality control; the need to transfer PAHRO’s vast institutional knowledge to Ministry-level human resource executives; the implementation of Service-wide standard operating procedures; as well as the critically important information management infrastructure that supports such a delegated environment.

Finally, the third perspective provides insight with respect to Ministry-level views on issues relating to recruitment. Various concerns emerged in this regard, largely mirroring issues identified with respect to PAHRO and PSC, albeit from a different perspective. Various key issues were brought to the fore, one of the most relevant relating to concerns on the level of recruitment-related technical expertise prevalent at Ministry-level.  These concerns are exacerbated by the, now in place, delegated recruitment function, which further increases the responsibilities of human resource officers operating at Ministry-level.

These issues are comprehensively addressed, along with others, in the Performance Audit Report entitled ‘Management of Public Service Recruitment’, which may be accessed through the NAO website (www.nao.gov.mt) as from Tuesday.