The subject of attractiveness is now a central concern for the entire civil service, and all the more so for its HR function.
The recruitment difficulties that threaten the availability and accessibility of services of general interest, at the heart of citizens' lives, make them major issues for public administrations.
While the subject goes beyond the public sphere, it does reveal trends and strong expectations of the State and local authorities in terms of employment, working conditions and remuneration, careers, etc.
The necessary transformations must now integrate all projects relating to the modernization of the public HR function.
Several levers can be mobilized to address this issue. They need to be deployed within the framework of a well-defined HR strategy, so that the various aspects can then be rolled out.
It is to tackle this major challenge that the government has announced the launch of the careers and remuneration project for the 1st half of 2023, for which the 1st exploratory work has begun.
The time of great transitions that characterizes the current period is an incredible laboratory and an opportunity to revitalize the attractiveness of the public service that our country needs.
Between 1997 and 2018, the civil service saw a (historic?) drop of 65% in the number of candidates taking competitive examinations. Is the sector's attractiveness at half-mast?
While the civil service accounts for one in five jobs in France, only 1 in 10 young people today say they are interested in a job in this sector. The number of candidates for state civil service entrance examinations has fallen from 650,000 in 1997 to 228,000 in 2018 seems to mark a kind of disaffection with the public sector in terms of career and employment. In 2019, nearly 40% of candidates admitted to the competition who did not take the written test. This trend affects all three levels of the civil service. Are we facing a vocational crisis or a crisis in the attractiveness of the civil service, as some call this phenomenon?
While this downward trend began before the health crisis, the latter seems to have exacerbated its effects during the economic recovery phase. This "decline" in attractiveness has very tangible, day-to-day impacts for all those who benefit from public services. They are illustrated by the difficulty of recruiting in many sectors and professions, threatening the continuity and accessibility of public services for users throughout the country.
In response to this emergency and shortage situation - which nevertheless affects the various professions in the three civil service branches in different ways - national and European political initiatives have been launched, particularly with regard to local authorities. In this context, for example, a 2-year project financed by the European Union has been launched on the attractiveness of the French civil service in the regions.
The modernization of the HR function can no longer be conceived without a reflection and measures around the issue of attractiveness.
What are the realities of this loss of attractiveness from one side to the other, and from one sector of activity to the next?
What levers can be envisaged to respond?
AN UNEVEN LOSS OF ATTRACTIVENESS FROM ONE BUSINESS SECTOR TO ANOTHER
A study published in April 2022 by Pôle emploi highlights serious recruitment difficulties throughout the civil service. This is particularly true in the educational, social, medico-social, cultural, sports, technical and administrative sectors.
Top 4 jobs with the highest unemployment
- 1. The trainers
- 2. Orderlies
- 3. Sports instructors
- 4. Professionals in socio-cultural activities
According to the results of the 12th Local Authority HR Barometer conducted by Randstad and published in September 2021.
Recruitment issues that raise questions
Recruitment issues that extend to schools, hospitals, and police and judicial institutions call into question the State's ability to :
- provide users with an efficient, uniform public service across the country
- but also to meet the challenges of the future, such as digital technology
The most underfunded trades
A study conducted by the ANDCDC and published in September 2022 shows that in 2020, the most underfunded trades will be :
- administrative: town hall secretary, administrative management assistant
- children: children and youth coordinator
- technical: maintenance agent
More generally speaking, it's in the social, medical-social, education and transport sectors that local authorities are finding it hardest to recruit. The health professions (occupational medicine), early childhood (entertainment, childcare, etc.) and bus driving seem to have become the most unattractive professions.
WHY HAS THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE DECLINED SO SHARPLY, ESPECIALLY AT REGIONAL LEVEL?
Attractiveness issues today transcend the boundaries between the public and private sectors to become a societal challenge. This is borne out by the numerous studies on "the big resignation" - and ways of dealing with it - that flood the media. They tend to establish cross-sectoral trends that may reflect individuals' expectations of their (future) employer, including recognition and a sense of belonging to an organization.
In the public sector in particular, several factors in the loss of attractiveness regularly emerge.
A dynamic job market
The level of remuneration
This question should also be seen in the context of the remuneration dynamics of certain profiles and professions on the job market. For example, government agencies are reporting difficulties in recruiting in the IS sector. However, these professions are widely disputed between the private and public sectors, with significant salary variations in a highly competitive environment. This is all the more true in the local civil service (FPT), where salaries have changed little in recent years.
Working conditions
While most studies tend to indicate that remuneration is a factor in motivating and retaining talent, working conditions in their broadest sense (community life, social benefits, managerial and organizational culture, security of working conditions, feeling of being valued for one's work, etc.) are strong expectations that employees have of their employer. Yet, while individuals who join the civil service have a positive perception of their work, with a strong sense of usefulness, working conditions and career prospects suffer from a particularly negative image conveyed by their own staff and by users. Recurring arguments take hold:
- A bureaucracy that fosters inertia and complicates project management over long deadlines.
- An outdated management style, with a highly vertical mode of operation not conducive to consultation.
- Long, undynamic careers, with little recognition of skills, in favor of a status-based approach.
- Working conditions are sometimes degraded, where the exposure of professions is combined with a lack of investment in equipment, materials or premises. These poor working conditions also have physical and psychological consequences.
- Accessibility and quality of public services that may appear to users to be deteriorating, depending on the dimensions (real estate, for example) observed.
Factors specific to each branch of the civil service
In addition to these factors, the reality of recruitment difficulties in the civil service is not entirely the same, depending on whether you consider the territorial, hospital or public sector side of the equation, or the geographical area. With regard to State civil service (FPE) or hospital civil service (FPH)The prospect of teaching, caring for others or working as a law enforcement officer in disadvantaged neighborhoods after graduating from school can be a daunting prospect for some individuals. These difficulties are not identical depending on the sectors and professions observed.
On the FPTHowever, geographic inequalities are more pronounced, notably due to their wide geographical coverage, which can lead to isolation in the most rural areas, making it difficult for spouses to find employment. Conversely, the cost of living in some large urban areas can be difficult to meet. Added to this poor knowledge of missions and professions offered by the local civil service.
HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF CIVIL SERVICE JOBS?
We can envisage several complementary levers to meet this challenge of making the civil service more attractive:
Regulatory and administrative levers :
- Work to upgrade pay scales to develop the ability of local authorities to address a competitive job market focused on rare skills or shortage occupations.
- Consideration given to the ways and means of recruiting future agents. From proposals are formalized as follows to lighten/simplify the content of competitions, provide better information (readability/visibility) and develop national competitions with local assignments, in particular to attract individuals who do not envisage geographic mobility following their competition.
- Further diversification of recruitment channels can, more generally, be a powerful lever (e.g. internal/external/3rd channel competitive exams, PACTE, CDI/CDD, PrAB...*), provided that HR players are well equipped (in terms of regulations and professionalization) and that discrepancies (particularly in terms of pay between permanent and contract staff) likely to generate strong feelings of injustice among agents are limited.
*PACTE: Career path for local civil servants (Parcours d'accès aux carrières de la fonction publique territoriale)
PraB: experimental competition Parcours d'accès aux carrières de la fonction publique territoriale (Territorial civil service career path)
The agent experience across different dimensions
- The construction ofa renewed service offering tailored to the specific challenges of the various business lines and the employees who move to them. In particular, we need to look at the social benefits available to FPT employees moving to areas where it is difficult for their spouse to find a job, or conversely, to employees moving to local authorities where the cost of housing can be an obstacle.
- The introduction of measures to encourage career development and mobility, taking into account the "moments" in agents' careers and lives, thus limiting the apprehension of a sclerotic career path. The challenge here is to work on a more individualized approach to career paths, enabling employees to project themselves into their careers, and to devise ways of enhancing their skills and experience.
- Quality of life at work (QWL), as well as work modes and organization, are major levers for strengthening and improving the agent experience. As mentioned above, expectations in terms of flexibility, work/life balance, managerial culture, meaning and community at work, etc., are all on the rise. essential dimensions of agent commitment. So, in addition to attracting them, we need to think in depth about ways of retaining skills within government departments.
- Linking all these dimensions together in an employer branding strategy designed to articulate internal (presented above) and external (addressed below) measures.
Employer branding levers (external)
- Enhancing know-how and sharing knowledge: improve the clarity and visibility of the expertise, skills and professions covered by the various levels of the civil service, by showing the scope of the fields and missions covered. Beyond this, the aim is also to facilitate and fluidify the dissemination of information to the public, by mobilizing media and terminologies accessible to the greatest number of people. For example, work is being carried out to make it easier to understand and read the job descriptions posted on job boards, as well as the strategies for publishing these offers, by targeting the sites most consulted by the profiles sought.
- Pursue actions to improve the quality of service provided, by placing the experience of users and (future) agents at the heart of its system. In fact, the dual effect of user/employee perception is particularly detrimental to the attractiveness of an administration. The challenge is therefore to improve the perception of service quality and the conditions under which it is delivered, both for the beneficiary and for the person carrying it out. To date, only 1 in 3 local authority employees would recommend their local authority to a friend or family member...
- Relying on a common set of values that constitute "public service". to define the employer brand line for the civil service, and facilitate its adaptation to specific territorial/local/sectoral needs. The civil service brings with it strong, unifying notions of meaning and usefulness, which are major assets to be put to good use in a shared employer brand.
FOCUS ON
THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE HR FUNCTION
The issue of attractiveness is now a central concern for the entire civil service, and all the more so for its HR function. The recruitment difficulties that threaten the availability and accessibility of services of general interest, at the heart of citizens' lives, make this a major issue for public administrations.
While the subject goes beyond the public sphere, it reveals strong trends and expectations of the State and local authorities in terms of employment, working conditions and remuneration, careers, etc. The necessary transformations must now include all projects relating to the modernization of the public HR function.
Several levers can be mobilized to address this issue. They need to be deployed within the framework of a well-defined HR strategy, so that the various aspects can then be rolled out.
It is to tackle this major challenge that the government has announced the launch of the careers and remuneration project for the 1st half of 2023, for which the 1st exploratory work has begun. The time of the Great Transitions that characterizes the current period is an incredible laboratory and an opportunity to revitalize the attractiveness of the public service that our country needs.
