2009 04 01 implementation of civil service legislation in vietnam
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Implementation of Civil Service Legislation in Vietnam: Strengthening Elements of a Position-Based System Saskia P. BruynoogheTrina Q. Firmalo Ann E. FutrellJonathon A. Kent Rohan Mukherjee Isy Faingold VigilTRANSCRIPT
Implementation of Civil Service Implementation of Civil Service Legislation in Vietnam:Legislation in Vietnam:
Strengthening Elements of a Position-Based SystemStrengthening Elements of a Position-Based System
Team Members:Saskia P. Bruynooghe Trina Q. Firmalo Ann E. Futrell Jonathon A. KentRohan Mukherjee Isy Faingold Vigil
Princeton UniversityApril 2009
Position vs. Career-Based Systems Research Question / Methodology Research Focus: Career Paths1. Recruitment and Retention2. Performance Management 3. Compensation/Incentives◦Findings◦Recommendations◦Challenges
Career-Based◦Internal promotion◦Encourages generalized skills
Position-Based◦Lateral recruitment◦Encourages specialization
Position Career Spectrum
Vietnam
Research Question◦ How can the Government of Vietnam and other
interested parties strengthen the position-based elements of Vietnam’s largely career-based civil service?
Methodology◦ Interviews
Vietnamese government officials Donor agencies Civil service employees
◦ Quantitative data MOHA, GSO2003 WB, ADB, GTZ, VDR2005
Predominantly career-based Lack of transparency in recruitment
procedures and proper training of interviewers
Higher-level positions are primarily filled from within the Civil Service or party; selection criteria are largely political
Rapid economic growth has pulled qualified civil servants to the private sector
Attract high quality candidates Improve perception of CS as elite workforce Improve outreach via multiple channels
Increase transparency and quality of recruitment process
Carry out job analyses and create job descriptions that will be used in recruitment
Improve training and retraining methods Continue experimenting with lateral
recruitment at senior and middle levels
Develop human resources to a professional level
Institute reforms to compete for talent with private sector
Overcome bureaucratic retrenchment and political resistance
Three-tiered assessments◦ Self-evaluation◦ Peer review◦ Evaluation by immediate superior
Focus on character traits and compliance with general principles rather than job-specific targets
Emphasis on avoiding noncompliance
Delegate more responsibility to agencies Use job descriptions as baseline Strengthen communication and
accountability through negotiated ‘development contracts’
Link individual, group and agency performance
Streamline responses to poor performance via a clear and formal process
Focus on positive incentives for good performance
Develop relevant performance indicators
Address goal displacement and gaming strategies
Manage expectations about a feasible pace of change
Design tools and procedures that work in the Vietnamese context
Pay is based on a salary scale anchored on minimum wage, with coefficients
Salary scale is relatively compressed Many civil servants supplement income
with other sources Civil servants receive non-wage benefits
and incentives worth more than their salary
Minimum Wage Increases and Inflation Rates (1994-2003)
Source: Government of Vietnam General Statistics Office (2003) in “Sequencing Civil Service Pay Reforms in Vietnam: Transition or Leapfrog?”. Martin Painter, 2006.
Study possibility of wage decompression Continue sustainable and practicable
wage increases, especially for professional and administrative workers
Enhance quality of the work environment Establish mentoring programs Emphasize non-financial incentives Establish group incentives
Carrying out wage reform taking into consideration size of government wage bill
Implementing decompression Efficiency measures (e.g. rightsizing) Overcoming resistance to change Addressing misperception / lack of
information about the wage gap Sorting out legitimate vs. illegitimate
sources of income
Moving towards a more position-based civil service would support PFM reform in particular, and the PAR MP in general, by:◦ attracting the right people for the right jobs ◦ monitoring employees with improved
performance management measures◦ having higher levels of retention with
attractive compensation packages