Minister of Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo, this year the State will have to hire over 150,000 people to replace those who will retire. Yet in the competitions many places remain vacant especially in the higher profiles. Aren’t you afraid of not being able to fill all the positions?
“It’s a complex challenge. But I have to say that in 2022 we fulfilled the commitments we made. 157,000 people have entered the public administration. This year’s goal is very ambitious, and the data we have collected on how insolvency proceedings have been managed in the last two years give us confidence».
What do the data say?
«We have gone from an average duration of the competition procedures in 2019, therefore before the pandemic, of 780 days to 169 days in 2022. A result that places us among the best in Europe. Of course, this figure takes into account the fact that during the pandemic we reviewed the procedures by eliminating some steps that were incompatible with the moment we were experiencing».
You refer to the oral test which has been cancelled. But now that you will once again have to be supported by the candidates, will times get longer again?
“I have created a working group of experts who are working on a reform of the competitions that will allow us to cut all the dead times of the various phases of the procedures in order to ensure that the times remain rapid”.
With what goal?
«That we get from the ban to hiring in six months, 180 days in all. It is an ambitious goal, but to make the public administration attractive we must be able to meet these challenges”.
However, the Council of State expressed some observations on the digitized evidence of the competitions which also gave a boost to the procedures. Will you change them?
«The Council of State has found, for example, that systems can jam during trials and that this can increase appeals. We will take the findings into account, we have started an effective institutional collaboration with the State Council to find the best solutions. But the theme of the digitization of bankruptcy procedures still remains a central point of the attractiveness of the Public Administration”.
Is public work less attractive today than private work?
«I believe that the theme of attractiveness concerns both the public and the private sector today. Certainly here, you know, the grass to cut is high especially looking at how human capital is managed once it is included in the administrations».
Is there also a public pay problem compared to the private sector?
“I would like to be clear about this. To say that the public administration in general terms is not competitive on the pay front is a generic and superficial statement”.
Isn’t it true that private individuals pay better than the state?
«It is clear that if I compare myself with the large private companies, there may actually be a gap between the remuneration offer of the PA and that of the large multinational. But if I’m referring to the Italian panorama of companies, essentially made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Public Administration is able to be competitive both in terms of salaries and career prospects. Then there is the great issue of merit».
Many ministers have tried their hand at the merits. With little success so far?
«The cultural approach needs to be changed. Managers need to be sensitized and trained. Being a manager doesn’t just mean being a very good administrative law technician, you need to know how to manage men and financial resources. This means being able to work as a team and valorise talents».
But then the prizes are distributed in rain. Is linking them to merit a chimera?
«A first step was taken with the renewal of the 2019-2021 contracts, where the theme of performance-related rewards was introduced. We need to make it clearer and more viable.”
How?
«By creating a close relationship between boss and collaborator who have to discuss not only on technical issues, but also on working methods. The logic of raining prizes must be interrupted. Virtuous organizations are those that manage to express management methods that value people. If you are good and do your job well, you must have growth and role paths».
Next week, March 3, he will see the unions for the first time. What will she tell him?
«I waited a few months before summoning them because I wanted to have a real confrontation. I will explain my idea of the civil service and how I intend to implement it.
The request he will receive will certainly be that of funds for the renewal of the contract that expired in 2021 and with inflation running high. What will he answer?
“I won’t hide. I arrived in October and in November I closed three contracts still open, health, local authorities and school. With the Treasury we were then able to find 1.3 billion for a one-off increase for 2023. With the next budget law we will verify the spaces that exist. However, it must be said frankly, at the moment they appear tight. We all hope that a solution to the conflict in Ukraine will be found. If this were to happen, there would be a boost for the economy and it would be easier to find the financial resources also for the renewal of public employment”
Read the full article
on The Messenger