The reality of current Disruptions in

Workplace a Public Service Perspective

6th Annual HR Congress
Pride Inn Beach & Spa, Mombasa
21st-24th May 2019
Presentation by Gilbert Nyandiga
Deputy Director HRM&ADMIN
Public Service Commission of Kenya
The future of work in government

 Government Jobs are not immune to the trends of

technology advancement
 The rigid, hierarchical structures of the past aren’t
well-suited for the tech-based, information-driven,
and rapidly shifting modern economy
The future of government work is unfolding along three dimensions:
 Work: Developments such as advanced automation and cognitive technology
will change the way public sector work gets done
 Workforce: Enabled by technology, government will increasingly make use of
more varied work arrangements, accessing more diverse pools of skills and
capabilities, both inside and outside the organization
 Workplace: Technology, and new models for employing talent, will redefine the
workplace and its organizational supports. These changes will impact physical
workspaces (including remote work) along with policies that promote employee
well-being and productivity
 In the coming years, cognitive technologies will reshape
government work by creating new capabilities, increasing capacities
doing more
 Optimization: Doing it better with improved Quality, Speed, Agility
and Cost reduction
 Expansion of value : Doing it differently, improved employee
engagement, enhancing creativity and innovation
 Government debts= Tax payers dilemma is a choice
between high taxes or poor public services or both.
 Its through disruptive innovations that will resolve this
dilemma
 Disruptive innovations start out less good but cheaper,
then break the trade-off between price and performance
by getting better, and typically even cheaper, over time.
 .
Some of the Disruptive Workplace Innovations in the
Public Sector that has changed public service delivery.

 E-citizen Automation and digitisation of business

processes
 Huduma Centers- revolution of government service
delivery
 IFMIS- Public Finance Management
 GHRIS-
 IPPD –payroll management
 E-procurement
 Online vacancy advertisements and applications
 Social media use in government and government agencies
 CBC – overhauling the education system
 ERPs- in government and its agencies
 Itax system
 Huduma number
Other Government initiatives
The Public Service Delivery Innovation Strategy of June 2017 will:-
 provide a framework for systematic innovation and facilitate public
servants to tap new ideas and adopt best practice
 entrench an innovation culture and harness existing potential for
service delivery innovation.
 provide a national framework and the foundation for achievement
of quality, responsive, cost effective and timely services to citizens
and;
 facilitate the Public Sector to create an enabling environment where
innovative service delivery shall flourish.
 The Public Service Transformation Framework agenda of 2017-
2022 is set to focus on four key principles;
 transparency, collaboration, innovation and results oriented.
 The Framework is premised on five key pillars, namely:
 (i) Human capital management,
 (ii) Transformative and value-driven leadership,
 (iii) Fit-for purpose public institutions,
 (iv) Effective and efficient service delivery,
 (v) Productivity, innovation and global competitiveness.
 The Framework therefore, presents a “Do-It-Yourself’’ approach in
which Government entities across the Public Service are expected
to adopt.
Employee experience

 Definitions

 The Employee Experience is the sum of perceptions employees have

about their interactions with the organization in which they work.
 or

 Employee experience is a worker's observations and perceptions

about his or her employment at a particular organization
Current situation in the public service
 The outdated personnel systems now causing so much frustration
were once positive innovations
 Most public sector organizations are still locked into decades-old
workforce policies, such as rigid job classifications, lockstep pay,
and reliance on seniority as a substitute for capability
 Government jobs are not attractive to the available young talents
 The jobs are career growth oriented rather than career development
 Schemes of services viewed as outdated
 No talent management initiatives
 Factors contributing to positive employee experience
Meaningful Work Supportive Positive work Growth Trust in Leadership
management environment Opportunities
Autonomy Clear and Flexible work Training and support Mission and
transparent goals environment on the job purpose

Select to fit Coaching Humanistic Facilitated talent Continuous

workplace mobility investment in people

Small empowered Investment in Culture of Semi directed Transparency and

teams development of recognition dynamic learning honesty
Managers

Time for slack Agile performance Fair , inclusive , High impact Inspiration
management Diverse work learning culture
environment
Where is the Public Service on matters of employee
experience

 Employee wellness, office gyms, and team building retreats

 Employee/customer satisfaction survey as feedback tools
 Employee self service portals
 Internet (Wifi) in workplaces and the use of social media as a platform for communication.
 Health care(insurances) and counselling programs
 Car loans and Housing mortgages
 Inclusivity –stakeholders participation
 Diversity
 Performance based reward systems
 The Constitution of Kenya 2010
 The HRMP Act 2012
Several factors make employee experience a challenge in the public sector today

 The Government has not fully made employee experience a priority

 Nobody is responsible for the design and delivery of employee experience.
 Siloed HR departments with no budgets to address an integrated set of priorities, which
range from management practices to the workplace to benefits and, often, the work
culture itself.
 Slow evolution of HR as a technical support and instead still viewed as an
administrative support
 Lack of pulse surveys to help HR teams and line managers to understand fully what
the talent they employ expects and values.
 Lack of an integrated framework of the various disciplines of performance
management, goal setting, diversity, inclusion, wellness, workplace design, and
leadership.