Conference Agenda

Effective onboarding is crucial for integrating new civil servants into public administration (PA), facilitating their adaptation to the organizational culture and ensuring they can contribute meaningfully to their roles. The unique context and the complexity of PA, require a tailored approach to onboarding that emphasizes specific skill sets. This abstract explores the core skills required for a successful onboarding process in PA and how these skills impact new civil servants’ performance and retention.

One of the key skills necessary for a successful onboarding process is effective communication. Civil servants must navigate a variety of communication channels and engage with different stakeholders, including colleagues, superiors, and the public (Noblet & Rodwell, 2020, Bauer, 2010). Additionally, the ability to adapt to new structures, procedures, and workflows is critical because PA is characterized by complex hierarchies and legal frameworks, and new civil servants must quickly adjust to these elements to function effectively (Spencer, 2022, Van der Voet et al, 2016). Knowledge of regulatory and policy frameworks is also particularly important in ensuring compliance and avoiding administrative errors (Aubyn, Germeys, & De Gieter, 2020) and help them also understand the importance of public trust.

Technological proficiency is becoming increasingly important in PA as many government functions become digitized (Cordella & Tempini, 2021, Harris & Thomas 2016), so digital literacy is a key driver of efficiency and innovation in the public sector. Beyond technical skills, soft skills are also critical because PA relies heavily on collaboration and consensus-building and newly appointed civil servants must be equipped with the interpersonal skills needed to navigate this environment (Noblet & Rodwell, 2020). Ethical awareness is equally important, as civil servants are held to high standards of accountability and transparency (Aubyn et al., 2020, Cooper, 2012). So, issues such as building trust, strengthening teamwork –and virtual teamwork-, encouraging positive team interaction create trust (Larsen et al. 2020) and fairness among civil servants and cultivate psychological safety and error culture.

In addition to developing these key skills, onboarding programs should be designed to promote long-term civil servant’s retention, and job satisfaction. Ahmed et al. (2019) note that effective onboarding strategies that foster a sense of belonging and purpose can significantly reduce turnover rates among civil servants. Additionally innovative spirit and lifelong learning should be enhanced from the beginning of civil servants’ daily work.

In the article we will give some information about the procedure so far for the introduction of newly appointed civil servants followed by the Greek PA. By designing onboarding programs that address the competencies afore mentioned, PA can improve civil servant retention, job satisfaction, and overall performance, ultimately enhancing the quality of public service delivery.

Research Questions:

1. What core skills should be included in the onboarding process in PA for newly appointed civil servants?

2. How can PA better incorporate digital literacy and technological skills into the onboarding process?

3. What are the most effective onboarding practices for fostering innovative spirit, long-term retention and job satisfaction among civil servants in PA?

The concept of competencies refers to a unique and often specialized combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that an individual must gain to perform a particular role at a specified standard. Competency-based training and development programs are those designed to help employees acquire, develop, and refine these competencies, often with a predetermined focus on achieving specific performance results. This approach places a heavy emphasis on the need for employees to demonstrate their skills and apply their practical skills and knowledge in real-world scenarios, in contrast to completing activities in a more training-based environment.

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate identifying core competencies within public sector organisation. Core competencies are defined as those activities that provide strategic advantage to an organisation. The benefits of competency-based training and development programs are numerous and significantly far-reaching.

In India, training for public services has been a long established practice with some training institutes. The need for training was felt to improve the quality of civil servants, and therefore it became an integral part of the personnel policies of government. Almost all the reports on administrative reforms from Gorwala Report on Public Administration (1951) to Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) (1966-72) Reports and those in the post ARC period have emphasised the need for a systematic and coherent training and career development of public services. Government training institutions lie at the heart of the training system. They are the repositories of the expertise distilled from the real world. This paper describes the role of training institution in competency development and training.

Contemporary public service development relies on two prominent approaches for professional training, candidate selection, and subsequent career development. The first approach, historically prevalent and now considered traditional, emphasizes qualifications. This model centers on the professional preparation and training of civil servants, often assessed through standardized testing, examinations, or documentary verification.

The second, more recent approach, known as the competency-based approach, introduces a distinct category to describe a high level of professional proficiency: competence. Unlike qualification requirements, competencies are less readily formalized and assessed. It is crucial to understand the unique characteristics of each approach to ensure their effective and purposeful implementation in public service training programs.

This article delves into the distinctive features, advantages, and limitations of both the qualification-based and competency-based approaches within the context of public service personnel development, recruitment, training, and career progression. It analyzes current practices within public organizations, highlighting common errors in the application of each approach, while also examining their potential to enhance the efficiency and quality of public service delivery. A comparative analysis of these paradigms provides recommendations for their integrated application within public organizations.

This article aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of the impact of qualification-based and competency-based approaches on the development of a highly effective and adaptive public service. Ultimately, this will contribute to improved functioning of public institutions and the provision of impactful public services.