Audit 2024: Recruitment and Selection process review Public Entity St. Eustatius

FINAL - CoAS - PES's Recruitment and Selection process review.pdf

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The Island Government of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius (PES) is responsible for providing the community with a wide range of services which are essential for the proper functioning of the society. To do this, the PES must maintain a significant number of personnel (the civil service core) with a wide variety of skills and abilities to provide these key services to the community. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the recruitment and selection process within the Public Entity of Statia (PES), which is essential to uphold the right amount of skilled personnel. It is important to note that this research focuses on the years 2020-2023.

The research aimed to address the two research questions by executing three key steps. Step 1 involved assessing the effectiveness of the design. This involves the assessment of the compliance of the written recruitment and selection process with the established policies and applicable laws. Step 2 focused on testing the operational compliance of the recruitment and selection process, which also included an evaluation of the transparency and objectivity of the process in practice. Finally, step 3 consisted of an assessment of whether the recruitment and selection process contributes to the organizational goals of PES. These three steps supported the answering of the two critical research questions:

➢To what extent does the recruitment process of civil servants meet the requirements of transparency, objectivity, and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies?

➢ Does this process achieve the organizational goals of recruiting and maintaining adequately staffed and skilled civil servants essential for the Island Government in delivering services to the community?

Based on the research, the current recruitment process does not fully ensure the effective hiring and retention of adequately staffed and skilled civil servants, which are essential for the Island Government to deliver services to the community. While the specific organizational goals are not clearly defined, it is evident that the existing process does not fully meet the staffing needs. While a specific recruitment policy is in place, no clear definitions, or key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with organizational goals are available. This lack of clarity makes it difficult to understand and assess whether the recruitment process aligns with the organization's objectives.

The identified shortcomings in the recruitment process contribute to high time-to- hire, suboptimal candidate qualifications, and low transparency and objectivity. Elevated turnover rates have been observed, with the recruitment of candidates who do not meet necessary requirements, leading to additional training needs. The organization is also facing a high aging level among its workforce, which poses risks to the continuity of services provided to the community due to potential knowledge loss and increased vacancies.

Furthermore, the findings highlight concerns regarding personnel costs, exacerbated by a reliance on external staffing. This dependency not only increases expenses but may also create discord among internal staff, who may feel undervalued compared to external hires. The ongoing shortage of highly skilled personnel poses a significant challenge to the organization's ability to function efficiently and meet operational demands. The limited recruitment pool complicates efforts to attract qualified candidates, resulting in potential gaps in expertise.

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Additionally, there is a lack of comprehensive and standardized documentation for various stages of the recruitment process. Many requested documents were not provided during sample testing activities, raising concerns about the adequacy of record-keeping. Insufficient documentation and archiving practices contribute to low levels of transparency, which can hinder trust in recruitment practices and the overall effectiveness of the process.

Based on the review of certain files, the composition of the selection committee did not consistently meet the minimum required number of members, which undermines the objectivity and fairness of the selection process. Moreover, many new hires during the testing periods lacked the minimum required skills for their roles, indicating a significant gap in the recruitment process that led to the hiring of underqualified candidates.

Ultimately, these issues could create a negative spiral, as the absence of skilled individuals within the organization necessitates the recruitment of costly temporary consultants or expatriates, further increasing expenses. With an aging workforce, there will be an even greater need for personnel in the coming years, potentially requiring temporary hires as valuable knowledge is lost. This situation could lead to dissatisfaction among internal staff at PES, further complicating the organization's ability to achieve its recruitment and retention needs.

Based on the executed research the recruitment process for civil servants at PES demonstrates shortcomings in transparency, objectivity, and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies. While there are efforts to provide job descriptions and support candidates, discrepancies between the function book and actual job descriptions hinder clarity.

In terms of objectivity, the selection process lacks the required minimum number of stakeholders in the selection committee, which compromises objectivity. Additionally, the absence of clear evaluation documentation raises concerns about personnel appointments, and the concentration of decision-making authority in one individual undermines the advisory role of the committee.

Regarding compliance, the assessment reveals mixed results, with half of the compliance criteria rated effective and the other half partially effective. Testing results indicate that while the first period was compliant with areas for improvement, the second period was deemed non-compliant. Overall, the recruitment process requires significant enhancements to meet the standards of transparency, objectivity, and compliance effectively.

Recommendations

The recruitment process for civil servants at PES currently falls short of achieving the organizational goals necessary for effectively staffing and maintaining skilled personnel essential for the Island Government's service delivery to the community.

To address the challenges, several recommendations have been formulated. First, enhancing documentation and archiving through systematic procedures and a centralized digital repository will improve transparency and accessibility for audits. Second, standardizing evaluation with assessments, such as skills tests and personality evaluations, will ensure consistent and objective candidate evaluations. Regularly updating the function book and conducting salary benchmarks will help maintain competitive compensation and accurately reflect current roles.