Journal Article

Attractions and Repulsions: How Competitive is the Hungarian Civil Service Today?

Paksi-Petró, Csilla

2024

Overview

Purpose: The aging of civil servants poses the greatest risk for public institutions in Europe, making it increasingly difficult for employers to offer a suitably motivating atmosphere and attractive working conditions for different generations. Lately, research has been focusing on the tools and human resource (HR) and communication strategies that can help retain talented workforce and increase their loyalty. The purpose of the study is to investigate the competitiveness of the Hungarian civil service through a literature review, exploring how attractive or repulsive a civil service career is in the Hungarian labour market. Finally, the article presents some suggestions on how governments can proactively attract and retain the talented next generation of civil servants.Design/Methodology/Approach: The article is partly descriptive and synthesizing, drawing on extensive, comprehensive knowledge and systematization of domestic and international literature and legislation.Findings: The greatest challenge in public administration HR management today is replacing the older generation, transferring knowledge and practical experience, as well as winning over generations Y and Z and creating attractive working conditions for them. The article summarizes the options to address these staffing challenges based on the literature and practice offering numerous solutions to recruitment and retention issues.Practical Implications: Public administration has always been considered a special field, with operating principles and processes differing significantly from those of the private sphere. A wide range of specialized literature has researched, through the explanation of generational change, the HR tools necessary for attracting and retaining today’s employees. Some of the proposed tools and measures may differ from the traditional organizational culture of the public administration. This article lays the grounds for the next empirical phase of research, which will investigate the main motivators for public administration employees and the factors that drive their commitment. This phase will also examine whether the motivators and commitment factors differ from those in the private sector and how the unique characteristics of public administration manifest in this field. By presenting development trends in Hungary, this study aims to contribute to the scientific discourse on the specific characteristics of this issue in Central and Eastern Europe. Namen: Staranje javnih uslužbencev je največja težava javnih institucij v Evropi, delodajalci pa vse težje ponujajo ustrezno motivacijo in privlačne delovne pogoje za različne generacije. Raziskave v zadnjih desetletjih se osredotočajo na orodja ter kadrovske in komunikacijske strategije, s katerimi bi institucije zadržale nadarjeno delovno silo in okrepile njeno zvestobo. Študija s pomočjo pregleda literature proučuje konkurenčnost madžarske javne uprave in skuša ugotoviti, kako privlačna na madžarskem trgu dela je kariera v javni upravi. Prispevek na koncu poda nekaj predlogov, kako lahko vlade proaktivno pritegnejo in zadržijo nadarjeno naslednjo generacijo javnih uslužbencev.Zasnova/metodologija/pristop: Prispevek je opisen in sintetičen ter temelji na obsežnem, celovitem poznavanju in sistematizaciji domače in mednarodne literature in zakonodaje.Ugotovitve: Največji izziv pri upravljanju s kadri v javni upravi je nadomestitev starejše generacije, prenos znanja in praktičnih izkušenj ter pridobivanje generacij Y in Z z ustvarjanjem njim privlačnih delovnih pogojev. Prispevek na podlagi literature in prakse povzema možnosti za reševanje omenjenih kadrovskih izzivov ter predlaga rešitve za vprašanja zaposlovanja in ohranjanja zaposlenih.Praktične posledice: Javna uprava od nekdaj velja za posebno področje, katerega načela delovanja in procesi se bistveno razlikujejo od tistih v zasebni sferi. Obsežna strokovna literatura z razlago generacijske menjave proučuje kadrovska orodja, potrebna za pridobivanje in ohranjanje zaposlenih. Nekatera od predlaganih orodij in ukrepov se lahko razlikujejo od tradicionalne organizacijske kulture javne uprave. Prispevek postavlja temelje za naslednjo empirično fazo raziskave, v kateri bodo raziskani glavni dejavniki, ki zaposlene v javni upravi motivirajo in spodbujajo njihovo predanost. V tej fazi se bo tudi proučilo, ali se omenjeni dejavniki razlikujejo od tistih v zasebnem sektorju in kako se na tem področju kažejo edinstvene značilnosti javne uprave. S predstavitvijo razvojnih trendov na Madžarskem želi ta študija prispevati k znanstvenemu diskurzu o posebnostih tega vprašanja v Srednji in Vzhodni Evropi.

• Publisher: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration, Journal Uprava/Administration,University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
• Subject: Aging / Careers / Civil service / civil service career, competitiveness, human resources potential, labour shortages / Communication strategies / Competition / Competitiveness / Corporate culture / Discourse strategies / Employee retention / Employees / Employers / Employment / Generations / Government / Government employees / Human capital / Human resource management / Labor market / Labor shortages / Legislation / Literature reviews / Loyalty / Management / Motivation / Occupations / Organizational culture / Personnel policies / Private sector / Private sphere / Public administration / Public sector / Recruitment / Staffing / Trends / Workforce / Working conditions