Changes in Civil Service Management

►Civil Service Reform -

changes in civil service management

Victor Bodiu,

Secretary General of Government

The current regulatory framework requires that the State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova ensures promotion and implementation of the state civil service policy, in general, and HR management in particular. In this sense, the State Chancellery develops and promotes the civil service regulatory framework, coordinates the ongoing professional development of civil servants, monitors the activities related to civil service positions across the public administration and checks on the compliance with civil service legislation.

As stated in the Moldova Governance Program”European Integration: Freedom, Democracy, Welfare”, in 2010 the civil service reform focused on the development of the legislative and regulatory frameworks, so as to achieve classification of staff into clear categories and enable enforcement of the new civil service regulatory framework.

In this respect the key achievements in 2010 are as follows:

• Key regulations were developed for all staff categories in the public authorities:

political appointees – Law no.199 of 16.07.2010;

staff in the cabinet of a political appointee – Lawno.80of 07.05.2010;

civil servants – Law no. 158 of 04.07.2008 on the public office and status of civil servant, amended throughLaw no.98 of 28.05.2010;

civil servants with special status – special legislation, amended throughLaw no.222 of 17.09.2010, amending 20 pieces of legislation;

support/technical staff – Labour Code;

• The positions in public administration authorities were classified into clear categories– through the staff list endorsement procedure. In 2010 only the central public administration authorities had their staff lists endorsed by the State Chancellery; the local public administration authorities started developing their first staff lists for 2011;
• Job descriptions were developed and approvedfor all the categories of civil service positions in the central and local public administration authorities;
• To help enforce the provisions of the Law on the public office and status of civil servant, new regulations were developed and approved:

–Disciplinary Commission Regulation, approved through the Government Decision no.519 of 22 June 2010,

–Regulation on the performance appraisal of civil servants, approved through the Government Decision no.697 of 5 August 2010,

–Framework Regulationfor the HR units in public authorities, approved through the Government Decision no.1130 of 15 December 2010;

• Personnel procedures in line with the European good governance principlesare in place– merit - based recruitment and advancement in civil service;social and professional integration of new employees;annual appraisal of performances;ongoing training etc.;
• A platform was created to track the human resources in the public administrationby putting in place a system of statistical indicators for the positions and staff in the public authorities;
• The design work on the automated information system Registry of civil service positions and civil servants was resumed by launching the bidding for selecting a design company;
• Public authorities received training in enforcing the regulatory framework– guidance was provided to the managers of public authorities and HR units; outreach materials, such as the Electronic Newsletter Civil Servants’ Management were developed, published and distributed;the CPA reform website updated on a regular basis with useful information and materials;
• The skills of staff in public authorities were developedthrough internal and external training (compulsory budget-financed training, donor - financed training), delivered within the country and abroad, study tours, internships. Apart from that, the Scholarship Program for the Moldovan civil servants who wish to study abroad was launched with the support of the development partners.

The new civil service regulatory framework revolutionized the civil service management principles and standards aligning them with the European good practices.

To be able to upgrade the personnel procedures, as defined in the Law no.158-XVI of 4 July 2008 and the Government Decision no.201 of 11 March 2009, as amended, the State Chancellery started monitoring, with the help of HR units, how public authorities applied those procedures. The civil service positions were tracked and the enforcement of the new regulatory framework in the central specialized bodies and the local public administration authorities was monitored for the first time in 2010.Also in 2010 was the statistics of civil servants and other staff categories provided by categories of positions in the public administration.

The following progresswas achieved (rendered in figures):

The competition procedure started to prevailamong other employment procedures in civil service. It was applied to 39% of individuals employed to civil service positions in the central specialized bodies and 73% in the local public administration authorities of levels II and I - much higher figures compared to the years 2007 - 2009. In the public administration the civil service positions become more appealing: in the central specialized bodies there were, on average, 3.4 applications per one advertised civil service position, while in the local public administration - 2.1 applications.

The new blood ratein civil service was10.6%in the central specialized bodies, due to the competition procedure applied to employment to civil service and other efforts. The new blood rate in the local public administration was 2.5%;

The training rate recorded a high level in the central specialized bodies with 76.4% of civil servants trained; 72.3% of them received at least 40 hours of training, as required by legislation. Civil servants from the local public administration authorities need more training, as in the local public administration the training rate among civil servants is low – 30%; 54.7% of them received at least 40 hours of training;

Apart from the assistance in developing civil servants’ skills, the State Chancellery provided guidance in putting in place tools for monitoring the training of civil servants, including the written commitment to work in civil service after attending specific long-term training under budget-financed programs. The central specialized bodies signed 39 commitments, while the LPAAs signed 9 commitments;

In 2010 the disciplinary liability of a civil servant was put in placethrough the approved Disciplinary Commission Regulation, as required in the Law on the public office and status of civil servant. Consequently, disciplinary commissions were established in 21 (out of 24) central specialized bodies, in the offices of the heads of 26 rayons (out of 32), in Chisinau municipality and TAU Gagauzia, in the villagehalls in 13 rayons, making a total of 370 disciplinary commissions;

In 2010 to performance appraisal were subjected 85% of civil servants from the central specialized bodies and 95% of civil servants from the local public administration authorities, except for the junior civil servants (where a specific appraisal procedure applies). Civil servants had individual objectives set for 2011, linked with the annual work plans of public authorities for y.2011. The performance appraisal in 2010 revealed that there was no link between the performances of civil servants and those of public administration authorities.

The civil service reform and enforcement of the new civil service regulatory framework needs to move ahead in y.2011 to 2014. Some of the priorities for the coming period are as follows:

• Carry on with the drafting/revision, approval and enforcement of the regulatory framework of the Law no.158 - XVI of July 4, 2008 on the public office and status of civil servant, including the introduction of the secretary of state position, approval of the single Classifier of civil service positions in public authorities and the Regulation on the ongoing professional development of civil servants;
• Develop the new pay system in civil service;
• Design and deploy the automated information system Register of civil service positions and civil servants;
• Endorse the staff lists submitted by the central and local public administration authorities to the State Chancellery;
• Provide further guidance (State Chancellery) to the managers of public administration authorities and HR units in the application of staff procedures;
• Build the skills of staff in public administration, including through training, study tours and Master programs.

The report on the enforcement of Law on the public office and status of civil servant in the central and local public administration authorities in 2010 is available at, and.

► Competition based employment to civil service guarantees competitiveness and professionalism

The competition is defined as one of the key procedures applied to employ to civil service. The aim is to recruit candidates to vacant civil service positions and select the best ones. The competitionsareorganized by the HR units of public authorities and held by the Competition Commission.

The competition to vacant civil service positions should:

• be open
• be skill- and merit-based
• provide equal access to civil service
• be transparent

In 2010, 21 (out of 24) central specialized bodies applied the competition procedure. Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Defence and the Border Control Service did not apply it, as the current special legislation provides for appointment to a civil service position with special status through administrative orders.

The central offices of 21 central specialized bodies proposed in the reported period 339 vacant civil service positions for competition. Consequently, their central offices organized and held 101 competitions.For this purpose test variants, rating scales, list of key questions for interview were produced.

In 2010 for the positions in the central offices of CSBapplied 1152 persons. On average, there were 3.4 applications per one advertised vacant civil service position.

About the way a competition is organized and the difficulties faced by the HR units (HRU) in this sense tell us Gheorghe Plamadeala, Maria Olari and Alexei Gincu, heads of HRU in the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transports and Road Infrastructure and Ministry of Regional Development and Constructions, respectively.

How many persons were employed through competition in your authority in y.2010 and how many applications were submitted, on average, for a vacant position?

Maria Olari (MO):The Ministry of Transports and Road Infrastructure employed quite many persons through competition - 22. On average, there were 8 applications for a position.

Gheorghe Plamadeala (GP):In 2010 the Ministry of Health held 6 competitions for 54 vacant civil service positions. Consequently 30 persons were selected according to the methodology for filling vacant civil service positions.For vacant civil service positions where legal education was required - 3 applications per position, while for the vacancies requiring education in foreign relations - 2 applications per position.

Alexei Gincu (AG):The Ministry of Regional Development and Constructions employed 18 persons. There were 91 applications for 31 advertised vacant positions, meaning that on average 3 persons applied to one vacancy.

Tell us about the competition.

MO:The competition, that has two stages - the written test and the interview - ran in line with the Regulation on the competition based employment to civil service. The key eligibility criteria are higher education, relevant experience, and proficiency in the national language.

GP:When organizing the competitions, we considered the methodical recommendations on employment to civil service. We did not have specific requirements that the candidates had to comply with. Some of the competitions were organized in the same day, as suggested by the candidates - the written test in the first half of the day, while the second was left for the interview, because most of the candidates had jobs and could not take two days off from work.

AG: MRDC held the competition in compliance with the provisions of the current legislation. The key principles were open and skill- and merit-based competition, ensuring equal access to civil service and transparency. We did our best to create conditions and equal chances for all the candidates, whose selection was unbiased.

There were several stages in arranging the competition:

I - Preparation of materials needed to launch and organize the competition (sub-actions: revising or developing the job description, preparing the bibliography for the competition, the information about the eligibility criteria);

II – Announcement of the competition (sub-actions: publishing the recruitment note in mass-media, posting the information about the eligibility criteria on the website and billboard of the ministry, answering questions);

III –Receipt of applications (sub-actions: receipt and review of the applications, filling out the Applications Table);

IV – Short-listing candidates eligible for competition (sub-actions: holding the first meeting of the competition commission to review applications and short list the eligible candidates);

The written examination - first stage of the competition- tested the knowledge and skills required for fulfilling the job-related tasks. The interview - second stage of the competition - aimed at finding out what were the professional and personal skills of the candidate, as well as behavioural traits.

Did you face any difficulties while preparing and holding the competitions? Please share your experience in this sense.

MO:Many of those who would like to apply do not have the required education and experience. It is difficult sometimes to explain to them why they are not eligible.

GP:We did not have any major difficulties. We had some trouble at the beginning with the formulation of tasks for the written test, as there should be 3 test variants with at least 24 different tasks.

AG:I wouldn’t say we faced any difficulties.

What were the evaluation criteria and what was evaluated?

MO:The competition commission examined each application, formulated the tasks and rating scales for the written test and the questions for the interview.The members of the competition commission evaluated the answers at the written test against the rating scale. The interview evaluated the job-related and managerial skills, as well as the factors that motivated and discouraged the candidate.

GP:The candidates were evaluated against the job related requirements, defined in the job description. All the candidates were eligible for competition.

AG:The candidates were evaluated in terms of professional and personal skills: planning skills, organizational skills, analysis and synthesis skills, communication skills, initiative.

Are the candidates properly trained for the written test and interview?

MO:I would say that the training level of candidates is, more or less, good.

GP:They are good specialists, but less familiar with the civil service regulations.

AG:I would say that the candidates were quite well prepared. The results of the competition will influence the evaluation of candidates by the competition commission. Their answers, as well as behaviour, convey their confidence and seriousness.

Do you think competition helps improve competitiveness of candidates and, consequently, better qualification of the staff?

MO: Yes, it does. It enables the employer to select the best candidates.

GP:Definitely, yes.

AG:Sure. Employment through competition in civil service improves competitiveness, the so-called transferable skills (communication and team work skills), resistance to stress, optimism, energy, creativity, initiative and discipline.

What do you do to achieve better visibility of the advertised vacancies? Do you have specific waystorecruit potential candidates besides the ones defined in the regulatory framework (periodicals, official website of the institution, billboard)?

MO:The methods specified are sufficient. All our recruitment notes are published in periodicals and posted on our website and billboard.

GP:Apart from the methods specified, we shared information about our vacancies with the Nicolae Testimiteanu graduates. These efforts resulted in the employment of one person.

AG:Along with the methods specified, sometimes it is useful to share information directly with the potential candidates, via personal contacts.

The role of HR units in competition-based employment cannot be overestimated, because it is the one in charge of ensuring equal access to civil service and visibility of vacancies, organizing and holding the competition in compliance with the regulatory framework.

The competition is undoubtedly the path to a civil service with skilled personnel able to deliver quality public services.

► Lead Ethics Commission - ameans to implement the conflict of interest policy

The Government has recently approved the draft law on the Lead Ethics Commission,granting the commission a status of autonomous and independent public authority. The commission will deal with the implementation of the policy related to the conflict of interest and declaration of income and assets by officials, judges, prosecutors, civil servants etc.

Given that declaration of income and assets and declaration of personal interest are part of the conflict of interest policy, one and the same entity should deal with the control of asset declarations and declarations of personal interest.

The duties of the Lead Ethics Commission derive from the Law no.16-XVI of February 15, 2008 on the conflict of interest and from the Law no.1264 - XV of July 19, 2002 on the declaration and control of income and assets of political appointees, judges, prosecutors, civil servants etc., as amended, as well as from the draft amendments tothe Law on the conflict of interest (approved by Government).

The Lead Ethics Commission is expected to have 26positions andbe managed by a chair, appointed by Parliament with the majority of votes, for a 5-year term of office. The chair of the commission will not be allowed to be in office for more than 2 successive terms and will be assisted by a deputy chair, appointed by Parliament, at the recommendation of the chair of the Commission for a 5-year term.