Institute of Public Administration Public Service Motivation and

Institute of Public Administration Public Service Motivation and Public Service Reform Dr. Richard Boyle, Head of Research Presentation to 2013 DISPA meeting, Vilnius 24 -25 October 2013 Institute of Public Administration | 57 -61 Lansdowne Road | Dublin 4 | Ireland | Ph. +353 1 2403600 | www. ipa. ie

The impact of reform on motivation – a review of literature and practice • Public service motivation in Ireland • What motivates public servants? • Practices supporting public service motivation • Implications for training and development © IPA Report available at http: //www. ipa. ie/pdf/Public. Service. Motivation. pdf 2

Numbers employed in the public service © IPA 3

Public service employment per 000 population © IPA 4

Public servants as ‘scapegoats’ § Media have (on the whole) seen the public service as part of the problem, not as part of the solution § “A bloated and pampered public sector is bleeding the nation dry” (Sunday Independent 27/3/11) © IPA 5

What motivates public servants? § Public employees have higher levels of PSM than private sector employees § However, we cannot be certain if or how PSM influences job decisions or performance § PSM may be a relatively stable disposition but one that can be changed over time and influenced by the organisation § High performance builds self efficacy that may lead to higher PSM § ‘Good pay, a secure job and a tad of PSM’ © IPA 6

Practices supporting public service motivation § § § © IPA Transformational leadership Person-organisation fit Effective goal setting and design Creating a supportive work environment Managing public service values Employee engagement 7

Conclusions § In circumstances where extrinsic motivations are being severely impacted, it is critical that managers are aware of the importance of fostering and supporting the intrinsic motivation of employees § Value based leadership, a supportive work environment, and organisation goals and job characteristics that reflect employees’ PSM have a positive impact on morale and performance © IPA 8

Implications for training and development § Danger that ‘bottom-line’ issues (reduce head count and pay) dominates HR agenda § Address the issues that impact on motivation: – – © IPA Managing values and value conflicts Build into leadership development Goal setting Engagement programmes 9