Implementation of Civil Service Implementation of Civil Service Legislation in Vietnam:Legislation in Vietnam:

Strengthening Elements of a Position-Based SystemStrengthening Elements of a Position-Based System

Team Members:Saskia P. Bruynooghe Trina Q. Firmalo Ann E. Futrell Jonathon A. KentRohan Mukherjee Isy Faingold Vigil

Princeton UniversityApril 2009

Position vs. Career-Based Systems Research Question / Methodology Research Focus: Career Paths1. Recruitment and Retention2. Performance Management 3. Compensation/Incentives◦Findings◦Recommendations◦Challenges

Career-Based◦Internal promotion◦Encourages generalized skills

Position-Based◦Lateral recruitment◦Encourages specialization

Position Career Spectrum

Vietnam

Research Question◦ How can the Government of Vietnam and other

interested parties strengthen the position-based elements of Vietnam’s largely career-based civil service?

Methodology◦ Interviews

Vietnamese government officials Donor agencies Civil service employees

◦ Quantitative data MOHA, GSO2003 WB, ADB, GTZ, VDR2005

Predominantly career-based Lack of transparency in recruitment

procedures and proper training of interviewers

Higher-level positions are primarily filled from within the Civil Service or party; selection criteria are largely political

Rapid economic growth has pulled qualified civil servants to the private sector

Attract high quality candidates Improve perception of CS as elite workforce Improve outreach via multiple channels

Increase transparency and quality of recruitment process

Carry out job analyses and create job descriptions that will be used in recruitment

Improve training and retraining methods Continue experimenting with lateral

recruitment at senior and middle levels

Develop human resources to a professional level

Institute reforms to compete for talent with private sector

Overcome bureaucratic retrenchment and political resistance

Three-tiered assessments◦ Self-evaluation◦ Peer review◦ Evaluation by immediate superior

Focus on character traits and compliance with general principles rather than job-specific targets

Emphasis on avoiding noncompliance

Delegate more responsibility to agencies Use job descriptions as baseline Strengthen communication and

accountability through negotiated ‘development contracts’

Link individual, group and agency performance

Streamline responses to poor performance via a clear and formal process

Focus on positive incentives for good performance

Develop relevant performance indicators

Address goal displacement and gaming strategies

Manage expectations about a feasible pace of change

Design tools and procedures that work in the Vietnamese context

Pay is based on a salary scale anchored on minimum wage, with coefficients

Salary scale is relatively compressed Many civil servants supplement income

with other sources Civil servants receive non-wage benefits

and incentives worth more than their salary

Minimum Wage Increases and Inflation Rates (1994-2003)

Source: Government of Vietnam General Statistics Office (2003) in “Sequencing Civil Service Pay Reforms in Vietnam: Transition or Leapfrog?”. Martin Painter, 2006.

Study possibility of wage decompression Continue sustainable and practicable

wage increases, especially for professional and administrative workers

Enhance quality of the work environment Establish mentoring programs Emphasize non-financial incentives Establish group incentives

Carrying out wage reform taking into consideration size of government wage bill

Implementing decompression Efficiency measures (e.g. rightsizing) Overcoming resistance to change Addressing misperception / lack of

information about the wage gap Sorting out legitimate vs. illegitimate

sources of income

Moving towards a more position-based civil service would support PFM reform in particular, and the PAR MP in general, by:◦ attracting the right people for the right jobs ◦ monitoring employees with improved

performance management measures◦ having higher levels of retention with

attractive compensation packages