Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 03

26 / Canadian Government Executive // March/April 2017 HR Management Attracting Talent To the Public Sector by Embracing Technology T he way organisations recruit, shape and manage their work- force to find the right people for the right jobs at the right time with the right cost is being rapidly trans- formed by technology. Public sector organisations are in a fight for talent with the private sector. For busi- nesses, it is vital to recruit appropriately so as to maintain a competitive edge, be prof- itable, innovative and provide a service that will retain customers. This mission has created a critical shortage of talent in specific areas, and has pushed the issue to a top concern for decision-makers. In both government and industry, techno- logical ability is critical. The talent pool that will be determining success is shallow. A 2016 report from the Information and Communi- cations Technology Council (ICTC) showed that the U.S. is forecasted to create about 1.4 million IT jobs by 2020, but only a third of those jobs will be filled by local graduates. A similar shortage is also predicted for the E.U. which will be short by 825,000 IT workers by the end of this decade. Canada is no exception. Its economy is expected to create over 200,000 tech jobs between now and 2020, but faces a short- age of talent. What can governments do? One way is to encourage more students to take up IT-related studies, but the more im- mediate solution is to transform the work- force of today. To examine the challenge, Canadian Government Executive hosted an event in Toronto on the theme of talent mobilisation. Over 45 executives, consul- tants and HR personnel from government participated in the session. Digital Professional Branding Ms. Jodi LeBlanc, Regional Manager for the National Managers’ Community in Atlantic Canada argued that talent could be attract- ed and retained if employees are assured Marcello Sukhdeo that their employer will not stifle their creativity. In her presentation on “Virtual Networking & Professional Branding: How to Boost Your Work in a Digital Age” she made the point that government employ- ees could become social media leaders. But, she cautioned, it is critical that users know what they are sharing so as to not lose their credibility and value to their government employers. The “magic formula” on what to share on social media is to break one’s shares into thirds: content, the content of others, and personal interaction. She pointed to the guidelines set by the Government of Canada on the three types of use of social media: official, professional and personal uses. The use of an organisa- tion’s official social media account is strict- ly for providing a service, a personal social media account can be used to stay up to date with your profession and then keep shares with friends and family separate which has nothing to do with work. Government employees could build their own digital brand, but LeBlanc point- ed out that they need to conduct them- selves by four principles: be professional, transparent, accountable and respectful. These qualities along with “showing more of your human side and not being a robot” will help to grow your digital brand. Public Innovation Another change is to embrace innovation. “As our society is going through a transfor- mation towards a knowledge society, many of our public and social systems are no lon- ger functioning the way they need to,” Mr. Joeri van den Steenhoven, Director of the MaRS Solutions Lab said during his presen- tation on “Talent for the Public Good: Lead- ing and organising for change.” “We need to rethink and redesign them,” he said. Steenhoven proposed adopting a lab strategy where people learn by doing, have an open space to work together, and a safe place to experiment. This strategy creates a different culture that helps to manage the innovation process. A lack of innovation, on the other hand, “typically manifests itself as a loss of public value which is often less visible on the short term, but more devastating in the long term.” For this change to take place adap- tive leadership in observing, interpreting and intervening must be employed to achieve the innovation mindset. To get to the point of producing “tal- ent for the public good” in attracting and retaining talent, Steenhoven explained that organisations need to invest in three areas: people, structure and leadership. The first area is to set a plan in place to train staff to be designers, innovators and let them learn by doing. Next, have a structure in place by providing a space to experiment and create opportunites to collaborate. Lastly, practice adaptive lead- ership and help staff use their discretion- ary space and exercise leadership. Talent for the Digital Age Another area that needs to change was highlighted by Ms. Lauren Hunter, Head of the IN·spire Innovation Hub at Natural Resources during her presentation on “Un- locking Government Talent for the Digital Age.” “Our hiring models are designed for hiring managers that don’t allow them to have creativity,” she said. That causes us to