Our timelines (and methods) for recruiting talent in the public service still need a lot of work. In a world where we are now competing for talent not just locally and nationally, but globally as well (thanks to many remote opportunities), strong delays in processing candidate information reduces our ability to attract and retain the talent we need. This is true of both external talent, but also internal talent seeking new opportunities within the public service.

If the average hire externally requires 275 days (give or take) … that’s almost a year of uncertainty on whether an offer will pan out.

Worse, external or not, communications on the status within competitive processes is often a black hole with few updates until a milestone in the competition – leading many to consider other opportunities instead.

Prolonged recruitment processes can also be costly for organizations. Vacant positions can disrupt workflow, leading to decreased productivity and increased workloads for existing employees. Additionally, the longer a position remains vacant, the more resources are spent on sourcing, screening, and interviewing candidates. In some cases, organizations may need to rely on external recruitment agencies, which can further escalate costs.

Not to mention the stop gap measure of consultants that often fills this gap. With pressure to reduce these costs in Budget 2023, stronger emphasis should be put on recruitment, retainment and development to obtain and maintain the skills needed for today’s public service.

Extended recruitment processes can furthermore lead to decreased morale among existing employees. When a position remains unfilled for an extended period, existing employees may feel overwhelmed by additional responsibilities, leading to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. This can result in higher turnover rates and further recruitment challenges. It also can discourage the competent talent in your very team who could be promoted to fill the role rather than waiting 275 days.

This raises the question on some of our methods and whether we’re doing what we can to truly develop staff and encourage them to grow within the public service. We make employees jump through 30 question competitions to prove themselves and yet, we have at our disposal PMAs that speak of their readiness for advancement. We have programs flagging the readiness of various groups to increase our diversity and inclusion that don’t get leveraged nearly as often as they should. We know staffing actions like non-advertisements are possible, but we see it’s limited use plagued with personal and proximity biases.

We also have part of our workforce questioning if they have a future given their regional positioning. How can we encourage them to keep applying and working in the public service without feeling like their career will plateau without living in the NCR. I’d love to see more commitments by depts to have a % of their workforce regionally hired.

To mitigate these negative impacts, organizations should strive to streamline their recruitment processes, ensure clear communication with candidates, leverage technology for efficient applicant tracking and assessment, and prioritize prompt decision-making to secure the best talent in a timely manner. They should also consider the talent at their fingertips, and how they can support the development of existing employees. We don’t always have to look elsewhere for talent. Where we need to do better is truly getting to know the talent we have available across the public service, encourage its development, help it move around various departments to gain new experiences and skills, and stop making them jump hoops but instead challenge them with real work experiences that will benefit both your organization and the public service in the long-run.