What training strategy to attract and retain agents?

The public sector is facing an unprecedented recruitment crisis. Between recruitment difficulties and staff leaving for other horizons, training is one way of making the civil service more attractive again. Nicolas Chevalier-Roch, a specialist in local authority management, explains.

1 in 4 new civil servants give up their job. These are the findings of a study by the Directorate-General for Administration and the Civil Service, published in February 2023. This decision is always final. It stems from the feeling of immobility created by the administration. And after this unsuccessful experience, those who resign no longer consider working in the public sector at all.

This observation, combined with numerous recruitment difficulties, has led the Ministry of the Civil Service to launch a major consultation of civil servants at the start of the 2023 academic year. The result is a "Public Service +" plan that puts the emphasis on training of agents in light of the problems identified in recent years.

Manager training

One of the first points mentioned in the consultation was management problems. These stem from the overly rigid organisation of administrative departments. Overly scrupulous adherence to established organisational charts is detrimental to both efficiency and professional comfort. We therefore need to promote functional management and a review of processes.

What's more, in the absence of a link with HR departments, it is difficult for managers to value individual efforts. This is an essential point that needs to be strengthened within the civil service. This can be achieved by better integrating HR departments into the full range of managerial issues. They are still too often confined to recruitment and payroll. All the more so since the "Civil Service +" plan provides for a number of tools to facilitate the rewarding of personal efforts. These include :

• personal efforts to be taken into account in the compensation component of remuneration;
• and more personalised treatment for agents.

But it is above all the lack of managerial skills that is singled out. Being a manager is not enough to know how to manage teams on a day-to-day basis.

The challenge, within a framework that is often seen as too rigid, is to know the reality of the room for manoeuvre. This is essential if you are to carry out your duties without feeling like you are walking on eggshells with every decision. The aim? Quite simply, to enable managers to manage.

Enhanced support for user relations

Rising expectations and demands from citizens, increasing acts of violence... Civil servants are encountering difficulties in their relations with users. This is another major point identified during the consultation, which led to a major action plan against violence (barometer, indicators to monitor violence against civil servants, measures to strengthen the protection of civil servants and the punishment of their aggressors). But this phenomenon also says a lot about the complexity of working in contact with the public.

This is why communication and conflict management must be reinforced by training. Whether it's learning how to conduct an interview with a user. Adopting a reassuring posture or building a clear and convincing argument.

For example:

These skills and know-how are essential both for the professional well-being of the agent in contact with users and for the users themselves.

Improving quality of life at work through training

All too often forgotten in the public sector, the issue of health in the workplace is nonetheless of paramount importance. In 2023, despite some improvements, local authority employees were still generally dissatisfied with their quality of life at work. These are the findings of the latest survey carried out jointly by the Gazette des communes and the Mutuelle nationale territoriale. Nearly one in two consider that their quality of life at work is declining. And three out of four feel stress related to their profession.

This is all the more important given that, at the same time, civil servants feel that their workload is constantly increasing.

Whether it's a question of physical or mental health, public-sector employers will benefit from strengthen their QVCT policy (quality of life and working conditions).

Two Vigilant point :

1 - Don't forget the sedentary workers

Indeed, the absence of any particular physical constraints does not mean zero risk. This is borne out by public health messages about the importance of getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Yet musculoskeletal risks are often absent from single documents concerning these agents. Yet the use of digital tools can cause tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Similarly, poor posture at the computer can lead to back pain. Finally, the office environment itself is not always free from the risk of exposure to dangerous substances.

2 - Don't underestimate the importance of risk of burnout which have proliferated in recent years in the public sector

In fact, the number of administrations being condemned by the courts has exploded. This is a sign that the issue needs to be taken more seriously. This risk needs to be analysed through the prism proposed by the INRS (Institut national de recherche et de sécurité). The most common factors in the civil service include :

• Poorly defined objectives
• The numerous interruptions during work
• Tensions with users
• Confronting the suffering of others

For example, QWL could be the subject of training for managers, HR staff and employee representatives (social committee). Among other objectives: to combat job abandonment and absenteeism, and to strengthen the brand image of public-sector recruiters.

HR training to develop greater flexibility

Joining the civil service is often synonymous with a long career. A notion that is increasingly difficult to grasp for most young people entering the world of work. For many of them, it's impossible to spend their whole lives doing the same thing. This feeling is all the more legitimate given that careers are getting longer as life expectancy increases.

However, the public service is rich in diversity. There are many different sectors of activity, including health, education, justice and local government, but there is also a wide range of responsibilities and skill levels. Not to mention the fact that you can work anywhere in France and still be a civil servant. But these qualities are difficult to perceive, as each administration has its own specificities. a tendency to operate in isolation. HR departments think in terms of their own constraints and the services they have to manage. And they often fail to support career development prospects outside this framework. To break out of this logic, the Ministry is urging all government departments to work to build loyalty across the entire civil service. In addition, career development advice services (CEP) are now in place at government level.

Better integration of new digital tools

The average age of civil servants is between 3 and 5 years higher than in the private sector. This partly explains the difficulty of the digital transition in the public sector. Indeed, the over-40s suffer almost 3 times more from illiteracy than the under-25s. And in the civil service, more than 50 % of employees are over 45. Unfortunately, the unmet need to work with digital tools is one of the reasons why younger people are not joining the civil service.

That's why public sector managers need to take greater account of the impact of ageing on the digital transition of the public sector.

Fortunately, the efforts made in recent years to strengthen the digital transition of public services are beginning to bear fruit. This is the case with the digitisation of most procedures, but also with theintegration of artificial intelligence (AI) in certain processes. AI is already helping tax inspectors to check the assets declared by taxpayers. Other AI tools are currently being tested to improve the targeting of public assistance to the poorest households. And, since October 2023, 1,000 volunteer agents have been testing AI-assisted responses to citizens' queries.

However, these developments require important support, supported by an appropriate training plan. Another track: strengthen the role of tutoring and mentoring to facilitate the transfer of skills between agents. The idea? For new employees to pass on their knowledge of new digital tools to their predecessors. This is the principle of reverse mentoring.

Key point: training is one of the answers to the unprecedented crisis in recruitment that the civil service is experiencing. By investing in skills development, the civil service can not only revitalise its workforce, but also equip them with the know-how essential to restoring a high-quality public service. Above all, we must not forget anyone along the way: whatever their level of responsibility, their age, their mission... all civil servants must see, if not new career prospects, the promise of professional fulfilment on a daily basis.