The document summarizes a discussion on public service renewal and modernization in Canada. It discusses the top eight misperceptions about the public service, such as it being broken, unable to compete for talent, or out of touch. The Clerk of the Privy Council addresses each misperception, noting that reality is more nuanced. For renewal, the public service needs to improve communications, empower managers, attract top talent, and better reflect Canadian diversity through its workforce and policies. Panellists then took questions on attracting the best graduates, developing future leaders, and managing a changing workforce.

1. PS Renewal and Modernization- GTEC Armchair Discussion Moderator: Kris Stolarik Panellists: Nick Florakas and Donna Achimov October 28, 2008

2. How this Session will unfold… Introduction of the two panellists Quick setting of context by moderator Panellists' presentation Questions/discussion with audience on issues related to PS Renewal and Modernization Closing Remarks

3. Clerk of the Privy Council – “Too Many Misperceptions” Sharing of Kevin Lynch’s list of “Top Misperceptions” on the Public Service – Published in Canadian Government Executive in March 2008 Clerk reminds us that for each misperception: there is a kernel of truth and we are all quick to accept that kernel as whole story; there are “experts” who advance their individual views as articles in public faith; the reality is a more nuanced and complex story; the story is based on a PS that is neither perfect nor broken; the story is strongly rooted in PS values; there is constant pressure to adapt to an ever-changing world

4. The Top Eight Misperceptions of the Public Service The Public Service is broken, merely a pale shadow of its former self; There is actually nothing much wrong with the Public Service – we don’t need renewal; The Public Service cannot compete for the best talent anymore; Public Service policy capacity is not what it used to be;

5. The Top Eight Misperceptions of the Public Service Public Servants are afraid to take risks; The Public Service is not well managed; Public Service renewal exercises never accomplish anything; and The Public Service is out of touch with Canadians – they’re from Venus, we’re from Mars

6. My observations in Private Sector: Modernization and Renewal Make the commitment to communicate TELUS teamVision, digital signage network, weekly e.letter from CEO Empower managers to manage remotely and virtually regardless of physical location on employees and direct reports Create web savvy culture empower and equip employees to be efficient with tools such as portal, “e-tools”, e-learning, wikis, blogs,etc. Mandatory courses on security, values and ethics and privacy – interactive and user friendly – “Live the values, make them meaningful”

7. My observations in Private Sector: Modernization and Renewal Effective use of technology as an “enabler” Investing in attracting top talent Building a high performance team Celebrating successes, rewards align with values e.recognition (based on employees feedback), contests, giveaways, events, etc. Importance of work life balance Corporate Social Responsibility, corporate pride and involvement of all employees in volunteering and giving back to the community we live in

8. Questions to Panellists Are we getting the best grads from our universities and our community colleges to consider careers in the public service? Are we successful at 'home growing" our CIO's or do have to import them from the Private Sector? What will the profile of CIO of the future look like? How do we equip our managers to manage the workforce of future e.g. remotely/virtually? Are we ready to deal with a trans-generational and aging workforce?

9. Questions? Thank You/Merci

10. Additional Background on the Eight Misperceptions

11. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #1 Public Service today is broken, that it is merely a pale shadow of its former self Public Service cannot be error free, no large organization can be accountable for mistakes learn from them vast majority of the time we will provide consistently good public services, day in and day out, to millions of Canadians, and occasionally do amazing things need to do a better job at explaining the breadth and scope and importance of the work public servants do

12. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #2 A concerted focus on renewal is unnecessary Status quo isn't an option in our case The reality of public service demographics means that massive change is inevitable Challenge facing today's renewal of the Public Service is: the strongest national labour market in over 35 years many private sector competitors for the best-and-brightest graduating from our universities and colleges a diminished public service brand less-than-stellar public service recruitment practices Need to better develop and manage our workforce Renewal is an opportunity to engage the best of the next generation of Canadians in public service, to reshape the public service to better reflect the diversity that is Canada and infuse it with new ideas and energy.

13. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #3 The Public Service cannot compete for the best talent anymore The strongest potential recruitment tool for the public service is the unique nature of our work: what we offer is challenging work We have to change how we recruit Need to personalize the recruitment process, to cut the deadly staffing times that could discourage the most ardent potential recruit, to market what we do and why it is important Once recruited, need to provide our employees with a challenging variety of work experiences, with targeted development training and leadership skills, and with more supportive and flexible work-life balance We have to sharpen our brand

14. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #4 The policy capacity of the Public Service is not what is used to be Public servants don't make policy decisions, elected governments do Need the capacity and flexibility to deploy policy resources to the most important issues and priorities of the day Public Service should not have a monopoly in Canada on policy research and advice The policy challenges of today are certainly no less complex than in years past, they are different.

15. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions # 5 Public servants are afraid to take risks The reality is not one of poor public servant attitudes, but bad incentives Public servants in a complex, and often conflicting, web-of-rules that encourages inaction over taking responsible risks, and discourages innovation in favour of the status quo Part of the solution lies with departments who sometimes create their own disincentives to innovation and risk adverse cultures

16. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #6 The Public Service is not well managed Effective management of people and resources has not had the priority and focus it deserves in the public service Greater focus on people management in the performance management system for all executives. New Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) to help develop the senior public service leaders of the future. Restructure the governance, roles and accountabilities for human resources management Improve "back office of the government" and includes the imperative to: (i) improve our slow and inefficient staffing processes; (ii) modernize our pay system; (iii) give managers real-time financial and human resources information for effective management; (iv) develop an annual, on-line survey; and, (v) scale back the web-of-rules

17. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #7 Public Service renewal exercises never accomplish anything Renewal, in either the public or private sectors, is not about fixing something for all time, but updating practices to the times Keeping the institution of the Public Service dynamic, fresh and up-to-date Renewal is about striving to ensure that what we do and how we do it is effective and relevant within the context of an ever-changing external environment.

18. The Clerk’s dispelling of the eight misperceptions #8 Public Service is fundamentally out of touch with Canadians Better reflect and understand the diversity that is Canada but diverse perspectives mean that there is not always unanimity on the way forward Value of outreach activities across the country by senior public service leaders Importance of consultation and engagement with various sectors in our society Misperception that the between the public and private sectors have little in common and few areas for meaningful collaboration – they need to work more not less together