GOVERNMENT: AN ATTRACTIVE JOB EMPLOYMENT
INTRODUCTION
We all need our dose of regular doses of motivation
to keep us going. For employee turnover rate for
government institutions and agencies, it is very low. Thus,
a smaller number of employees have quit the organization
over a certain period of time. In this discussion, we shall
contend if less turnover is healthy or unhealthy, and
discover what motivates these employees in the Cebu
Provincial Government to remain loyal and serve the
agency until their retirement age.
ARGUMENT
Working for the government would mean being an
employee, including independent contractors, of the
executive or legislative branch, a local or national agency,
a public institution of higher education, regardless if
permanent, casual or job order basis. The benefits, of
course, are what many employees say make government
employment so attractive. These perks include job
security, a retirement plan and steady raises. Since many
stayed longer in the Cebu Provincial Government, the
organization have a greater skilled workforce, more
motivated employees, and have a competitive advantage
through employee knowledge and expertise.
EVIDENCE
Statistics from Cebu Provincial Government Human
Resource department shows that employee tenure of 9
years and below is 15%, 20% are 10 to 15 years, 60% for
16 years to 20 years and 5% are 20 years above. More
were attracted to join and stay when the RA 114661 was
signed and implemented. It is fifth tranche of Salary
Standardization Law (SSL) followed the completion of the
SSL 4 enacted by the Aquino administration in 2016 and
implemented by the Duterte administration in 2019. This is
a welcome development for civil servant and meet their
long-unheeded demands. The Salary Standardization Law
of 2019 would grant a new round of pay hikes for state
workers, which would translate to an average 5% increase
this year. Under the measure, the implementation of the
four tranches will begin annually every first of January
starting 2020 until 2023. The in the SSL was to create an
atmosphere which would promote excellence in service
providing for a performance-based bonus (PBB) scheme
to reward outstanding public servants. Likewise, it
continues to pay the loyally awardees of P10,000 for
every 10 years of those service, and P 5,000.00 for every
five (5) years additional years of service. Before the
implementation of the SSL, employees would receive half
of their 13th month pay every May and the other half on
November. This was improved, making it 13th month pay
and 14th month paid on May and November, respectively.
For job order and contract of services, they are not
governed by civil service rules, no benefits and allowances
paid by the agency. But considering their longer tenure
working with the government office, an administrative
order from the president to have them paid with gratuity
pay in a year. The order even summoned the government
agency where they work to consider them first for the
casual or permanent position before hiring other applicants.
COUNTERARGUMENT
As observed, one of the downsides with this
custodial type of organization is that it also attracts and
retains low performance staff as well. Or perhaps even
deliver a lower level of motivation from some staff who feel
that they are “trapped” in an organization because the
benefits are too good to leave.
In the Cebu Provincial Government, since year
2000 to 2020, five employees who went through a mild
stroke, and suffered from right-sided weakness or
paralysis and sensory impairment, still managed to go to
work everyday just to enjoy the same compensation with
less responsibilities. But what’s challenging is when there
is a change of the elected official heading the agency.
Employees will always expect a reorganization. There are
demoted division or department heads. It’s either the stay
in the same department, with a newly assigned individual
to spearhead the office, or worse, he/she will be
transferred to a different related department, or
municipality or to remote district hospitals.
REFUTATION
Despite the aforementioned challenges of new
administration, supportive type of an organization is visible
in the Cebu Provincial Government. There are governing
laws that protect the benefits and employment of a civil
servants. For example, Section 3.8.3 of RA No. 6758
Compensation Policy of the State, safeguard the demoted
division or department heads due to decisions of
reorganization or revamp decided by the governor. They
still enjoy to receive the same salaries and allowances
even if their task is more relaxed than that of their job
descriptions.
The Human Resource department, under the lead
of the former head, Mr. Bonifer Nacorda, motivates
employees through a positive workplace where their ideas
are encouraged and often adapted. Even if he left for good,
his programs were continued by the new administration. It
is focused around aspiring leadership and tires to motivate
staff through the manager-employee relationship and how
employees are treated on a day-to-day basis. Employees
are self-motivated and have value and insight to contribute
to the agency, beyond just their compensation received,
may it be an over payment or underpayment, and
continued to do their day-to-day role.
CONCLUSION
The overall environment and culture of the Cebu
Provincial Government are aligned, where everybody
working as a colleagues, everybody is actively
participating – is not about status and job titles –
everybody is encouraging to work together to build a better
organization. Whoever will lead, a new governor or a new
department head, the important thing is they lead, foster
teamwork and crate a positive and energetic workplaces.
In much regard, they can be considered to be the “coach”
of the team. And as coach, the goal is to make the team
perform well overall, rather than focus on their own
performance, or the performance of key individuals.