Now, and even more so in the future, public services of the EU Member States have to face cutbacks, downsizing and restructuring. According to the OECD, three-quarters of their member countries are planning, or have already introduced reforms, which decrease the current size of their workforce at central government level. The effects of these reforms are a loss of skills, less capacity and risks of lower productivity, performance, de-motivation and low morale. In that context, simplistic solutions and short-term measures will not work if we want the public service to be effective also in the future, as well as competency-driven and a good employer rather than just smaller.
A more substantial and fundamental re-thinking of the public service HR and organisational management becomes crucial in times of cutbacks, in order to ensure an effective management of the skills and competencies under resource constraints. Important questions in this context are: What is the impact of the fiscal crisis on public administration, performance and reform? How to best use and manage scarcer resources to preserve capacity, productivity and morale? To what extent is it possible to do more with less? What instruments are there in the field of HR and organisational management to compensate for fewer resources? What leadership skills are required in times of cutbacks and restructuring?