Project "Simplification and Improvement of Employment in Civil Service" Successfully Implemented

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The one-year project "Simplification and Improvement of Employment in Civil Service" has been concluded through the joint cooperation of the Public Administration Reform Fund and ZAMM media CONSULTING d.o.o., with the aim of supporting the processes of building a professional civil service by establishing a more efficient and effective civil service through the simplification and improvement of all employment activities.

This project is one of the efforts to confirm the determination to implement public administration reform and improve the conditions for its effective and lawful functioning, but also to take concrete steps in that direction. The simplification and improvement of the civil servant employment system represents an extremely important component within the overall reform goal of introducing a modern human resource management concept in public administration at various levels of government in BiH. This is a project whose implementation has enabled further improvement of the modernization of recruitment and selection procedures for staff in BiH.

- Through the implementation of the project, we have not solved all the problems in the process of employment in the civil service, but we have contributed, above all, to the way in which the selection of candidates is objectified through an improved methodology of employment in the civil service and the training of civil servants – especially those who are or will be members of candidate selection commissions – stated Ferid Otajagić, Deputy State Coordinator for Public Administration Reform in BiH.

Within the project, a methodological framework was adopted that introduces innovations into the employment process. The innovations are aligned with international standards and are part of the reform processes envisaged for a modern public administration.

The methodological framework for the improvement and simplification of employment in the civil service and administration will facilitate applicants in the process of applying for tender procedures and help tender commissions select the best candidates based on the candidates' knowledge and competencies. The process will also undergo a transformation in terms of human resource planning and the onboarding of newly hired individuals, as defined in the new applicant handbook. 

During the project, approximately 300 civil servants from institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina attended and successfully completed training on the application of the improved methodology of the employment process and the application of the competency framework for civil service during employment, preparation and conducting interviews, as well as other topics that should contribute to the greatest possible objectivity of the members of the commissions for the selection of civil servants. 

- The training of trainers has been completed, who will, for the needs of institutions at all levels, transfer knowledge to other civil servants who deal or will deal with this subject matter. In this way, we have convinced ourselves that we can have a higher quality and more efficient public administration – said the key expert on the project, Jasmin Porobić. 

As part of the project, an Applicant Handbook was also developed, which contains information on the phases of tender procedures at specific administrative levels in the civil service and allows potential candidates for positions in the civil service to obtain the necessary information about selection and employment procedures in one place in order to adequately prepare for each phase.

Also, the "Handbook for Managing the Employment Process in the Civil Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina" was developed, and the training of trainers was completed, who will, for the needs of institutions at all levels, transfer knowledge to other civil servants who deal or will deal with this subject matter.

The Director of the Civil Service Agency of the Federation of BiH, Rifet Begić, expressed hope that the project activities carried out will help tender commissions select the best candidates based on competencies and knowledge.

- Our goal was to support the process of building a professional civil service. By adopting the new methodological framework, a significant step has been made in improving personnel policy in the civil service – stated Begić.

During the project, work was also done on personnel planning, which, according to Mikan Davidović from the Civil Service Agency of the RS, is a key factor when it comes to human resources.

Gratitude was extended to the EU member states and other partners for providing financial support to the Public Administration Reform Fund, which financed this project, and whose direct beneficiaries were the state and entity civil service agencies, the Department for Human Resources of Brčko District, the Ministry of Justice of BiH, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of Republika Srpska.

The direct beneficiaries of the project were all institutions and administrative bodies within the civil service structures in BiH at the level of institutions of BiH, the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska, and Brčko District of BiH. The indirect beneficiaries of the project are the citizens of BiH as potential job applicants in the civil service, and as users through better service and higher quality and more efficient work of public administration.