Adapting justice to a new world

As economies and communities adjust to the post-Covid world, policing and justice organisations are undergoing extensive transformation and reform. With that comes opportunity and challenges, none greater than attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent, writes Judith Crawford, EY Ireland Government and Public Sector Lead, Partner, People Consulting.

While they may be at different stages and levels of maturity, all organisations need to reflect on three key considerations:

Prioritising dynamic workforce planning

Before planning to resource roles, organisations need to understand the capabilities they currently have and then ascertain what is needed to deliver for the future. Workforce planning is a dynamic process that looks beyond the one-year horizon to five and 10 years to determine the capabilities needed to meet changing circumstances and emerging technology.

The World Economic Forum estimates that, to adapt to the new tech-enabled workplace, public sector workers will need to change around 40 per cent of their core skills in the next five years. This will see a need to not only upskill but reskill. This shift will not be limited to back-office functions but will include front line policing and justice staff, as new technology and tools are introduced.

“63 per cent of employees value connection between their role and an organisation’s purpose, over reward package”
EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey

Develop existing employees at scale

We are seeing increased investment in the development of transferable skills across public sector organisations in a bid to ensure workforce agility and organisational resilience. Building a workforce with a suite of blended skills provides flexibility to the organisation, as well as providing varied career opportunities and ensuring staff feel productive and engaged.

With research showing 84 per cent of learners now prefer self-directed learning, there needs to be a shift to a more flexible approach that widens access to education, enabling people to learn at a time, place, and speed that suits them.

Attract and recruit new talent

The well documented war for talent is only likely to intensify. For public sector organisations, this means an increased competition against private sector organisations with typically quicker recruitment processes and more flexible compensation. However, according to the EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey, 63 per cent of ‘Gen Z’ employees said that, rather than compensation, they place a higher value on connection between their job and organisation purpose.

This is where public sector organisations can win out, showcasing a rewarding, purposeful and fulfilling career, where staff can make a tangible difference to people’s lives. Organisations are further maximising opportunities to engage with potential staff, streamlining recruitment processes and taking advantage of tools and digital accelerators to match candidate experience and expectations.

W: www.ey.com/ie/publicsector