CS pay must be competitive, says DG
Franz Manderson, Deputy Governor of the Cayman Islands
(CNS): With no profit share or bonuses to offer and no guarantees that pay will stay in line with inflation, the deputy governor has warned that, despite the generous benefits, the public sector will struggle to attract quality staff if wages are not competitive. Franz Manderson told CNS that salaries play a key part in recruitment, retention and the thorny subject of succession planning in the public sector. But as the economy improves and more jobs are created in the private sector, the fight for the best staff will get tougher, he warned.“We have to ensure that our pay levels are continually reviewed … and the way we pay our staff is something we must always keep in the forefront of our minds. Civil servants have been very patient for a long time and, yes, they are being rewarded now and the premier has promised further awards which is well deserve,” Manderson said. “But as we compete with the private sector as the economy improves there are going to be more and more jobs and opportunities in the private sector.” He added, “We need to make sure Caymanians in the civil service feel comfortable and happy to stay.”
With the battle to improve succession planning, wages and conditions cannot be overlooked, the deputy governor said.
In a joint message to public sector workers on Wednesday at the start of the new financial year, both Premier Alden McLaughlin and Manderson thanked government staff for their hard work and sacrifice over the last two years in helping to restore stability to public finances and the return of local economic growth.
Urging government’s 3,000 plus workers to redouble their efforts to ensure continued success, the country’s political and administrative leaders both spoke of the importance of pressing on with the change process and improving efficiencies in the way government services are delivered.
But staffing issues in government remain. With pressure from the private sector to cut the headcount and costs coming up against pressure from the wider community and politicians to provide further opportunities and training for local workers, Manderson has a difficult road ahead.
The deputy governor told CNS that succession planning does not come cheap, and to ensure that government functions as efficiently as possible the public sector needs “superstars” in the top jobs. In the face of many vacant top slots, Manderson noted a number of issues about filling leadership roles. He said the service is committed to giving “our own people the opportunities” but he said the right people had to be in the right jobs.
“The Caymanians in the civil service and in the community deserve to have effective leaders,” he said. “I am all about Caymanianzing … but I want to make sure the people we are putting in these positions are highly capable and we are not setting our Caymanians up to fail and that they are ready and willing and capable of leading a department. I need, and the Caymanain people deserve, superstars in these positions.”
Manderson said resources have presented a challenge as chief officers and heads of departments need the resources to identify, train, qualify and provide the hands-on experience for the right people. But, he said, as things turn around and the budget improves the civil service would be investing in much more training and attracting the calibre of staff it needs now and to plan for the future.
He said he expected that more young Caymanians will be coming into the service soon. Last year the public sector had 87 young Caymanian interns spend the summer working in various government departments. This year the public sector boss has challenged management to have 100 young people on internships to get a taste of the work.
“We have to start with our people from college universities and high schools exposing them early about what the service is all about so that they will want to have a career in the civil service,” he added.
Full Message to the civil service from the premier and the deputy governor, 1 July 2015
Category: Jobs, Local News, Politics
Franz has been such a disappointment. He is a puppet, scared of the civil service union. When numbers should be cut and wages limited he is talking up the costs to the nation of a third rate civil service.
Yes preach!
AAAAANNNNNDDDD Hateful you are!!
It is certainly true that you can never get anyone in Government to respond to phone calls, e mails etc. Often this is because so many civil servants run their own businesses largely in Government time, and guess which call always gets priority?.In many departments poor performance is the norm so where is the incentive for improvement.This is not Civil Service bashing, it is unfortunately the reality of the situation.
That is most not certainly true, of some yes but not all.
so by your formula 6:01 the civil service should be getting a huge bonus this year as i understand they will achieve a significant saving for the Goverment well above the huge budgeted surplus. Now can we at least thank them for that???
@4:13 That’s Bull!!! I’ve seen way too many unroadworthy vehicles passed at inspection in GT take your comments seriously.
@7:40-We could start off with the Dept for Tourism, they waste money like it’s water and produce nothing. Then CAL, same problems. The London office, ditto. Where do you want me to stop?
The harsh reality is that most of the civil service here is not only completely dysfunctional but little more than a giant, publicly-funded job creation scheme.
Have you been reading the news?? The Government has already progressed about 10 of the EY report recommendations and I understand more recommendations are being actioned. The miller shaw report was worthless so why implement it. Keep up the good work civil servants we are behind you. You are doing the job that many of us can’t or won’t. We don’t want to risk our lives working in police, immigration and fire. We don’t want to work every weekend and on shifts. God bless all of you.
If the economy is improving and jobs are being created in the private sector then isn’t this the PERFECT time to work on downsizing the civil service?
Sure, what SERVICE are you going to cut?
I wouldn’t cut any services. I would rationalise them wherever possible, get greater efficiencies by streamlining processes, eliminate a lot of the overhead and treat the civil service like a business.
Let’s be serious here. Cayman’s size does not justify such a large civil service. There is bloat that can be trimmed down. People should not want to work for government because they can’t get a job anywhere else. Now is the time to set some targets and work towards meeting them.
It’s frustrating. Every report commissioned says the same thing and they sit there collecting dust because no one has the guts to deal with such a large voting bloc.
Generally, to receive a bonus or similar, you actually have to have reached a target. If no targets are set, how can you get a bonus? For example if in the licensing center the target was too stop talking incessantly with your colleagues and serve more than 4 customers an hour and getting it right, that would be a 300% improvement, keep the customers happy, generate income more quickly and be what you are supposed to do. Worth a bonus? I would say so.
As I have said before the best of cayman is in the private sector or left this joke for a better place many have gone to the states or the UK But what to do ?
Outsource management of the CI government to professionals not the jokers you have now. I would even hire franz he’s not too bad rose up thru the ranks. Is not a bad fellow and sure puts up with a lot of BS
Most CS would still have a job but others I am afraid would have to be cut because they are for the most part worthless,
Who will replace franz the clock is ticking
I am not now or ever have been a civil servant. But I feel constrained to speak up in their defense against the continuous bashing they take from the posters on this site.
As in any business there will always be some who do not live up to our expectations; there will be some who come in late and leave early; but there are also those who come in early, leave late and work on the days they are supposed to be off; there are those who feel they cannot take their due vacation. There are those who give more than the value they are paid and even some who are altruistic, feeling they are giving to their country.
The civil service is not perfect but no one is; their biggest problem is that they have thousands of bosses, all wanting the job done ‘their’ way.
I often wonder how good some of the posters are at their job?! How they always know how things should be done, how the law should be applied, etc.
I do not advocate for wrong-doing to go uncorrected but it does no good to constantly belittle people.
I will share my experience this week with the civil service: I went to get my car inspected and licensed. Everyone there was courteous, helpful and efficient. Since rarely are kudos given, I will thank them publicly. And I thank all the civil servants who quietly do their job to the best of their ability each day. God Bless You All.
The first time I needed to have a vehicle inspection in CI, I naively went to the Gov’t inspection place next to the police station. My car failed because the surly inspector condemned the rear window for being too dark. Laugh if you will because this was a Toyota with factory tint installed. What did I do? I simply paid $20 for a replacement log book and took the car to a private inspection point where it was not even looked at. I was asked nicely to get the odometer reading and the stamp was issued. I have been taking 2 cars to the same place for 7 years now and never has it been looked at but I have always been accommodated with the required documentation which is nowadays electronic. I can’t help feeling that I have been part of a corrupt regime even though I never paid any more than the Gov’t fee.
Is this not evidence that the public sector actually does their work but some in the private sector just care about money? Tints are a problem, there is a law that makes it illegal and an established standard by law that has to be complied with. When you go to the Lic Dept they follow the law. Regardless of whether you are family, friend or foe.
Your full of sh*t if you are an expat and don’t have a friend you will fail at the govt inspection place
and be told jesus is your savior
AAAnnndddd HATEFUL you are!
treason!
You are right about some of those inspectors. Every time I go get my inspection they tell me something is wrong and it’s usually the same thing every year. Sometimes I wonder if they have under the table deals with the car repair shops. If this happens to me again I’m going to report it!
Jeez. You just can’t make a comment like that one at 02/07/2015 at 3:18 pm up.
I agree Skilpot. Too many unfair generalizations about the Civil Service. Many are doing a fabulous job.
If you want to find bad service, check the private sector — some good companies, but many giving shoddy, incompetent workmanship and product delivery. And don’t even bother about competition taking care of that — that is fine if we had a great deal of choice, but when our market is as small as ours we often don’t have choice and we just have to take what we can get. And if a problem goes wrong, we have not one soul to turn to!
the difference is that in the private sector you will get fired for underperforming, in the CS it is expected as normal.
I do not believe any boss is telling their staff not to pick up the phone when someone is calling or never reply to emails etc.
People bash the CS as there are such are high number per capita and the service is awful
Personally I don’t care if Civil Sevants come in late or early; I just wish they’d respond to emails in a timely manner, and answer their phones when you ring them or respond to voicemail messages. It can’t be a coincidence that the various departments I have to call are never, ever at their desks. Depressingly, the Minstries are the worst. I can guarantee that whatever extension you call, you will not get an answer.
6.31 you make a valid point, however when there are no standards set to judge by and absolutely no accountability then in your heart you know the majority are not performing. Sadly it’s part of human nature. Where there are no controls and no drivers, people will do their worst just because they can without being punished. There will of course always be the dedicated and loyal few, but that’s the problem, they are few.
Unfortunately it starts at the top!
Its been said that many people do not quit organizations, they quit bosses, as a leader, you can’t blame your tools, you have to look within and ask some tough questions.
You are losing good people for a reason, if you want to start fixing the problem, I would recommend you begin with the culture. Culture starts at the top based on the tone set by the leader, are you setting the right tone?
“…You are losing good people for a reason…”
Guys like Ozzie are one of the big reasons.
franz and alden should be made do a public reading of both the miller shaw and e&y reports……….
is this aprils fools day?,,,,more wonderland stuff franz
what about addressing the shambolic performance of the civil service first????
or maybe adopting the recommendations of miller shaw and e&y reports?????