1. Institute of Public Administration Institute of Public Administration | 57-61 Lansdowne Road | Dublin 4 | Ireland | Ph. +353 1 2403600 | www.ipa.ie Public Service Motivation and Public Service Reform Dr. Richard Boyle, Head of Research Presentation to 2013 DISPA meeting, Vilnius 24-25 October 2013

2. © IPA2 The impact of reform on motivation – a review of literature and practice Public service motivation in Ireland What motivates public servants? Practices supporting public service motivation Implications for training and development Report available at http://www.ipa.ie/pdf/PublicServiceMotivation. pdf http://www.ipa.ie/pdf/PublicServiceMotivation. pdf

3. Numbers employed in the public service © IPA3

4. Public service employment per 000 population © IPA4

5. Public servants as ‘scapegoats’  Media have (on the whole) seen the public service as part of the problem, not as part of the solution  “A bloated and pampered public sector is bleeding the nation dry” (Sunday Independent 27/3/11) © IPA5

6. What motivates public servants?  Public employees have higher levels of PSM than private sector employees  However, we cannot be certain if or how PSM influences job decisions or performance  PSM may be a relatively stable disposition but one that can be changed over time and influenced by the organisation  High performance builds self efficacy that may lead to higher PSM  ‘Good pay, a secure job and a tad of PSM’ © IPA6

7. Practices supporting public service motivation  Transformational leadership  Person-organisation fit  Effective goal setting and design  Creating a supportive work environment  Managing public service values  Employee engagement © IPA7

8. Conclusions  In circumstances where extrinsic motivations are being severely impacted, it is critical that managers are aware of the importance of fostering and supporting the intrinsic motivation of employees  Value based leadership, a supportive work environment, and organisation goals and job characteristics that reflect employees’ PSM have a positive impact on morale and performance © IPA8

9. Implications for training and development  Danger that ‘bottom-line’ issues (reduce head count and pay) dominates HR agenda  Address the issues that impact on motivation: –Managing values and value conflicts –Build into leadership development –Goal setting –Engagement programmes © IPA9