And do the public and private sectors resemble each other more than we like to believe? Is the public service really incapable of change? Do private enterprises call themselves into question as easily as they say? It’s these and many other questions that the book “Public employees, private employees, in the face of change” seeks to answer.
Why and how are public or private organizations changing? What is the role of information technologies: cause or solution? How are these changes experienced by employees? What is to be done to support them, answer their questions and concerns? How are we to continue recruiting while adopting new ways of working? What purpose does recruitment management software and their “best practices” serve? What are the challenges for training and development of skills based on the age of the persons concerned?
Change under the microscope
If you are en employer, you have already had to ask some of these questions and you know that both experts and public opinion often object to one or the other of the public and private sectors in many areas. The book “Salariés du public, salariés du privé, face aux changements” [Public employees, private employees, in the face of change] from L’Harmattan, particularly deals with their capacity to adapt, whether for technological developments, market needs, new ways of working, and requirements of their colleagues for the improving skills and career paths. And it draws a conclusion that will surprise readers: the public sector is not resistant to change, the private sector is no automatically full of revolutionary ideas and the two sectors are not all that different. For both, changes are not without cost or tension.
Standardization, for better or for worse?
One of the trends observed in recent years in both sectors is standardization: processes, tools, work procedures… The goal is to gain efficiency and to be able to apply models to find solutions, including in recruitment with the rising power of recruitment software. But despite all its benefits, doesn’t this trend deprive organizations of something? There again, the book produced under the direction of Nathalie Greenan, Sylvie Hamon-Cholet and Pascal Ughetto attempts to answer and give advice for a smooth implementation.
Practical cases to support
The book is based on surveys conducted with private and public employers, field studies, a solid biography and on statistics for a socio-economic approach. But no only this: case studies are also investigated, for example one company having put lean management in place to gain in productivity, which illustrates the best ways to adapt and select the workforce in such a case. Discover what must be done and not done to help employees, and therefore your company, to adapt.