Recruitment policies and practices in the Department of Public Service and Administration

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate recruitment policies and practices in the DPSA to determine challenges with the recruitment of competent and qualified candidates, since it is the custodian of human resources in the public service. Findings of this study revealed that if the DPSA’s well-crafted recruitment and selection policies were to be translated into practice, then the public service would be the employer of choice. This process could be hampered by the decisions taken by shortlisting and selection panels, which are reluctant to appoint candidates who are better qualified than them. The DPSA should create an enabling environment in which communication between management and non-management freely takes place without people being victimised. The findings of the study pointed to the necessity to invoke remedial measures and monitoring mechanisms that would ensure the effective execution of recruitment and selection policies and practices in the public service.