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SINGAPORE: The Civil Service will give greater weight to assessing the skills and competencies demonstrated by officers, following a review of its human resources (HR) systems and policies last year, the minister in charge of the Public Service, Chan Chun Sing (October 6).
Chan said this in a written response to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng of the Popular Action Party (PAP).
The MP from Nee Soon GRC had asked if the Government intends to abolish the use of the Currently Estimated Potential (CEP) within the Civil Service.
In his response, Chan said that the CEP is adopted “as a proxy for the potential of an officer.”
“It is expressed in terms of the highest level of job responsibility that is assessed that an official is capable of assuming in his career in public service.
“Today, it is used as a long-term talent development and succession planning tool for key leadership positions and a career management tool for progressing and developing officers.”
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The CEP system was revised as part of a “proactive review” of the Civil Service’s human resource systems and policies last year to support public sector transformation, Mr. Chan said.
“We concluded that while the CEP remains a useful tool for identifying and developing officers with leadership potential, we must adapt its application in a number of ways.”
Mr Chan, who is also Minister of Trade and Industry, said that the set of “leadership competencies” included in the CEP has been “updated to be more holistic”.
“For example, leaders must have cognitive ability, but they must also be able to build systems for the future, lead people well, and have a good sense of the terrain.
“These qualities will be constantly observed through job rotation, as well as through new channels such as 360 feedback,” said Mr. Chan.
READ: Future Public Sector Leaders Will Need More Than Policy Making Skills: Chan Chun Sing
The CEP itself will be used “more lightly in our human resources decisions,” he added.
“It is a means of identifying those with leadership potential for early development, but it will no longer be the most important determinant of career development and progression.”
Instead, more weight will be placed on “evaluating the skills and competencies demonstrated by officers as part of performance management, progression, and talent identification and management,” said Mr. Chan.
He also said that the Civil Service will place more emphasis on “helping people to identify their potential and career goals in the short to medium term of three to five years, and work with them to achieve these goals.”
The service has begun expanding training, job rotations and professional development, based on the expectation that “as our operational landscape changes, the CEP of our officers will continue to change,” Chan added.
“The important thing is to create the best conditions for our officers to discover their passion and talent and maximize their potential,” he said.
