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Future civil service: Meaningful problem-solving through greater collaboration
Civil service, as with workplaces in general, must fundamentally foster a culture of intergenerational trust and mentorship.
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Selection process: People participate in a test for civil servants in Surabaya on Sept. 20, 2021. (Juni Kriswanto/AFP) (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
“Give me 1,000 men, I will unplug Mount Semeru from its roots. Give me 10 young people, I will shake the world.” These are the words of our founding president Sukarno. Most would take these words as representing only the power of youths, but we take these as representing the power of intergenerational, multi sectoral collaborations to solve our nation’s challenges.
Sukarno’s words are very pertinent today, given that Indonesia, its public sector included, is at a critical juncture. In the next decade or sooner, one-third of our civil servants will retire and our productive population will reach its peak. This coincides with a time when we are navigating mega disruptions, such as COVID-19 and digitalization.
As we seek to build back better and leave no one behind, it behooves us to support civil service transformations. Wielding authority over state budgets, policies and law enforcement, our civil service is critical in solving future challenges.
We argue for a talent management lens on civil service transformations, as people (or talents) are at the heart of any institution. We should support civil service as a workplace where people thrive through problem-solving underpinned by collaborations, across generations and sectors. The term “people” encompasses youth entering civil service and ascending as leaders, as well as senior leaders eager to leave a powerful legacy.
This is a time of change. Even before COVID-19, countries globally were already navigating mega disruptions – digitalization, climate-linked disasters and geo-economic tensions. Amid these global changes, Indonesia is experiencing a demographic transition. The country’s population is now not only large, but also predominantly youthful, comprising millennials or Generation Zs at 26 percent and 28 percent of the national population, respectively.
Indonesia’s public service, which employs 4.2 million people, is also experiencing this transition. In the next decade or sooner, one-third of civil servants (around 1.5 million people) will reach retirement age. This leaves more room for millennials and Gen-Zs to enter and ascend as leaders in the civil service.
If left unmanaged, Indonesia’s demographic transition in the public service would just be that – a transition. Not a demographic bonus as often touted. Worse, it can create friction.
