THE number of civil servants in Jersey fell marginally for the first time in five years in 2024 following to a government drive to curb growth in the public sector, a new report has found.
The Staff Recruitment and Retention report, authored by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Lynn Pamment, also highlighted that staff costs made up 34% of total government expenditure in 2023 at £593 million.
While staffing levels have risen in recent years, Ms Pamment noted that the introduction of a recruitment freeze in August last year led to a “small” decline in headcount last year – no specific headcount figures were provided in the report.
The Comptroller and Auditor General also found that sickness-related absences had increased slightly and that turnover in four government departments exceeded 10%.
“This indicates that recruitment, onboarding and initial retention activities are not as effective as they should be and that value for money is not being achieved from these activities,” Ms Pamment warned.
The report also found weaknesses in the government’s recruitment practices and recommended a clearer strategy to improve hiring processes.
It read: “The government does not have a framework of modern recruitment processes in place to mitigate sufficiently the risk of ‘bad hires’.
“Neither does the government collect and review sufficient information on the effectiveness and efficiency of its recruitment and retention processes.”
It also urged the government to conduct exit interviews to better understand why staff were leaving.
“Very few staff who have left government employment are interviewed to ascertain the reasons for leaving,” the report read. “The government is therefore developing recruitment and retention initiatives with a key piece of information missing.”
Among the report’s other recommendations are improvements in workforce data collection to better monitor staff performance, job satisfaction and recruitment trends.
The government acknowledged the report’s findings but said measures were already under way to address concerns.
Deputy Malcolm Ferey, vice-chair of the States Employment Board, said: “We welcome the report produced by the Comptroller and Auditor General and will review findings and make progress on the necessary actions.
“However, this report is a snapshot in time and a number of the issues raised have already been addressed. Since the audit was conducted the frameworks, policies and processes needed to ensure we have a safe and effective recruitment process are in place.
“Last year, we saw a drop in turnover, with more employees staying in employment with the public service.
“As the largest employer in the Island, the organisation is also working on a number of plans to develop and nurture our talent to ensure we provide effective public services to Islanders.”
