Collaborative initiative to strengthen regional HR capacity in PASAI

By Afrosai-e | 8th October 2020

The PASAI regional working group, is collaborating with the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO) and AFROSAI-E to deliver an online Human Resource Management training programme. The programme kicked off in August and will conclude in December 2020. Through this training and with technical support from the SNAO and AFROSAI-E team, SAIs in the Pacific region are enabled to develop and operationalise their Human Resource (HR) Strategies. This training supports one of PASAI’s strategic priorities, to enhance SAI capacity and capability by supporting them to improve their approaches to managing human resources and related matters.

In the AFROSAI-E region, we have made great strides to develop and implement of HR initiatives and 16 SAIs have already adopted HR strategies which they are now implementing. In supporting SAIs with these activities, we have gained valuable practical experience, gathered good practices and learned lessons on Human Resource Management practices and HR strategy development. In the spirit of mutual experience benefits all, we are excited to be a part of this programme in the PASAI region to share knowledge and our regional perspective.

The PASAI training is focused on the role of HR in SAIs and how SAIs can achieve success and realise their strategic goals through people. In addition to facilitating sessions and coaching participants, we have developed a series of training videos and materials to deliver the training online. Our HR expert, Marianna van Niekerk and the expert from SNAO, Ingela Ekblom, are part of the team of experts who are guiding participants though online session to develop their respective SAI’s HR strategies. The participants are working in peer networks to support each other, to share experiences and to build sustainable HR practices in their SAIs.

The effectiveness of a SAI depends on its ability to recruit, retain, and employ highly skilled and motivated staff. Despite the traditional role that the Public Service Commission (PSC) plays in managing human resources across the public sector, the SAI’s management team is responsible to ensure that the SAI has the right staff with the right skill set at the right time. To support SAIs with strengthening their HR capacity, this programme covers the following topics:

  • The evolution of HR
  • A comparison of the role of HR in the SAI to the role of the Public Service Commission (PSC)
  • The four key roles of HR practitioners in the SAI
  • The importance of HR management in the SAI
  • An introduction to the Employee Life Cycle and its purpose in terms of managing human resources

This collaborative effort is an important part of strengthening regional cooperation and we are proud to be a part of the initiative. We also look forward to ploughing back the lessons learned from this experience into our own regional training efforts and online learning programmes.

For more information on the AFROSAI-E HR initiatives, contact Marianna van Niekerk at [email protected]

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