STATE SERVANTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1845, 3 September 1913, Page 7

STATE SERVANTS.

"■ ■ »—■— • COMMISSIONER'S FIRST REPORT. STRONG CRITICISM. SCOPE FOR IMPROVEMENTS ECONOMIES EFFECTED. 7 BENEFITS OF THE NEW ACT. The first report of the Publio Servico' Commissioners was presented to Parliament yesterday. In its introductory/ paragraphs it sots'forth that the Publio' Servico Act, which becamo law last' year, combined, under tho control of aCommissioner and two Assistant-Corn-' " missioners, tho Departments of tho Public Service, Departments - exempt from' the control of the Commissioner are the Railways, Legislative Department, the '! Police, and tho military staff of the Do' ' lonco Department. State of the Service. After mentioning tho powers conferred upon him by the Public Servico Act, tho Commissioner goes on to stato that, although there are several Departments, the organisation and working of which are of the highest order, it may bo said, ■ broadly, that tho Servico generally was not found to bo in so efficient a state as it should have been. There had, how-' ' ever, been a marked improvement, and according to information received from heads of Departments, tliore is now an| enthusiasm on tho part of members of. the Service, and a desiro to improve l ' working methods which- was not before known. There was still, however, a great deal to bo done to bring Departments .into a thorough stato of efficiency, and no timo would be lost in ac-i complishing this when tho heavy Vork' in connection with tho final settling of tho classification was completed. Lack of Co-operation. Hitherto, the report states, there has been little co-operation between Departments, a glaring example being the lack -. of co-operation between' tho Departments and the Treasury. Although tho latter Department is in solo charge of tho accounts of tho Dominion, it hair not for' a long timo exercised its full powers. There has been no inspection* by tho Treasury, and no examination of tho method of accouut-keeping of Do« partmeuts, with the result that & mass of work has been unnecessarily duplicated. In the past, when tho Treasury has endeavoured to assert itself in simple matters, tho Minister in charge of tho offending Department has often been called in to support his.own . officers, "which ho would naturally do." The main Departments, with few exceptions, do not appear to havo exercised even a casual control over their, so-called subordinate Departments. Theoretically, there are sixteen main. Departments, but there are actually, thirty-three which aro practically independent in all respects. Much unnecessary expense and waste of foroa appears to bo the result of this exces* sivo subdivision. Tho Commissioners found that the Advertising Department was costing £1199 per annum, and that tho whole of the work could he. transferred to the main Department and done at a cost of £765 per annum. Tho Commissioner touches upon accountrkeoping, records, and the new regulations, mentioning that further special regulations applicable to special Departments, aro under consideration.. Costly Tradition. Under the heading of "Tradition," tho Commissioner states that the outstanding feature of a number of Departments was found to bo their iiuiate conservatism which has often been carried to such an extreme as to discourage excellent schemes of improvement which, if carried out years ago would havo saved tho country largo sums of money. "It is difficult in all cases to account for tho way in which some Departments cling to costly tradition." In some Departments, promotion has often been tho result of seniority irrespective of method. "The tendency is not only to follow obsoleto methods, but to regard them as tho only perfect ones."' Under such conditions, tho Commis|.sioner states, suggestions for improvements were conspicuous by their absence, or. if made, wero disregarded. "A case has como, under my notice in which one of tho ablest officers in. tho Servico was not only discouraged, but., in a way, threatened with penalties, if ho persisted ill pressing for tho adoption-'i of now'methods.'.'/ A marked'improvement, the report continues, has taken placo since tho beginning of tho year. It is intended in future reports to liamo officers whoso suggestions have been adopted. Tho Commissioner reports that in tho past irregularities have occurred in connection with the appointment of officers, but it" is hoped that under tho new conditions it will not bo long before anoni'-." alios right themselves. As regards tho efficiency of officers, out of all tho reports received many wero described as "Very good," and very few wero do-' scribed as on a lower grade then "Fair." . ' Dealing with the staffing of Departments, the Commissioner remarks that, it has not been possible'so far'to investigate requisitions for increase of staff as closely as might be desired. At . tho same timo tho oversight.which Ill's ' . boon possible lias had an appreciable effect upon requisitions received from permanent heads for additional staff, as indicated in tho following case:—"A"' 1 requisition was received from a Department, for additional staff involving'an annual expenditure of £2000. As the result of suggestions mado by tho Commissioners for reducing tho clerical work by the adoption of modern methods, the Department reduced tho requisition to an annual amount of £900, or - a difference of £1100 oil the original request. This latter requisition included the appointment of four officers at salaries approximating £500 per annum. Tho positions of these officers, however, wero filled by tho transfer of surplus officers from other Departments, so that in this instance alono a saving of £1000 has resulted. Interchange of Officers. In the Public Service Act it is contemplated that there shall be free iater> • change of officers between Departments. This has already been taken advantage of to some extent, and- there is every reason to hoi* that, before long it will-' be possible to arrange for selected officers to spend a few months in Departments in which tho methods are regarded as better than their own, with the objcct of their acquiring a wider knowledge than would lie possiblo otherwise. It is intended to continue the practice of appointing committees of officers to investigate and report upon matters of common interest to Departments. It is also hoped that confer- ,' onces to bo arranged between officers of largo Departments will enable all branches of such Departments to assist each other in suggesting improvements in method. There has boon too groat a lack of co-ordination between sonio district officers and their head offices, and this has -given riso to unnecessary irritation and misunderstanding. 1 Classification. Tho i Commissioner reviews at. length

tion in Netf Zealand and explains tlio method of classification which ho has L-imsolf adopted in tho provisional list now current. ■ It has been found that overtime can be largely done away with by a proper arrangement. It is mentioned that the iverago hours worked in the clerical division, after deducting holidays, do not exceed 34 per week, and tho Commissioner submits that it is not unreason■ablo to expect that a few hours' extra duty per annum shall be performed without any demand for special payment. Allowances. Tho Commissioner states that allowances in addition to sulary have not bcoh-paid on a. uniform basis and have in 'somo cases been unduly liberal. In some cases of house allowance there seems to bo reasonable warrant for tho payment. The matter is to receive' further •' attention and in future reports particulars bf any single or intermittent allowances aro to bo published. Rewards for the detection of smuggling and so fortli'in'-tlio- Customs Department, are not to be interfered with. "In justic£ to ali officials it is desirable," the report states, "that every description of allowance in addition to salary should cease altogether." j In some cases .officers in position of responsibility and in receipt pi salaries above tho average were, found employing their time in matters of detail which could bo equally well performed by officers occupying position of loss responsibility,or even by cadets. It is urged that steps should.be taken to hold conferences of principal officers, with somo ■regularity, at which interval routine and practices should be fully discussed. Prior to such-a conference tho staff •should be notified and suggestions inyited. - Inspection Needed. "Probably the "greatest need to-day of the Service is the inauguration of a proper system!of inspection of all offices," The Commissioners consider that an inspection of every offico should be made each year by qualified officers who would point;.out irregularities and take ,8, share .in : the responsibility of educating officers in their various duties. r .,Accommodation. I'-lfe' is - not'- an. uncommon' occurrence, ' the report states, to find work poorly supervised in consequence of sections or groiips of officers working in small or 6eparato rooms. It is suggested that . in/.designing new buildings; the. modern practico in largo business. concorns in America and elsewhere might be adopted. This is to provide rooms large enough to contain t'ho wliolo of tho clerical staff, tho accommodation for supervising officers boing merely n space elevated from tho main room and railed off with a rail abcut two 'feet high. A similar arrangement could bo adopted yith advantage by many Departments, a-nd would result in a saving of latge sums of money.With ono or two oxception,3 Departments are piu:vided with accommodation which is the antithesis of this, the idea. being apparently that honour and importance are .reflected upon every officer u'ho has a separate room. Tlwre is no method' that can be conceived which is more likely to .result in excessive staffing than this." , Steel Pens and Typewriters. ; Modern methods in office-work, .stores., new forms, and books, etc., ate dealt With in . detail. It if- stated that waste in stationery and supplies results from tlie present system. An effort will be mado to lay down rides for the standardisation of requisition forms, periods of requisitions, and also in respect to the issde and custody of stationery, forms, etc. The proposal when carried into effect should,, in addition to uniformity _ of practice and methods in tho various Departments, the report states, result in" considerable economies !in this important branch of the Servira, which does not appear .to have received the attention it merits.! . "It will not be surprising if it is found that tho cost of holding unnecessarily, large stocks of forms and . stationery. and providing officers to look after -them exceeds £2000 per annum. Probably the worst feature of the practice is that often, when contracts are entered into by tho Government Printer for important supplies, Departments fail or decline to tako advantage of' the favourable '■ terms. ' A notable ■ example is that of typewriting machines. The Government Printer has, in common with the Post Office, a contract under which ho is ablo to supply a standard typewriter at £16. The machine is probably, as good as. any now built, yet it is 'found that typewriters ofother makes are frequently purchased at a price about £7 or £8 higher. Had n standard make of typewriter been fleeted and Departments compelled to use the approved machine, tho saving to the country in the last'few years would 'have been considerable. I liavo reason to/believe that there are many other items, tlio cost of which might appear to 'Departments to ba trivial in detail, in regard to which considerable economies can /be effected' by co-operation. That the Government. Printer has stfrdied the peculiar' predilection of officers is evidenced by the fact that lie stocks 103 varieties of steel pens. This should bo stopped at once, and'_ the rango limited to half a dozen varieties, which can bo specially made, probably at half tho present cost. 'Hie Wholo question of office, supplies will be thoroughly gdhe into.as ,soon; as the,; Commtaionors have an,• opportunity."■ The system of buying from one or. two firms alternately is stronglydeprccated. A case is citcd of ail' appliance which costs, landed, about £3 3s. Tendons were called in. New Zealand, and in a short time the pricc fell to £2 12s. On the instruments imported last year the saving was £4172. Sending Officers Abroad. "The question of sending abroad, ono r-r two of the .'Smartest and most intelligent officers in certain classes of employment. in the Public Service is worthy of attention. There are many branches of the Public Service in which a knowledge. of conditions obtaining elsewhere would be of Brent value."' The Commissioner.appends to his report comments upon the various Stato Departments, remarking that, ill all it-is intended that tho criticisms shall be regarded as constructive. Economies." In the latter part of his report the Commissioner submits a. table pivin<r details of economics which can be effected without difficulty. As it is _ only seven months since the Commissioners commenced their work, tho list is by no means complete"': still, it reaches approximately £47.010 per annum Some of these economies can be effected <tt once, but in other cases it will bo a. year or more before tho full effect or alt6red arrangements can be scon. It is not proposed to disnenso with any officers who are capable of performing good work, as it is hoped that with the wastage of the Sorvice by resignations, etc and the general expansion there will'bc no difficulty in providing for officers displaced. Treasury: Reorganisation of arrangements for imprest advances, and improved methods of accounting— Annual valuo of £275,000 at 4 per cent 11,000 Annual saving of staff in Trea- | sury and other offices by reduction of duplication of accounts, etc . 5,000 Abolition of bookbinding of , Treasury vouchers 800 Internal Affairs: Saving in.staff, over-age messengers superannuated. places not required to be filled ••• 1,300 Saving in reorganisation of-sub-departments 1,300 Stamp Department: Saving by use of machines for stamping 560,

Land, and Deeds: Saving by use of typewriters for recording 2,000 Saving by improved arrangements for draughting work... 500 Saving by introduction of new system of records, all l)e- ---• partmenta 1,000 Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, and Electoral: Saving by placing work in charge of Govern- , inont officers 1,500 Official Assignee, Christcliurch: W'ork to bo performed by Deputy Public Trustee 300 Customs: Amalgamation, etc 000 Government Insuranco: Amalgamation with post office at Oamaru 200 Public Health: Amalgamation of Bacteriological Laboratory with Wellington Hospital ... 500 Mines: Position of one Inspector lapse on retirement 365 Public Service Superannuation: ...' Amalgamation of positions... 300 Tourist Department: Amalgama- . tion of positions .' 315 Improved methods of performing work — Land and Income Tax, State guaranteed Advances, Cus- ■ toms Departmont, Lands and Survey, Valuation Department, Public Trust Office, Public Works Department, Machinery Department 14,300 "In addition to these, thero should bo largo savings in tho Department of Agriculture, or, what is probably just as necessary, increased efficiency to the amount of tho savings of at least £5000. "There also appears to bo an opportunity for economies in the amalgamation of certain Departments with others possessing; interests more or less in common, and by the decentralisation already referred to, as well as tho bringing of office accommodation inoro closely into lino with the requirements of Departments. At tho present time rentals amounting to £2920 per annum are paid for offico accommodation in Wellington, and it is suggested for consideration by Government that it would bo much more profitable to build than to continue to pay such an annual rental. With moro modern office accommodation I am convinced that there would bo. substantial savings. Advantages of the Act. "A short experience of the working of tho Public Service Act," tho Commissioner states in conclusion, "has shown that tho present system has advantages over tho former one. (a) It enables a concrete view of the Service to bo taken and secures the benefits of co-opera-tion between Departments. (b) It enables means to be devised to ensure economy and efficiency wliich can be applied to the Servico as a wliole or to sections thereof, t • • ■ (c) It placos tlie recruiting of tho Sorvice on a basis which will result in a higher standard of efficiency. (d) It widens tho avenues of promotion by enabling interchange between officers of tho different Departments. ~ •. (e) It enables rapid discovery to bo made of points of inefficiency or of wasteful methods of working. (f) It gives an equal opportunity to all to enter tho Public Service and to proceed therein by merit and ability. (g) It creates a healthy rivalry between officers throughout the Service.