Alicia McKay
Taking the boot out of the public sector, volume 3
Attacking the size and inefficiency of the public sector is a common talking point. I get it. All those forms, agendas, minutes and processes are enough to drive anyone mad. This week, I provide some context around why things move slower in the public sector, why we have a bureaucracy - and why we want it.
The public sector workforce is large and diverse
Here are the stats.
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In Australia and New Zealand, almost 1 in 5 people work in the public sector.
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In Australia, 8% work in local government, 74% work in state government, and 18% work in federal government
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In New Zealand, 12% work in local government, and 88% work in central government
Almost half of the public sector workforce in both countries comprises ‘customer-facing’ roles. This includes contact centre/ customer-service workers and front-line staff such as teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, prison wardens, etc.
Efficiency is a second-order priority for government
In short, capitalism has taught us that fast and cheap are inherently superior traits. That makes sense in the private sector, which aims to capture private value through profit. Wasted time is wasted money that could be in the pockets of shareholders. The same is not always true in the public sector, which aims to create long-term public value. More time spent engaging with stakeholders, reducing risk, or considering options might be a net gain.
Three critical layers constrain speed
Three important elements of the public sector operating environment protect public values of fairness, representation, and service. Each of these layers can slow down government action and decisions: transparency, democracy, and bureaucracy.
Transparency
All tiers of government encourage and attract scrutiny from the media and the public. Decisions are made in public, with the public, or both, and the full decision process is captured for the press and citizenry to dissect and analyse well into the future. This creates an administrative load and can suppress the appetite for risk and innovation.
Democracy
Our brand of democracy requires consultation and engagement, which takes time. This engagement occurs in a political environment of near-constant job insecurity for our governing members. It is regularly disrupted by elections, shifts in political direction, and citizen action and input.
Bureaucracy
All this transparency and democracy takes time and requires people, processes, policies, systems, committees, reports, meetings, checks, and balances to administer. Australia and New Zealand are two of the least corrupt democracies in the world, and trustworthiness requires a lot of paperwork.
In defence of the bureaucrat
The word ‘bureaucrat’ is French and, loosely translated, means ‘rule of the writing desk’ or ‘power of the pen.’ A bureau is a French writing desk where lists, reporting, and administration are handled.
The power of the pen is to organise, record, and maintain the foundation of our society: trust. Representative democracy is an institution that runs on trust. We elect people to make decisions in our interests; if they don’t, we ask new people to take over the job.
Maintaining trust and holding government accountable in a fair society requires a well-functioning bureaucracy. Thanks to bureaucracy, we can trust that laws will be applied, property ownership will be upheld, our identity can be proven and protected, our money belongs to us, our vote will be counted, and decisions will be made in accordance with rules and conventions.
Say thanks to your favourite bureaucrat today.
Til next week,
AM
PS: I also made a video about this on LinkedIn, which provides a 15-minute deep dive, complete with a whiteboard.
Recent articles in this series: