New On Boarding Handbook to Better Prepare Public Officers for the Workplace

Public officers are being better prepared to fulfill their job descriptions. The Ministry of Public Service has found that many public officers are unaware of their responsibilities, because they were never briefed upon being hired. Well, Henry Charles Usher, the Minister of Public Service is hoping to change that with a newly-developed, on boarding procedure handbook. Heads of Departments from various government ministries recently completed a sensitization workshop on the handbook.  Here is what the Minister and the C.E.O. in the Ministry of Public Service had to say about the new approach to induction.

Henry Charles Usher

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service

“Many time when public officers are brought on board, new employees, they are just sent into a corner and they don’t get any type of instruction. I can tell you this has been going on for a long time, because way back in 1999 I was a public officer. I was hired at the Ministry of Economic Development and I was basically told, that is your office, that is your room, get to work. So, at the end of the week the C.E.O. at the time, I went to see her and I told her nobody has come to see me, nobody has told me what I am suppose to do. I am just in here reading this and that. The C.E.O. said, well this is a baptism by fire, you are going to learn one way or the other. That is all good for many of our employees and I have to applaud all who have gone through something similar to that. But there are so many others that it fails them.”

Rolando Zetina

Rolando Zetina, C.E.O., Ministry of Public Service

“When Minister and I do visit to the different departments I remember at one session there was an employee who said, the first day I came here, I was told that is your desk, that is your computer. This is how you turn your computer on and that was it. She said, I was left there to sink or swim. She said, luckily for me I am a good swimmer so I survived. So, imagine how much more of us there are in the ministries that are left alone. My observation has been that some employees walk around doing nothing. Some of our employees believe that their only responsibility is to collect their check.”