Islamabad: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal chaired a meeting of the Committee on Civil Service Reforms, attended by the Minister for Petroleum, Secretary Cabinet, Additional Secretary Ministry of Planning, and representatives from key ministries, including Economic Affairs Division (EAD).
The Minister highlighted challenges in the public sector related to retaining skilled professionals. “The skillset of many public sector professionals does not align with the demands of their roles,” he noted, emphasizing the need to adopt lessons from the corporate sector to bridge this gap.
To further these deliberations on civil service reforms, HR managers from Engro Corporation, Unilever, and Wafi Energy Pakistan Limited (formerly Shell Pakistan Limited) participated online. They briefed the committee on recruitment and HR training models employed by their organizations, underscoring their commitment to meritocracy and rewarding employees fairly.
“Our people are as important as anything else,” they emphasized, adding that character-based leadership serves as the cornerstone of their HR strategies.
The meeting also explored the advantages private companies enjoy, such as access to diverse talent pools and fewer regulatory constraints, which enable more flexible and efficient systems. While acknowledging the limitations of the public sector due to existing rules and regulations, the Minister stressed the importance of identifying corporate practices that can be adapted within available public resources.
The committee was directed to incorporate actionable insights from these discussions to enhance civil service recruitment, training, and performance management, ensuring a more competitive and effective public sector workforce.
