pacific public service commission is to be able to compete in the skills market for the best people with the talents to enable delivery of government services, needed by the citizens. management of a skilled and talented employee is a difficult undertaking management of skilled and talented employees is not an easy task. as rob goffee and gareth jones in an article titled – “ leading clever people ” ( harvard business review, march 2007 ) observed, talented people are difficult to manage and please. they are restless ; they are easily bored, they want to solve problems and not interested in pleasing their bosses or are led by them. they resent bureaucratic bottlenecks that slow or delay them from achieving their results. skilled and talented people know that you as an employer cannot go without them. they know how much their skills are worth in the market ; because they are members of their professional bodies that supply them with market information for their skills. they cannot be fooled too with fancy titles and positions that do not come with attractive remuneration packages. lastly, skilled and talented employees are always hunted down by companies and organizations that are prepared to pay more for their skills than what you are currently paying them. our own experience in the central bank of solomon islands demonstrates the difficulties of managing clever people. for years we have been spending a good portion of our budget directly sponsoring our officers to receive masters degree level education from universities in australia to meet the skill gaps that we have identified to enable the bank meet its legal mandate to conduct its monetary policy responsibilities. unfortunately, we have lost most of these individuals to organizations who offer more for their talents than what we can offer. indeed it is not a good feeling when you have invested millions of dollars to train an officer but leaves without due regard for what you have done for him as an individual. but this is the challenge and the cost of the freedom and mobility of the educated individuals to choose the best deals for their skills. as noted in the world health organization ( who ) presentation to ministers of health for pacific countries held in samoa in 2005 that examined why pacific health personnel migrate, unless the conditions are favorable, skilled professionals will leave because of low pay, poor working conditions, shortage of supplies and equipment ; and lack of or limited educational opportunities for professional development and advancements. in solomon islands, there is currently a special parliamentary commission of inquiry looking at the quality of health services provided by our national referral hospital. what is obvious from the hearings is that the shortages of skilled doctors, health professionals

for your considerations. first, public service commissioners must break the rules when setting the remunerations packages for skilled and talented professionals or employees that the public service must employ to deliver the services needed by the community. the public service commissioners and their respective governments must remunerate those with needed talent and skills equal to the market remuneration package others are prepared to pay for the same skills. in other words, the pay structure for talent and skills identified as essential for effective delivery of government services and policy goals must be different from the general public servant pay structure. ( may be a good “ break the rule ” option is to apply george orwell ’ s famous line in his book animal farm … “ all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. ” so that we can restate it as “ all public servants are equal, but some public servants are more equal than others ”. ). whilst all this sounds possible, i must warn that it is not an easy option to take in an environment where there are strong unions representing the interests of their members and where affordability is not easy to come by. but social service delivery to the public suffers if those specialized skills are not available because the country cannot afford to pay for them. the second consideration is for the public service commissioners to be more creative in creating an employment environment that would attract skilled and talented people to want to work for the public service. i call these the non monetary factors, although funds must be spent to make them happen. public service commissioners must provide clean and attractive office environment for the officers to work in. this includes the provisions of proper equipments that can enhance productivity. shorten the length of time it takes to hire successful candidates : skilled and talented people cannot wait for months to receive their letter of acceptances. they will find employment somewhere else if we are slow to process their engagement. ensure that your newly recruited workers do not have to wait for months before they are put on the payroll and paid for their services. it is demeaning for a professional with family members waiting months for his pay to be processed. talented and skilled workers just cannot tolerate inefficiency that our bureaucratic procedures unfortunately require to be adhered to. public service commissioners and their supporting technical teams must continuously scan the market to ensure that the remuneration of those with talents that are required is within the market price for the skills and talents. this means actively involved in communicating with the professional bodies that represent the interests of