As the realities of public budgets permeate the political consciousness, rhetoric about public employees is heating up. The StarTribune recently juxtaposed essays by Mark Haveman, executive director of the Minnesota Taxpayers Union, and Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor. At one level, the authors stridently disagreed: Haveman argued for compensation reform and outsourcing, while Reich argued, in part, that public employees are actually paid less than comparable private sector workers. At a deeper level, we all agree: we want public employees to provide excellent quality and value. Then we can decide what functions and services are appropriately filled by public agencies.
We must also accept that there are no magic solutions. If we agree on our goal – efficient and excellent public service – then we can work together to solve the problems and eliminate the barriers to that objective. Achieving that goal should be no harder – but it will also be no easier – than it is in the private sector. Have you ever had bad service from a private sector employer? Ever ordered a hamburger (or an angiogram, for that matter) and been disappointed by the experience? Of course. We don’t jump to the conclusion that the employees involved were pampered or overpaid.
My perspective on this issue is informed by my work as a trainer and consultant to the public sector: I teach and develop ethical leadership in fire and police departments across the metro area. Every day I see great people committed to doing excellent work. Do I encounter a few grumblers or knuckleheads? Yes, a few. That’s the human condition. However, my experience is overwhelmingly characterized by workers that any employer would be proud to employ. There are certainly problems and challenges in public organizations, but I have seen nothing to justify the level of angst that I hear from some elected officials and many media pundits.
Raising public ire will not improve productivity. Leadership might. That leadership begins with clearly articulated objectives, and translates them into observable outcomes and measures. That leadership gets the right people in the right roles, and sets expectations and provides appropriate support so that public employees can effectively serve the public. Compensation plans must enable public employers to attract and retain the right workers. Management must promote worker engagement and effective pursuit of well-defined missions. Those workers, in turn, must be held accountable for the outcomes that best serve the public.
I do not believe that public employees should be above criticism, but that criticism must be aimed at constructive solutions. The debate should focus on driving actual improvements, rather than bemoaning the status quo or throwing in the towel. When we roll up our sleeves and strive for excellence, we make great progress. I see public employees doing just that, almost every day. (And, for the record, who doesn’t have bad days once in a while?)
This dialogue about public employees is really about the fundamental buy-in to public investment. As taxpayers, we are all investors in this company that is supposed to deliver goods and services to us all. We have some investors who want to micro-manage every action, taking a lowest cost of doing business approach which only works for so long. We had a governor who led us in that philosophy in good economic times and bad. We missed more opportunities to transform this state that is conceivable. We snoozed and we lost.
Good business leaders, those who lead large, publicly held companies, never take that approach. Investors require vision of their leaders and not vision about how to manage, but vision about what we will become. To capture the vision of a more efficient government (thereby making MN or the US a safer, more attractive, less expensive home), it is going to take investment and an understanding that talented people require a decent salary. Investment in technology and systems that, like every other industry, steer knowledge and power toward people to make their own choices.
Public employees, a majority of whom are in professional and managerial roles now, not blue collar (those have already been privatized) should be treated as professionals. I fault the unions for keeping tight hold on a sector that has become more sophisticated and responsible. A team of professionals does not benefit from a outside agent agitating about self-interest. That is an early 20th century mindset. While there is enough political talk flapping in the media that might cause some to retreat to a union-protectionist mindset, those who are most serious about seeing government through transition and higher performance need to be trusted to do the right thing. As a country, we need to know, beyond the rhetoric, what the vision is of our leaders…. not the means, but the ends. It is only then that we can begin to trust, and truly hold them accountable.