CASE STUDY

Improving Performance through Training

By:
Mr Umesh
Fiji

The Report

On 22 February 1999, Mr. Manasa Cama, the Secretary for the Public Service Commission
(SPSC), received a report from the Director General of the Fiji National Training Council
(FNTC), Mr. John Rounds. The report provided details * on the training grants assessed for
the Public Service Commission (Government) for the year 1998.

The Secretary for PSC, after reading the report immediately made a call to the Director of
Training, Mr. Ajay Chand.

Mr. Manasa Ajay Chand, I have just received a report on the Training Grants Assesment
Cama : send by the Director General, FNTC and I am very disappointed with the
result. We have received only 41% grant refund for the year 1998 out of the
maximum 90% that we are entitled. I want to have an urgent meeting with
you on this matter at 2.00pm today in my office.
Mr. Ajay Yes Sir! I will be at your office at 2.00pm for the meeting.
Chand:

(Note 1: At the end of each year inspectors from the FNTC inspect all the training records
kept by the PSC in individual course files and do an assessment on the grant that should be
refunded for that particular year. For details refer to the criteria of assessment in Table 1
and Appendix III.)

The Fiji Islands Public Service Commission

The Fiji Islands Public Service was made up of approximately 18,000 civil servants at all
levels consisting of clerical, technical, professional, supervisory and management categories.
They were categorised into two major categories:

a) The Senior Executive Services category which comprised approximately 400 civil
servants; and
b) The middle and lower management level categories, which comprised approximately
17,600 civil servants.

There were a total of 18 Ministries headed by Permanent Secretaries (Chief Executive

Officers) which was further split into 52 different departments and these were generally
headed by Directors. The Fiji Public Service Commission (PSC) was in-charge of carrying out
all staff training and development in the Fiji Islands Public Service through proper training
needs analysis (TNA). Approval for final selection was done by the Director of Training in
PSC, which was based on the merits of the training needs and demands from various
departments.

Courses were normally conducted at the PSC Training Centre in Suva for the Southern,
Central and Eastern Divisions, in Lautoka for the Western Division and in Labasa for the
Northern Division. Officers were also sent for academic courses at local training
institutions such as the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Fiji Institute of
Technology (FIT), the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC) and Overseas Training
Institutions.

The PSC's ultimate objective for training was to have a collective commitment with
ministries/departments to achieve corporate goals through well trained, productive and
efficient human resource that would lead the Fiji Public Service into the new millenium. The
Public Service was going through bigger challenges, as there was a continuous demand from
the public for greater efficiency and improved performance.

The PSC conducted approximately 25 courses in Financial Management, Public Sector

Management, Management and Supervisory Development, Leadership and Computer Training
for the Senior Executives each year. One full-time Training Officer under the supervision
of the Manager, Executive Training and Development (METD) was in-charge of identifying
training needs, preparing training plans, preparing course programmes, selecting Resource
Personnel/Training Providers (both, internal and external) and co-ordinating/conducting
training.

For the middle and lower management levels, approximately 80&endash;90 courses were
conducted by PSC each year through two Senior Training Officers and six other Training
Officers who came under the responsibility of the Manager, Workforce Training and
Development (MWTD). Their roles were also similar to the above.
PSC Organisation Structure

Figure 1 : Organisation Structure of PSC Training Division (1998)

Abbreviation: SPSC (Secretary for the Public Service Commission), DSPS

(Deputy Secretary for the Public Service Commission), DCS (Director of
Corporate Service), DT (Director of Training) , DER (Director of Employee
Relation), DMI (Director of Management Improvement), MWPSU (Manager of
Workforce, Planning & Scholarship Unit), METD (Manager of Executive
Training & Development), MWTD (Manager of Workforce Training &
Development), STO (Senior Training Officer), TO (Training Officer), TO
(SES) (Training Officer for Senior Executive Services),TA (O/S) ( Training
Assistant for Overseas Training) & EOT (Executive Officer Training) (Source:
PSC Organizational Charts File)
The Training Budget

The PSCs training budget was about F$1,800,000.00 (approximately US$900,000.00) per
year and this was approved by the Parliament and channelled through the Ministry of
Finance. The funds were maintained and controlled by the Public Service Commission. Donor
agencies and governments (such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, United Kigdom,
Singapore, Malaysia, etc.) also provided sponsorship in the form of training aids from time
to time.

The Training Policy

In 1973, Parliament enacted legislation known as the Fiji National Training (FNT) Act which
allowed for the setting up of a statutory body known as the Fiji National Training Council
(FNTC). The Council was to be headed by a Director General and with the task of looking at
all aspects of human resource (HR) training requirements for the nation and facilitate
training for all employers including the government.

It was a requirement under the Fiji National Training (FNT) Act to carry out a proper
Training Needs Analysis at all levels; organisational, group and individual levels, before final
selection was made. A standard Training Needs Analysis sheet and a Training Needs
Selection Form were prepared by the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC) for this purpose,
and is shown in Appendices I & II.

These forms were required to be filled by individuals and supported by their Supervisors
and the Heads of various Ministries and Departments to determine the Training Needs
before they were considered for selection and given approval by the Director of Training in
the Public Service Commission. Details on the FNTC training requirements were shown in
Appendix III. It was the responsibility for FNTC to carry out annual assessments on all
trainings conducted based on the criteria listed in Table 1.

Training officers at PSC and respective ministries and departments were responsible in
fullfilling all the above criteria. They were required to follow the entire training cycle
properly and implement each phase effectively. The training cycle is shown in figure 2.

Table 1
Criteria of Assessments by FNTC
(in terms of grant refunds)

(source: FNTC Grants Handbook)

The Training Cycle

Figure 2
THE TRAINING CYCLE

The FNTC's main source of income was through the 1% levy on the gross wages and salaries
paid by the employers for both in the private and the public sectors. Employers were able to
claim back from FNTC a maximum of 90% refund for any one year provided they were able
to achieve maximum points during their training assessment, which was done once a year by
FNTC Inspectors.

The Public Service Commission was responsible to make all levy payments in respect of
government employees to FNTC and also claimed the grant refunds based on all training
conducted during the year. Details on levy paid and grant refunded for the last five years
were as follows:

Table 2
Training Grants Refunded to PSC by FNTC (1994-1998)
Procedure for Identifying Training Needs

The procedure used for identifying training needs in the Fiji Public Service was carried out
by two means:

1. A Training officers Seminar was called by the Director of the PSC Training Division
between 1st July and 31st July each year in which the departmental Training Officers
attended and brainstormed on the list of courses/workshops that would be
conducted in the following year. The Training Officers were supposed to identify
training needs within their departments first before attending the seminar. All the
PSC Training Officers were also involved in this brainstorming exercise.
2. A Training Survey Circular was distributed to all the Ministries and Departments by
the PSC Training Division in September each year which consisted of a list of
courses the Director of Training including all the Training Officers from ministries
and departments had identified during the brainstorming exercise. These were
usually based on the previous course evaluations (see sample form at Appendix IV)
and current demands of the stakeholders and the general public.

Upon receipt of the Survey Circular, Ministries and Departments identified and gave names
of officers as their nominees for the various courses submitted by the Public Service
Commission Training Division.

The survey list was then returned to the PSC by ministries and departments which PSC was
supposed to analyse and prepare the training plan by 30th November. In most cases the list
was not supported with the Training Needs Analysis and Selection Form which the PSC
Training Officers had to follow-up before doing the final selection.

The Training Plan which consisted of individual course objectives, contents, methodology,
etc. was then compiled by the PSC Training Officers and submitted to FNTC through the
Director of Training, PSC before 31st January of the new year for its approval. No training
was supposed to commence unless this process was completed because FNTC was supposed
to give its final approval to the Training Plan according to the Act. If this did not happen on
time, courses could not be conducted on scheduled dates which would affect FNTC
assessment in terms of grant refund to government and wastage of training funds by PSC
because it had to be surrended to the Ministry of Finance at the end of the year.

As for overseas training, offers were submitted to PSC through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs by donor agencies or governments which PSC forwarded to the relevant
departments for them to put up submissions together with the completed TNA/TNS forms.
Upon receipt of all relevant documents, the PSC then communicated with the relevant
authorities, got the approval and formalised all travel and per diem arrangements.
The purpose of the Training Needs Analysis (TNA) was to identify the right person/position
holder for the right course, i.e someone, who lacked certain competencies, skills or
knowledge in order to produce expected results. If there was a gap between actual level of
performance and the expected level of performance then from PSCs point of view, courses
and workshops would bridge or close that gap within individuals, groups or organisations.
The Public Service Commission conducted course evaluations at the end of each course and a
transfer evaluation (see sample form at Appendix V) after 3 months of the course for all
local trainings. This gave a feedback on whether learning had taken place and whether the
individuals work performance or output had improved. The officer who had attended the
training course filled the first part of the form and submitted to his/her supervisor for
comments and forwarded it to PSC. This was seldom done which again affected grant
assessment.

For all overseas training, officers were required to submit course reports after 2 weeks of
reporting to their duties which would include what they had learned, the benefits they
achieved from the course and recommendations for implementation by their
Ministry/Department. Normally course reports were prepared by officers and submitted to
PSC through their Heads of departments for information and further actions.

The Meeting

Mr. Ajay Chand sat back on his chair and started thinking, what answer he would give to Mr.
Manasa Cama. Then he called his two Managers Mr. Sairusi Koto, Manager Workforce
Training and Development (MWTD) and Mrs. Melini Turaga, Manager Executive Training and
Development (METD) into his office.

Mr. Ajay Chand: Mr. Sairusi Koto and Mrs. Melini Turaga. I have a problem, which I
think both of you can help me to solve
Mr. Sairusi Koto Yes Sir, How can we help ?
and Mrs. Melini
Turaga:
Mr. Ajay Chand: The SPSC just called me a short while ago and wanted a meeting
with me at 2.00pm today. He received a report from the Director
General, FNTC this morning which stated that PSC had received
only 41% training grant refund for the year 1998. He was very
annoyed with us.
Mr. Sairusi That is impossible Sir! Last year our Training Officers did a
Koto: marvellous job with all our training courses.
Mrs. Melini I think the assessment is not correct. As far as I am concerned,
Turaga: our Training Officers did a great job last year. They have good
qualifications and experience too (refer to Appendix VI).
Mr. Ajay Chand: Anyway, can you both work together quickly and get me some
statistics for the last five years on our levy payments * and grant
refunds and also the reasons for the shortfall? I need this
information by 1.00pm today.
The Second Encounter with Mr. Manasa Cama

Mr. Sairusi Koto and Mrs. Melini Turaga got together and compiled a brief report for Mr.
Ajay Chand and handed it before 1.00pm. Mr.Ajay Chand then went to meet Mr. Manasa
Cama in his office at 2.00pm. As he entered Mr. Manasa Camas office, he thought to
himself, "I hope this report will satisfy him."
However, Mr. Manasa Cama persisted that he did not have much time to discuss the report
with Mr. Ajay Chand because he had to attend another urgent meeting. He asked Mr. Ajay
Chand to come up with a more comprehensive report with suggestions and recommendations
for improvement by 28 February.
(Note 2: At the end of each year the PSC on behalf of government (employer) is required to
pay to FNTC 1% levy (except for occupational classifications that may be exempted by law)
on the gross wages and salaries paid to all government employees during the year. Refer to
Table 2 for details.)

Back at the Office

Mr. Ajay Chand then left Mr. Manasa Cama's office towards his own office with some signs
of relief in his face. However, he had only six days to work with his two Managers and come
up with a comprehensive report for the SPSC.
He again called his two Managers for a meeting in his office.
Mr. Ajay Chand: Thank you for the report you both compiled for me. I have
just met Mr. Manasa Cama, SPSC and shown the report to
him. He asked for a more comprehensive Report which I
have to submit by 28 February. What could be some of the
reasons that are affecting the performance of the Training
Officers?
Mr. Sairusi Koto: I feel that our TNA/TNS forms are too comprehensive and
most Training Officers including those in the departments
have very poor understanding about training needs because
they have not been through any formal training on Training
Needs Analysis.
Mrs. Melini Turaga: I think we should consider sending them to FNTC or even
overseas institutions to attend the Training of Trainers or
the Training Needs Analysis workshop(s) so that they get
more exposure on training. This will enhance their training
skills and they will perform better.
Mr. Ajay Chand: Good suggestions, but we do not have enough time to
discuss everything now. Why don't you both work together
once again and call a meeting with all the Training Officers
to brainstorm as many problems as possible. I want you
both to come up with a more comprehensive report with
suggestions and recommendations for improvement by 27
February. I want to discuss the report with both of you and
finalise it before I submit to SPSC on 28 February.
Appendix III

FNTC REQUIREMENTS

Apply to the Council

Appoint full time Training Officers and enough Training Instructors
Have suitably equipped training facilities
Prepare factual TNA's
Arrange for inspection of facilities and examination of TNA's
Prepare Training Plan
Carry out Training &endash; all necessary records kept
Notify Council of changes to the Training Plan
Submit claim for the Grant
Arrange Assessment
Notify of intention to continue under Method A

FNTC GUIDELINES FOR METHOD 'A' EMPLOYEES

A. TRAINING STAFF

i) Training Officer
Must have at least one
Criteria.Training Managers Course/Equivalent
Criteria. Full time in Training

ii) Training Instructor

Attended a Training of Trainers program covering Basic TNA Training Objectives and
Lesson Planning
Implementing Training
Simple Evaluation
At least 15% of time on training

OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECTS:

If Training Manager's position is below rank in decision making on Management Board - must
name Director or Senior Manager to be responsible for training.
Does Training Officer have authority to make decisions on overall training of the
organisation?
Adequacy of number of Training Instructors

B. TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS

Must have a Training Policy

Must have Organisational, Occupational and Individual analysis
i) ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS

Training Implications of Manpower Plan

Training Implications of Strategic Plan
Training Implications of Organisational weaknesses assessments

ii) OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS

Job Analysis Exercise

Implications of Changes to/within occupation (technology/ methods/ location etc.)
Succession Planning results

iii) INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS

Comparison with Job Specification

Results of Performance Appraisal

OTHER ASPECTS:
Summary of Training Needs highlighting major trends
Do not encourage a shopping list attitude to identifying training needs
Must cover all staff in the organization
Must link also to Training Policy

C. APPROVED TRAINING PLAN

Be based on Training Needs Analysis and Training Policy

Be approved by Chief Executive

ALL ITEMS ON CHECKLIST COMPLIED WITH

Training Policy in place
Programs based on TNA
All training activities planned for the year
Details of in-house programs provided
Title Tutors/Resource Persons
Objectives Names of Participants
Target Group Duration
Methods of Instruction Dates, No. of courses
Breakdown of Trainees by Course relative to Branch and Classification
Forms of training to be used
Details of Training Staff to be utilized
Breakdown of total staff according to FNTC Classification (by branch/office/company
where appropriate)
Breakdown of Evaluation systems to be utilized
SPECIAL ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO TRAINING ON:
Induction
Safety, Health & Hygiene
Industrial Relations

D. OWN TRAINING FACILITIES

Must have facilities available

Available facilities must be appropriate and in good condition
Environment of facilities must be conducive to effective training
A list of facilities owned and utilized must be submitted to include equipment

E. FORMAL SELECTION PROCEDURE

Formal selection procedure must be specified either in the Training Policy of elsewhere
Procedures must allow for ease of selection of candidates for training programs in
accordance with TNA, Career Plans of Succession Plans
Degree to which such procedures are utilized will be assessed
Degree of inducting trainees into programs (especially external) and the organization's
expectation
Suitability of participants for particular program

F. INDUCTION TRAINING

Induction training program must be specified (see Section A)

Numbers of new appointments, transfers, promotion must be provided
100% of above to be inducted
Minimum induction of 7 hours for new recruits and slightly less for transfer and promotion

G. CARRY OUT APPROVED TRAINING PROGRAM

Volume of training carried out

Relationship between staff complement and number trained
Compatibility with training plan- how effective did Training Plan reflect actual needs
Details of courses conducted &endash; venue, date, participants
Participants records and TNA's updated
How structured was on the job training? What kind of records were kept?
Teaching modes used. Resource Persons used
Was council notified of changes to original Plan?

H. SAFETY, HEALTH AND HYGIENE TRAINING

Fire fighting training where not yet conducted. Fire drills once every 6 months
Other programs pertinent to individual organisations and occupation. 50% of all staff must
go through some such program
Statutory training requirements complied with
I. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TRAINING

SCHEDULE A:

25% must go through training on Industrial Relations covering the following:

Company's Industrial Relations policies, agreements, practices, negotiating machinery

Trade union, structure and organizations
Roles of trade union delegates, officers
Role of Managers, Personnel Staff and Supervisors
Communication, Human Relations and Negotiation Skills
Linkage between Labor-Management Relations and Company productivity
Company Wage and Salary systems
Role of the Government in Industrial Relations

SCHEDULE B:

30% must go through Industrial Relations Training covering the following:

Role of the supervisor in disputes, grievances and disciplinary procedures

Skills of communications, human relations, grievance handling and discipline improvement
Role of unions, union delegates, senior managers and personnel
Own limits of authority

SCHEDULE C & D:

10% must go through training where emphasis is on:

Steps to take in the grievance procedure

How grievances are raised and dealt with
Circumstances which may lead to disciplinary action
Disciplinary procedures
Union set-up in the organisation
Employee benefits and existing agreements

J. MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORY DEVELOPMENT

Existence of properly structured management development scheme

Proportion of managers covered by this scheme
How systematic is selection
How is development tied to performance appraisal and review
25% must go through training that is concerned with Management/ Supervisory
Development
K. EVALUATION OF TRAINING

Must have reaction evaluation

Behavioral evaluation encouraged
Results level evaluation and learning encouraged
Description of system provided
Evidence of usage
Evidence of evaluation results being utilized
Description of action taken

(Source: FNTC Grant Claims Manual)

Appendix IV

PSC Training Officers' Profile

The following is a brief background on individual Training Officers:

STO(1) Mr. Vikash Ram

Forty four years old with no tertiary qualifications except a few short courses in
Management. Twenty two years work experience in the Civil Service with four years training
background.
STO(2) Ms. Losana Tabua
Forty two years old . Has a BA degree from USP with twenty years work experience in the
Civil Service and three years training background.
TO(SES) Mr. Sanjay Kumar
Thirty two years old. Has a BA degree from USP with thirteen years work experience in the
Civil Service and one year training background.

TO(1) Ms. Maria Cakau

Forty five years old with no tertiary qualifications except a few short courses in
Management. Twenty four years work experience in the Civil Service with one year training
background.

TO(2) Mrs. Sara Lee

Forty years old. Has a BA degree from USP with eight years experience in the Civil Service.
Has two years training background.
TO(3) Mrs. Saras kumar
Thirty eight years old. Has a BA degree from USP with twelve years work experience in the
Civil Service. Has one year training background.

TO(4) Mr. Tuimasi Seru

Twenty eight years old. Has a BA degree from USP with two years of work experience in
the Civil Service. Has six months training background.

TO(5) Ms. Roshni Prasad

Thirty years old. Has a BSc degree from USP with five years work experience in the Civil
Service. Has three years training background.

TO(6) Mr. Vimal Reddy

Thirty three years old with no tertiary qualifications except a few short courses in
Management. Ten years work experience in the Civil Service with two months training
background.

(Source: PSC Staff Personal Files)

Bibliography

1) PSC Oganisational Charts File

2) Government Budget Estimates 1998

3) PSC Training Policy Manual

4) Fiji National Training (FNT) Act

5) FNTC Grants Claims Handbook

6) FNTC Training Guide

7) PSC Annual Report 1998

8) PSC Staff Personal Files

9) PSC Training Handbook 1998