KEYNOTE SPEECH OF CSC CHAIRPERSON KARLO A. B. NOGRALES
2023 REGIONAL CONVENTION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONERS
23-25 August 2023 | Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay
CSC RO IX Regional Director Alvin R. Araneta, CSC RO IX Assistant Regional Director Mario Jose T. Cunting, Regional Chapter Presidents, officials and employees, PRIME HRM Awardees, and fellow civil servants, isang mapagpalayang bati sa inyong lahat! Buenos Dias!
It is my honor and pleasure to be standing before you - the dynamic, committed and resilient Human Resource Practitioners of the Region IX. We are also grateful to the leaders and people of the beautiful province of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City for welcoming us here.
Because of this 2023 Regional Convention of Human Resource Management Practitioners, I was able to see all our HR talents and professionals here in Zamboanga Peninsula, and it is only proper to acknowledge and honor all of you in this gathering because we know that as HR practitioners, you have been fulfilling huge role in your respective agency’s organizational success. Gone are the days when HR's role was confined to administrative duties, ensuring that employees received their salaries and benefits on time. Human Resources are no longer just creators of payrolls and in-charge of daily time records; for they are now architects of organizational success.
With the need to ensure public service continuity at all times and especially during disruptions, HR has strengthened its role and contributed in ways that are more effective and more valued than before. As organizations move to adapt to changes, HR is at the forefront of implementing systemic changes to attract and retain talent for competitive advantage, and to utilize technology to improve processes. The role of HR has evolved from that of “chief talent executive” to “experience and engagement officers” as it comes up with game changing initiatives to simplify organizational processes, help employees manage the flood of information at work, and build a culture of collaboration, empowerment, resilience, and innovation.
I want to emphasize the immense value we place on the role of HR practitioners as “strategists”. You are in a strategic position to guide management towards a profound appreciation for the role of human capital as the most crucial asset of the organization. The HR practitioners play critical role by suggesting potential areas/crucial perspectives for HR enhancement through benchmarking, such as this forum and other conferences. So today, we are celebrating the richness of Western Mindanao, a region home to 134 local and national agencies, with both seasoned HR professionals and new breed millennials (and/or adult-millennials like myself?) altogether. So it is a great crowd to learn the traditional practices as well as fresh and new perspectives from one another and from our lined-up resource persons.
As the central human resource institution of the Philippine government our role is based on the 1987 Constitution which states that, “[the] CSC shall establish a career service and adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and courtesy in the civil service. It shall strengthen the merit and rewards system, integrate all human resources development programs for all levels and ranks, and institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability.”
To carry this mandate, we implement different programs and policies. And among the CSC’s flagship programs is the PRIME HRM. Since 2012, this program focuses on tailoring HR policies to agency needs. The PRIME HRM is one of our programs that focuses on HR transformation. It is designed to help elevate human resource management in the public sector to a level of excellence for good governance and efficient public service delivery. It is based on the premise that if the organization is responsive to the needs of its employees through efficient HR systems and employee-friendly policies, it would translate to high staff morale, productivity, and exemplary performance.
At this juncture, allow me to congratulate this year’s 10-strong PRIME HRM Bronze/Recognition Awardees and all the distinguished HR practitioners here today. (a round of applause to our awardees).
Be proud of yourselves and your agencies because it means that you have hurdled the rigorous and meticulous assessment phase. Undergoing the technical process of HR reforms involves reviewing the institution’s systems and processes, and receiving constructive feedback after the process. I am sure that the human resource management officers or HRMOs here can attest to the challenging journey of self-assessment, audit, and change management required under PRIME. But the gains are evident—everyone has learned to work even more closely as a team, and with efficient systems and processes.
Certainly, to make HR policies resonate with the workforce, they must be brought closer to the people. The establishment of this Regional Council of Personnel Officers (RCPO) primarily serves this purpose, which aims to connect local practices to internationally recognized standards. Formulating action plans from grassroots perspectives guarantees greater responsiveness and authentic representation of regional HR needs.
Much still needs to be done as the rest of the bureaucracy's HR systems, practices and competencies has to be subjected to regular assistance, handholding, and monitoring. There are those who struggle to put in place a functional performance management system or install competency-based learning and development programs. Thus, I challenge agency heads and HRMPs of Zamboanga Peninsula to work hand-in-hand with us to reach the next maturity level in any of the core HR systems. I am positive that you can all achieve the Silver and Gold awards and I look forward to the awarding of the 134 local and national agencies.
Key to this is our adoption of strategic and digital HR to reach out to organizational needs and help sustain growth within government institutions. As aligned to this convention’s theme, which is “Honing Agile and Future Ready Human Resource Management Practitioners in a Digital World,” we need to double time and catch-up with the integration of digitalization to our services delivery. As we are witnesses to a technological revolution that is reshaping industries, redefining communication and revolutionizing the way we interact with the world. Digitalization enables us to harness the power of HR through data and automation, it propels us towards more efficient processes and personalized human experiences.
In the post-pandemic era, the dream of changing outdated modes of service delivery and digitize what can be digitized is at arm’s length. We have should develop the capability to upskill our entire workforce to be digitally literate, adaptive, and agile.
Let me reiterate that for HR professionals, the role to capacitate and to update technological know-how to employees is paramount. The goal is to build skills, retain expertise, and ensure a renewed skill set to enable them to provide the services using technology.
I am concluding my message with an invitation for all of you to actively participate in the 123rd Philippine Civil Service Anniversary. We have prepared a series of activities for the entire bureaucracy including Online Zumba, Government Online Career Fair, Plant-run, Blood-letting Drive and the most awaited 2023 Public Sector Human Resource Symposium. Our Public HR Symposium will be conducted through hybrid mode (meaning onsite and virtual) from September 26 to 27. This year's focus is on the cultivation of dynamism, touching on personal growth, organizational enhancement, and societal progress. I am counting on all of you to make our PCSA celebration successful.
Finally, let me assure each and every one of you that we value and appreciate the work that you are doing in your respective agencies and for being the staunch partner of the CSC. Advance happy 123rd Philippine Civil Service Anniversary to all of you.
Daghang salamat! Mabuhay kayo at Mabuhay ang Serbisyo Publiko!