Proactively resolving work
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just issued a document assigning the HCMC Institute for Development Studies to develop a draft project ‘Building an efficient civil service in the city between 2024 and 2030". Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City plans to hire management personnel to reduce the workload of employees who will concentrate on their important duties. Additionally, they plan to test a mechanism allowing employees of state-run organizations to work from home if they meet specific conditions.
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| Civil servants from the People's Committee of District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) process administrative documents for citizens and businesses. |
In July 2023, when the base salary for cadres, civil servants, and public employees officially increased from VND1.4 million per month to VND1.8 million per month, Ms. Huynh Thi Thuy Hong, a civil servant in the Financial and Accounting Office of the People's Committee of Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, Binh Tan District, had to update data and adjust salaries for over 1,000 state workers who were not specialized in the area.
She also processed the costs of electricity and water for the neighborhoods. Aside from the general salary increases, whenever the salary of an official increased, it took Ms. Hong a lot of time to input the data. When Ho Chi Minh City planned to pilot work-from-home for civil servants, Ms. Hong was very supportive. According to her, the work of accounting, aside from the days of receiving documents and files from various units, mostly involved data processing.
Ms. Hong expressed that there will be many advantages about time and cost for state employees when working from home. Ms. Ho Thi Le Thanh, a specialist in the Office of District 1 People's Committee, was also excited about the project mentioned. According to her, if this policy is successfully implemented, it will help civil servants and public employees manage and resolve their tasks more efficiently.
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| Public servants of An Phu Dong Ward in District 12 processing administrative documents for citizens. Photo: SGGP. |
However, Ms. Thanh also raised questions about who would be allocated to work from home and who would have to come to the office for the same position. In addition, the database system must be interconnected to ensure information sharing, allowing civil servants to work from home. Many civil servants and public employees are concerned about the quality control, monitoring, and evaluation of the quality of public service delivery.
Developing an effective working method
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, Ho Chi Minh City assigned civil servants to work from home and achieved good results. In particular, the People's Committee of District 1 flexibly implemented task assignments for handling administrative work for the people and businesses. They had civil servants on standby ready to handle work "on the spot" and also assigned tasks and delegated work to civil servants working from home through electronic offices, work emails, and social networking applications.
This working method was effective during the pandemic. According to the People's Committee of District 1, "remote working" is widely applied nowadays. Implementing this method in Ho Chi Minh City is necessary and it will be applied in some units, in some fields to gradually bring about change and establish a modern, more efficient working method.
According to USA Today, the United States is one of the countries with the highest percentage of workers who prefer working from home in the world. A survey on the value of remote work by FlexJobs, a US remote work website, showed that remote workers spend about $6,000 less per year compared to office employees.
Staffing Industry Analysts - a global advisor on staffing and workforce reports that US companies can save over US$500 billion per year with remote work. According to Axios news statistics, about 15 percent of Americans work from home, but this figure could be much higher due to incomplete statistics. Boulder, Colorado has the highest rate of remote workers at 32 percent, while 25 percent of employees in Washington, D.C. choose to work remotely.
In Europe, data analysis by the European Union statistical office (EUROSTAT) shows that the Netherlands has the highest percentage of remote workers, over 50 percent. Last summer, the States General of the Netherlands passed a law on remote work as a legal right, making the Netherlands one of the first countries to allow flexible remote work.
Ireland has the fastest adoption of remote work in the European Union. In 2019, only 7 percent of the Irish workforce worked remotely, and this number increased to 25 percent in 2022. Ireland is followed by Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.
PHUONG NAM
Dr. Bui Ngoc Hien of the Ho Chi Minh City Cadre Academy assesses that the city's plan to pilot working from home for cadres, civil servants, and public employees is an appropriate approach that aligns with the practices adopted by many countries worldwide. Implementing this approach may enhance the efficiency of specialized administrative work, encouraging a proactive and innovative mindset. Additionally, it can reform human resource management in the public sector, contributing to cost savings.
However, the city authorities may encounter some challenges, such as reaching a consensus regarding which job categories or units can work from home, ensuring fairness in evaluating job performance, monitoring and assessing the quality of work carried out by civil servants.
Dr. Bui Ngoc Hien suggests that to ensure the feasibility of implementing this policy, specific job positions and roles suitable for remote work should be defined. Establishing a management mechanism for civil servants working from home is essential, emphasizing regulations on performance evaluation, job effectiveness, and the responsibilities of state workers. Additionally, it is crucial to provide the necessary conditions for civil servants to work from home, including digital infrastructure, and e-government development.
Mr. Le Duc Thanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of District 1:
Changing the mindset regarding job delegation
When implementing the pilot mechanism for employees to work from home, a clear legal framework should be established based on the "job assignment plan" for each civil servant, criteria for evaluating task completion, and the use of common task management software and improved IT infrastructure.
In addition, it is crucial to change the mindset about job delegation and supervision during the current period. In the past, job delegation and supervision were done directly and regularly through reporting and meetings. Nowadays, job delegation and supervision must be based on the responsibility for task completion and the assessment of final results, reducing direct supervision.
Mr. Tran Hoang Dung, Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Hung Hoa A Ward in Binh Tan District:
Commitment to work progress and effectiveness
The decision to pilot working from home for cadres, civil servants, and public employees in some areas is a policy that is tailored to the demand for improving the quality of the administrative system and public service. Some positions such as accountants and those involved in poverty reduction, population work, and family planning, can work from home effectively.
However, civil servants must meet certain conditions to work from home, including registration and a commitment to complete tasks for the ward leadership. At the same time, they should arrange their work schedule between working from home and working at the office to ensure efficient task completion.
Thu Huong, Ngo Binh
