SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS REFORM OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AIMS TO STRIKE MAJOR BLOW FOR EXCELLENCE, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

28 October 1998

Press Release
SG/SM/6776

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS REFORM OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AIMS TO STRIKE MAJOR BLOW FOR EXCELLENCE, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

19981028 Addressing Fifth Committee, Kofi Annan Calls Human Resources Reform an Investment in Change, Not an Exercise in Budget Reduction

Following is the text of a statement made today at Headquarters by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the General Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), on the subject of Human Resources Management Reform:

It gives me great pleasure to join you today and to share with you my thoughts on the progress being made in the Secretariat to change and improve the management of human resources.

You have before you my report on this subject. A number of other documents being submitted to this Committee also touch on aspects of the reform process. Together, they represent an integral part of the "quiet revolution" of United Nations reform and renewal.

We have reached another key moment in this process. For despite all the work that has been done, the United Nations is still too slow and ponderous in responding to the many challenges that you, the Member States, seek to address through this Organization. Reform of human resources management aims to strike a major blow for excellence, efficiency and effectiveness.

My report carries forward the vision that I presented to you last year in my overall programme of reform. It builds on the strategy for human resources management adopted by the General Assembly in 1994. It draws extensively on the recommendations of the Task Force on Human Resources Management, which was constituted earlier this year and which has now finished its work. And it reflects consultations with the staff and management of the Secretariat -- consultations that will continue.

The report sets out a vision of organizational change that combines longer-term objectives with short- and medium-term targets for the next three to five years. As with reform in general, reform of human resources

management is a process, an evolving enterprise that calls on us to study options carefully before moving ahead, and then to learn from feedback and experience.

I am pleased to tell you that we have already put in place a great number of changes in all key areas, including staff administration, recruitment and placement, and career development. At the same time, much work remains to be done. Additional follow-up documents will elaborate on the broad policies and visions contained in the current report and will keep you abreast of our progress. For now, the thrust of the reforms can be said to rest on several pillars.

We want above all to have the right people with the right skills in the right job at the right time. We aim to do so by delegating authority, by decentralizing decision-making and by ensuring accountability at all levels.

Indeed, accountability is the guiding principle of this effort. Improving accountability requires strengthening the vertical chain of dialogue, up and down the line of management. We are considering some new mechanisms as well, such as a management review panel.

Delegation will be done on an incremental basis. It will take place gradually as guidelines, monitoring and accountability mechanisms are put in place, and as managers are ready to take on their added responsibilities.

We want to simplify rules and procedures. This process is already under way in the administration of entitlements and elsewhere.

The role of the Office of Human Resources Management will become more focused so that it is responsible for setting strategy, developing policy, providing guidelines to managers and monitoring performance. Notwithstanding the delegation of authority, however, certain core human resources services are best managed at the centre and will remain with the Office of Human Resources Management.

We want to promote a culture of continuous learning and staff development leading to career growth. Compared to other United Nations funds and programmes, and to private sector enterprises, the United Nations does not invest enough in staff development. We must do better.

We want to encourage mobility at all levels -- across functions, departments, duty stations and organizations of the United Nations system -- in order to broaden the experience of our staff.

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And we want to do all of this while upholding fundamental principles of transparency, due process, fairness and respect for diversity, and while meeting the requirements for geographical and gender balance.

I would also like to say a few words about what reform of human resources management is not.

The reform of human resources management is not a direct application of management practices from the outside. Those practices and philosophies do indeed have much to teach us, and we have established many contacts with business leaders and management counsellors who want to help us succeed. I am aware that what is tried-and-true on the outside is not necessarily applicable to an international organization such as ours. But we will seek the best practices wherever they can be found.

The reform of human resources management is also not an exercise in budget reduction and staff cutting, and certainly not a way to fund the Development Account. Rather, it is an investment in change, an essential process by which we are modernizing our most important asset.

And finally, the reform of human resources management represents partnership. We are all aware of the division of responsibilities between the Secretariat and the Member States. I will continue to rely on the support of this Committee and will seek its approval when appropriate. All of us -- Member States, staff members, management and the Office of Human Resources Management -- are in this together. Without a shared commitment to change and improvement, the reform effort will fall short.

Our overarching goal is to align our human resources with our global mission. That mission -- of peace, development and human rights around the world -- is growing ever more urgent and complex. The world needs a better United Nations, and since embarking on the reform process we have made significant progress in improving this organization of ours.

We have accomplished a great deal, structurally and organizationally. We have achieved much in setting priorities and coordinating mandates. We have done an enormous amount to involve civil society in our work and to broaden the definition of the international community. But these are only pieces of a puzzle. And that puzzle will not be complete until we manage our human resources better.

As we move ahead with this vital work, I look forward to having more sessions like this one and to hearing your ideas and suggestions about meeting the goals we share. Let us move ahead in this spirit of partnership.

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