Administrative Reform in Portugal Becomes Reference for Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A reference in Brazil as a model of meritocracy management, Portugal‘s administrative reform created an independent body to recruit and select public service top management by tender. The concept of a public service Human Resources regulatory body is also starting to take shape in Brazil, amid discussions on administrative reform in Congress to prevent political interference in choosing public officials.

João Bilhim, the first chairman of Portugal’s Commission for Recruitment and Selection for Public Administration (CReSAP), explained that, under the law passed in the country, the body does not and can not accept government guidance to make the selection. The expert spoke about the experience of Portuguese administrative reform on YouTube’s “Um Brasil” Channel, of the São Paulo State Federation of Commerce (FECOMÉRCIO-SP).

According to him, the creation of this new body enabled potentially qualified candidates for the position to be recruited. The new body employs selection methods with specific assessment techniques for adapting candidates to the demands of the position, in the search for the “right person for the right job”. Once the need for recruitment has been identified, a designated jury establishes the criteria to be used in selecting candidates for senior management positions, defining the profile for the position. Only then is the call for tender announced.

Recruitment is opened for internal and external selection. Anyone with no ties to public administration may also apply, provided they have Portuguese citizenship and higher education. The selection comprises stages of application screening, interviews, skills tests, and a final decision on the choice. The specialist recalled that until 1999 all senior managers in Portugal were appointed by political decision.

“This model has been adopted by countries with the best public services in the world. I don’t see why it shouldn’t work here,” said the chairman of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Administrative Reform, Deputy Tiago Mitraud. In his opinion, the model helps to shield from political interference by the government. “This is precisely the goal. To provide a technical nature for choosing the names,” said the deputy. In Brazil, the government is still free to appoint public administration positions, as well as to appoint the top ranks of state companies, with no type of public tender.

According to Israel Batista, chairman of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Public Service, the proposal of an independent body may be important. The Front is interested in having an independent body in the direction of people management, with specialized servants in the human resources area. “In our opinion, this point would be crucial,” he said. According to the deputy, the government has not commented on this, but the proposal submitted to Congress deals with this matter, in practice, by considering the creation of a complementary law that will provide for general rules on people management.

Assessment

Regarding the form of assessing servants, Bilhim says that in Portugal the system is incorporated into an annual planning. The goals and targets for a specific secretariat are provided, which are then distributed to departments. The servant and the department are assessed simultaneously. “Large-sized companies have a team assessment system because they’re not losing money,” he said.

In Brazil, when presenting the reform in September, the Ministry of Economy announced that a complementary bill regulating the possibility of disconnecting public servants because of “poor performance” is being drafted. In this case, the rules would be applicable not only to new public servants but also to current staff.

Nowadays, this option for dismissal due to poor performance does not exist. An amendment to the Constitution passed in 1998 provides for dismissal, but the regulation of the matter which hinges on a complementary law has never been completed.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo