Agencies across the Australian Public Service (APS) are spending heavily on advertising in a bid to attract the right personnel.

The advertising has improved in quality and extensively promotes great APS work environments, flexible, family-friendly and where staff wellbeing is of the utmost importance.

This investment however, is being undermined by poor internal recruitment practices according to a new guide from the Australian Public Sector Commission (APSC).

In a 2008 Audit report, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) assessed whether APS recruitment assisted agencies in providing the workforce capability to effectively deliver government programs in its report: Management of Recruitment in the APS.

It found that at a strategic level, there is uncertainty about planning recruitment needs into the future, and the current tight labour market conditions make it difficult to attract sufficient skilled staff, especially in the areas of information technology, financial management, accounting, HRM and project management.

Drawing from the report, the APSC suggests there is no ‘right’ list of related measures for an agency to analyse their practises but instead they should take a holistic approach and employ a variety of measures that are relevant to their particular circumstances.

The Australian Public Sector Commission has provided access to baseline data to assist agencies to determine if their recruitment processes measure up.

State of the Service 2007–08 At a Glance,

State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2007–08  and

Australian Public Service Statistical Bulletin 2007–08

The Statistical Bulletin is especially useful for those wishing to isolate agency-specific data such as staffing profiles, movements and separations, according to the commission.