The Government has spent over £300,000 on recruiting a CEO in the last four years – without a successful permanent appointment being made since 2022, a watchdog report has revealed.
Published today, the Staff Recruitment and Retention report was authored by Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Lynn Pamment – whose remit includes the audit and consideration of public funds to help ensure islanders are getting value for money.
The report revealed that over £360,000 has been spent since 2017 on Government CEO recruitment – and more than £310,000 has been spent since 2021 without a “successful permanent appointment lasting more than two years” being made.
Express last year revealed that over £60,000 was spent on the recruitment process for a permanent Government CEO which was abandoned after just two months.
The C&AG said: “Since 2017, significant additional costs have been incurred by the States of Jersey in respect of the Chief Executive position.
“Additional cost will also be incurred in the recruitment of a permanent Chief Executive for 2027 and beyond.”
She added: “The cost and impact of not having stability in the Chief Executive position however goes beyond just the costs of recruitment.”
The report found that not having stability in the CEO position gives rise to a “number of risks”, including:
- uncertainty and inconsistency in decision making, which can affect long-term planning and strategy
- decreased employee morale due to uncertainty about the future direction of the organisation
- focussing on short-term goals rather than long-term strategic objectives, causing the organisation to drift from its strategic mission and vision
- operational disruption with risks to critical decision making
- talent retention if employees perceive a lack of stable leadership and direction
within the organisation
Ms Pamment recommended that a “robust strategy” be documented and actioned sufficiently early to mitigate risks to the successful appointment of a permanent Government CEO.
The report also found that the States of Jersey Group spent £593 million on staff costs in 2023 – which represented 34% of total expenditure.
Ms Pamment criticised the Government for not having “framework of modern recruitment processes” in place to sufficiently mitigate the risk of “bad hires”.
“The cost of recruitment is significant,” she said.
“The cost of a ‘bad hire’ (employing the wrong person) is even more significant.”
The C&AG found that the Government does not collect and review sufficient information on the effectiveness and efficiency of its recruitment and retention processes.
The report also said that “very few” staff who have left Government employment are interviewed to ascertain the reasons for leaving.
“The Government is therefore developing recruitment and retention initiatives with a key piece of information missing,” it added.