New ANZSOG Research examines the concept of merit in contemporary public sector contexts

A new ANZSOG Research project explores the concept of merit in recruitment practices in a modern public sector context. It finds a complexity of understandings of merit, with reference to contemporary challenges that aim to integrate suitability and diversity alongside efficiency. 

Merit 2.0: Factors in Merit Based Recruitment, Promotion and Retention in the Public Sector was recently completed with release of a second stage fieldwork report. The report ‘Realities and challenges of implementing merit protection frameworks’ draws on interviews from three jurisdictions – ACT, Queensland and Aotearoa New Zealand.   

The project was sponsored by ANZSOG and the ACT Government through ANZSOGs collaborative Research Model and was led by Associate Professor Sue Williamson and a research team which included Associate Professor James Connor, Dr Vanessa McDermott, Dr Catherine Deen, Dr Kelly Soderstrom, Dr Joe Ren at PSRG, UNSW Canberra, and Associate Professor Noelle Donnelly from Victoria University of Wellington.     

Merit is a foundational part of modern Westminster governance, used by governments and acted upon by managers and human resource professionals to better ensure fairness and transparency in recruitment and promotion. Knowing how to get it right in practice is less clear, as recruitment inevitably includes an element of individual professional and ethical judgement. It is an area that public sectors across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) are addressing with the aim of more equitable outcomes for all.   

 The research details how understandings of merit are context dependent. Different legislative and regulatory frameworks influence how merit is understood and operationalise in practice. Merit is also evolving, with a progressive evolution from individual to more collective understandings of merit. This is evidenced by a shift towards including ‘suitability’ and ‘fit’ in some legislative and administrative processes as well as emerging in practice.  

 A number of thematic takeaways for practice emerge from the report, including:  

• Suitability, fit and potential are emerging as key features of a collective approach to merit.  
• Tensions exist with merit in regard to diversity, efficiency and balancing standardisation and flexibility.  
• Change and innovation is required for integrating individual and collective understandings of merit with innovative recruitment processes emerging and scope to continually improve.  

 The report outlines a set of key actions which have been developed to guide public sectors as they consider, and potentially reform conceptions of merit and associated processes.   

By providing a current understanding of how merit is understood and operationalised in three different jurisdictions, the report details the latest thinking and practice for governments to consider in their respective recruitment and selection processes.  

The report concludes that data shows that understandings of merit and suitability differ both across jurisdictions – reflecting their respective underpinning regulatory frameworks – and between senior leaders, selection panel members and job candidates within jurisdictions. Merit is also acquired and assessed differently at individual, team and organisational levels. 

The research also examines the intrinsic tensions associated with merit/suitability, including that between merit and diversity, and recommends further education be made available for those involved in recruitment to explain this tension and how it can be navigated. It highlights the significant commitment of managers to implementing fair and transparent recruitment and selection processes, and the many innovative approaches being used in different jurisdictions, recommending that innovation and best practice be shared across jurisdictions.  

You can learn more about the project here: Merit 2.0: Factors in Merit Based Recruitment, Promotion and Retention in the Public Sector