Merit 2.0: ANZSOG Research looks at how merit selection can meet the needs of today’s public service workforce  

Merit has become a foundational part of modern Western governance, used by governments and acted upon by managers and human resource professionals to better ensure fairness and transparency in recruitment and promotion. But knowing how to get it right in practice is less clear, especially with a lack of standardised guidance in place. It is an area that public sectors across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) are grappling with and eager to try and get right with the ultimate aim of more equitable outcomes for all.   

 That’s why ANZSOG, the ACT Public Service, and the Public Service Research Group (PSRG) at University of New South Wales Canberra (UNSW) have undertaken a research project, funded through ANZSOG’s Research Model program, analysing how merit is interpreted and applied in practice to public sector recruitment and retention. 

The 12-month research project, titled ‘Merit 2.0: Factors in Merit-Based Recruitment, Promotion and Retention in the Public Sector’ is being led by Associate Professor Sue Williamson and a research team including Dr Vanessa McDermott, Associate Professor James Connor, Dr Catherine Deen, Dr Kelly Soderstrom, Dr Joe Ren and Associate Professor Noelle Donnelly.  

The research seeks to answer three big questions:   

1.How is ‘merit’ understood and the merit principle operationalised in human resource (HR) systems and processes by selection panel members and employees?  

2.How can ‘merit’ be reconceptualised to incorporate individual, group and team factors to ensure fairness and transparency?  

3.How can HR recruitment processes be reformed to address and mediate the inherent tension and conflict between competing demands, needs and priorities, while also being accepted as fair by staff?  

The research project involves three case studies on the ACT, Queensland and Aotearoa New Zealand, all of whom have recently reviewed their merit systems and amended legislation. The research aims to better understand respective merit-based approaches and use them as a basis for the development of a best-practice guide for government in workforce planning and development. More broadly, the research will advance our understanding of how fundamental concepts like merit take on new meaning to reflect changing social circumstances. 

A first report of the project has recently been completed. The research team has examined definitions of merit, highlighting literature that shows the shifting meanings of merit, and slippages between merit as principle and merit as process. The second part of the report, the regulatory review, complements the literature review by examining how merit is defined and operationalised in the three jurisdictions. 

Three main findings have emerged so far  

1.Regarding definitions of merit- there are differences in interpretations and application of between merit as principle and merit as process with tensions identified between merit and diversity, merit and efficiency, and the challenges of operationalising merit-based HR in practice.  

2.Regarding how ‘merit’ is conceptualised – that configurations of merit and diversity vary across jurisdictions. This ranges from merit defined primarily in reference to equity with a focus on the individual, to a broader conceptualisation where diversity is also included with a focus on ‘suitability’ for the position.   

3.Regarding job advertisements- that advertisements range from narrow to broad in how they reflect merit and diversity. Whilst recently amended legislation generally appeared sound, to date, this doesn’t yet appear to have translated into the descriptions of job advertisements.  

Why does this matter?  

 These are only preliminary findings with more to come, but so far, it’s clear that this type of comparative cross-jurisdictional research helps identify elements of good practice and has direct relevance to HR professionals, those tasked with workforce planning responsibilities and beyond. 

 You can stay up to date with ANZSOG’s research by signing up to ANZSOG eNews  and/or ANZSOG Research Updates, or you can get in touch with us via research@anzsog.edu.au.