Public and semi-public administrations are facing major budgetary challenges, with a 2025 Finance Act that aims to redress public accounts by 50 billion euros and reduce the public deficit to 5.4% of GDP by 2025 through measures on companies and individuals, as well as a reduction in public spending for the 3 public functions and operators.
This crisis situation is part of a trend towards rationalization and performance enhancement that has only increased since the middle of the 21st century, through demands for modernization, simplification and results, and which is accelerating with current technological and societal developments.
To deal with this budgetary emergency, we are seeing a proliferation of HR measures - rather short-term and palliative - directly targeting the wage bill as a lever for reducing expenditure, without any real reflection on long-term operations consistent with the administration's orientations. However, it is only through a two-pronged approach (service offer / missions-resources) that an effective HR approach can be developed to meet the requirement of delivering quality service at reduced cost - by mobilizing resources in an optimal way - within a prioritized and clearly identified perimeter.
An unprecedented budgetary and organizational context
With 50 billion euros in savings to be achieved by 2025, public and semi-public administrations are faced with increasing demands for modernization and rationalization. Until now, HR measures have often been short-term and corrective (job freezes, delayed recruitment, etc.), without any real in-depth reflection on the fit between missions, human resources and public action priorities.
Yet this time of crisis is an opportunity to embark on a sustainable transformation, by repositioning HR as a driver of efficiency rather than a mere expense.
The note's 4 key findings
HR as a lever for transformation
The civil service represents 12.2 % of GDP and nearly one job in five in France. Rather than seeing payroll as a cost to be reduced, it needs to be managed in line with strategic priorities and the level of service expected/targeted. A better understanding of our resources and their skills enables us to anticipate and intelligently manage the choices we make in terms of directing and prioritizing public action.
Prioritize missions and reposition players
Inspired by the "Zero-Base Budget" approach, administrations need to ask themselves mission by mission: what do we absolutely have to maintain? What can we outsource or pool? What skills and resources are needed for each priority?This involves reviewing our scope, clarifying priorities and identifying room for maneuver.
Calibrating HR support for agents
In line with these priorities, every decision to reorganize, abolish or change missions has an impact on our agents. It is essential to structure solid HR support The Group's core competencies are: anticipating skills needs, organizing mobility, training, reskilling and working on career paths to maintain commitment and performance.
Equipping and uniting managers
The success of such an approach depends on the mobilization of senior management and supervisory staff. Providing them with the necessary tools, data and indicators enables strategic objectives to be translated into concrete, coherent actions.
