Public sector human resource management reform across countries: from performance appraisal to performance steering?

Abstract

New public management approaches in government emphasise the application of business-like techniques to the delivery of public sector services. One of the most prevalent HRM implications of this trend has been the increasing use of Performance Management (PM) by public organisations. Our objective is to describe trends in PM practice as they have emerged in public organisations undertaking new management reforms across the world. Reviewing the literature during the period between 1988 and 2009, we consider the application of PM in the pursuit of different objectives and in alternative types of civil service systems. We find that some elements of this approach, such as performance appraisal, have been adopted in most nations, but much remains to be done before PM can truly contribute to the 'performance steering' envisioned by advocates of customer-driven and managerialist perspectives.