How Placement Advisors Use Enhanced Discretion in Public Employment Services

Abstract

"The thesis presented is that the interplay between PES advisors having greater discretionary powers, changing organisational norms and a tight labour market is beneficial to individualised services supporting placement in lasting and stable employment. We show that changes were accepted more easily when they were recognised and valued within the organisation. The performance management system proved to be an important mechanism for creating and promoting esteem in the organisation. Endowed with greater discretion, the employees interpret “service orientation” as personalised and long-term job placement and orientate their behaviour towards this organisational norm as long as the performance indicator “integration rate” guarantees a good outcome in the monitoring system. The favourable labour market situation reduces the dilemma regarding the conflicting aims of service orientation and the implementation of activation policy. Beyond the German case, our results suggest that the use of discretion does not depend solely on advisors’ personality traits or social-structural characteristics of the unemployed or their motivation. Structures of New Public Management not only shape advisors’ work on a formal level via bureaucratic procedures, standardisation and managerial control, but also influence professional action on an emotional level via esteem." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Freier, C. & Senghaas, M. (2021): How Placement Advisors Use Enhanced Discretion in Public Employment Services. In: The social policy blog No. 13.04.2021, o. Sz.