Futures in the Public Sector

New Zealand’s State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie has called on civil servants across the world to remember to think ahead in addition to addressing short-term challenges. Rennie, speaking as part of the Guardian’s Global Public Leaders Series, said civil servants were “very good at responding to the issues that governments put to us in the here and now, but we’re less good about not only doing that, but also thinking ahead to the future.” Speaking about talent sourcing, Rennie said that public servants must “build a brand for the public service in terms of employment.” He said that age should not be the focus, but that the aim was to “get the best and brightest and offer New Zealanders, whether younger or older, an exciting career and a real possibility to change lives”.