The Department of Agriculture (DA), in its efforts to promote people excellence for efficient and effective delivery of public service, received recognition from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for obtaining Maturity Level II accreditation in Learning and Development system under the Enhanced PRIME-HRM during a virtual ceremony on February 7, 2022.
Under the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM), the CSC assessed the maturity level of an agency’s competencies, systems, and practices based on four HR systems: recruitment, selection, and placement; learning and development; performance management; and rewards and recognition.
Based on the assessment, a government agency may be classified according to four maturity levels: Level 1-Transactional HRM, Level 2 -Process Defined HRM, Level 3 – Integrated HRM, and Level 4 – Strategic HRM.
“We humbly accept this recognition of upscaling the level 2 accreditation status in learning and development under the PRIME-HRM. We would like to thank Civil Service Commission for taking serious look of our accomplishments and appreciating our efforts to comply with all the evidence requirements indicator that you set. This status will simply mean that we enhance our human resource processes leading to greater efficiency and scaling up quality services. Encapsulating that into two words, that is service excellence,” said Agriculture Undersecretary for Administration and Finance and Chairman of the DA’s PRIME-HRM Committee Roldan Gorgonio.
Usec. Gorgonio said he fully embraces the commitment of automation and digitalization, ease-of-doing-business, anti-red tape committee, and other advocacies towards ISO certification, but, this recognition of CSC is much higher that what he expected. He said he is grateful to the HRDD team for taking up the challenge in achieving this maturity level II recognition.
He added that the award is a legacy itself, that amidst the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the DA is able to rise and realize the importance of automation and digitalization. He said these two changes will matter in accomplishing other four HR systems.
“As a Department, we fully commit to increase our productivity towards accomplishing the mandate of DA through a modern approach on human resource management to better serve our clienteles, the farmers and fishers. We commit to be continuously assessed and evaluated under the practice and competency lenses” Gorgonio said.
According to CSC DA-Field Office Director Fe Lacaba the recognition was assessed based on Systems lens or the Show Me Part evidence requirement submitted by the DA’s Human Resource Development Division (HRDD).
“There are three lenses: system lens, practice lens, and competency lens. Ang ginamit na lens dito ay system lens. Ang system lens – determines the policies, kung meron kayong existing policy, processes, procedure that governs your human resource management. So, naipakita ito sa inyong Learning and Development. The assessor looks into the existence of documentation,” Lacaba said.
Lacaba also stressed that before the agency becomes qualified for an on-site assessment, the DA should be recognized with all the four HR systems. She said that assessment may be done either on-site or virtual.
The PRIME-HRM is a mechanism that enables government agencies to achieve human resource excellence through three steps: assess, assist, and award. ### (Kristel Merle, DA-AFID)
