The Incentive Aspect of Performing an Assessment of the Management System by Employees in the Public Sector

Abstract

The author of this article explains that an assessment of an organization's management system is a process of obtaining useful information and opinions about the organization from its personnel. The requirement to use assessment in the public sector in Poland follows from the standards issued by the Minister of Finance based on statutory delegation. As a result of the involvement of employees in assessment, managers receive a valuable instrument for motivating employees. The skilful use of self-assessment tools can increase employee engagement as well as creating a favourable internal environment conducive to collaboration, creativity and innovative ideas. However, to fully benefit from employee involvement in the area typically attributed to managers (decision making) this assessment must be skilfully performed. The article argues that: - employees need to feel that their views are taken seriously by managers, - the internal environment should foster the sharing of knowledge, - it must take into account the existing division between politics and public administration. The author favourably assesses the idea of direct employee participation through expressing opinions adopted in the Polish standards of public management as it gives the managers an opportunity to evaluate this information. However, incompetent handling of this assessment tool, instead of bringing positive results in motivating employees, can actually have the opposite effect.