Absorb them mobilizes the fingering of the HRD

Bercy marie Directorate General for taxation and public accounting to form the General Directorate of public finance (DGFIP). The ANPE and the unemployment insurance funds are based in the employment pole. For their part, the departmental directorates of the Ministry of the equipment (DDE) and Agriculture (DDA) are common acronym by becoming a departmental Directorate of equipment and agriculture (DDEA). While the RG espouse the DST to give birth to the Central Directorate of Interior intelligence (DCRI)... Never public services had undertaken such maneuvers in the field of mergers. "The administrative history of the France certify that we are more effective to maintain structures that have no rationale to delete or merge existing structures", said Jean-Michel Eymeri-Douzans, Member of the Scientific Board of the Directorate-General of the administration of the public service.

The belief that public jobs had the merit of reducing unemployment and fear of the Union grumbling long encouraged policies to preserve this bureaucratic heritage. As a bonus, the mergers were the national tradition: for the sake of control of public funds, the France often separated the authorising officers (who decide to revenue and expenditure) Accountants responsible spending or collect. This model has inspired the ANPE-Assedic duality in the social field as the coexistence of the DGI and the Armstrong in tax matters.

Create membership

French declination of Taylorism in the public sphere that values the specialisation, the superposition of the administrative levels, the plethora of small or large body jealous of their prerogatives have also contributed to delay the reforms. "Unlike their foreign counterparts, French officials identify more with a body as to their Department of membership or the service of the State." The result "is a greater potential resistance to mergers", analysis Jean-Michel Eymeri-Douzans.

But the crisis of public finances combined with a political will have questioned this legacy. The reform of the State is running. And the Government hopes to save 7 billion euros by 2011. Remains to obtain the accession of agents involved and the social partners. Without their support or at least their neutrality, the benefits of these transactions will be delayed or reduced. Private sector, the experts have used to say that a merge two leads to a failure and that the human factor is the main cause. This is probably more in the administration where, historically, agents have blocked many reforms.

Internal communication is essential, both to convince staff to prevent rumours. A support for HRD "raise membership in referring to the improvement of the quality of service and the enlargement of the prospects for mobility", explains Bertrand Baret, partner at Roland Berger. But the task is arduous. And the registry does not always. So at the time of Web 2.0, trade unions and directions are shorted by agents who become transmitters of information. Thus, two employees of the ANPE and the Assedic launched a website called lafusionpourlesnuls, dedicated to the 43,000 employees employment pole.

For successful mergers, administrations are based on practices developed in the private sector, up to use the same firms. Indeed, in 2008, EUR 9 million they were allocated to implement the missions for the reorganization of the departments. Yet, these public operations fit within a particular context.

Corporate reconciliations are often brutally and resulted in both massive and rapid departures. Certainly, the Government relies on some 150,000 deletions of posts by 2012 and they have already begun. Daniel Puigmal, who has lived in the dawn, marriage DDE - DDA, evidenced It will secure a proximity service to the rural communes, the officers will be overwhelmed.

Do not leave a body dominate

But overall, the officers of the various bodies will remain in place until retirement. It is therefore more a problem of reorganization which imposes on the HRD. Because mechanical mergers generate duplicates, especially in the support, type accounting functions, but also in the top of the charts (an organization cannot retain two Directors General or financial). Absorb them mobilizes the fingering of the HRD. "As leaders, need wait their retirement, at least to switch back into positions"

Heads of project without hierarchical authority, summarizes Marie-Joëlle Thénoz, associated with Ineum Consulting. "But the HRD must also manage the frustration of middle managers faced with reduced prospects of promotion," it continued.

Similarly, the HRD to the public must ensure not to leave a body dominate the other, under penalty of frustrate and demotivate part of workforce. In which case, the development of a common culture, mobility and synergies will be considerably slowed... At the pole employment as at Bercy, leaders seem to have taken the measure of the risk: "We take care to respect the balance in the appointments." 8 Departments which prefigure our new 4 ex-Armstrong and Rambal ex - DGI head recently created by Bercy. The task is delicate. "This requires the HRD to give everyone a place in the new organization and to establish a win-win relationship with the people who will have to change position," summarizes Bruno Gourevitch, President of the Office of Council Altair.

That means giving new entities of a particularly powerful predictive management of employment and skills policy and develop mobility. The site is large and braked including by historical rigidities, related to the management of the Statute. "The blockades are also cultural, notes Marie - Joëlle Thénoz.". Officials did not imagine that a Secretary of a social service whose position has become redundant can make the case to the highways.

The HRD should therefore not only convince, but also commit to train officers to guide them there where the needs are. Thus, the employment pole is poised to launch a training plan for "unique referents", now responsible to advise and to compensate job seekers. In Auvergne, more than 500 consultants ANPE and the Assedic agents follow, starting in 2009, a panel of five or six days. "This represents about 3,000 days." "It is an exceptional but necessary effort," said the regional delegate, Frédéric Toubeau. Notice that share not all interested parties: "One is struck by the brevity of these formations, skills that was years in each of the institutions, the ANPE and the Assedic", is concerned about the lafusionpourlesnuls blog.

The taboo of the number of elected officials

In addition, the image of companies, each administration has its own culture. "Two administrations do not necessarily have the same understanding of the quality of service and appreciation." "For example, employment assistance or intelligence services merging, must agree on the indicators of performance of the new entity," said Bernard Le Masson in Accenture.

To round the angles, the grouping of several services following which resulted in the transfer of 35 agents in Carene (communauté d ' agglomération in the nazairienne region and of the estuary), Vincent Estable, Director-General in charge of administration, finance and information, put in place a phase of experimentation with eighteen months: "during this period, officials have learned to know."to work together on the project without be polluted by their statutory conditions that we have harmonised in a second time.

For its part, to the pill of the change, the DGFIP is committed to redistribute "half of the savings to finance the harmonization by the top of the treatment and recognition of the efforts made by our 130,000 officers in the merger", explains Philippe Rambal HRD. On this occasion, the unions received the renewal annual and final a premium of fusion of 350 euros gross initially limited to two years!

However, administrative mergers site is not ready to stop. The phenomenon wins even timidly cities that integrate Commons, agglomeration or urban communities to pool their human and financial resources. In January, the Government plans to tackle the reform of the departments and regions. But it is otherwise more difficult to consider mergers in the universe. As head of town halls, General and regional councils, there are officials, but also political. And a reflection on local mergers could lead to the taboo question of the number of elected representatives really necessary to administer a city, a Department or a region. However, notes Marie - Joëlle Thénoz: "I know hardly ready to hara-kiri for the rationalization of public expenditure."