Comics: Yan Qingxiong
Xinhua News Agency reporters recently learned during their investigation and investigation at the grass-roots level that the number of seconded personnel in some higher-level units is close to or even exceeds the number of people on the staff, and the number of on-the-job personnel in some grass-roots units is actually less than the number of seconded personnel. Some localities have exerted too much effort in seconding grassroots cadres, which has led to increased operational pressure on some township and town organs, and has also added more uncertainty to the future development of cadres. Illegal secondment and excessive secondment have deviated from the original intention of secondment. Why does this phenomenon exist? How to curb it? In this issue of "Thinking and Debate", three guests are invited to discuss this topic.
Guest of this issue
Liu Guoqiang (Dean, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, School of Journalism and Communication, Sichuan University of Foreign Chinese)
Ruan Siyu (Associate Professor, Dean of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, School of Politics and Public Administration, South China Normal University)
Wang Yanhu (Media Commentator)
Secondment can effectively alleviate the situation that some government agencies and units cannot do more work with less work. For seconded cadres, secondment is also a good exercise. However, what is the reason for the long-criticized phenomenon of illegal secondment and excessive secondment?
Wang Yanhu: The reason why secondments are abused is first of all because the allocation of human resources by the superior unit is unreasonable or inefficient. When government agencies and institutions recruit talents, the positions are set according to the actual needs, and one person and one post are applicable. If it is not required for special tasks, there is a shortage of manpower, and it is likely that the manpower efficiency of the unit or department is low. Another reason is that the secondment process is not standardized and lacks rigid constraints. Many secondments are characterized by a large degree of arbitrariness, and sometimes the superior department only needs to say a word from the leader to seconded personnel from the subordinate unit. The arbitrariness of this secondment procedure has led to the more and more secondments of grassroots cadres, and the more they borrow, the more chaotic they become; As far as grassroots cadres are concerned, there are also some people who want to "connect to the antenna" through secondment and realize the motivation of transfer.
Liu Guoqiang: With the change of various policy restrictions and work requirements, the work tasks faced by government agencies and institutions are becoming heavier and heavier, and they have no way to deal with it by recruiting staff, and seconded personnel not only do not occupy the employment quota and welfare distribution of the unit, but also often appear to be better than regular employees.
Ruan Siyu: There is a common problem in many units, which is a serious shortage of manpower. In particular, there is a serious shortage of capable personnel. What to do? As a result, the staff was supplemented through secondment. Generally speaking, the seconded cadres are relatively capable and relatively simple to manage. Good management, who doesn't want to seconded more cadres? But what are the criteria for secondment of cadres? How to prevent grassroots cadres from being evacuated? How can cadre secondments be prevented from becoming the new power trade? Questions such as these deserve in-depth study.
Theoretically, seconded cadres cannot affect the normal operation of the seconded unit, but in practice, how can it not have an impact?
As an expedient measure, secondment should have adhered to the principle of "borrowing only when there is something to do, and returning when there is nothing to do", but some units and departments have alienated "short-term secondment" into "long-term possession". What are the implications of illegal secondment and excessive secondment?
Ruan Siyu: Superiors can be seconded to subordinates, and subordinates can be seconded to lower levels, which will inevitably lead to secondments at various levels. Each tier may be seconded to the next. The result of the secondment at all levels may be that there is a shortage of people at all levels, and they are all withdrawn by their superiors. As a result of being seconded by superiors, there are not enough people at the lower levels. However, at the grassroots level, especially in counties, districts, and townships, it is often difficult to go down the secondment. As a result, there is a shortage of people at the grassroots level, and there is a serious shortage of manpower at the grassroots level.
How to reduce the impact of seconded cadres on daily administrative operations is an important issue that needs to be taken seriously. Theoretically, seconded cadres cannot affect the normal operation of the seconded unit, but in practice, how can it not have an impact? A turnip and a pit, especially if the backbone of the business is borrowed, it is impossible to have no impact.
Liu Guoqiang: The biggest impact of illegal secondment and excessive secondment is that it brings huge work pressure to subordinate units. In particular, temporary secondment will directly disrupt the work deployment of lower-level units and greatly affect the normal operation of work. The second is the difficulty in handling the work performance appraisal of the subordinate units.
Wang Yanhu: The impact is multifaceted. The first is to cause a brain drain at the grassroots level. Those who can be looked down upon by superiors are generally grassroots backbone talents, but they are also needed by the grassroots level. The removal of backbone personnel will cause trouble to the work arrangements at the grassroots level and affect the operation of grassroots units and departments. Secondly, it may affect the future development opportunities of the secondee. Third, it will also increase the financial burden on the grassroots. Although I do not work in my original employer during the secondment period, my salary is still borne by my original employer. At the same time, because the original unit may face the problem of insufficient manpower, it will temporarily hire some non-staff personnel, resulting in an increased financial burden. The harm to grassroots units and departments is obvious when secondment is illegal and excessive.
In January this year, the meeting on the special working mechanism for rectifying formalism at the central level and reducing the burden on the grassroots clearly stated that "efforts should be made to solve the problem of seconding grassroots cadres, improve the standardized management system, and strictly control the secondment of staff from units below the county level". In your opinion, how to deal with illegal secondments and excessive secondments?
Ruan Siyu: First, it is necessary to solve the problem of secondment of cadres from the perspective of the "three determinations" (determining the organization, the function, and the establishment). Illegal secondments and over-secondments exist because some departments claim to be understaffed. All these problems deserve in-depth study, and it is necessary to truly solve this problem from the perspective of the "three determinations". Second, it is necessary to strictly control the excessive secondment of cadres from the grassroots level, especially from townships and towns. The work at the grassroots level is complicated, and the manpower itself is stretched. Once a cadre is seconded, manpower will be even more strained, which will inevitably affect normal operation. Third, it is necessary to combine it with bold discoveries, training, and appointment of cadres. It is necessary to find ways to continue to improve the secondment work, so that the flow of talent can be used well. This is a win-win situation for both the seconded unit and the seconded cadre himself. Fourth, it is necessary to strictly regulate secondments and prevent illegal transfers. It is necessary to prevent illegal transfers under the guise of secondment of cadres.
Liu Guoqiang: To deal with illegal secondments and excessive secondments, it is necessary to formulate clear policy norms, clearly stipulate the scope and proportion of secondments, strengthen the approval management of secondments, and standardize the procedures for secondments. At the same time, it should be clearly stipulated that the superior unit should bear the corresponding costs, which can also reduce the salary pressure of the subordinate unit.
Wang Yanhu: The most important thing is to clean up the source of the system. It is necessary to establish and improve the management system for secondment, and clarify and standardize the conditions, procedures, functions, and duration of secondment. The reason why the higher-level departments are seconded in violation of regulations and excessively seconded is because of the unscientific establishment and management and the inefficient use of human resources. This requires, first, to dynamically and reasonably adjust the establishment, and pursue the adaptation of positions and personnel; The second is to encourage secondment units to improve work efficiency, and reduce the demand for seconded personnel by clarifying the reward and punishment mechanism and optimizing the work process.