THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE OF SLOVENIA (ESS)

The Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia (ESS – previously named the National Employment Office), headed by Director Mr. Jože Glazer, plays a crucial role in the implementation of the active labour market policy.

The role and the functions of the ESS are defined by the Law on Employment and Unemployment Insurance adopted in 1991, plus in approximately 17 others acts and regulations. According to these regulations the ESS is responsible for providing professional assistance to the unemployed and to the job seekers. The objectives of the ESS are as follows:

1. reducing unemployment;
2. facilitate successful career development for individuals;
3. ensuring social security in case of unemployment to those who are eligible;
4. ensuring equal level of service quality and progress throughout Slovenia;
5. ensuring successfully skills development for unemployed to match better demand on the labour market.

The organisational scheme of the ESS consists of the Central Office in Ljubljana, 10 regional and 59 local offices. The local offices constitute the backbone for ESS’s service provision and perform the direct client contact; job placement, job counselling, insurance claim and implement the different active and passive labour market programmes. The regional offices perform the tasks of monitoring, advising and analysing. While, the Central office ensures an uniform methodology for the ESS and undertakes quality assurance functions.

The ESS is managed by Administrative Council consisting of 15 members (five representatives of the employers, five of the employees, and five of the Slovene Goverment). Organisation, management, obligations and rights of the head office and of the regional and local offices are determined by the Regulation on Internal Organisation and Job Classification approved by the Administatitve Council.

The regional offices have traditionally enjoyed a relative high, but not precisely defined, degree of competence. This has resulted in functions being duplicated across all three levels. Aimed at modernising ESS, enhance its service delivery profile and increase the quality of service delivered, ESS’s leadership started a process of reorganising and modernising its structure. During 1996 analysis of the organisation and it’s working procedures were conducted and ways of optimising were identified. For example, the directors of the regional unites became directly responsible for the material cost. During 1997 the draft plan for ESS’s reorganisation was elaborated, and the following priorities were set out: improvement of the strategic and the direct service providing level, increase the administrative productivity and abolishment of the duplication of functions.

The reorganisation is at the moment in progress. Gearing of ESS’s organisation as an efficient partner for implementation of the Employment Guidelines is seen as a priority by MOLFSA.

1. Has your organisation made a quantitative labour market target policy?

In the ESS (The Employment Service of Slovenia) we commenced with labour market target policies three years ago. They have proven to be and have been accepted as an indispensable instrument for measuring the efficiency of the ESS on the labour market.

2. If yes, give 5 examples of these types of targets and the indicators you have had over the last years.

If no, why do you not use these types of targets?

In 1997 the ESS followed only one quantitative target:

• to increase placements of unemployed persons by 10 per cent in regard to 1996
  indicator - number of placements of unemployed persons compared to the actual figures – measured monthly on a national, regional and local level .

In 1998 the ESS followed these targets:

1. to increase placements of unemployed persons by 10 per cent in regard to the 1997
   indicator – the same as in 1997
2. to reduce the number of registered unemployed persons by 8 per cent by the end of the year
   indicator – number of registered unemployed compared with the data for December 1997- measured monthly on a national, regional and local level
3. to improve the demographic structure of the unemployed by preventing an increase in the share of long term unemployed and elderly and by improving the possibilities for placements of young unemployed indicator – the share of long term unemployed and elderly in regard to all registered unemployed persons– measured monthly on a national, regional and local level; the share of young unemployed in the active policy programs – the data was taken from our annual report.
4. to improve co-operation with employers for our placement activities no indicator
5. to reduce the number of work permits issued to foreigners by 10 per cent and to increase placements of registered unemployed persons
   indicator – the number of labour permits issued to foreigners – measured monthly on a national, regional and local level
6. to include 9,500 unemployed persons in public works
   indicator – the number of unemployed included in public works – measured monthly on a national, regional and local level.

In 1999 the ESS is following the targets below:

1.

• the same number of placements for the unemployed as in 1998

indicator – the same as in 1997, and in 1998

2.

• to increase the share of vacancies issued by the employers who wish to co-operate with the ESS to one third of all vacancies

indicator – the share of vacancies issued in co-operation with the ESS– measured monthly on a national, regional and local level

3.

• not to increase the number of labour permits issued to foreigners in relation to the year before

indicator – the same as in 1998

4.

to place 12,000 unemployed persons in public works

indicator – the same as in 1998

5.

• to increase placements for registered unemployed in the active policy programs by at least 20 per cent regarding the number of registered unemployed at the end of 1998 and the number of newly registered unemployed in 1999

indicator – the number of unemployed included in a single program – measured monthly on a national, regional and local level; the share of all unemployed persons included in these programs - not measured on a monthly basis but taken from our annual report!

3. What are your experiences with quantitative policy indicators (benefits, disadvantages)?

Benefits:

• the targets of the ESS became more concrete, easier to follow, and more understandable for ESS staff,
• they serve as a stimulation for the ESS staff in all levels – activation of teams and individuals,
• they help to increase the effectiveness of the ESS,
• they help to identify problems in the ESS earlier,
• they help to identify what ESS activities should take priority, and the performance of these activities,
• they indicate the meaning and the role of the ESS on the labour market.

Disadvantages:

• it is often hard to specify the target (to be apparent, measurable, realistic, to act as a motivator), and the criterion to which each level must contribute to successfully achieve the target,
• a need to explain why targets have not been achieved - on the other hand this is also positive- the ESS must analyse the reasons and try to eliminate them.

4. Would it be useful for your organisation to have an internationally comparable quantitative policy - If yes, in which field?

For the ESS it would be useful to have internationally comparable quantitative policy indicators:

• the share of all vacancies issued, when employers want to co-operate with the PES (the public employment service) to fill them,
• the share of all registered unemployed persons included in the active policy programs,
• the number of registered unemployed placed by a single PES counsellor,
• the number of employers which a single PES counsellor operates with,
• the average duration of unemployment,
• the share of PES income coming from services against payment.

1. How do you elevate the quality of services delivered to employers: (customer satisfaction surveys, performance indicators-which ones? market share? what is your follow up/after sale service?)

The ESS conducts employers’ (all have more than 10 employees) survey each year. We want answers to the following questions:

• If you had had vacancies in the last year , did you co-operate with the ESS in filling it?
• Did the ESS generally send you a suitable number of job seekers?
• Did the ESS generally send you job seekers who corresponded to your requirements and expectations?
• Which services of the ESS would you request in order to fill your vacancies ?

With regard to the survey, we do additional analyses and measurements on a national and regional level for improving our services delivered to employers. We also make a plan for visiting employers who as yet have not co-operated with the ESS. We introduce them to ESS activities, and possibilities for co-operation.

We have a book of complaints in every local and regional office.

2. Which promotional activities have you carried out or are you planning to organise?

To promote activities of the ESS we use:

• The Internet (www.ess.gov.si)
• TV, radio, and newspapers – regular monthly press conferences, regular weekly columns in the newspapers,
• presentations at fairs,
• brochures, leaflets, posters,
• free telephone number,
• every year we organise meetings with employers on a regional level, and meetings with the representatives of employers (national level).

We issue a leaflet and a poster with information for employers – ESS services, names and telephone numbers of our staff in regional and local offices.

3. What is your positioning compared to your competitors (private sector) and/or your partners?

There are still only a few private agencies in Slovenia, so the private sector is not yet competitive for the ESS. But new legislation (in force from last year) has enabled the private sector to develop more rapidly. The ESS considers private agencies as future partners.

The ESS co-operates with the private sector to carry out our active policy programs (the ESS does not carry them out by itself) – programs are given away by public tender.

The ESS has good partner relations with the municipalities, which co-operate financially to carry out some of the active policy programs (public works, work funds..). Important partners of the ESS are also employers organisations, and human resource management associations.

4. How do you segment your enterprise customers? Do you set levels of services towards certain kinds of enterprises/sectors? Do you implement services against payment for the employers? Have market studies been carried out on this point?

Services towards enterprises are very flexible (staff, services) and are performed regarding the needs and size of the enterprise – small enterprises need more services because they do not have their own human development managers. The ESS ensures special services for enterprises from branches that are in crises (such as the shoe industry, steel industry).

The services doctrine of the ESS for enterprises is the process of renovation. The ESS plans to implement services against payment such as: services for small enterprises, part time placements, selection of candidates for placement, labour market analyses, restructuring human resources in enterprises, ... In the year 2000 the ESS will prepare a concept for these services and implement an experimental project in one of the regional offices. Presently, services against payment are rare mostly because the ESS does not have enough staff to carry them out.

The ESS does not have a special market study, some data can be used from the aforementioned inquiries and analyses.

Managerial Strategies

1.   How to manage the needed raise in the customer satisfaction rate?

In the ESS we manage the needed raise in the rate of customer satisfaction with the management of our objectives from general aims to concrete targets. We have four general aims and one of them is to ensure our services throughout Slovenia will be of the same quality. We try to assure the same supporting technical equipment for all our staff – e.g. access to the Internet and e-mail. With our opening hours we try to meet our customers' needs (especially employers’). This year we have also adapted our work for students (we are accepting their application forms for loans in the afternoon). We started to schedule meetings between our counsellors and customers. As a result, we reduced waiting time and the nervousness of people waiting in lines. As was mentioned before we have a Book of Complaints, Suggestions and Compliments in each of our organisational units where we work with customers. Each third month we analyse the complaints at the meeting of the ESS top management and regional services. But the most important are the qualifications of our staff who are in direct contact with customers. We organised a special communication training on customer relations and training on how to conduct an interview. All employees who are working in departments of placement, professional orientation, unemployment benefits, professional guidance and information, have to pass a special examination (mandatory for almost one half of ESS employees).

2. What are the requirements of a quality system to the management of a Public Employment Service?

The management of the PES has to monitor work procedures and staff performance, analyse customer complaints and take proper measures to improve performance. We try to organise our procedures to be as simple as possible, to be efficient, and to use our resources optimally. The management has to prepare questions regarding quality for every meeting with its co-operators.

3. How to achieve a full customer orientation of the PES?

To achieve a full customer orientation of our PES we made a decision that questions on the quality of our services have to be a subject for all of our staff training. It is very important to analyse the Book of Complaints at all levels of PES management. We have organised the department for internal monitoring and reviewing of all PES activities. We believe that special examinations for our employees will have a great impact on the customer orientation of the ESS. We know that we have to postulate the performance standards, and of course the indicators of this performance at all levels.

4. Does national quality management mean that the "playing field" of decentralised regional and local employment offices will be restricted?

With their empowerment:

• The expert autonomy for decisions about the approach to customers, communication, and their motivation, will be on the increase. The same goes for decisions on steps and measures from the ESS' list of required steps
• Increased transfer of deciding competence to the lower levels

Market Share

1. How can we use the indicator "market share" strategically in order to manage and follow up this activity?
• As an indicator of co-operation efficiency with employers
• When creating the aims for our interventions
• To help directing the steps for our employment programs – qualifications in accordance with the needs of employers
2. How can the indicator be developed in a way that makes it possible to compare this measure between countries?
• Defining a clear methodology for determining “the market share” which will allow international comparison
• Use of the unitary method for classification of PES activities after the vacancy has been reported.
3. To what degree does a high market share have an effect on our opportunities to place marginal groups onto the labour market?
• Better contacts with employers, long term co-operation with them, enough time for selection of the unemployed.
• Increased confidence that employers will have in the ESS, willingness to find employment for those who are harder to employ or less interesting to employers.
• Possibility to place marginal groups with support of active employment programs.
• Changing of the stereotypes connected to the unemployed, especially to those who are middle aged or handicapped
• Better mutual understanding interests and establishing partner relations
4. How to measure market share on the Internet?

• Feedback from those job seekers who were employed thanks to information and contacts obtained on the Internet
• Feedback from employers who got their new co-workers via the Internet
• Employers’ survey conducted by ESS
• Inclusion of the question in the researches on the use of the Internet (the use of the Internet in Slovenia is a special research, carried out on regular basis)

Prepared by:
Damjana Košir, director of Regional Employment Service Kranj
Jože Glazer, General Director Employment Service of Slovenia