As the challenges facing governments become more complex, the role of a well-functioning public administration is more important than ever. An effective civil service built on the principles of merit and professionalism is an essential part of a high-performing public sector capable of delivering quality services and value to citizens.

Benchmarking civil service reform in Kazakhstan draws upon the 2016 OECD Survey on Strategic Human Resource Management in Central/Federal Governments to compare Kazakhstan’s human resource management practices against those of OECD countries. The study presents comparable data on a wide range of policies and practices that help to build a professional, strategic and innovative civil service workforce: delegation arrangements, workforce planning, competency frameworks, recruitment practices, career development, performance and incentives, and public leadership.

This chapter provides an overview of Kazakhstan’s human resource management policies as a central pillar of the country’s public sector reforms since the 1990s. Kazakhstan’s civil service reforms have been characterised by a strong emphasis on professionalisation and productivity to provide better services for citizens. Today, like OECD countries, Kazakhstan faces challenges that require the civil service to remain responsive, productive and trustworthy. Kazakhstan’s current ambitions for the civil service include the preparation of a new competency and performance management system, and the introduction of a point-factor scale grading system for civil service positions. To support Kazakhstan’s endeavours, the OECD has benchmarked Kazakhstan’s human resource management practices against those of OECD countries, taking into account the characteristics of civil servants, the systems that manage them and the leaders who lead them from the perspectives of a professional, strategic and innovative civil service.

Taking into consideration the experience of OECD countries, this chapter presents Kazakhstan’s civil service structure, composition and organisation of human resources (HR). The main data source is the 2016 OECD Survey on Strategic Human Resource Management in Central/Federal Governments of OECD Countries, which looks at central government’s HR management practices and civil service reform strategies. Like in many OECD countries, civil servants tend to be the dominant profile in Kazakhstan’s central public administration. The workforce seems to be relatively balanced in terms of age, however like in many OECD countries in Kazakhstan women tend to be underrepresented in senior management. HR policies are under the responsibility of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption, but some responsibilities (for example on remuneration) are shared with the Ministries of National Economy and of Finance. While Kazakhstan collects data to a similar degree as the OECD average, data could be better leveraged to support workforce planning.

This chapter analyses the skills and competencies prioritised by Kazakhstan’s civil service to select and develop a fit-for-purpose workforce, in comparison with OECD countries’ priorities. Most OECD countries have introduced competency management which is also being piloted in Kazakhstan. The new competency framework is expected to valorise many competencies that are also common in OECD countries, namely leadership, values and ethics. The chapter also looks more broadly at how Kazakhstan and OECD countries are recruiting into the civil service, are training their workforce and managing career development. In this context most OECD countries have plans to increase mobility within the civil service; Kazakhstan could also benefit from higher mobility to support skills exchange and development, and to increase capacities for innovation.

This chapter discusses Kazakhstan’s performance management system, currently under preparation. This new system is being developed by the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and is expected to share many common features with OECD countries. In the new system, Kazakhstan aims to make greater use of performance assessment in human resources (HR) decisions. The Agency for Civil Service Affairs is looking at the possibility to introduce performance criteria related to improvement of competencies and to increase the impact of performance in career advancement and remuneration (namely through performance-related pay). In parallel, Kazakhstan is working on a point-factor scale grading system for civil service positions, where job content is expected to become an important factor to determine base salary.

Leadership development is one of the highest priority areas of human resources (HR) reform in Kazakhstan and in OECD countries. This final chapter analyses how Kazakhstan is developing highly skilled leaders to create a performing civil service and learning culture in public administration. Kazakhstan’s separate HR practices for public leaders (civil servants for Corps A) include a special employment framework with a more centralised and vigorous recruitment process and performance management regime. In addition, like most OECD countries, Kazakhstan has a specific competency framework for its senior civil service (SCS). In this framework, Kazakhstan’s priorities are significantly aligned with those of OECD countries and include strategic thinking, people management, values and ethics. While Kazakhstan does not have specific programmes to recruit or develop young candidates, nor promising employees for SCS positions, it invests in the development of civil servants through special programmes like the Bolashak scholarships.

This chapter analyses the main findings from benchmarking Kazakhstan against OECD countries’ human resource management practices. The main findings suggest that Kazakhstan has developed, or is in the process of developing, human resource management frameworks that are consistent with those of most OECD countries. Likewise, Kazakhstan shares many of OECD countries’ concerns and priorities for reform, namely in terms of leadership development, competency management and performance management, which have been subject to significant and recent measures in Kazakhstan. To consolidate its professional civil service and develop a more strategic orientation to human resources management, Kazakhstan should consider consolidating and standardising its approach to skills in the civil service through competency-based management; pursuing investments in its senior civil service; and developing a performance culture.