United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Role of Ministry of Civil Service is to assure the applying of Civil Service law in all units under it(39 units). Most of HR transactions must be approved by Ministry of Civil Service (MoCS). There was a legacy system implemented in 1986 at Ministry of Finance which was focused in payroll rather than HR.
The Feasibility study done by the World bank in 1995 stated that 'It is crucial to realize that MoCS as it operates today is severely crippled to manage the present and plan for the future. This situation has already costed the government considerably and resulted in wasted money and effort and it will continue to do so unless the problem is addressed'.
There was no Human resources System to manage and administer HR transactions. A lot of Paper work done within each unit and between units and Ministry of Civil Service which costed the government a lot of Money. There was no unified database to support the decision making

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The new Human Resources Management System (HRMS) helped the HR departments in all civil service units to administer and manage HR transactions electronically. The electronic workflow within HR departments and with MoCS saved the government time and money. It also helped the decision makers to evaluate the current transactions and reengineer the workflows. Furthermore, it improved the service given by the HR departments. The Unified HR database helped Units to get online information, reports and statistics that will help them to make the right decisions and planning. Validations done by the system has reduced the mistakes in all HR transactions. The Web enabled environment will help in the future to have the system available on the internet which will make the system available anytime anywhere. All Employees can access their personal data and update their address, phone numbers, apply for leave, and get other services online through Self Service provided by HRMS. HRMS contributed in Oman e-government. G2G through the interface with Manpower system, pension system and Civil Registration system . G2C through the online Application for jobs and G2E through Self Service.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The Feasibility Study by the World Bank in 1995 clarified the need to have HRMS system for all civil service units. It suggested for Ministry of Civil Service to take the responsibility of this project. In 1998 a high level requirement analysis were done by Booz-Allen and Hamiltion. All HR departments were involved in the requirements gathering. Furthermore, the analysis defined the current transactions, processes, suggested reengineering of these processes and provided choices of available solutions in market. In 2001, MoCS selected HRMS to be a ready made package from Oracle. As it provides most of the MoCS requirements, easy to manage and provide new technology with HR experience worldwide. Arthur Anderson contributed in evaluating the proposals and suggesting the right solution. The implementation started in 2001 by a local company called (OHI). The deployment started in 2003 gradually to all units.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The main objectives of MoCS were to study the current situation and suggest a better solution that will provide HRMS with the latest technology and experience worldwide. The solution had to have a strong support from a well know company in the region and support the Arabic language. Involvement of HR departments in requirements gathering and testing the new system were a key success factors. A steering committee headed by the Minister of Civil Service were formed which provided the support to make the right decisions throughout the implementation period. There were a project manager and a project leader who managed the implementation and updated the steering committee with the project progress and suggested changes. Training the trainers were one of the strategies used by MoCS to provide trainers that will be the first line of help desk in each units.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The project started on 1995 with the Feasibility study by the World Bank. In 1998-1999 a high level requirement analysis was done by Booz-Allen and Hamiltion. In 2000-2001 the project was in the tender board. Evaluation of proposal were done with the help of Arthur and Anderson Company. In 2001, OHI started the implementation of Oracle HRMS. Due to the difficulties faced to interface with the payroll system in Ministry of Finance, the government decided to give MoCS the responsibility of implementing a new payroll system. In 2002, MoCS choose again OHI to implement the payroll system. In 2003, the deployment started gradually for 39 units.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The HR departments were dealing with practices that were inherited since the issue of Civil service law in 1980. Therefore, it was difficult to get the requirements and workflows used from these departments. Bringing a new technology and electronic workflows in a environment that were dealing with a lot of paperwork and computer illiterate people were a big challenge. Involving and helping HR departments in specifying their requirements were a successful factor to bring these departments to a level of thinking about HR managing and planning. The gradual deployment of the system and the marketing of the benefits provided by the new system, helped HR departments accepting the new situation and started computer training for their employees.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Key Functional users from MoCS and each unit were organized to provide the required information and contribute in testing the system throughout all stages. MoCS departments were also involved in evaluating the requirements gathered from units and give the legal approvals. Top management gave a great support of implementing the system in all units and provided the right decisions when needed. The Steering Committee headed by MoCS Minster leaded the project in all stages. The Technical team from MoCS Computer team, the project leader and the project manager evaluate the functional requirement in contrast with technical implementation

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The decision of choosing a ready made package for HRMS from Oracle was done after a study. The great concern was to have a system that is used worldwide, provide most of requirements, support Arabic users, and has a good support in the region. The Silver Support Contract with Oracle provides continues support and latest upgrades of the system. The flexibility of having more than one business group in the system, gives the ability of creating different roles for different units. The system can be used by units not under the civil service law.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
• Involving users in all development phases is a very successful factor. • Use of experts is very important to take the right decision . • Involving top management is important to support the continues of the project and decision required for change. • Postponing deployment does not mean failure • Trust and continuity are successful factors. • Asking for help does not mean failure • Restructuring and simplifying process helps accepting the decision • E-Government means integration with other systems • Continuity in facing all problems


Institution Name:		Ministry of Civil Service
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Aimen AlHosni
Title:		DG of Administration and Finance
Telephone/ Fax:		(968)24695160
Institution's / Project's Website:		(968)692459
E-mail:		aimen@mocs.gov.om
Address:		P.O Box 3994
Postal Code:		112
City:		Ruwi
State/Province:
Country:		Oman

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information