New Normal Bureaucracy

BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asks for health protocols and new SOPs to be put in place in the world of tourism. This was disclosed by the President in a meeting related to tourism in the so-called new normal era. The meeting was held online at Merdeka Palace on Wednesday (28/5/2020).

The COVID-19 outbreak, which has been going on in Indonesia for three months, has had a tremendous impact not only economic aspects of the country but also on social interactions in society or work patterns, both in private firms and bureaucracy.In addition to the recovery of COVID-19 patients and various prevention programs, such as large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the government is currently preparing a new normal policy. The Health Ministry has also issued a health ministerial decree on COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines in offices and industrial workplaces to prepare new workspaces in the new-normal era.

What is the new normal for public bureaucracy and what must be prepared to carry out bureaucratic work in this new normal era? How do we utilize this crisis to create fundamental changes in bureaucracy?

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The new bureaucratic workspace

Every difficulty provides its own wisdom. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced various parties, ranging from schools and universities to offices, industries and bureaucracy, to make a digital transformation quickly by utilizing various advances in information and communication technology. Working from home (WFH) suddenly became necessary and replaced various human activities that used to be done manually. This compelling situation succeeded in rapidly changing a new work pattern that is supported by technological advancements. Distance learning in universities became the usual lecture model despite various limitations.

The new workspaces require five main components for change.

The COVID-19 outbreak has created new workspaces in various jobs, including in public bureaucracy. This new workspaces are a digital transformation, namely the process of preparing for bureaucratic changes by using various latest technological developments, such as information and communication technology, robot technology and nanotechnology. The new workspaces require five main components for change.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A visitor stops in front of a pharmacy in Summarecon Mal Bekasi, Bekasi City, West Java, on Thursday (28/5/2020). Summarecon Mal Bekasi, which belongs to the green zone, has been carrying out activities within the new normal framework by complying with health protocols such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.

First, flexible and networked workspaces. Civil servants in the new normal era do not have to go to the office every day because various jobs can be done anywhere, including at home. Thus, the presence of employees in the office can be arranged based on the level of urgency. In addition to preventing COVID-19 transmission, the minimum attendance of employees in the office can reduce congestion, promote the efficient use of vehicle fuel and reduce transportation costs, meeting costs that have been needed so far, quality and balance of life with the family.

Second, preparation for infrastructure and learning super-applications (superapp) that enable virtual and digital offices. The needs for office buildings are now becoming increasingly smaller in the new normal era. The government must make a complete transformation of the business processes and organizational structure of public bureaucracy by creating superapp technology that enables various work that needs to be done and obtained digitally. Meetings, interactions among employees, work processes among government units, services to the community and all work databases can be done

through digital media. Therefore, the costs of maintaining office buildings will be reduced, and the needs for a budget to build and maintain superapps as new workspaces are increasing, including the need for Wi-Fi networks for civil servants. Even human work later in the public service sector will be replaced by robotic agents that have artificial intelligence (AI).

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Third, increasing civil servant capability in interacting with various advances in information and communication technology, including big data and AI, is needed. This is actually not really a problem because the current profile of Indonesian society based on the 2017 National Socio-Economic Census of Statistics Indonesia (BPS Susenas) was dominated by millennial generation, namely generation Y (33.75 percent) and generation Z (29.23 percent). The Generation X represented 25.74 percent. The millennial generation is very adaptive to various advances in information and communication technology. The government needs to immediately create a program to integrate the capabilities of this millennial generation in digital bureaucracy.

Fourth, in the post-COVID-19 new normal era, an immediate restructuring of bureaucratic business processes and workflow must be carried out. Because not all employees have to come to the office and some public works and services are done digitally, the government business processes and services must be simplified immediately with the help of information and communication technology. Like services in the private sector that are currently carried out online, such as Tokopedia and Traveloka, public services can be done more easily online. Many business processes must be trimmed and organizational structures must be cut immediately. The new normal era of bureaucracy will accelerate various services to the community and decision-making.

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Fifth, the new normal era of bureaucracy requires qualified and competent civil servants to manage new workspaces. The number may not be too high but they can do a variety of jobs quickly and with quality. This needs talent pool management that manages superior civil servant resources and can be used throughout bureaucracy in Indonesia (central, provincial, regency/city).

Clear performance indicators

The new normal era of bureaucracy requires clear performance indicators, both at the individual level and at the organizational level. The work that can be done flexibly, whether from home or wherever the employees are located, cannot possibly run well if not supported by clear indicators. The problem of Indonesia\'s bureaucracy to date has been the lack of performance indicators, both at the organizational level and at the individual level. If the new normal era of bureaucracy is expected to show maximum results, the government must immediately make improvements to the process of planning and budgeting based on performance.

Development programs must have clear indicators and performance targets so that activities not related to program performance achievements must be eliminated. If this can be done, besides enabling the achievement on the efficiency of the development budget, development targets are also more easily obtained and the structure of government organizations (in this ministry/agency/local government organization) can be simplified based on performance indicators. Many government organizational structures can be cut because they are not related to government and development performance indicators. Mergers of ministries and institutions can be immediately carried out on the basis of shared outcomes and impacts.

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

President Joko Widodo speaks with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan while reviewing the readiness to apply the new normal standard procedure at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (26/5/2020). On that occasion, the President ensured the preparation for disciplinary implementation of large-scale social restrictions or PSBB by the Indonesian Military (TNI)/National Police (Polri)

If organizational indicators are increasingly clear, individual performance indicators can be formulated and established as the basis for performance agreements, which are currently referred to as employee performance targets.

Employees without clear performance indicators can be offered to take early retirement or choose a second career in the private sector.

Clear employee performance indicators will make it easier for civil servants to work from home or from anywhere. At present, many civil servants do not have clear performance indicators in the employee performance targets, so the quality of working from home cannot be measured. Employees without clear performance indicators can be offered to take early retirement or choose a second career in the private sector.

On the other hand, to strengthen indicators and targets for a better performance, a government performance accountability system (SAKP) is needed at the national level as an Indicator of National Development Performance. This will be the basis for preparing the Government Institution Performance Accountability System (SAKIP). So far, many development achievements have been fragmented between ministries and institutions due to the absence of alignments at the national level, even a part of the indicators of the results and their impacts can be measured.

The new normal bureaucracy is therefore a type of bureaucracy that is getting leaner, faster, more accountable, efficient and effective. The COVID-19 outbreak is an opportunity to force a radical and fundamental change in Indonesian bureaucracy toward a digital bureaucracy — hopefully.

DOK. PRIBADI

Eko Prasojo

Eko Prasojo, Dean of the School of Administrative Science, University of Indonesia