Lesson 3: Choosing the right person - needs transparency and fairness

Reforming the apparatus - the core is reforming the selection of people. The 13th National Party Congress has clearly defined the orientation: to make good use of talents, to build a team of "virtues, talents, truly serving the country and the people". This is not only a political guideline, but also a basis for localities to proactively design a flexible, humane and practical mechanism to retain and develop worthy people in the new apparatus. That spirit is concretized in the Government's Project on rearranging administrative units and organizing local governments at 2 levels. The next 5 years are a pivotal period: the payroll will be temporarily kept the same - to have time to rearrange the right people for the right jobs. At the commune level, where additional tasks are taken on from the district level, the pressure is higher - requiring more real capacity. At the provincial level, the quantity does not increase - but the quality must be improved. This is a non-recurring opportunity to choose the right people. Not only change the organizational chart - but change the way of looking at people, choosing people, and creating conditions for talented people to stay and develop.

From personal commitment to institutions that retain daredevils

Retaining talented people cannot stop at slogans or emotions. They must be protected by institutions. A proposal that can be replicated is to establish a provincial reform talent protection council - an independent institution, including not only government leaders but also representatives of the Fatherland Front, reform experts, typical voters... This council plays a role in assessing, protecting and creating development opportunities for young cadres with practical results but not yet meeting administrative requirements or not yet in the planning. No special treatment - just not leaving out worthy people.

Outstanding candidates received awards at the final round of the 2023 “Good Staff Officer – Skillful Mass Mobilization” Contest, co-organized by the Mass Mobilization Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. Photo: Thai Phuong

According to the Plan for implementing the Project on administrative unit arrangement and organization of 2-level local government, the transition period allows for a higher number of deputy levels than prescribed, creating a “flexible window” to test the new arrangement model. If the locality is determined and has a transparent mechanism, this will be a golden time to put people who dare to think and dare to do in the right place, at the right time. The Council is therefore not just a technical institution - but a living political commitment to personnel reform.

It is time to replace “static resumes” with live data. Each cadre, especially after the merger, needs to build a personal reform profile - guided by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The profile not only records: specific initiatives implemented; measurable results (processing time, satisfaction level, etc.); feedback from people, colleagues, social organizations; commitment to improvement in the next 3 years, etc. It also needs to be public, transparent, used as the main basis for arranging cadres after the merger, and integrated into the process of streamlining the payroll in the next 5 years. This profile is a verifiable commitment: “What have I done - and what will I continue to contribute to this system?”.

However, without independent verification and validation mechanisms, real performers are easily overshadowed and “good presenters” stand out. Therefore, the application form should be accompanied by: specific scoring guidelines, independent verification tools, and a mechanism for regular updates.

Keeping proven people - paving the way for reform to go further

For young cadres who are capable but lack some administrative criteria such as seniority or qualifications, the system needs a “flexible probationary period” - instead of eliminating them by rigid criteria. This mechanism is not a special privilege, but a controlled experiment, in the spirit of Decree No. 179 and Decision No. 758. For 6 - 12 months, the “probationary” person will perform specific tasks, with public targets, evaluated by the Party Committee, professional council, and feedback from the people. If they prove to be effective - they need to be retained, assigned to their strengths, or put into development. But retention is not enough. Personnel reform, according to Decree No. 179, also needs to open new doors to welcome truly worthy new people from outside the system. Retaining good people - opening doors for new people - both require the courage to reform.

The model of "Promoting internal strength, the strength of the whole people, mobilizing resources to build a civilized urban area" of the Party Cell of Binh Luc Ha residential area, Hong Phong ward, Dong Trieu city, Quang Ninh is a typical model of "Learning and following Uncle Ho". Source: Baoquangninh.vn

It is time to allow the nomination of reform officials from the grassroots. The Fatherland Front, the Youth Union, socio-political organizations or typical voters can recommend people with specific initiatives, recognized by the community - to be included in the "special protection and development" category. However, democracy - if not controlled - is very easy to manipulate. Each nomination needs to be assessed by an independent review board, including representatives of the Fatherland Front, inspection agencies, mainstream media and mass organizations. The nomination dossier must include real feedback and specific reform results, to ensure fairness, based on real values.

Some localities have pioneered timely opening - and created clear results. In Ho Chi Minh City, cadres with practical achievements, trusted by the people, are given priority to be retained - without having to retake the exam if they have proven their ability. In Quang Ninh, exemplary reform cadres are discovered, promptly rewarded, embedded in the movement "Learning and following Uncle Ho" - and communicated as a model. Reform is no longer isolated - but has become a movement with trust, motivation and recognition.

Opening the door to talent is paving the way for reform to go far. Not only to retain the old and worthy, but also to dare to welcome the new at the right time.

Spreading reform thinking - from retaining people to creating systems

A true reform system must not only retain talented people - but must also know how to nurture, connect and inspire them. It is time to form a National Young Reform Cadres Network - a gathering of people who have been retained thanks to reform, are leading initiatives at the grassroots level, have an action mindset and a sense of public responsibility. This network is not only a forum for exchange, but needs to become a reform expertise community; a channel for policy criticism from practice; and above all, a launching pad for a new generation of leaders: close to the people, working with data, acting based on results. Imagine: if each province had a group of 5 - 10 young cadres connected across regions, learning together, piloting together and solving reform problems on the spot - then we would not only retain talented people, but also spread a reform mindset that is alive, organized and resonant.

In particular, reform will only truly move when retaining talented people becomes a mandatory emulation index, directly linked to the responsibility of local Party committees and leaders. The indexes need to be clearly quantified: the rate of cadres with initiatives who are reassigned - measuring the ability to appreciate innovation; the rate of positive feedback from the people - measuring the effectiveness of the team in practice; the number of young cadres assigned to their strengths - measuring the vision for future development. When these numbers are made public, scored and attached to the provincial emulation board, retaining talented people will no longer be a goodwill choice - but a specific political commitment that can be monitored. However, that index must be a living reform index - periodically updated, independently checked, and adjusted according to feedback from practice, from the people, social organizations, and the civil service team itself.

If we want to reform far, we must choose the right people from the beginning. Every personnel decision after the merger needs to be a demonstration of reform, affirming that we choose people - because they deserve it. But keeping good people is not enough. Reform also requires the courage to filter out those who are stagnant, indifferent, or do not create value for the people. Retention and filtering - must go hand in hand. Only then will the apparatus truly become stronger - from within.

It is time for each locality to position itself with a “Living Reform Index” - measured by results, not by slogans. The rate of cadres with initiatives retained, the level of people’s satisfaction, the ability to innovate the organization - and most importantly: the real trust in the post-merger apparatus. When the retention - opening - filtering of cadres becomes a proof of reform with an address, then reform will live - with enthusiasm, rhythm, and spreading value.

But to retain people who dare to do - we cannot rely on the mechanism alone. We need a transparent and impartial power control system to protect innovators from invisible barriers.

Invite Zhuge Liang Three Times - Lesson on Using People at the Right Time

In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei came to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage three times to invite him to assist in his great cause. At that time, Zhuge Liang had no title and had never been an official - but he was still highly regarded, because Liu Bei understood: keeping talented people at the right time means keeping the entire career in the future.

In today's reform process, if there is a lack of flexible "opening" mechanisms for young cadres who are doing their jobs, there is not only the risk of talented people leaving the system - but also the reforms that are being initiated may be left unfinished. Keeping talented people - is keeping both the reform and the trust.

BAO PHUONG

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/bai-3-chon-nguoi-xung-dang-can-minh-bach-cong-bang-post411115.html