'We will use software to evaluate civil servants' KPIs to avoid subjectivity.'

The Ministry of Interior announced that it is studying the application of software to evaluate the performance of civil servants (KPIs) based on job positions in order to increase transparency in the process and minimize subjective factors.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dung, Director of the Civil Servant and Public Employee Department, Ministry of Interior.

The government has just submitted to the National Assembly a draft Law on Cadres and Civil Servants (amended), which includes provisions for evaluating civil servants based on results and products according to their job positions; the extent to which they meet job requirements and public service ethics. Work performance will be measured by the quantity, quality, and progress of products (Key Performance Indicator - KPI).

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dung, Director of the Civil Servant and Public Employee Department (Ministry of Interior), stated that currently, the evaluation of civil servants is largely superficial, with the majority being classified as "having performed their duties well." Meanwhile, the private sector has long applied KPIs due to the ease of quantifying work performance.

"Building KPIs in the public sector is more difficult because the nature of administrative work is hard to measure," Mr. Dung said, citing the example of administrative staff at centers whose effectiveness can be measured by the number of processed files, but policy -making staff are difficult to quantify due to the long-term nature of their work. Therefore, evaluating KPIs in the public sector requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative aspects, including: processing progress, document quality, and citizen satisfaction levels.

The Director of the Department of Civil Servants and Public Employees stated that the development of KPI criteria tailored to the specific characteristics of each job position will be determined and implemented by the head of each unit according to a roadmap, piloted in eligible units before being expanded, with the support of work progress tracking software. After the Law is passed, the Ministry of Interior will advise the Government to issue a decree providing detailed guidance on the roadmap, criteria, and process for evaluating civil servants according to KPIs.

Currently, many KPI evaluation software programs are being used in the business sector in Vietnam, and some of them have the potential to be adapted for application in the public sector.

Khanh Hoa province officially implemented KPIs across its entire political system from April 1, 2025, after several months of piloting. The province's goal is to innovate management methods, improve the quality of its staff, streamline staffing based on work efficiency, and eliminate the mindset of "lifetime employment." The implementation process includes civil servants self-reporting their work and leaders evaluating performance based on software data and direct feedback.

Performance evaluation based on KPIs to eliminate employees who "show up for work in the morning and leave in the evening without doing anything."

Representative Trinh Xuan An, a full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security, and Foreign Affairs, argued that the current civil service is still heavily bureaucratic, lacking flexible mechanisms to screen and replace incompetent officials. The situation of "just getting in, not getting out," "carrying an umbrella to work in the morning and carrying it back home in the evening," and even "average performance still leads to regular promotions" is widespread.

According to Mr. An, the root cause is the lack of a truly effective tool for evaluating job performance. "If the public service lacks a clear and transparent evaluation system, it will be very difficult to identify and develop talented individuals, and at the same time, it will be impossible to remove those who do not meet the requirements," he said.

Mr. An assessed the application of a KPI-based civil servant evaluation system as a fundamental solution and in line with modern management trends. This approach has been implemented in the private sector for a long time with clear effectiveness, while the public sector remains hesitant and lacks decisiveness. Therefore, now is the appropriate time to gradually introduce KPIs into civil servant evaluation.

Representative Trinh Xuan An. Photo: National Assembly's official website.

Delegate An suggested that KPIs should be closely linked to the leadership role of the unit's head. They are the ones who best understand the specifics of the work and the capabilities of their subordinates, and they should be directly responsible for designing the KPI system based on three factors: work results, output products, and public service ethics. In addition to workload, KPIs should also reflect the quality of performance and administrative standards of each position and each field.

However, he also noted that KPIs cannot be built using a rigid, standardized approach. The criteria system needs to be designed to suit the specific characteristics of each industry, level, and locality. Therefore, he proposed that the Government issue a framework decree to serve as a general guideline for ministries, sectors, and localities to build their own appropriate KPI systems.

After finalizing the KPI system, the head of the unit must conduct periodic evaluations of subordinates on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. These evaluations themselves will also become a KPI for the head of the unit. If the manager lacks objectivity, is subjective, or conducts evaluations merely as a formality, this will be immediately reflected in the failure to meet KPI targets.

"The mechanism for controlling the evaluation of officials is extremely important to avoid situations where emotions and subjective will override reason, leading to the State losing talented people while retaining those who lack the necessary qualities in the system," Mr. An emphasized.

He suggested that government agencies adopt multi-tiered KPIs – from individuals and departments to collective units – similar to the performance management model of private businesses and corporations. This is a necessary direction to modernize public service, create motivation, and improve the quality of officials and civil servants.

Incorporate the "dare to think, dare to act" criterion into the KPIs for evaluating civil servants.

Delegate Ha Sy Dong, former Acting Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, believes that applying KPIs in evaluating civil servants is an important step towards quantifying the standards, quality, and sense of responsibility of the team of officials and civil servants. This approach will contribute to overcoming the situation of "lifetime civil servants" - meaning that once they enter the system, they are less likely to be dismissed, even if their work efficiency is low.

Representative Ha Sy Dong. Photo: National Assembly's official website.

He emphasized that the development of KPIs must be closely linked to the satisfaction of citizens and businesses, while also reflecting the coordination capacity between departments, agencies, and units. "Currently, the processing time for documents has been digitized and made public. The speed of processing procedures is the basis for evaluating the work efficiency of civil servants, especially in sensitive areas such as land, environment, investment, and business," he said.

However, to avoid rigid and stereotypical evaluations, delegate Ha Sy Dong argued that KPIs must be centered around citizens and businesses. A civil servant may complete their assigned tasks correctly, but if they consistently receive negative feedback from citizens and businesses, it is clear that their work efficiency is unsatisfactory – from the quality of processing to the attitude of service.

Another important element proposed by Mr. Dong is to incorporate criteria for evaluating the innovative spirit of officials and civil servants into the KPI system. According to him, this doesn't necessarily have to be a specific task, but leaders need criteria to recognize, score, and reward those who "dare to think, dare to act," have initiatives, improve methods, and create tangible results.

"Those entrusted with recruiting and employing staff should also be empowered to set KPIs for those they manage, especially for criteria that cannot be absolutely quantified but need to be evaluated through actual work performance," he emphasized.

For example, tax officials, in addition to their duty to collect taxes correctly and completely, must also play a role in guiding and explaining policies to citizens and businesses – helping them avoid getting "lost in the maze" of tax regulations. Customs officials should also be evaluated not only on the number of cases processed, but also on the level of support they provide to citizens and businesses, their service attitude, and their ability to reduce costs, time, and procedures for those handling import and export procedures.

"Such criteria can be quantified through surveys and assessments of citizen and business satisfaction. If citizens are dissatisfied, it means that the official has not met their KPI," Mr. Dong emphasized, while also proposing to include the survey results in the annual performance evaluation and summary of civil servants.

HA (according to VnE)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/se-dung-phan-mem-danh-gia-kpi-cong-chuc-de-tranh-cam-tinh-411457.html