On April 7th, interVivos took over Devlin’s on Whyte to have another mixer. The topic this time around: the trials and tribulations of being a public servant. There were three excellent speakers and accomplished public servants from all three levels of government here in Edmonton. The biographies/introductions of all three were beyond impressive. The event was emceed/hosted by the always entertaining Unknown Studio (Adam Rozenhart and Scott Bourgeois).
The City of Edmonton’s Chief Information Officer, Chris Moore, kicked off the panel discussion talking about the similarities between the public and private sectors. He mentioned that they both function the same way, but have different bottom lines. He also had the most truthful line of the night “If you do good in the public service, you get rewarded with more work.”
Chris’s advice to anyone who wants to work for the public service? Be persistent with your ideas; respect the line between politics and public administration; and don’t be afraid to take risks.
Lori Schmidt, Senior Director for Productivity Alberta, was next. She explained her background in government began as a receptionist was supposed to be temporary while she waited for a teaching gig, but realized just how cool the public service is. She described her favourite thing about the public service is the people, made up of a lot of good people who want to do good work and noted the endless career development opportunities that are available. However, Lori would like to see better communication to the public about all the good that happens in the public service. It seems like the public service only makes the news when something goes wrong. Lori also noted that the decision-making process is slow in the public sector and short timeframes for projects since leaders change every few years in elections and cabinet shuffles. Despite these unique challenges, Lori wouldn’t have it any other way.
The final speaker of the evening was Kathy Hunter, Senior Advisor for the Alberta Federal Council, who explained there is not much difference between the public service and the private sector: both boil down to innovation and creativity. Kathy spoke of how she loves the ability to be creative in the public sector and always tries to get away from the traditional way of doing things. Kathy mentioned how much she loves to bring people together for the great discussions they create and the good things that result. Like Chris, Kathy said it is good to take risks, but cautioned that they should be smart risks. She also outlined it is important to be respectful of the political side of the public service and advised that you should seek out people and information if you want to develop your career in either the public or private sectors.
There were a few questions from the “floor” that included everything from how to approach clients, the entrepreneurship similarities of the public sector, and how to respect the political-public line. All three panellists agreed that stronger leadership, more engagement and innovation are key to serving Edmontonians, Albertans and Canadians. But the most important thing in the public sector is to remember to have fun and find fulfillment in the work that you do.
