Synergetic approach for sustainable public service personnel management during Covid-19

. The paper explores the application of a synergetic approach in managing public service personnel in a developing country, utilizing methods such as the six thinking hats, Delphi, analysis and synthesis, deductive, and Stanford model design thinking. It analyses sustainable development indicators, changes in personnel management within government bodies, and highlights a HDI of 0.779, Corruption Perceptions Index of 32, Income Inequality Index of 25.36%, and Gender Equality Index ranging from 0.677 to 0.714 in 2021. The findings suggest measures to activate synergetic principles, including enhancing critical and creative thinking, emotional intelligence, IQ, stress resistance, and knowledge among managers, as well as emphasizing emotional intelligence and IQ among organizational personnel. Steps for HR management in the Ukrainian public service are proposed, such as adaptation, motivation improvement, exit interviews, corporate culture development, competitive wages, and remote HRMIS technology utilization.


Introduction
In the 21st century of globalization and ceaseless changes, marked by the overwhelming BANI world, effective personnel management becomes a key success factor not only for commercial organizations but also for state institutions [1][2][3]. Therefore, it is important to find new, effective methods and approaches to public service personnel management, as this is an effective solution for countering environmental challenges and ensuring the sustainable development of the country. One of the effective methods is the application of a synergetic approach to personnel management [4][5][6][7]. Its foundation is based on the assertion that the productivity and efficiency of the organization as a whole are the results of the cumulative impact of its components, where the sum of all components is greater than their simple arithmetic sum on the one hand, and that under certain conditions, the system is capable of self-organizing to counter BANI-world challenges on the other hand. This approach reflects the concept of "synergy", which means the interaction or cooperation of two or more factors leading to a result that is better or significantly different from what could be achieved by each of the factors separately.
In the context of personnel management, a synergetic approach means that the effectiveness of a team, department, or entire organization can be enhanced by optimizing the interaction between its members. This means not just coordinating their actions, but developing such forms of interaction in which synergy arises -when the sum of the efforts of all participants exceeds the effect that could be achieved by their separate efforts. Such an approach is capable of adapting to changing conditions, including extreme situations like the Covid-19 pandemic, as it provides for the creation of a flexible, self-organizing structure. To accomplish the objective of utilizing a synergetic approach to enhance the effectiveness of personnel management and explore means to activate synergetic approaches, several methodologies can be employed. The methods of colored hats, Delphi, analysis and synthesis, deductive reasoning, and Stanford model design thinking are particularly relevant. These methodologies provide valuable tools for selecting approaches that can effectively activate synergistic principles. By applying these methods, suitable strategies can be identified to promote synergy within the personnel management framework.

Literature review
The synergetic approach to personnel management has been actively studied by many scientists. These include such prominent scholars and researchers as Ma et al [9], Mariappanadar & Hochwarter [10]. The research concerned the theory of self-organization far from equilibrium, which is the basis of synergetic, as well as a number of concepts related to synergetic, including the "principle of slavery" and the concept of synergetic control [11][12][13][14] Previous studies have addressed the problem of structural transformations of systems in the process of their evolution, which is important for a synergistic approach to personnel management. In addition, a synergetic approach to personnel management was actively developed, considering it in the context of the socio-economic system, as well as in the context of public administration [15][16][17][18]. All of them made a significant contribution to developing a synergetic approach to personnel management, which allows the creation of a harmonious and efficient management mechanism, capable of adapting to changing conditions and challenges, including the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The synergetic approach becomes particularly relevant in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, which added an extra dimension to the difficulties that state institutions face. The tasks of maintaining the health and safety of employees, effective organization of remote work, adaptation to new conditions of performing official duties, ensuring a high level of motivation, and improving the skills of personnel are just a few of the problems that require new approaches. However, there is still no work on the use of a synergetic approach to personnel management in government bodies in the conditions of a BANI world in a developing country [19][20]. Therefore, the topic is relevant and timely, and the purpose of the research is to consider the possibilities of applying a synergetic approach to the management of public service personnel in the conditions of Covid-19 and its potential contribution to ensuring the sustainable development of the country.

Methodology
In order to identify the indicators of sustainable development in a country that is influenced by elements of personnel management, a systematic approach was employed using Edward de Bono's method in conjunction with a sticky note board. The aim was to select specific indicators from a comprehensive list.
The subsequent phase of the study involves examining the relationship between the selected indicators of sustainable development in the country and their impact on the HRM system. To accomplish this, the Microsoft Excel formula package was utilized to conduct a trend analysis of dependencies. This method enables a quick assessment of the correlation between the chosen indicators and facilitates the elimination of those indicators with the weakest correlation. The utilization of this method offers the advantage of ensuring a high-quality analysis of the impact of the most significant indicators on the level of sustainable development. Table 1 presents changes in indicators from 2015 to 2021, as this period covers the reform of civil service in the developing country, including changes in approaches to personnel management systems, and the data is freely available.  As illustrated in Table 1 Overall, Ukraine has made notable progress in specific aspects of sustainable development, particularly driven by decentralization reforms, including changes in personnel management. These reforms encompass mandatory qualification enhancements and modifications in approaches to motivating and evaluating the performance of personnel. In practice, the elements of personnel management are interconnected, serving as the foundation for achieving synergy.

Results and discussions
To activate synergistic principles and achieve high personnel efficiency in HR management, the following actions are recommended: -respond promptly to changes in the organization's internal and external environment.
-provide clear tasks to personnel for effective work organization.
-accurately assess the training and professional development needs of staff.
-ensure a quality evaluation of staff performance results.
-establish appropriate criteria to assess personnel effectiveness and make adjustments when necessary.
-continuously monitor and replenish the talent pool.
-implement effective measures to support personnel adaptation.
-facilitate quality communication regarding personnel management matters.
-develop effective methods of staff motivation based on internal and external influences, selecting the most suitable approaches for each situation.
-ensure a high level of personnel security.
-monitor the workplace's psychological climate to prevent bullying or harassment.
-address qualification asymmetry among staff members.
-collaborate with higher education institutions for personnel recruitment.
-collaborate with the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service in managed recruitment and implementing sector reforms.
-monitor and promptly address risks that may affect effective personnel management. By implementing these actions, HR management can activate synergistic principles and enhance personnel efficiency.
It has been established that the structure of personnel management in the public service of Ukraine consists of recruitment, control (annual performance evaluation of assigned tasks), motivation (which is currently undergoing improvement due to the ongoing reform of the public service of Ukraine), and professional development. During recruitment, compliance with the staffing table is mandatory, and the salary depends on grades, allowances, and bonuses. When examining the structure of HR management in a developing country's public service, which operates under the framework of synergistic approaches, it is imperative to emphasize the following equation: where Sdi -Sustainable Development Index, a rating assessment; Dase -represents the degree of activation of synergistic effects, scaled from 0 to 1.
For the studied period (2015-2022), the dependency of the Sustainable Development Index for Ukraine on the degree of activation of synergistic effects can be described by a polynomial trend (3) Personnel management in government agencies plays a vital role in driving the overall sustainable development of a country. Consequently, the corporate culture within the public service of a developing country should be effectively governed by the personnel management system, guided by the following key principles: -professionalism: civil servants must possess the requisite knowledge and skills to proficiently carry out their responsibilities.
-openness and transparency: the public service should be accessible to citizens, ensuring transparency in actions and decision-making processes.
-accountability: civil servants have a responsibility to be answerable for their decisions and actions, as well as ensuring the quality of services provided to citizens.
-ethics and legality: civil servants are expected to adhere to legal and ethical norms in their conduct, working in the best interests of both citizens and the state.
-collaboration: civil servants should actively collaborate with other governmental branches, businesses, and the public to achieve shared objectives.
In addition, it is crucial to elevate the remuneration of civil servants to a competitive level. This, alongside the aforementioned measures, will serve as a significant lever to enhance the effectiveness of their work.

Conclusions
To ensure sustainable development in developing countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, activating synergistic approaches is crucial. This entails promoting qualities such as critical and creative thinking, emotional intelligence, cognitive development, stress resilience, and knowledge among leaders who are responsible for establishing synergistic systems. Similarly, fostering average to higher levels of emotional intelligence, cognitive development, knowledge, and critical and creative thinking among employees is essential.
In the context of the Ukrainian public service, which operates based on synergistic approaches, several measures should be implemented, including adapting public servants to the organizational structure, enhancing motivation, conducting exit interviews, establishing an effective corporate culture, raising remuneration levels, and leveraging remote Human Resource Management Information Systems (HRMIS) technologies.
Further research should concentrate on developing an implementation algorithm for these recommendations within the practical framework of personnel management in developing countries. Additionally, evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of the proposed improvements is necessary.