Past and future of Italian public managers' performance evaluation systems

In Western countries over the last two decades, personnel management has been one of the areas of greatest innovation within the management reform process. Managerial staff in PAs has been given the power and the responsibility to operate as an employer in relation to the subjects operating within their "sphere of responsibility". In particular, the rationalisation of structures and of personnel, the introduction of flexible forms of labour, the development of decentralised trade union relationships and the simultaneous increase in management autonomy, have been among the most common lines of action. Nevertheless, the decision that has most consistently characterised innovation policies in human resources management, in both Italy and other countries, seems to be the decision regarding the pay structure (via the introduction of flexible and stimulating wage components as well as career opportunities based on the evaluation of a worker's performance). Throughout 2009 the Italian Minister of Public Service has made a significant effort, especially at political level, to get the Government to approve a law intended to substantially reform the system for evaluating managerial staff. The results of his efforts are particularly interesting to analyse considering the totally different idea of the evaluation system the Minister is trying to introduce within Italian PAs. When remodelling the performance evaluation system of PAs in general, and of management in particular, the Minister considered aspects related to motivational as well as economic theory. The chapter describes the evolution of the management evaluation system in Italian PAs, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the new one, and providing future lines of research on this subject.