Marianne Broadbent

In the public sector, turnover isn’t always a problem — it can be healthy, even necessary. But when high performers leave because their potential isn’t fully tapped or because misalignment persists between leadership and values, it becomes a serious vulnerability. When the pressure of election cycles, economic downturns, and public scrutiny is dialled up, retention needs to be intentional. At Future Leadership, we’ve observed six consistent themes regarding retention.

Public scrutiny of the public sector’s size and role is essential. After all, governments are custodians of public value. What’s problematic is the frequent oversimplification of the issues at hand. Too often, discussions around public service headcount devolve into ideological debates, missing the government’s operational realities and broader purpose. The recent focus on reducing public service numbers in Canberra is a case in point.

As we progress towards the announcement of an election, it will be worth keeping a lookout for any flurry of appointments to government boards. This has occurred in the weeks, and even days, prior to the announcement of the federal elections in both 2019 and 2022. A senior government minister in the previous government referred to it as just “good housekeeping”. But this raised a critical question: Why weren’t those appointments made at the appropriate time during that cycle of government?