The latest episode of PESPod, the podcast of the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network), explores how Lithuania’s Employment Service is giving frontline staff greater responsibility to respond to local needs and drive organisational change.
As labour markets continue to evolve, Public Employment Services (PES) across Europe are finding new ways to respond to changing customer expectations and specific regional priorities. Lithuania’s ReStart initiative is one example, giving local teams the freedom to identify challenges, develop solutions and share successful practices across the organisation.
In this episode, host David Poyser is joined by Liudas Dapkus, Public Relations Advisor at the Lithuanian Employment Service. Liudas explains why ReStart was launched, the challenges encountered during implementation and how the initiative encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing across local offices.
The episode highlights several initiatives and best practices developed through ReStart, including reverse mediation in Klaipėda, where employer service specialists take a more active role in supporting recruitment, joint employer visits by consultants and employer specialists in Kaunas to strengthen employer relationships and improve job matching, and a dedicated local call centre model in Vilnius that reduces interruptions for frontline advisers while improving customer service.
Key topics discussed include:
How empowering teams helps drive innovation: Greater responsibility at a local level encourages teams to identify challenges, test new approaches and contribute ideas that improve services.
Successful practices from locally developed approaches can be implemented across the wider organisation. Local offices have the flexibility to develop approaches that reflect regional labour market needs, while successful practices can be shared and implemented across the wider organisation.
Creating a culture of trust, ownership and collaboration. Fostering a greater sense of ownership among staff has strengthened engagement, encouraged knowledge sharing and helped create a more collaborative organisational culture.
Lessons for other PES Lithuania’s experience shows how giving local teams greater ownership, sharing successful local solutions can improve service delivery across PES.
Further information:
If you have any comments about this episode or would like to suggest future topics, write to: EMPL-PES-SECRETARIAT
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (EMPL-PES-SECRETARIAT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
The PES Network Knowledge Centre and PES Practices database also have a wide range of information and inspiring practices on the organisation and services of Public Employment Services across Europe.
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