How Merit-Based Talent Management Drives Bureaucratic Reform in Indonesian City Governments

What is it about?

Local governments play a key role in delivering public services, but their performance depends greatly on the quality of their civil servants. This study examines how talent management—the process by which governments identify, develop, and promote capable employees—can support bureaucratic reform in Indonesia. The research focuses on two Indonesian cities, Pontianak and Pekanbaru, which are recognized for implementing a merit-based system. A merit-based system means that civil servants are recruited and promoted based on their skills, performance, and potential, rather than personal connections or seniority alone. Using interviews, official documents, and government assessment data, the study shows that both cities have made progress in applying talent management, especially with strong support from political leaders. However, important challenges remain, such as incomplete employee profiles, limited talent pools, and weak succession planning for future leaders. The findings suggest that effective talent management can help local governments improve public services, strengthen organizational performance, and support economic and social development. This study is especially important because it provides evidence from local governments outside Java, an area that has received little attention in previous research. Overall, the study highlights that investing in people—through fair, transparent, and performance-based management—is essential for successful bureaucratic reform in local governments.

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Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash

Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This article is timely because Indonesia is currently accelerating bureaucratic reform and enforcing the implementation of a merit-based civil service system nationwide. While national regulations on talent management already exist, many local governments are still struggling to apply them in practice. This study responds directly to that gap by showing how talent management is actually being implemented on the ground. What makes this article unique is its focus on city-level governments outside Java, an area that is rarely examined in academic and policy discussions. Most previous studies concentrate on central government institutions or major regions on Java Island. By examining Pontianak and Pekanbaru, this article provides fresh evidence from underrepresented regions and offers insights that are highly relevant for other cities facing similar challenges. The article is also distinctive because it connects talent management, meritocracy, and bureaucratic reform using real assessment data from the Indonesian Civil Service Commission (KASN). Rather than discussing talent management only as a concept, the study shows how merit scores, career development systems, and leadership support interact in practice. This makes the findings especially useful for policymakers and practitioners, not only academics. The difference this article can make is practical and strategic. It offers concrete lessons for local governments on how to improve employee development, leadership succession, and public service quality through fair and performance-based systems. At the same time, it contributes to international discussions on public sector reform by providing evidence from a developing country context that is still underexplored. Overall, this article helps bridge the gap between policy design and real-world implementation, making it valuable for readers interested in public administration, governance reform, and human resource management in the public sector.

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