Draft text for the new oath and promise

To the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations Mr. H. Bruins Slot The Hague, March 20, 2023Dear Mrs. Bruins Slot, Speaking of information, the social coalition took note of the draft text for the new oath and promise of office (hereinafter: oath). We see this innovation as a big step towards a more open, fairer and more citizen-centered rule of law. Our wishes have already been largely fulfilled. We will return to the wording below. In our opinion, the most important thing is the purpose and function of the oath and how it can be used optimally. The oath of office is a ritual in a process where an individual becomes part of a larger whole. By investing in the individual, the system improves. After the oath of office, permanent maintenance is necessary. That's what this letter with the message is about: do what really works. According to your letter to Parliament, the oath is primarily an integrity tool.1 The oath should make the official aware of the meaning of “good officialdom”. In our experience, taking the oath (an active act) seals a process prior to this, but also as the start of an ongoing social contract with society and citizens. The oath is therefore not a one-off and not optional. We show both processes — before and after the oath — below. For the theory below, we refer, among others, to the OECD, the Hexaco model, Schwarz's values and Kahneman's structured decisions.21 Letter to Parliament January 20, 20232 For an explanation, see: Recruitment and selection for public morals: https://www.beslisgoed.nl/selectie-publieke-moraal. Anglim, J. et al (2017), HEXACO personality and Schwartz's personal values: A facet-level analysis, Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 68, 2017, pp. 23-31. Babiak, P. et. al. (2010), Corporate Psychopathy: Talking the Walk, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 2010-28, pp. 174-193. Jonason P.K. et. al. (2012), The Dark Trials Ad at work: How toxic employees get their way, Personality and Individualdifferences. Kahneman, D. et al (2019), A Structured Approach to Strategic Decisions Reducing errors in judgment requires a disciplined process. MIT Management Review. Kahneman, D. et. al. (2021) Noise, Why we so often make wrong decisions, and how to prevent them, New Amsterdam. OECD (2019), OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Service Leadership and Capability, OECD/LEGAL/0445. OECD (2021) OECD Framework and Good Practice Principles for People-Centered Justice, OECD Publishing, Paris https://doi.org/10.1787/cdc3bde7-en. Raat, C. & Remmé, J (2021), Integrity InToxic Public Organizations Solving Wicked Problems for Street Level Workers in Distress, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354463224_Integrity_in_Toxic_Public_Organizations_Solving_Wicked_Problems_for_Street_Level_Workers_in_Distress. Selznick, P (1992) The Moral Commonwealth, Social Theory and the Promise of Community, California University Press, Berkeley. De Vries, R.E. (2016) Every employee's nightmare, The explosive mixture of Low Integrity, Low Conscientiousness and Low Tolerance, Behavior & Organization 2016 (29), p. 316-346.Letter of Oath of Office The route to honest public craftsmanship From this scientifically recognized and globally applied theory, it follows that: • Not all people have or endorse the same values. • Values are part of someone's personality that barely belongs in adulthood can change.3 • Recruitment and selection by independent experts should be focused on problems about preventing” governance culture”, rule of law, integrity (dishonesty and self-interest) and leadership.4• Values are the most important pillar of competence. The other pillars — knowledge and skills — can be learned.• By using honest, proven methods, people can be selected for public values. This leads to greater integrity and the rule of law.5• Awareness at the time of swearing in is “too late” in the process. We advocate an induction phase — in the form of candidate or traineeship prior to this.63 This is a psychological phenomenon, so not intended to 'judge' someone, but to achieve the best 'fit' between organization and candidate.4 An organization (culture) is formed by people. The values they bring influence to the organization's value system and behavior. That is why it is important that there is a “critical mass” of officials who naturally have public values. Through good recruitment and selection, power- and status-oriented culture and leadership are counteracted. So no longer, according to New Public Management, where the government is seen as a company.5 Selection based on ingroup sympathy, status or appearance does not provide the best team composition. Selecting for HEXACO and public values naturally creates more honest people focused on social interests and thus a better culture.6 Induction is a phase in which someone is introduced to the values and goings-on of the organization in a fairly short period of time. Or awareness in the sense of: “I'm going to belong here”. Awareness can therefore also mean the timely realization that the candidate will be a better fit in a different environment. Not as a “reckoning,” but in everyone's interest.Letter of Oath of Honesty Public Professionalism Once the official has taken the oath, the phase of socialization begins — a continuation of induction.7 In doing so, the official further familiarizes himself with the culture — the values, norms and customs of the organization. He learns more about integrity, rule of law and other knowledge and skills that are important to his job. He does this through good guidance from the organization, moments of reflection and discussion and thorough training.8 The programs and documents you mentioned, including the code of conduct and guide, offer a starting point, but in our experience they are still too little guidance. More is needed to raise and maintain awareness, knowledge and skills sustainably and adequately. After one year — the usual period of the fixed-term employment contract — the new official reflects on his experiences: what did he learn, what does this mean for him and for his vision of integrity and rule of law? Only then is the official a full-fledged (starting) professional. The official professional is thus fully accountable to the organization's values: does he live up to them and how? Are interventions in the form of training, coaching or personnel measures necessary? On the other hand, he is also protected against unfair and unconstitutional behavior on the part of the organization and board. He must be able to discuss possible issues in a safe manner and, if necessary, report them. Thereafter, the HR cycle builds on this every year.7 In organizational theory, socialization is seen as the phase in which someone who has joined an organization “learns” the organization's values and habits.8 Training should also not be optional, but be completed with an objective test. The trainer must therefore also have proven professional knowledge and skill.Letter of Oath of OfficeThe wording The proposed wording is a major improvement compared to the current oath of office. In our manifesto “Talking about information”, we wrote the following: “[We] advocate including promises about transparency and sharing information generously where possible. We also think it is important that the official's own responsibility is reflected in the oath of office. A public servant functions primarily at the service of society, guards against institutional bias, works to find equitable solutions and uses the principles of good governance. This should also be reflected in the new oath of office.” We are focusing on the core text here; not on the purge oath. In addition, we note that: • Loyalty to the Constitution automatically means: loyalty to the King; • Service to society comes first — after all, the King, government and other government institutions work in the public interest; • The “public interest” and society can be reduced to each other. Society on the one hand and 'the citizens' on the other can chafe because they cannot be reduced to each other, but it is important to mention them both. • The official is approachable and obliged to advise superiors and administrators in accordance with the oath. • That the official complies with the law automatically also means that he complies with the rules of conduct based thereon. Our proposal is as follows: I swear/promise to be faithful to the Constitution and if to serve a good official. That means: • I work for our society and all citizens• I act and advise the government in accordance with democratic, rule of law values and norms and protect human rights• I work with integrity, i.e. honestly and not in any personal or improper interest• I treat everyone fairly, equally, without bias and with respect. • I work transparently and openly and inform society as generously as possible• I respect secrecy and privacy and trade therein with the law. • In the aforementioned, I have my own responsibility and I am responsible for this. We would be happy to discuss our ideas with you. We welcome your response with Interest.Sincerely, Social Coalition About Information SpokenSpeaking of Information