How to align Greek Civil Service with European Union public sector management policies A demanding role for HR managers in the contemporary public administration context

Purpose - In Europe, the alignment of national public administration policies and practices to EU directions is regarded as a key factor in the process of integration. Administrative convergence within European public administration systems places new demands on human resource managers in every member state. Seeks to show that Greek public administration is aiming to investigate the organizational competencies needed for the successful alignment of the Greek civil service with EU directions. Design/methodology/approach - The approach is survey research conducted within Greek public administration. The STAIR (strategy, targets, assignment, implementation, results) model has been used as the appropriate performance management framework. Findings - Suggests that the HRM role in the contemporary public sector environment is to develop a strategic performance management framework for changing performance at organizational level and make human resources active drivers of this process. The results reveal that convergence with EU policies draws heavily on how human resource executives can manage the following three soft organizational capabilities: competence, commitment and continuity - the STAIR model's 3"Cs". Originality/value - Contributes to the literature on directions for public sector management in Greece.