Systemic evaluation of human resources risks in the public sector

Abstract

This study tries to design a model for assessing and prioritizing human resources risks, using systems thinking and relying on the experiences of Mashhad Municipality in Iran. Reviewing various sources, this study identifies risks in human resources and uncovers the cause and effect relationships between their dimensions and components. Then, using qualitative and quantitative methods, the proposed model is evaluated. Results show five main subsystems of human resources operational risks, personal risks, professional risks, human capital risks and contextual risks. The results also show that there is a dynamic relationship between the components of these subsystems. It is shown that human resources' operational risks have the highest probability of occurrence and intensity of impact and human capital risks have the lowest probability of occurrence and intensity of impact. The system diagrams of this study provide researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive perspective to consider human resources risks in public organizations.