Especialização de servidores na Receita Federal do Brasil: possíveis influências na avaliação individual de desempenho

Abstract

The present work presented the theme of the relationship between performance management and functional specialization by work processes as a factor that enhances individual performance, compared to the isolated use of each one. The development of this research aimed to answer the question: What are the contributions of the functional specialization of the servants to the improvement of the results of individual performance in the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service? The work was referenced in publications on the topics of performance evaluation at work and on organization by work processes, and in legislation and data published by public bodies. The methodology used was documentary and bibliographical research, and used academic research repositories, publications on the subject and public databases available on the Internet, during which the lack of works that addressed the problem was identified. Then, field research was carried out through the application of a questionnaire to the servants of four fiscal regions of the Federal Revenue Service. As a result, out of a total of 5324 civil servants from the chosen regions, 438 responses were obtained, 31% of the total, with the data treated by descriptive and grouping statistics. Among the various findings in this research, it is highlighted that public servants rely more on objective and individual performance criteria with formally set goals and disagree with the current form of evaluation as being based on objectivity. However, when linked to variable remuneration, assessment at the individual level influences the behavior of the assessor, which leads to the perception of paternalism and subjectivity in the assessment. The recognition of professional merit is not perceived in performance evaluations. On the other hand, the research participants consider that the disclosure of the need for organizational support in day-to-day work can be a possible concrete benefit of a well-constructed performance evaluation system. Although known, performance measurement tools are so complex that they do not allow effectively measuring the work done, and that employing them in Federal Revenue management activities, such as remuneration, and more recently in the granting of telework, has a poor perception by those evaluated. The servants understand the adoption of the strategy in the institution of dividing work into specific activities, at the same time that they did not show a formed opinion about the value of a structure based on geographic aspects. In addition to stating that the work is carried out autonomously and can be considered intellectual, as it covers a wide range of tasks, which requires knowledge, experience, and the use of specialized and profound tools. It should be noted that among the limits of this research, it was difficult to find theoretical references that fix the relationship between work specialization and performance evaluation, notably in the public sector. Added to this, the Covid-19 pandemic during the research, which imposed restrictions on social proximity, both between professors and students at the university and on questionnaire respondents. As possibilities for developments in new research on the subject, the research can be replicated for the entire Federal Revenue organization, other audiences such as institution administrators and external control bodies, in addition to deepening issues such as personal factors that influence the perception of those evaluated and evaluators regarding the performance management relationship and functional specialization.