So at last a Civil Service HR director pokes their head above the parapet and puts themselves in the firing line.
It's only unfortunate that Francesca Okosi-Arimah, former HR chief at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs waited until she left Whitehall's darkened corridors before speaking out.
Attacking your senior leadership team while you are still in situ is tantamount to career suicide, so it's no wonder Okosi-Arimah waited until she had departed.
No matter, her comments expose what many have long suspected: that the Civil Service doesn't 'do' HR very well.
It's only unfortunate that Francesca Okosi-Arimah, former HR chief at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs waited until she left Whitehall's darkened corridors before speaking out.
Attacking your senior leadership team while you are still in situ is tantamount to career suicide, so it's no wonder Okosi-Arimah waited until she had departed.
No matter, her comments expose what many have long suspected: that the Civil Service doesn't 'do' HR very well.
And while there might be a hint of buck passing going on, with Okosi-Arimah pointing the finger at the prevailing culture in Whitehall and lack of leadership commitment to making tough decisions, the latest departmental capability reviews expose continuing HR failings.
No organisation is going to get every decision right, or is immune from making mistakes, especially those as large as Civil Service departments, but until more emphasis is placed by senior officials on developing good people managers, rather than those adept at policy or politics, then the pace of change will be snail like.
A raft of top HR directors with private sector experience and success behind them have been attracted and hired and are now in place, ready to make their mark.
Let us hope they secure the support from the top needed to make real and lasting change, otherwise they too will find themselves stuck in the trenches.
