Tuban, Indonesia — The policy of equalizing administrative positions into functional positions within the Tuban Regency Government has successfully streamlined the bureaucratic structure and accelerated the transition toward a more agile system of public administration. However, despite these achievements, the reform has also generated several new challenges, including competency mismatches among civil servants, overlapping workloads, and declining employee motivation. These findings were revealed in a study conducted by Apsari Khusna, V. Rudy Handoko, and Achluddin Ibnu Rochim from Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya. The research evaluates the implementation of the administrative position equalization policy under the Regulation of the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PermenPANRB) No. 17 of 2021, one of Indonesia's major bureaucratic reform initiatives.
Bureaucratic reform has become a national priority aimed at creating a government that is more efficient, responsive, and capable of delivering high-quality public services. One of the most significant reforms introduced by the Indonesian government is the simplification of bureaucratic structures through the elimination of many echelon III and IV administrative positions and their conversion into competency-based functional positions. The policy is expected to shorten decision-making chains, improve coordination, and encourage civil servants to perform according to their professional expertise rather than hierarchical authority.
To implement the national policy, the Tuban Regency Government carried out a major restructuring of its Organizational Structure and Work Procedures (SOTK) across regional government agencies. Hundreds of supervisory positions were abolished and replaced with functional position groups. As a result, the number of functional officials increased dramatically from 319 employees in 2020 to 950 employees during 2023–2025, while supervisory positions declined by approximately 38.3 percent. This transformation represents one of the largest organizational restructuring efforts ever undertaken within the local government.
The study adopted a descriptive qualitative approach involving 12 key informants, including policymakers from the Regional Civil Service and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM), officials from the Regional Secretariat's Organizational Division, heads of regional government agencies, and civil servants whose positions had been equalized. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and document analysis. The evaluation employed William N. Dunn's six policy evaluation criteria—effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, equity, responsiveness, and appropriateness—combined with Agile Governance and bureaucratic performance theories.
The findings indicate that bureaucratic simplification has successfully reduced organizational layers, allowing faster communication and more efficient coordination between government units. Digital public services also improved significantly, with digital-based services achieving 48.39 percent of the 50 percent performance target. Furthermore, collaborative cross-functional working models have emerged within several regional agencies, enabling greater organizational flexibility and supporting a more agile bureaucracy.
Despite these positive outcomes, the research also identified substantial operational challenges. The elimination of supervisory positions created bottlenecks in administrative verification because documents accumulated at the administrator level, slowing service delivery. As a result, the timely completion rate for personnel administration documents reached only 85.40 percent, below the expected target. In addition, while reducing structural positions generated budget savings, these efficiencies were offset by the substantial costs of competency development, technical training, and adaptation programs required for employees transitioning into their new roles.
One of the most significant findings concerns the issue of competency mismatch, affecting approximately 26.50 percent of civil servants assigned to new functional positions. Many employees who had previously performed managerial responsibilities were transferred into highly specialized technical positions requiring different educational backgrounds, professional certifications, and technical expertise. This problem was particularly evident among policy analysts, procurement managers, and human resource analysts, where employees struggled to meet the technical demands of their new assignments.
The study also found widespread overlapping workloads among equalized functional officials. Many employees continued performing administrative management, financial reporting, logistics coordination, and staff supervision despite officially holding functional positions. Approximately 73.33 percent of equalized functional officials experienced this dual burden, forcing them to meet functional performance targets while simultaneously carrying out managerial duties that had previously belonged to structural officials. According to the researchers, this imbalance has created a strong perception of organizational unfairness and contributed to declining employee commitment.
The transition has also produced considerable psychological impacts. An internal survey revealed that 67.20 percent of civil servants were dissatisfied with losing their structural authority, while 41.30 percent admitted they still lacked a clear understanding of their new functional responsibilities. Furthermore, more than 62 percent believed that career advancement opportunities had become increasingly limited following the equalization policy. These conditions have contributed to post-power syndrome, career uncertainty, and declining motivation to deliver high-quality public services.
According to Apsari Khusna, V. Rudy Handoko, and Achluddin Ibnu Rochim from Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya, the success of bureaucratic simplification should not be measured solely by reducing organizational layers. Local governments must also ensure that civil servants possess appropriate competencies, establish clear distinctions between administrative and functional responsibilities, expand career development opportunities, and provide continuous assistance throughout the transition process. The researchers recommend implementing competency calibration, strengthening upskilling programs, and introducing regional regulations that clearly define work responsibilities and career pathways for functional officials.
Overall, the study concludes that administrative position equalization has contributed to a leaner and more adaptive bureaucratic structure. Nevertheless, organizational reform alone is insufficient to create an effective and agile public administration. Long-term success will depend on strengthening human resource competencies, ensuring fair workload distribution, and providing sustainable career development opportunities so that bureaucratic reform can genuinely improve public service performance.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i7.219
Journal Link: https://journaleajmr.my.id/index.php/eajmr/article/view/219
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