Factors Determining Career Development among Financial Functional Employees in the Ministry of Social Affairs

Abstract

Career development of financial functional employees in the Ministry of Social Affairs has become a strategic issue in supporting bureaucratic reform and the implementation of a merit-based civil service system. This study aims to identify the factors determining career development, determine the most dominant factor, and identify factors that are not significant in influencing the career development of financial functional employees in the Ministry of Social Affairs. This study employed a quantitative approach using a survey design. The population consisted of 102 financial functional employees spread across 39 working units of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Saturated sampling was applied so that all members of the population were included as respondents. The study examined five dimensions, namely qualification, competence, performance, organizational needs, and proximity to leaders. Data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation and eigenvalue criteria greater than one. The findings revealed that two principal factors explained 69.353% of the total variance. The first factor consisted of competence, performance, organizational needs, and proximity to leaders, while the second factor comprised qualifications. Among these variables, proximity to leaders emerged as the most dominant factor with a loading value of 0.914. Qualifications were found to be less influential and functioned only as a supporting factor. The study concludes that career development among financial functional employees is primarily determined by competence, performance, organizational needs, and leadership proximity. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Affairs should strengthen mentoring programs, improve competency development, align employee performance targets with organizational needs, and enhance data-based manpower planning.