Apparatus Career Development Result of Structural to Functional Equalization

: This study examines the career development of government civil servants in the implementation of the policy of equalizing structural positions into functional positions and how the preparation of supporting factors and obstacles faced in the career development of the apparatus because of equalizing positions. The study employed a qualitative descriptive research method, with data collection through interviews, observation, and documentation of 11 informants in 4 regional apparatus of the city of Lubuklinggau, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The findings suggest that the equalization policy aimed at promoting the career progression of local government officers has not been fully effective. The other problems found are the ability of individual apparatus to collect credit numbers as proof of performance, mismatches of qualifications and competencies of positions, and work mechanisms that have not been adjusted after the equalization of positions. The recommendations of this study require adjustments to the work system, competency mapping, and priority training maps, as well as the preparation of counseling services for the apparatus resulting from the equalization of positions


INTRODUCTION
Employee career development is an important instrument in improving performance (Suhardiman, 2019).This condition applies to all government agencies in the public sector and is a concern for policy makers around the world as expressed by (Brinkerhoff &;Wetterberg, 2013) and (Auluck, 2006) the importance of human resource development in public sector organizations.Therefore, to support the quality of public services in Indonesia, a policy of equal distribution of positions is carried out (Fitianingrum et al, 2020) Apparatus career development can be carried out through promotion, training and job mutation from research results (Rosyidawaty, 2018) and (Sasman &;Apero, 2018) in line with research (Sutoro, 2020) Other studies show that work experience is more likely to improve performance (Suwarno, 2019)In the performance perspective that employee competence is very influential in career development (Afriana, 2021, Fatmawati & Garad, 2023;Yusup et al, 2020).
This research raises the career development system of blood government apartments in Indonesia related to the implementation of equalization from structural positions to functional positions, several studies have been conducted, that the equalization of structural positions to functional positions still ignores the merit aspect and does not meet the apparatus competency requirements and has not been implemented thoroughly (Rakhmawanto, 2021;Pratama et al, 2023)The unpreparedness of local governments in equalizing positions will cause new problems affecting the level of apparatus productivity (Rusliandy, 2022;Lina Dwi et al, 2022;Susiwati, 2021;Wahyuningsih et al, 2021) simplification of bureaucracy begins with simplification of organizational structure, further (Permatasari & Fifi Ariani, 2021) stated that the process of simplifying bureaucracy is well carried out by structuring the organizational structure and continued with equalization of positions.The lack of preparation of supervisory institutions in assigning appropriate functional positions makes the implementation of the policy not optimal (Mailensun, 2022;Primary et al, 2023).This research was conducted in Indonesia, at the local government of Lubuklinggau City, South Sumatra, with a qualitative descriptive approach, the purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of equalization of structural positions into functional positions and how the career development of local government apparatus, as a result of this equalization this research is expanded by studying career development patterns, career development support and obstacles faced in career development systems Equalization of positions which is a new thing to be applied in Indonesia.In the study, the mutated functional officials did not meet the educational requirements in the functional positions they occupied (Tuasamu et al, 2022) To overcome this, it is necessary to consider organizational factors, resources, rewards, and relationships between employees (Insani et al, 2021).

Career Development of Civil Servants
Career is defined as development and progress in life, work, position, and so on.According to Handoko (Tsauri, 2013), work career is defined as all jobs or positions handled or held during one's work life, while according to Greenhaus in (Marnis &;Priyono, 2008), career is defined as a pattern of work-related experiences that extend along the journey experienced by a person.While (Mondy R. Wayne, 2010) defines career as a set of work-related attitudes and behaviors that develop over time, along with continuous work activity.Rozi & Puspitasari, 2021)Karis development is the process of improving one's work skills in order to achieve the desired karis, Career development with equalization of positions is career development carried out by (Marthalina, 2021;Setiawan et al, 2022;Nisa et al, 2022) found that the application of equitable distribution of structural positions to functional positions does not have a direct impact on the career development of apparatuses, while competence and career development have a positive influence on performance (Garaika, 2020;Suhardiman, 2019) in addition, adaptation to work culture affects career development (Alim D. Hikmah, 2022).
The opportunity for career development or receiving an award provided by an organization can trigger enthusiasm and foster high levels of commitment and loyalty among employees, according to a study by (Srimulatsih, 2021;Garad et al., 2021).The same idea was also expressed by (Karundeng et al., 2023) who viewed career development through promotions and transfers as a form of employee appreciation.In additionally, career development also provides positive value to an organization, both in terms of employee productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction (Tasrif, 2021), this aligns with the findings of research conducted by (Dwiyanti & Jati, 2019), which indicate that maintaining or enhancing career development and employee motivation can enhance employee performance.The research conducted by (Putro & Sahban, 2019) suggests that career development is integral to increasing productivity, enhancing work attitudes, fostering job satisfaction, and achieving company objectives.In accordance with this, (Afriana, 2021) conducted research with the title "The Effects of Competency, Work Placement, and Career Develop-ment on Job Performance: Lessons from Public Sector in An Emerging Country" also made the same statement.
Hendry Simamora's definition, as expressed in (Tasrif, 2021) characterizes career development as the process of preparing individuals to take on heightened or diverse responsibilities within an organization.Hendry Simamora also revealed in (Widyanti, 2018) that individuals plan their work life.In an organization, an employee may achieve career advancement to reach their desired position (Putri & Frianto, 2019), this is also in accordance with the opinion of Wayne F. Casio quoted by (Wahyudi, 2002).In the State Civil Apparatus, career development is regulated by the provisions of Article 69 of the State Civil Apparatus Law No. 5 of 2014 on the State Civil Apparatus, which includes the development of qualifications, competencies, performance evaluation, and the needs of government agencies (Dadatashzadeh et al., 2019).The Lubuklinggau City government has specifically regulated the Career Pattern in the Lubuklinggau Mayor Regulation No. 36 of 2021 concerning the Career Pattern for Civil Servants in the Lubuklinggau City Government.

Position Equalization
As stated by (Panca Timur Widya et al., 2022) that position equalization is the appointment of administrative officials in functional positions through adjustment / inpassing in equivalent functional positions, furthermore, (Fitrianingrum et al., 2020) stated that the practice of appointing administrative positions to functional positions through adjustment or inpassing in equivalent functional roles is aimed at creating a more dynamic and professional bureaucracy.One of the reasons for equalizing positions is that the current bureaucracy has a span of control, which is the number of direct reports a leader can effectively manage (CRP et al., 2023).The current narrow bureaucratic span of control is due to a high organizational structure that includes more layers in the organizational hierarchy, so that decisions involve a long chain of command and are slower to reach the top decision maker.This requires organizational structural transformation, as expressed by (Tuasamu et al., 2022).This is also conveyed in research (Beatrix et al., 2022) "Career Development of Functional Positions, Simplification of Organizational Structure, And Equality of Administrative Positions into Functional Positions: A Literature Review".The policy of equalizing positions by reducing the echelon in the existing bureaucratic system is expected to shorten the chain of command in decision-making.

Position Equalization Policy
In this context, the restructuring and equalization of positions in the Indonesian bureaucracy is a priority program of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Ir.Joko Widodo in his second term.In (Panca Timur Widya et al., 2022) as the president's speech after the inauguration on October 20, 2019 revealed that there are many layers of echelonization from echelon I to echelon IV.Echelon I, Echelon II, Echelon III, Echelon IV.Isn't that a lot?I ask to be simplified to only two levels, replaced by functional positions that value expertise, value competence (Rakhmawanto, 2021).In terms of regulation, the implementation of position equalization is mandated by Government Regulation No. 17 of 2020, as an amendment to Government Regulation No. 11 of 2017 on the Management of Civil Servants, which was issued as an implementing regulation of the Law on Bureaucratic Structuring (Article 350A).At the technical level, it is regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of PAN RB RI No. 28 of 2019 regarding the conversion of administrative positions into functional positions, recently amended by the Regulation of the Minister of PAN RB RI No. 17 of 2021.The policy of bureaucratic simplification, in this case the equalization of positions, applies to central and regional government agencies (Lina Dewi et al., 2022)

RESEARCH METHOD AND MATERIALS
This article employs a qualitative desriptive approach with the aim of describing and analyzing the implementation of structural equalization positions into functional positions and how the career development of the apparatus because of equalization positions.According to Anderson in (Fauzi & et al., 2022), qualitative research involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data that cannot be easily reduced to numbers.In addition, Creswel in (Fauzi & et al., 2022) Therefore, this type of research is often referred to as a naturalistic inquiry or field study (Abdussamad, 2021).This was also found (Fadli, 2021) in his research entitled understanding the design of qualitative research methods.This research will reveal how the career development of the apparatus results from the equalization of structural positions into functional positions by analyzing career patterns, supporting factors in terms of competence, regulation, and agency commitment, as well as the obstacles faced in career development.This is as research conducted by (Fitrianingrum et al., 2020), which describes equalization as a process towards a clearer career path and focuses on competence, as well as derivative regulations as a result of the implementation of the position equalization policy (Nisa et al., 2022).In addition, government agencies must have a high commitment to improving the competence of apparatus in the context of career development as research conducted (Hafid et al., 2022).There is also a research design seen in the following figure 1.The data to be taken are data related to the implementation of the equalization of structural positions into functional positions and data related to the career development of apparatus in the Lubuklingggau City Government.The sources of information in this research are: First, primary data obtained from the field through direct interviews.According to (Sugiyono, 2018), primary data is a data source that provides data directly to data collectors.In this case, primary data obtained from resource persons who are competent in the career development of the apparatus, both secondary data obtained from literature studies related to the equalization of apparatus positions with research data retrieval techniques through, observation, going directly to the field (Harahap, 2020;Sahir, 2022) interviews, and documentation (Abdussamad, 2021).As shown below:

Implementation of Equalization of Structural Position into Functional Position
The implementation of position equalization within the Lubuklinggau City Government will be carried out in all regional organizations outside the subdistrict.There are 314 Supervisory position nomenclature and 5 Administrator position nomenclature that have been transferred to Functional Positions.Since then, the affected structural officials have been inaugurated in two stages, namely: the first stage was carried out on December 31, 2021, and the last on May 31, 2022.To find out about the process of implementing this equalization policy, interviews were conducted with several informants, the results of which are presented in table 1.Based on table 1, the dominance of the answers of the informants is in the first question (Q1), namely "Has the Lubuklinggau City Government implemented position equalization?".In this question, 11 experts agreed that the Lubuklinggau City Government has implemented a policy of equalization.To further examine this policy, researchers have linked it not only to Michael Howlet and M. Ramesh's theory of the public policy process (Syahruddin, 2020), but also to George C.'s theory of public policy implementation (Abdal, 2015).Based on the results of interviews and observations conducted by researchers at the Lubuklinggau City Government, it is found that the implementation of position equalization is not effectively producing professional State Civil Apparatus to support an agile and dynamic bureaucracy.This is evidenced by the work system, duties and functions that are still structural in the positions resulting from the equalization.Some of the problems found in the policy process of equalizing structural positions into functional positions are regulations issued by the central government that are still partial, overriding aspects of qualifications and competencies as a condition for occupying functional positions, this has also been conveyed in previous studies, including research conducted by (Fitrianingrum et al., 2020), which also revealed that there were several simplifications, including not conducting competency tests, similarly, (Lina Dewi et al., 2022) expressed that the adjustment of structural positions to functional positions in this case has a specificity, namely, to set aside the requirements for positions or educational qualifications that have been regulated by the regulatory agency.
While in terms of policy implementation, the implementation of structural positions into functional positions in Lubuklinggau City Government is seen from the theory of policy implementation through 4 dimensions, namely communication, resources, organizational structure and disposition or attitude of implementers.Problems were found in the communication dimension which was still very weak.The Communication aspect is the main problem found, which is characterized by a very short time that seems forced, differences of views between ministries, the unpreparedness of the promoting agency in preparing the appropriate functional position nomenclature, technical tools that were not prepared and the intent and purpose of the policy that was not comprehensively conveyed to the apparatus, causing concerns about the career development of the apparatus.This is also in line with some previous research by (Amalia, 2023), who mentioned in his research "Policy Implementation Of The Equalization Of Administrative" that while the communication aspect has been ongoing, it has not been optimized, research (D. H. Pratama et al., 2023) suggests that the implementation of policies is still in the process of adaptation and falls short of optimal capacity to support organizational policies of equalization, research conducted by (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) also revealed that aspects of transmission and consistency were communication problems that were not addressed in policy implementation in the Sidoarjo Regency Government, research (Mailensun, 2022) revealed that unclear communication, rather than tiered top-down and bottom-up approaches, caused confusion for civil servants whose positions were equalized in regards to their career development, Similarly, in research (Nalien, 2021), which found a communication dimension characterized by differences in the instructions of the Minister of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform with the Minister of Home Affairs regarding the equalization of positions.The problems of the communication dimension, which has not worked optimally, so that it affects other dimensions of policy implementation.

Career Development Patterns
From the interviews conducted by researchers on the career development patterns of civil servants in the Lubuklinggau City Government, it is generally known that the career development patterns of civil servants in the Lubuklinggau City Government have been regulated by the Lubuklinggau Mayor's Regulation No. 36 of 2021 on the Career Patterns of Civil Servants in the Lubuklinggau City Government.Although it does not specifically regulate the career development pattern of the post-equalization apparatus, the substance of the material has contained the career development pattern of the equalization results.As part of the depth of the material, the researcher described the results of the interviews and grouped the responses of each interviewee who had substantially similar views as the dominant responses of the interviewees, the purpose of the interview was to investigate the current state of career development for functional apparatus, including the internal support provided by the Lubuklinggau City Government and the supervising agency's role.The results of the interview are presented in table 2. Table 2, the dominance of the answers of the informants is in the sixth question (Q6), namely "How is the support of the Fostering Agency in the career development of equalized functional apparatus?".In this question, 8 (eight) informants have the same answer that the support of the fostering agency is still very lacking in the framework of career development of the equalized apparatus.Based on the results of the position equalization implementation within the Lubuklinggau City Government, a simplification of competency and qualification requirements may pose a challenge to career development post-equalization, this includes the execution of duties and functions pertaining to functional apparatus positions, issue of competency is a recurring theme in research (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) There are inconsistencies in the regulations governing the equalization policy, which means that simplification of competencies and age limits for equalized officials has the potential to impede their career progression, this was also noted in (Tuasamu et al., 2022) that the majority of administrators transferred to functional positions did not meet the educational and competency requirements of the functional positions they would occupy, as well as research (Nisa et al., 2022) that revealed a mismatch between educational qualifications and the requirements of the functional position they would occupy, this is also found in the research (Wahyuningsih et al., 2021) which states that there are still civil servants who occupy functional positions that are not in accordance with their educational background and competencies, as well as in the research (D. H. Pratama et al., 2023) related to job competence, if strict selection and competency tests are conducted, many supervisory and administrative civil servants will not qualify for functional positions.In addition to competency, issues were identified within the work system that had not been addressed by the Lubuklinggau City Government after position equalization.Immediate adjustments are necessary to prevent compromising the fulfillment of functional positions' duties and functions, as well as the future career advancement of equalized personnel.This finding was supported by several previous studies (Nisa et al., 2022), which recommended adjusting the work system after positions have been equalized.A recent study by (A. Pratama et al., 2022) also supports the need for a post-equalization work system in organizations.Furthermore, (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) found that simplifying bureaucracy is only one step in the process and that adjusting the work system is also necessary.

Supporting factors for apparatus career development in the aspects of Competence,
Regulations, and agency commitment to prepare technical devices after equalization of positions.
According to interviews conducted by researchers regarding supporting factors for career development resulting from position equalization, competence should be the top priority in future apparatus career development.The researchers described the dominance of answers for each interview question by interviewees, which is shown in the table below.From table 3, the resource persons appear to favor the sixth question (Q4), which asks " How is budget support in improving the competence of the apparatus, especially the results of equalization of positions?"In this question, 11 experts all agreed that there is still a significant lack of budget support to improve the capacity of the apparatus.The study indicates that the Lubuklinggau City Government should prioritize competency development to enhance the performance of postequalization apparatus duties and functions, this is also the result of research by (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) which recommends the development of competency of equalized functional officials through various educational activities, training, seminars and workshops, research conducted by (A.Pratama et al., 2022) states that functional officials as a result of equalizing positions need to upgrade themselves to meet the minimum competency standards in their respective positions, one of which is through functional training, as stated by (Panca Timur Widya et al., 2022) in his research, regulations are needed to develop the capacity / competence / career of functional officials in which there is moral and material support, in research (Rusliandy, 2022) recommends the government and local governments to overcome the competency gap resulting from the transfer of supervisory positions to functional positions, Similarly, research by (Tuasamu et al., 2022) stated that strategic steps must be taken to overcome the competency gap, towards this competency problem (Nisa et al., 2022) stated that it is necessary to carry out socialization and guidance to equalize functional positions and must plan budgeting related to coaching and increasing the competency of functional positions, In accordance with this (Fitrianingrum et al., 2020) revealed the need to adapt organizational design to new business processes with new social interactions based on competency networking, to the supervisory agency (Rakhmawanto, 2021) revealed the need to provide guidance to functional positions resulting from the equalization of positions in the context of developing and improving competencies.
The policy implementation strategy aimed at equalizing structural and functional positions has to be followed by the preparation of legal instruments in the form of regulations in the form of Regional Regulations or Regional Head Regulations.This study by (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) revealed the necessity of regulatory changes in the form of setting the Work Procedure Organization Structure for each regional organization.

The obstacles in the career development of the apparatus are because of the equalization of positions.
From the results of interviews regarding the challenges encountered during the implementation of the policy to equalize Structural positions into Functional Positions at the Lubuklinggau City Government, a dominant view was produced for each question.This is presented in the table of dominance of the interview results and in the graph below: From the table 4, the informants' responses are dominant in the fourth question (Q4), namely, "Does the current organizational structure and work mechanism support the performance of functional positions?"In this question, 11 informants had the same opinion that the organizational structure had been adjusted, but the work mechanism had not been adjusted.The issue of the work system above was also found in previous research as seen in research (Nuviandra & Kustanto, 2023) which conveyed that simplifying the bureaucracy left one more stage, namely adjusting the work system, research (Nisa et al., 2022) in its recommendations to adjust the work system which includes adjusting work mechanisms and business processes, (Widyastuti et al., 2022) in their research revealed that the transfer of structural positions to functional positions resulted in other changes, namely changes in organizational structure and work systems.This is also in line with what is revealed by (Beatrix et al., 2022) in their research that a good organizational structure can be optimally implemented based on an effective and efficient organizational work system to achieve goals.Research conducted (Tuasamu et al., 2022) found that collecting credit scores is also a barrier due to the burden of additional and managerial tasks with structural work patterns and apparatus concerns in meeting credit score targets (Marthalina, 2021).

Conclusion
The implementation of Equalization of Structural Positions into Functional Positions at the Lubuklinggau City Government in the public policy process has been carried out according to theoretical stages and mechanisms stipulated by the legal regulations.Furthermore, the dimensions of policy implementation have not been optimally carried out, especially in the communication dimension.As a result, the substance of information regarding the goals and objectives of the position equalization policy has not been effectively communicated.The functional apparatus career pattern mechanism consists of three patterns: (1) Horizontal Career Pattern, which involves moving from one equivalent position to another via mutation; (2) Vertical Career Pattern, which involves ascending to a higher position through promotion; and (3) Diagonal Career Pattern, which involves ascending to a higher position not based online, through promotion or functional position appointment mechanisms.Regarding the supporting factors for career development of functional apparatus, in terms of competency, regulation, and agency commitment, it is noted that the equalization of positions has not led to optimal competency development of functional apparatus.This is due to the lack of competence mapping and compiled Position Competency Standards for functional positions.
In addition, budget support for education and training is still very minimal.On the other hand, from the point of view of regulations and technical devices, arrangements have been made regarding the organizational structure, work procedures and functional duties and career patterns, while technical devices that are regulated in the work system have not been prepared and are still under discussion.Some obstacles to the career development of functional apparatuses as a result of the equalization of positions in the Lubuklinggau City Government were found, namely: (a) problems in collecting credit score, which is due to the technical unpreparedness of the apparatuses themselves; (b) apparatus competence that does not match the qualifications and competencies to occupy functional positions; and (c) work systems that do not match the work mechanism after the equalization of positions..

Table 1 .
Implementation of Structural to Functional Equalization

Table 3 .
Sub-Focus on Supporting Career Development.

Table 4 .
Sub-focus Constraints in Career Development