Attracting, deploying and retaining outstanding human capital in the public sector is a fundamental prerequisite for enhancing problem-solving capacity, administrative innovation, public service quality and governance effectiveness. Realizing this objective extends beyond mere policy formulation and regulatory approval; it necessitates the coordinated application of implementation instruments to identify, place, develop, and retain outstanding human capital. Despite fragmented references in prior research, the existing literature lacks a cohesive conceptualization of these policy implementation instruments and their subsequent outcomes. Consequently, this qualitative study, utilizing an inductive approach and a systematic literature review strategy, aimed to comprehensively identify and analyze the instruments and outcomes of executing outstanding human capital policies in the public sector. For data collection, relevant Persian and English studies published between 2015 and 2026 were retrieved from prominent academic databases. The study selection and screening process adhered to the PRISMA framework, and extracted data were coded via thematic analysis. The findings revealed that policy implementation instruments can be classified into 5 main themes, 11 sub-themes, and 58 codes, encompassing data and knowledge infrastructure, alongside attraction and selection, deployment, learning and motivation instruments. Furthermore, implementation outcomes were categorized into 5 main themes, 12 sub-themes, and 60 codes. These include human capital sustainability, improved organizational performance and productivity, enhanced knowledge capacity and innovation, increased public sector attractiveness and competitiveness and broader national and local development.