What are the key challenges federal human capital leaders face today? Are budget constraints likely to prompt workforce reductions? How are chief human capital officers (CHCOs) responding to the changes impacting their organization? What grade would agency human capital leaders give their agencies on hiring reform? These are just a few of the topics covered in the latest survey of CHCOs by the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton LLP.
The report, “Bracing for Change: Chief Human Capital Officers Rethink Business as Usual”; is the fourth in a series of similar reports and offers recommendations for how federal human capital leaders and their agencies can navigate challenges and changes in this crucial time of transition.
Report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on submission of the president’s budget in transition years.
Based on our examination of presidential transitions, and in particular the 2008–2009 experience, it is time once again to revisit and amend the presidential transition law to place requirements on the White House to better facilitate transition activities, and to enable campaigns and the president-elect to be better prepared to govern.
In this Ready to Govern report, we examine the three phases of the 2008–2009 transition—the pre-election timeframe, the period from the election to the inauguration and President Obama’s first year in office. In each section, we provide a short narrative based on the experiences and reflections of some key participants in the transition, and offer a series of recommendations for each phase on a broad range of transition issues. These include:
- Starting the transition process earlier and making it more transparent so there is no longer a stigma on preparing.
- Reducing the number of Senate-confirmed politically appointed positions.
- Congress and the White House to agree on a calendar of appointments so 500 key officials are confirmed at the six-month mark, rather than the current norm of a year.
Center for American Progress report that analyzes comprehensive new data on delays in the appointments process as well as appointee turnover in Senate-confirmed positions in executive agencies over the past five administrations.
Our next president and his team will have no shortage of people offering them advice. Considering the primacy of an effective federal workforce toward achieving the administration’s goals, they would be well served by what our government’s top human capital experts have to say. Acting upon these expert recommendations could elevate our federal government to new heights.
More than half of respondents volunteered that bold reform of our civil service system is necessary. More than two-thirds advocate eliminating or significantly updating the General Schedule pay and classification system. The vast majority of them recommend phasing out the current system gradually.
Ninety percent agree that alternative work schedules are a useful tool to a great or very great extent for attracting and retaining talent, and over half would add telework to that list of especially useful tools. Given a menu of options, direct-hire authority and dual compensation waivers are cited as the most underutilized hiring tools. The need to obtain prior OPM approval to use these tools on a case-by-case basis is cited as the main reason they are not more actively used.
Only 44 percent of CHCOs believe that federal managers and supervisors possess the supervisory or managerial competencies they need to a great extent, and none of the respondents believe federal managers overall deserve the highest rating, i.e., to a very great extent.
Only 29 percent of CHCOs believe to a great extent that HR staff members have the competencies they need. The percentage of CHCOs who believe their HR staffs are viewed as trusted advisors is 52 percent. Eighty-eight percent of the CHCOs interviewed believe federal performance management systems are doing a good job of aligning organizational goals with individual performance, up from 64 percent in 2007.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the importance of a smooth transition between presidencies and the responsibilities of both the incoming and outgoing White House administrations, along with issues that occur.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress concerning the management challenges for political appointees within the federal government.
The key to improving our federal government’s operational health is a robust management framework “a roadmap to reform” that tackles challenges from federal budgeting to the use of technology to deliver services. The centerpiece of the president’s government reform plan needs to be a strategy to restore prestige to and increase the capacity of our federal workforce.
Each aspect of the government deserves more attention, but the new president’s management framework should focus on the talented, but underutilized, civilian workforce. The goal should be clear: to improve organizational performance. Core components of an effective workforce, which foster high performance, include:
- The Right Talent
Government has the right people, from top to bottom, with the right skills to work on behalf of the American people.
- An Engaged Workforce
Government employees are motivated, empowered and performing to the best of their capabilities.
- Strong Leadership
Managers are able to inspire and make meaningful and credible distinctions among employees in terms of performance.
- Public Support
Americans value and support federal public service and understand the importance of having good people in the federal government.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on suggested questions to assist the Senate in its constitutional role of confirming nominees, to help ensure that future political appointees have the requisite skills to be results-oriented leaders and managers.
Report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzing the appointment process from past political and congressional employees within 45 different agencies.
