May 8, 2008
A summary of daily news relevant to the federal workforce produced by the Partnership for Public Service.
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Celebrate Public Service at a Washington Nationals Game!
The Partnership for Public Service
Join the Washington Nationals and the Partnership for Public
Service as we celebrate public service this summer -- come cheer the Nationals on to victory! Get discounted tickets for three summer games --
click here to
purchase through the Partnership for Public Service. You do not need to be a federal employee to receive this discount.
Discounted tickets are available for games on:
- Saturday, May 24 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
- Saturday, July 12 vs. Houston Astros
- Saturday, September 20 vs. San Diego Padres
Discounted ticket prices are:
- RF Mezzanine: $33 (Normally $38)
- Scoreboard Pavilion: $24 (Normally $29)
- Upper Infield Gallery: $15 (Normally $20)
The Aging--and Retiring--Federal Workforce
FedSmithBy Ralph Smith
If you were a big fan of the Beatles singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand"; you remember President Kennedy addressing the nation during the Cuban
missile crisis; and you recall seeing Governor George Wallace standing in the door at the University of Alabama to block integration of the public
school system on a black and white television set, you are older than most Americans. But many federal employees do recall these events because they
were alive, and old enough to remember when they occurred.
The early baby boomers turned 18 about 1964 and many of them started working for the federal government in the 1960's and early 1970's. These long
time federal employees are now entering their 6th decade. Many are in leadership positions in federal agencies.
That is a problem. Increasingly, we are hearing phrases such as: "Brain drain" or "retirement tsunami" being used to describe the current state of
federal employment.
One observer of Uncle Sam's current state is the Partnership for Public Service. The organization is waving a verbal red flag to try and get the
attention of Congress and the public about the gray-haired federal employee population—many of whom will decide to walk out the door and head
for the beach, the golf course or a mountain retreat in the near future. And, when they walk out the door of the federal building and turn in their
employee ID card, who will be there to accomplish the multiplicity of jobs performed by Uncle Sam's civilian army?
So how bad is the impending "retirement tsunami"?
The average federal employee is getting old. The average federal employee is 46 and that is still getting higher each year.
The civil service has far more employees over age 45 (58 percent) than the private sector (41 percent).
Federal employees are leaving government service in increasing numbers. From fiscal years 2002 to 2006, annual separations of permanent full-time
employees increased from 5 to 6.7 percent and the number of full-time permanent employees who voluntarily retired increased from about 30,300 annually
to more than 45,000.
The Partnership says that by 2012, federal agencies will lose about 530,000 employees. As one might expect from older employees, many of these
folks are in leadership positions. Moreover, while the federal government's "reinvention" initiative of the 1990's reduced the size of the federal
workforce by nearly 400,000 positions and left agencies with critical skills gaps.
Part of the problem, and one that our readers have previously identified, is that the federal hiring process is slow, inefficient and sometimes
indecipherable to anyone who may be interested in becoming a federal employee. And, while those within government are often aware of the important
role of the federal government, the public perception of government employment sometimes resembles a Dilbert cartoon in the minds of the prospective
employees.
The government also has several arguments that attract new employees. Americans see federal jobs as being much more secure than those in the
private sector and the benefits are often comparable or better than in private companies. (See "Uncle Sam as an Employer: Attractive Prospects But
Execution is Questionable")
The Partnership says that several things have to happen within agencies:
Develop and implement workforce plans that identify and meet future talent needs, with OPM maintaining its leadership role.
Modify recruiting strategies to attract new talent, including at the mid- and senior- levels.
Streamline hiring processes, and make greater use of recruitment, retention, and relocation incentives, including student loan repayments.
Focus on retention, including taking steps to improve employee satisfaction, and strategically using workforce flexibilities to help retain
experienced talent.
Congress needs to enact legislation to allow retired federal employees to return to government part-time and still retain their pensions.
As one of our authors pointed out recently in "A Shift Will Happen in the Future," attitudes about older employees are changing and many retirees
from private industry will want to work for the government--if only to take advantage of the health benefits or the Thrift Savings Plan offered to
federal employees.
But the reality of aging isn't going to go away. Our nation's government needs to attract and to hire college graduates. Look
for changes in benefits or new legislation to make it easier to hire new people as the problem becomes more acute.
OPM chief Urges Next President to Promote Public Service
Government Executive
By Alyssa Rosenberg
Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer on Wednesday called on the next president to recast Uncle Sam's brand, and said upcoming
retirements would be manageable if government made the appropriate outreach efforts.
"As daunting as the retirement wave is, there is a huge pool [of potential recruits] out there for the asking and the taking," Springer said at a
breakfast sponsored by GEICO during Public Service Recognition Week. "We just need to reach them."
But in the 25th annual observance of Public Service Recognition Week, Springer was not sanguine about the challenges government faces.
"The fact is, we have uneven brand recognition," she said. "The federal government as a whole doesn't have a good brand reputation, but individual
agencies do," Springer noted, adding that NASA has an attractive public image, while the Internal Revenue Service "isn't exactly a magnet."
Generally, the public knows very little about what government does and how it affects their daily lives while also performing unique functions and
providing a wide range of job opportunities, Springer said.
Other organizations have pointed out that the public's inability to connect government operations to their own lives was a significant barrier to
recruiting and rebranding.
"We are so lucky to live in a free country where we have the highest standard of living and the best public servants in the world," Tony Nicely,
GEICO's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said on Wednesday. "We count on public employees for safe highways, for safe travel through
the air, [and] so many things we in the private sector take for granted."
The Partnership for Public Service tackled the issue of demonstrating the reach of government work in its annual report, using examples of
everyday life to illustrate where government agencies play a role.
But Springer emphasized that the call to public service has to come from the president, without regard to whether he or she is
a Republican or Democrat. "I believe that no matter who wins... if the first address [to the nation] is, 'No matter who you are, no matter what your
background, if you want to come, there's a place for you,' I believe there would be an excellent response."
Agencies Improve PMA Scorecards
Federal Computer Week
By Michael Hardy
Agencies are improving their compliance with the President's Management Agenda, according to the latest quarterly scorecard.
The Office of Management and Budget's scorecard for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 shows that almost half of the agency status scores were
green, the highest possible, on their current status. More than 75 percent of the progress scores were green.
The scorecards use red, yellow and green status indicators, with red indicating significant lapses. They rate agencies on five separate
objectives, and each one gets a red, yellow or green score.
The Labor department, Social Security Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency maintained green scores for both status and progress on
all five governmentwide initiatives.
The fine initiatives are human capital management, competitive sourcing, financial performance, e-government and performance improvement.
"All this 'green' is driven by agency interest in better management practices," said Clay Johnson, OMB's deputy director for management. "Federal
employees want their agencies to be more effective and efficient, and they continue to welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to perform
better and better every year."
