{"id":29236,"date":"2021-08-27T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/workforce\/"},"modified":"2024-09-22T13:49:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T17:49:30","slug":"workforce","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/our-solutions\/roadmap-for-renewing-our-federal-government\/workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/strong>Roadmap for Renewing Our Federal Government<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Roadmap Home<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Leadership and Stewardship<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Workforce<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Innovation and Tech<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Workforce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

THE CHALLENGE<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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The federal government is struggling to recruit, hire and retain diverse talent with the skills needed to meet the complex challenges facing our nation today and in the future. The hiring process is long and complicated, the\u202fcurrent workforce is aging and\u202fthe competition for top talent is fierce. Federal employee engagement lags that of the private sector, agencies do not maximize use of existing hiring authorities and the federal compensation system is not aligned to the broader labor market. Yet as the COVID-19 pandemic placed high demands on the federal workforce, many agencies across government capitalized on a time of national urgency to rethink how they recruit, hire and manage their people. We need that same commitment to talent modernization across government. \u202f<\/p>\n\n\n

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It takes government an average of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>98<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>days to bring new talent on board\u2014more than double the time in the private sector.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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As of March 2021, 6.8% of full-time federal employees are under 30. Roughly one-third of employees onboard at the beginning of fiscal 2019 will be eligible to retire by the end of fiscal 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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The 2020\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Best Places to Work in the Federal Government\u00ae<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0employee engagement score was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>69.0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>out of 100,\u00a0<\/span>lagging behind<\/span>\u00a0the private sector by more than 8 points.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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About 83% major federal departments and agencies struggle with staffing shortages and 63% report gaps in the knowledge and skills of their employees, according to a 2018 OPM report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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According to the\u00a0Survey on the Future of Government Service<\/a>, just\u00a032%\u00a0of respondents say their agency has a strategic recruitment plan that\u2019s aligned to its workforce needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONGRESS<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Expand All Recommendations<\/p>\n\n\n

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Overhaul the antiquated pay and job classification system.\u202f <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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The government\u2019s 1949 pay and classification system was designed for clerical workers, not today\u2019s highly professional, specialized civil service. To meet today\u2019s hiring and retention needs, Congress should create a modern, occupation-based, market-sensitive pay system. While the government, in most cases, will not be able to match private sector salaries, it will be better positioned to fill critical skill gaps\u2014in cyber and STEM positions, for example\u2014under a system that allows agencies more flexibility in setting pay.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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Build stronger entry-level talent pipelines by identifying and widely using the most successful hiring authorities, easing the ability of agencies to convert interns into full-time positions, and ensuring interns are paid.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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The talent is out there,\u202fand government\u2019s mission remains more compelling than ever, but agencies are losing out on bringing in a new, diverse and qualified generation into public service because the federal hiring system isn\u2019t nimble enough to compete with the private sector.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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Infuse government with ideas, knowledge and processes from other sectors through creative means, like talent exchanges.\u202f\u202f <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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Talent exchanges can strengthen agency workforces, support mission-critical work and lead to better collaboration among agencies and with the private sector.\u202f\u202fMore could be done to remove barriers to their effectiveness\u202f\u2013\u202ffor example, Congress could amend the Intergovernmental Personnel Act to allow for-profit entities to participate in IPA-enabled talent exchanges involving select agencies and mission-critical occupations on a permanent or pilot basis.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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Assess each agency\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion performance and hold congressional hearings on DEI progress, with the practices of \u201cbest in class\u201d agencies serving as a model.\u202f <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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Congressional oversight will foster accountability, transparency and knowledge-sharing with the goal of improving diversity, equity and inclusion across government. Taking steps to ensure workforce diversity by focusing on the recruiting, hiring, career mobility, training and development of groups with less-than-expected participation rates in federal occupations will also help government better serve people with a wide variety of needs and backgrounds.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n