From an Op-Ed in today's Washington Post (my emphasis):
"The [new] president will...oversee a federal workforce that is increasingly frustrated and demoralized -- with good reason. Asked to do more with less, it is close to doing everything with almost nothing. Federal employees do not get the resources necessary to do their jobs; they rate their leadership as barely competent at best (and getting worse) and give their hiring and disciplinary processes failing marks. Turnover is up at all levels, while customer service ratings are down.
The next president will also be responsible for recruiting thousands of new employees. However, many of the most talented young Americans consider the federal government a career of last resort. They understandably wonder whether government service would give them a chance to make a difference and acquire the skills they need in an unforgiving economy. They are not saying "show us the money" but "show us the work." And federal work has not been showing well lately.
...Tinkering will not fix these problems. A faster hiring process merely hastens the day that frustrated young employees leave; deep cuts in the number of presidential appointees merely shift the layering to civil servants. Although both ideas make sense on their own, they will not have much impact without a complete overhaul of the federal machine.
The retirement of baby boomers from the federal workforce could provide the needed impetus for such an effort. If current projections hold, almost half the federal workforce will retire in the coming decade, including many who entered government during the glory days of the 1960s and '70s, when the call to service was bright.
Viewed as an opportunity, the boomers' retirements could produce long-overdue reform, particularly if the vacancies were not automatically filled by the next federal employee in line. Evaluating each job as its occupant left would create opportunities to thin the government hierarchy and fulfill the promise of meaningful work for talented young Americans."
- Paul C. Light, author of "A Government Ill Executed" and a professor at New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service
What do you think about Paul's viewpoint that the retirement of baby boomers from the federal sector could bring about needed change in the 'federal machine' by incoming young people? Are there any lessons we can apply in the nonprofit sector?
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Paul C. Light: Baby Boomers Retiring From the Workforce Presents a Golden Opportunity
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2 comments:
It's hard to say whether or not the opportunity will present itself. Most of my friends that work in the federal government complain that once they arrive in the office, almost no work seems to move their way. The job they interview for and the job they have are completely different. I think this is as much a result of bureaucracy as poor leadership in the workplace. I think it will take more than simple personnel changes to improve the experience in the federal workplace. There need to be a change in federal hiring and promotion practices that places more emphasis on merit rather than years served.
I have to agree with vanessamason. I have several friends who work or have worked in the federal gov't and I've heard many stories from them of employees being promoted up the ranks, specifically because they were incompetent. The only way to get rid of them is to force them to early retirement by promoting them to the highest level possible. Which is totally backwards, obviously, but leads to this issue of very poor leadership who got there for all the wrong reasons.
I think (if it happens) the combination of a president from a different party and the retirement of large amounts of employees could bring a real shift.
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