FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2008
Contact: Sarah Howe
202-775-9111

FINANCIAL BAILOUT PACKAGE JUST BEGINNING OF REFORM EFFORT, ACCORDING TO PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

Roadmap to Reform Report Lays Out Critical Government Management Reform Recommendations for the Next President and Transition Teams

WASHINGTON – The health of the federal government is eroding and unless the next president moves past piecemeal reforms there will be serious consequences for the nation, according to Roadmap to Reform: A Management Framework for the Next Administration released today by the Partnership for Public Service.

According to the report, the focus federal leaders place on policy at the expense of operations has led to serious management challenges. Symptoms of erosion noted in the report include the federal government’s failure to connect the dots pre-9/11; the need for reorganization of FEMA after Katrina; and the Consumer Product Safety Commission makeover and budget increase after 30 million toxic toys were recalled.

“There’s nothing like a crisis to help people realize that having an effective government matters,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service President and CEO. “The bailout package is the beginning, not the end, of addressing our nation’s financial crisis. Key to success will be the government’s operational management of the bailout in the months to come.”

Roadmap to Reform was released in concert with key government reform groups including the National Academy of Public Administration, the Council for Excellence in Government, the Coalition for Effective Change, the IBM Center for The Business of Government, CNA, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency.

The report lays out key management priorities for the next president that center on improving the federal government by focusing on its greatest asset – its people. To improve the organizational performance of the federal government, the next president should focus his human capital management plan on three key elements: the right talent, an engaged workforce, and strong leadership. However, according to the report there are a number of challenges the next president will face in each of these areas:

• Attracting and retaining top talent. An effective workforce management plan should start with strategies to get the right talent in place, however the federal government faces a unique set of challenges in its recruiting efforts. They include a general lack of knowledge about federal opportunities, increasing student loan debt, confusing and closed hiring processes, an antiquated compensation system, lack of accountability, and increasing use of private contractors.

• Engaged employees, satisfied with their jobs and organizations. Research shows that increases in employee engagement lead to improvements in organizational performance, however the government’s track record on employee engagement is mixed. Historically, federal leaders have paid insufficient attention to the workforce. In addition, many agencies have a lack of effective performance management systems and shortchange employees in professional development and training.

• Strong leaders with the right skills to do their jobs effectively. Leadership is the most critical factor in determining employee engagement and organizational effectiveness, however it consistently ranks near the bottom in a list of 10 different workplace categories in the Partnership’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings. Among the challenges for the next administration are lack of managerial skills among senior leaders, shortchanging leadership development, and short-term leadership vs. long-term challenges.

According to the report, the core component of the next president’s management reform efforts should be to engage public support for the federal workforce.  Key to successful operational management reform will be getting Americans to value and support the importance of having good people in the federal government.

The report provides recommendations for the next president that include:

• Engaging in more aggressive, strategic recruiting. Federal agencies need to expand outreach to young audiences, mid-career candidates and retiring boomers with the message that public service is a place where one can “do well and do good.”

• Expanding the use of financial incentives. The president, working with Congress, should establish a new government-wide scholarship program to fund study in exchange for a federal service commitment. The bipartisan Roosevelt Scholars Act would create such a program.

• Fixing the hiring process. The federal hiring process must be rethought, including streamlining the application process.

• Developing credible performance management systems. Every federal employee should receive an annual written review from a capable supervisor and managers’ flexibility to reward strong performers and efficiently deal with poor performers should be enhanced.

• Measuring engagement and commit to improvements. Agencies should measure, track and document the link between employee satisfaction and individual and organizational performance and Congress should enact – and financially support – a government-wide annual federal capital survey.

• Enhance formal training and on-the-job development. Federal agencies must invest in training and development of their political and career leaders.

•  Establishing long-term leadership. The president should appoint a chief management officer for each department to oversee implementation of management initiatives, this position should be a term appointment.

The federal government is the nation’s largest employer, with 1.9 million career civil servants and about 4,000 presidential appointees who hold key leadership and management positions.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way that government works. Visit http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/PresidentialManagementInitiative.shtml for more information.

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