with the private sector for the best
candidates. Many new Federal employees, says Springer, will expect
much more work flexibility than their
9-to- 5 predecessors and pay schedules commensurate with performance, not longevity.
America’s Competitive Advantage
“Part of the reason why the Untied
States government is a good place to
work is because there’s a long history
of the government trying to be more
inclusive than the private sector, ” explains David Campt, Ph.D., a Washington, D.C.-based diversity and race-relations consultant, who works with
U.S. congressional representatives.
“Plus, you have a more secure working environment [than the private sec-tor] and the feeling that you’re not
just working for shareholders.”
“One of the things I find wonderful
about government work is that every
agency has a clearly defined mission—serving the American people.
In terms of career management,
knowing what the mission is is tremendously important because you
can focus your attention on that,” adds
Renee Yuengling, a diversity specialist
at ICF Consulting, a Fairfax, Va.-based
management consultancy that often
works with Federal agencies.
Positions in cutting-edge fields such
as national security that offer “
knowledge work” opportunities are helping
to make the Federal government one
of the most fertile grounds for young
workers seeking rewarding careers.
And as the Federal government attracts new employees with different
workplace motives, ICF reports that
more agencies have begun implementing a variety of work arrangements, including telework, flex-time,
temporary and detail assignments,
job shadowing and others. “The Federal government has been shrinking,”
says Dr. Campt. “And that means
there are more opportunities for
younger people and people of color to
get hired and promoted.”
Meeting Employee Expectations
To win the war for talent, the OPM is
challenging Federal leaders to make
human-capital management changes.
There’s a growing need among agencies to ramp up their recruitment, retention and management programs
to align with trends in employee expectations. “Everyone is going to be
looking for talent, and we must be
competitive,” Springer said before the
Council for Excellence in Government. “We don’t have a choice.”
Springer’s office has set ambitious
recruitment plans for making change
happen between now and 2010. One
example: 90 percent of Federal gov-ernment-hiring decisions are to be
made within 45 days of the closing
date for the announced opening.
Understanding the Terminology
Definitions of EEO, Affirmative Employment and Work-Force Diversity
EEO – This is the policy embodied in law that requires that employment actions be free from
prohibited discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender,
national origin, age, disability and retaliation for filing discrimination claims or other protected
activity.
Affirmative Employment – This program is designed to identify and eliminate discriminatory practices and policies and to ensure EEO. In the Federal sector, affirmative employment
includes actions by Federal departments/agencies to identify and eliminate barriers to EEO
in accordance with the policies of EEOC and OPM.
Work-Force Diversity – This indicates the extent to which people in a work force are
similar and different from each other, including characteristics protected by law, i.e., race,
color, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability. Work-force diversity may also take
into account other factors, such as background, education, work roles and personality.
This isn’t an impossible task. When
the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Partnership for Public Service
recently worked with three agencies
(the Department of Education, the
Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services), the group helped to improve
the agencies’ hiring processes. “The
government doesn’t have to take a
back seat to the private sector when
it comes to bringing in the best and
brightest employees. Great changes
are possible,” says Marcia Marsh, VP
for Government Transformation at the
Partnership for Public Service.
Changes in personnel management at Federal agencies are already
under way. Between 1994 and 2004,
the percentage of women holding
administrative or professional positions rose 7 percent, according to the
OPM. And even though the Federal
government is slightly behind the
civilian labor force in the employment
of women, women are achieving more
promotions and working at higher levels than the civilian work force.
The same kind of pattern is reflected in the government’s Latino work
force. Although Latinos represent 7. 4
percent of Federal employees, versus 12. 6 percent of the civilian labor
force, OPM spokesperson Michael
Orenstein says: “It’s important to
note [that Latinos] are moving into
positions of greater responsibility, at
a faster rate, than they are in the general work force. That shows that
mentoring programs, training programs
are working as they should be—
and preparing Hispanics for entry
into positions of leadership.”
Indeed, having all levels of its work
force look like America is a priority for
the Federal community. After all,
says John Palguta at Partnership for
Public Service, “If you’re going to be
allowed to work for the population,
then that population has to see people like themselves in government.”
Source: GAO
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