Feds Dedicated but Uncertain About Future of Workforce, Survey Finds
Employees at all levels of government are dedicated to supporting their agencies’ missions, but are concerned about how the government will be able to maintain a dedicated and qualified workforce, according to a Merit Systems Protection Board report based on its 2005 merit principles survey.
MSPB also found high job satisfaction and commitment despite perceived organizational instability and jitters about pay reform.
Most employees — 76 percent — believe their agencies accomplish their missions successfully, and another 76 percent say their agencies produce high-quality products and services, according to MSPB’s online survey of about 37,000 randomly selected permanent federal employees.
Three quarters of respondents said the current workforces in their agencies have the necessary knowledge and skills needed to accomplish agency missions, and the same percentage would recommend the government as a good place to work, according to MSPB.
However, it said first-line supervisors and other managers reported problems recruiting highly qualified applicants, something that could be caused by insufficient recruitment strategies or incentives, the slowness of the hiring process, or the use of inadequate assessment instruments.
While 63 percent of respondents said they have enough training to do their jobs, nearly half said they’d like additional training to improve job performance, the survey found.
However, the report said supervisors cannot always justify or fund the training so they should work with employees to identify and prioritize training needs through, for example, putting in place career development plans.
Workforce planning strategies utilizing recruitment, retention, and training methods are also a good idea, especially for agencies whose supervisors report too few high-quality applicants for their open positions, the report said.
