It’s unclear the damage that sequestration driven furloughs and the government shutdown will have on recruiting new employees into the federal workforce, but it can’t be good and agencies will have to be resourceful in attracting the next generation.
In asking whether the federal government is positioned to recruit and retain new employees,the Merit Systems Protection Board concluded that agencies must key in on why federal employment is attractive and sell potential employees on it.
In the midst of freezes in hiring and pay, as well as threats to benefits – and with feds often criticized as being part of an oversized public sector bureaucracy – agencies need to focus on the unique selling points of federal jobs. That comes down overall to agency mission and the chance to serve the public interest – both of which rank highly among new recruits. (A survey of new hires at the GS-11 through GS- 15 levels in 2006 MSPB found that applicants most often cited the chance to serve the public and opportunity to make full use of their talents as the primary reasons they wanted to work for the federal government – and federal employees routinely rate pay far down on the list of the most important job qualities.)
Right now federal jobs might not appear as secure and attractive as they might once have and that will add to the challenge of competing for talent to replace retiring workers that have held on through the recession and will be leaving en masse.
Agencies and managers should consider how they might attract and retain talent should federal employee benefits become more portable and less distinctive, MSPB has argued. Given that, managers should consider asking whether agency work is challenging and rewarding enough on the front lines, whether there are sufficient opportunities for growth and continuing education, and whether the organization is a good place to work – and do whatever they can to improve in those areas to where they can be selling points rather than detractors.
