The organizational culture of the Securities and Exchange Commission is not constructive and could hinder the agency’s ability to effectively fulfill its mission, GAO has said in calling for improved personnel management.
In describing SEC’s culture, many current and former SEC employees cited low morale, distrust of management, and the compartmentalized, hierarchical, and risk-averse nature of the organization, according to GAO-13-621.
It said SEC has not consistently or fully implemented effective personnel management, and that it has not yet developed a comprehensive workforce plan, including how it identifies its future leaders.
SEC staff expressed many concerns about the performance management system, such as an unclear link between their performance and ratings, said GAO.
It said that while the agency has made efforts to improve communication and collaboration (such as creating new subunits to facilitate joint work), that is has not yet fully addressed barriers.
SEC also has not implemented an accountability system to monitor and evaluate its personnel management, according to GAO.
The SEC agreed with recommendations such as developing comprehensive workforce plans, implementing mechanisms to monitor how supervisors use the performance management system, conducting periodic validations of the system, exploring collaboration practices of leading organizations, and regularly assessing these efforts.
