In order to aid its transformation efforts and compete for
intelligence personnel, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
needs to establish senior executive (managerial) and senior
level (non managerial) positions as well as leverage human
capital flexibilities, the General Accounting Office has said.
It said that although the FBI has made significant progress
in its transformation efforts since June 2003, it has had
trouble competing with the private sector, the Central
Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency for
employees with intelligence knowledge skills and abilities
partly because the FBI has fewer opportunities for advancement
in senior positions.
Organizational changes have enhanced its intelligence
capability and staff realignments in counterterrorism and
counterintelligence areas have been encouraging, said GAO,
though it pointed out that even with increased numbers of
agents in those areas the FBI has had to temporarily
reassign even more agents to follow all
counterterrorism-related leads.
The FBI has moved toward setting up a GS-15 level for
intelligence staff but this would still not create a level
playing field with the rest of the intelligence community,
said GAO.
If it decided to go beyond GS-15, it would have to clarify
how such an intelligence career service relates to its
strategic plan and human capital plan, the expectations
and qualifications for positions, and how performance
would be measured, the report said. After utilizing all
human capital flexibilities to recruit and retain staff,
the next step would be for the FBI to consider human
capital enhancements requiring legislative changes that it
could sell as a way to help its mission against terrorism,
it said.
