Clerks at the Farm Credit Administration working on Civilian Resource Conservation CCC Program reports. 1937. Image: Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Farm Credit Administration “is facing a substantial risk relating to human capital due to the significant portion of the workforce’s retirement eligibility,” says an inspector general report that urges greater attention to succession planning.
Twenty percent of the agency’s more than 300 employees already are eligible to retire, with more than 35 percent eligible in four of the agency’s 11 main offices, it said, adding that retirement eligibility overall increases with grade level.
The report notes that the agency has acknowledged the issue in documents such as its human capital management plan and its enterprise risk management plan, with the latter for example saying that “if key leadership and technical positions do not have sufficient bench strength, knowledge transfer or access to talent pools, FCA will not be able to fulfill its mission effectively.”
It adds that the HR plan meanwhile identifies strategies such as rotational programs, leadership and other career development programs and an agency-wide succession management process—although they have not been fully implemented.
The report said that for such strategies to be effective, “it is important to understand current knowledge, skills, and abilities of staff in order to develop plans to fill gaps either through the hiring process, cross-training, or by developing current staff. However, the agency has not required offices to identify the skills and abilities of their staff as a way to understand the gaps and risks in the offices.”
Further, offices were inconsistent in identifying positions key to continuity, “with some offices having written succession plans that outlined key dependencies and successors to others having no written succession plans.”
It said management agreed with recommendations regarding identifying such positions, leadership and executive development training, and consistency across the agency.
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