IG: Problems identified in 2016 with internal communications are continuing in the decade-old ConsularOne Modernization Program. Image: 72westy/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn IG report has identified “staffing gaps, frequent turnover, poor oversight, and inexperienced and undertrained staff” as a major management challenge at the State Department, adding that those issues “frequently contribute to the department’s other management challenges.”
It cited as an example one report finding that staffing constraints, a large number of temporary staff and turnover “led to a lack of institutional memory and subject matter expertise, reactive operations, an inability to properly monitor foreign assistance, and difficulty managing the workload while maintaining a work-life balance.”
“The lack of appropriate training was another aspect of this challenge, detailed in multiple reports,” it said. Among those were reports finding that certain embassies did not conduct required training on safety, health, and environmental management, failed to provide a locally employed staff training program, and training related to the operation and maintenance of heavy machinery.
“This issue of training often underlies” a separate management challenge of overseeing contracts and grants, it said. It listed other management challenges as protecting people and facilities, managing and securing information, managing property and finances, and operating in contingency and critical environments.
It added that problems it first identified in 2016 with internal communications are continuing in the decade-old ConsularOne Modernization Program, which aims to consolidate legacy technology systems. That has “led to misunderstandings among staff and contractors concerning office priorities, eroded trust between divisions, and reduced operational effectiveness.”
Part of the problem it added, is that “leadership responsible for the program was unable to provide a clear, uniform definition of the ConsularOne program, what components it included, and which contracts supported the program, creating confusion for stakeholders.”
House Group Presses OPM on Retirement Processing
OPM to Close FLTCIP to New Enrollments Starting December 19
Partisan Clashes over Federal Workforce All but Assured in New Congress
OPM Erases Personnel Rules It Had Issued Under Trump Orders
Rules Changes Set Tone on Federal Employee Performance, Conduct Issues
Reasons Federal Employees Stay Vary by Generation, Study Says
Pay Gap Increases; New, Expanded Localities Again Recommended
See also,
Early Marker for 2024 Raise Set: 5.2 Percent
Pay Attention to Family vs. Self Plus One Rates in FEHB, OPM Advises
The Best Date for Feds to Retire in 2022
FEHB: Federal Benefits Fast Facts
FEHB Open Season Ahead – Time to Shop
Watch for ‘Significant’ FEHB Plan Changes, OPM Says
Enrollee Share of FEHB Premiums to Rise 8.7 Percent on Average for 2023
FERS Retirement Planning Bundle: 2022 FERS Guide & TSP Handbook
