Many employees believe that agency leaders need to be better at making and communicating decisions about agency priorities, as well as making investments needed to sustain a high-performing knowledge workforce, the Merit Systems Protection Board has concluded.
It said just 29 percent of those taking part in a recent survey over 42,000 employees feel their organizations are successful at eliminating unnecessary functions and positions.
In the context of tight budgets agencies are pressed to show they are good stewards of limited resources, including for human capital, but just 24 percent of those surveyed said agencies are effectively addressing poor performance, 41 percent say the best employees are being retained, and just 60 percent said necessary training was being provided, according to MSPB.
"Employees are being asked to make personal and professional sacrifices and they need to feel confident that leaders are using limited resources wisely," said MSPB chair Susan Tsui Grundmann, adding, "That requires agency leaders to make tough choices about the programs, functions, or positions that they can support."
MSPB noted that while some movement within the civil service can result in better skills matches and have a range of benefits, excessive churn or losing good performers who may be disillusioned by public service harms the civil service.
