A loss of leadership in supervisory and managerial ranks due to a wave of retirements in the coming years may severely impact agencies that have come to rely on their supervisors and managers to perform expanded functions in complex work environments, and agencies will be called upon to recruit and develop the employees needed to replace much of this leadership talent, an MSPB report says.
“Maintaining organizational efficiency and effectiveness in the face of these changes will be a growing concern for agencies as both administrative burdens and supervisory losses mount,” it says, noting that managers and supervisors on the whole tend to be older than the workforce in general and thus more likely to retire in upcoming years.
However, it adds that there is also opportunity in the change, noting that the responsibilities of federal managers and supervisors are changing from transaction-based roles to ones focused on analyzing and synthesizing information.
The report says that the coming turnover provides a chance “to create a new supervisory cadre that is better equipped to manage in a dynamic, knowledge-based work environment.”
In addition, the coming retirement wave will provide increased opportunities for women and minorities to move up as many male non-minority supervisors retire.