New upper-level hires from outside the federal government rated their new employer as good as or better than their former employers in many areas, including pay, leave and retirement programs, opportunities for advancement, training and development prospects, the quality of managers, supervisors and co-workers and ethical practices, the Merit Systems Protection Board has found after a series of interviews with new hires.
It said however that the one area where the new hires found the government lagging was in its ability to deal effectively with poor performers, alluding to the government’s notoriously cumbersome discipline and appeals process.
Many of the new hires indicated that their agencies are better than their last employers at providing challenging work, providing opportunities for training and development, and using employees’ skills and abilities effectively, MSPB said.
It said the government also provides a better opportunity to "make a difference," though they generally said their former private sector employers offered comparable leave and pay.
Most new upper level hires who said pay was worse in government were at the GS-15 level and indicated they joined the civil service for quality of life issues while those who said it was better were concentrated at the GS-12 level, MSPB said.
It said the new hires indicated that the government’s strengths such as workplace flexibilities could compensate for perceived weaknesses such as lower pay in terms of competing for talent.
