MSPB recommended educating managers at all levels – including first line supervisors – on their responsibilities related to federal employees and the workforce under merit system principles in order to improve stewardship of the federal workforce generally.
It cited an earlier report on merit system principals concluding that if managers are to be held accountable for upholding them that they need to have more than just a passing familiarity with the principles.
Managers increasingly will have to be prepared to make tough calls on which important programs may need to be trimmed or cut in order to provide even more crucial priorities with the necessary resources, noted MSPB.
It said they also must involve the workforce in efforts to locate potential methods to improve efficiencies and keep employees informed about what is being done and why it is being done, as well as identify and make appropriate investments in employee training and career development, said MSPB.
The federal workforce has become a knowledge workforce with a majority of workers employed in complex, fast changing fields such as IT, medicine, security and law enforcement, and engineering but that many employees feel they have received inadequate training for their current jobs, let alone opportunities for growth and development, MSPB said.
Typically training budgets are the first areas that get trimmed but MSPB cautioned trading off short-term savings with long-term organizational capability.
It said agencies should take steps to accurately determine competency requirements and developmental needs, assure that training activities meet those needs, emphasize to managers and employees the importance of continued education and development, and provide supporting resources and mechanisms.
It also called on agencies to take a more active approach to turnover and retention, including moving on from employees who do not perform acceptably.