The nearly exclusive use of full-time, full-year federal
employees impedes managerial flexibility when dealing
with budget cuts or increases in demand, according to a
new report from the IBM Center for the Business of
Government advocating the use of a “core-ring” personnel
model.
The model consists of a core of permanent staff
surrounded by a ring of “less permanent” employees
working under non-standard arrangements brought in
through a staffing agency — a model currently used by
the Office of Naval Research-Naval Research Laboratory,
according to the report.
It said “ring” workers could be let go without much
disruption to the agency’s core workforce if need be,
something private sector firms have found helps keep
down the cost of labor and benefits and can serve as a
way to retain a pool of potential full-timers.
