A survey of SES and senior professionals shows that 60 percent plan to retire or resign within the next four to five years, creating openings for those hoping to move up; that amounts to about 4,800 of the roughly 8,000 career positions at those levels.
In a survey by the Senior Executives Association to which about 500 responded, 15 percent said they plan to leave just within the next year and 24 percent within the next two to three years and 21 percent in four to five years. The other 40 percent said they have no plans to resign or retire in the foreseeable future.
The report primarily focused on issues with filling those positions, saying it is getting more difficult and time consuming to attract high quality candidates. Factors include pay rates, work and family balance concerns, the complexity of the application process and an overall political atmosphere critical of government work, it said.
“Unresolved challenges in attracting the best and the brightest to these positions will leave a serious leadership vacuum at the top of the civil service – one that could have dire consequences for the successful development and implementation of mission critical federal programs and policies as well as the ongoing viability of the senior executive and professional corps,” it said.
