Personnel System Called Outdated

GAO also said that federal agencies “must become more partnership-based, results-oriented, integrated, and externally focused” and that “strategic human capital management must be the centerpiece of any serious change management and transformation effort. Yet, as amply shown by GAO’s long-standing work on human capital issues—including the designation of strategic human capital management as a governmentwide high-risk area—federal agencies do not consistently have the modern, effective, economical, and efficient human capital programs, policies, and procedures they need to respond to current and emerging governance challenges.” In addition to pay reform, GAO said that personnel changes should include annual reports on financial results and performance outcomes, ensuring that that agencies’ workforce and succession plans “incorporate the critical transformation and governance challenges each agency faces and do not merely seem to replicate a status quo that is outmoded, ineffective, and not sustainable in the future” and oversight of the DoD and DHS systems, which are widely seen as a model for government-wide changes.