Retention Another Issue for DoD

In his testimony, Chu said that given the competition from the private sector for employees with the technical and other skills the agency needs, DoD will have to focus inwardly as well as outwardly. “Sometimes the talent we need already exists in our workforce and we need to be willing to invest in the development, training and even retraining of our employees while also providing them with a high quality of life that will encourage them to remain with us. We also recognize that the perception of government as a stable employer is not what it was before downsizing, and that the potential for future base closures affects the attitudes of applicants as well as current employees,” he added.