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A Congressional Perspective on the Need for Managerial Flexibility

OPM Strategic Compensation Conference
August 27, 2002

Human Capital Management and the American People

  • The Social Security Administration
  • The Veterans’ Affairs Administration
  • The Immigration and Naturalization Service

Not just an "Inside the Beltway" issue

Civil Service Structure

  • Classification Act of 1949
  • 70 % of white-collar jobs are clerical in nature
  • Internal equity

Today’s workers are highly skilled, motivated, and professionally stimulated

Pay and Performance

  • Longevity
  • No real performance accountability
  • Inattention to labor market rates

Goals for Pay and Performance

  • Performance evaluation tied to pay
  • Results:
    • A more tailored and dedicated workforce
    • Increased agency efficiency and effectiveness

Availability of Tools

  • Pay
  • Awards
  • Benefits
  • Learning and development opportunities
  • Work-life policies
  • Positive work environment

Hiring Process

  • "The Rule of Three"
  • Categorical Ranking

The Internal Revenue Service

In response to a report by the National Commission on restructuring the IRS, Congress enacted legislation in 1998 that provided the agency with greater flexibility to hire qualified personnel needed to implement modernization.

The Internal Revenue Service

  • Performance appraisal systems linking pay to performance
  • Category rating systems
  • Recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives
  • Critical pay authority
  • Pay-banding
  • Voluntary separation pay incentives

Succession Planning

In the next five years, over half the federal workforce will be eligible for retirement.

Where Do We Stand Now?

  • Human capital legislation
  • The Managerial Flexibility Act
    • Recruitment, relocation, and retention bonuses
    • Demonstration projects and alternative personnel systems
    • Workforce restructuring tools
    • Senior executives

The Department of Homeland Security

  • Senator Lieberman’s bill
  • Senator Thompson’s concerns
  • The right vehicle?

Let’s keep the conversation going...

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