September 24 Memos Release
(l. to r. Jim Pfiffer, Paul Posner, Hon. Linda Springer, Hon. Janice Lachance, Rex Facer, Hon. Dan Blair)
The September 24th Memos Release Event held at the National Academy of Public Administration revealed our two newest memos: Administrative Leadership, Chaired by James Pfiffner, and Strengthening the Federal Workforce, Chaired by Steve Condrey.
Guest speakers for this event included former OPM Director Janice R. Lachance, and former OPM Director and OMB Controller, Linda M. Springer.
Administrative Leadership: A President is elected every four years, but he or she does not run the government alone. Thousands of political appointees must be appointed to lead the departments and agencies of the executive branch. These appointments depend on an elaborate process of recruitment, confirmation, mastering their offices, and working with career executives to implement the president’s priorities and execute the law. But the political appointee system that developed over the course of the 20th century is broken in several important ways.
Strengthening the Federal Workforce: As many in the field of public administration have observed over the past decade, the federal workforce faces a number of critical challenges that must be addressed in order to fulfill the increasingly complex demands placed upon federal agencies. For example, there is a looming retirement bubble, which will require the replacement of a significant portion of the federal workforce. In addition, the technical skills required in today’s workplace continue to necessitate advanced employee training efforts. Accordingly, during the next four years, improving federal human resource systems will be critical. In order to provide the level of service expected from the Federal Government, we must address significant HR issues. These issues include: compensation reform, strengthening and streamlining federal recruitment and selection, enhancing training and development, and strengthening employee/labor relations.
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