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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 14, 2005
CONTACT: Eric Landau
(202) 204-3624
ACADEMY CITES NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT IN FBI PROGRAMS:
Panel Recommendations Focus on Human Capital Systems
Washington, DC — Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been striving to become the world’s premier counterterrorism agency. In the post-9/11 world, a key part of its transformation has been new hiring, training, career development and management initiatives. With the support of Congressman Frank Wolf, the FBI called upon the National Academy of Public Administration to help improve its human capital programs.
Since 2002, the Academy has worked with the FBI and provided recommendations on different aspects of the bureau’s transformation. But, an unwieldy human capital system remains a strong obstacle. As a result, the panel conducted a high-level review of the FBI’s human resources systems to identify the most important issues and provide a basis for decisions about where the Academy could best assist in their resolution. The panel’s recommendations are contained in a report, Transforming the FBI: Roadmap to an Effective Human Capital Program, released today.
“Overall, the FBI needs a systemic and integrated approach to planning and implementing improved human resource programs,” Thornburgh said. “Among the most important issues identified in the report is a fragmentation of responsibility and accountability, with at least three senior officials sharing some human resources functions. Since no single official is responsible for the full range of human resources-related programs, coordinating change is much more difficult. As a result, even the best-intentioned planning, training, budgeting, and personnel efforts have sometimes been at cross-purposes.”
The Academy panel’s first FBI report issued this past February, Transforming the FBI: Progress and Challenges, stated, “…human resources management will require increased attention if the FBI is to develop a skilled and agile workforce that is increasingly capable of meeting its transformation needs.”
“Director Mueller and other FBI officials have recognized many of the issues and have already dedicated resources to initiate a variety of near-term improvements in the human resources area. The FBI has accomplished much in this area and its efforts are bearing fruit,” Thornburgh said. “During the course of this review, we had extraordinary cooperation from, and access to, FBI personnel—from senior executives and managers to unit chiefs and line employees. We believe that this type of access, and the openness of those interviewed, contributed significantly to our ability to understand the issues and develop meaningful and helpful recommendations.”
Recognizing many issues in its human capital programs, the FBI has begun efforts to remedy problems in them. But, challenges remain. They include the lack of a focal point for human capital policies and programs; no systematic process to plan for intermediate or long-term workforce needs; an inadequate succession planning and leadership development strategy that has resulted in excessive executive turnover; a slow, cumbersome and costly hiring process; slow progress in implementing new personnel authorities; limited career paths for support personnel; the need for upgrading and expansion of the FBI’s Quantico Training Facility; and a limited work-life program.
The Panel report presented a 10-step roadmap to address these challenges. Specifically, that the FBI:
1. Appoint a human capital implementation team.
2. Create a chief human capital office and officer.
3. Develop a strategic workforce planning and staffing process.
4. Establish a leadership development and succession planning program.
5. Develop a communications and employee involvement strategy.
6. Increase priority for information technology support to human capital programs.
7. Address hiring issues.
8. Initiate a comprehensive pay and compensation study.
9. Develop a structured career development and training program.
10. Provide consistent work-life policies and programs.
The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit corporation chartered by Congress to provide trusted advice to government agencies on issues of governance and public management. Under its Congressional charter, the Academy is charged with advancing the effectiveness of government at all levels—federal, state and local. For more information about the Academy, contact Carrie Sloan, 202-204-3668, or visit: www.napawash.org.
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