Your Guide to Federal Workforce Reforms by GovLoop

Your Guide to Federal Workforce Reforms

Introduction The Trump administration released its overarching vision in April for reducing the size and cost of the federal government. In an Office of Management and Budget memo, the administration tasked agencies with making plans to reduce the civilian workforce, maximize employee performance and focus on opportunities to eliminate activities, restructure or merge them. These reform plans will have big implications across the government workforce, but particularly for IT managers and professionals. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why GovLoop created this e-book, to share insights on what the reforms mean for you and tips for managing through these changes.

Contents 04 White House Details Plans Post-Federal Hiring Freeze 06 What Do White House Reforms Mean for Federal IT? 08 How Career Feds Are Planning for Workforce Reforms 10 What the Future Holds for Workforce Management

White House Details Plans Post-Federal Hiring Freeze Three days into his role as commander-inchief, Donald Trump ordered a hiring freeze of federal civilian employees. As promised, the White House followed up with an April 12 memo laying out the administration’s “comprehensive plan for reforming the federal government and reducing the civilian workforce.” The 14-page memo marked the end of the governmentwide hiring freeze, but it didn’t give civilian agencies free reign to hire as they pleased. In fact, it calls for agencies to plan for near- and long-term workforce reductions and devise a plan for eliminating activities that are not core to their mission, or structure and streamline them, among other things. “In place of the hiring freeze, agencies should adhere to the principles, requirements, and actions laid out in this memorandum to inform workforce planning and personnel actions,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said in the memo to executive departments and agencies. It’s not just agency functions that the Trump administration is looking to cut. White House officials are also eyeing opportunities to reduce the cost and size of government that would require changes to current laws and regulations, including “shutting down or merging agencies, components or programs,” the memo noted.

Speaking at an April 11 press conference with reporters, Mulvaney said, for example, that the administration may decide that it makes more sense for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to reside within the Defense Department rather than the Energy Department. The NNSA is responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. “That would take some type of congressional authority to do that,” he said. “We’re not trying to ram it down their throats. We try and sell it to them just like we’re trying to sell it to everybody else.” The memo calls on agencies to align their reorganization and reduction efforts with the president’s fiscal 2018 budget, which called for deep spending cuts across civilian agencies. “To support the goals of the FY 2018 President’s Budget Proposal, OMB directs agencies to identify workforce reductions over a four-year period (FY 2018 through 2022) consistent with discretionary outyear levels included in the FY 2018 Budget this spring and forthcoming OMB guidance on FY 2019 Budget submissions,” the memo states. “Agencies should begin planning for these reductions now, as achieving associated personnel reductions takes time to implement and realize savings.”

“It’s not about big government, it’s not about small government. It’s about good government. Mick Mulvaney, Office of Management & Budget Director

To expedite workforce reductions, the Office of Personnel Management will streamline templates to agencies for requesting approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VERA/VSIP). OPM will also provide expedited reviews for most requests within 30 days, according to the memo. But agencies are encouraged to begin eliminating “unnecessary vacant positions” immediately. The memo also instructs agencies to review all of their employees who are on administrative leave because of performance deficiencies or misconduct. Agencies are instructed to determine whether those individuals should return to work, be assigned alternative duties, or be subjected to other appropriate action, up to and including removal. “This is about good government,” Mulvaney said. “It’s not about big government, it’s not about small government. It’s about good government. And that is what I think the president talks about when he talks about ‘draining the swamp.’”

This multi-year effort to restructure federal programs, offices and the workforce includes several deadlines, some of which are listed below. According to the memo: By June 12, 2017- OMB will coordinate with agencies that place reporting and compliance requirements on other agencies to identify initial reporting activities that can be immediately stopped or modified. The goal is to reduce reporting and compliance burden. By June 30, 2017– Agencies must submit a high-level draft of their reform plan to OMB. The plan should include progress on nearterm workforce reduction actions, a plan to maximize employee performance (see page 12 of the memo), and an analytical framework that considers how agencies’ activities align with their mission. This framework will focus on opportunities to eliminate activities, restructure or merge them, improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness, and workforce management. By September 2017– Agencies must submit a draft reform plan to OMB as part of their fiscal 2019 budget submission. The plan must address long-term workforce reductions at the agency. The April OMB memo notes that limited exceptions will be granted on a caseby-case basis for agencies that cannot meet the deadline. Agency plans, along with input from the public, will be used to formulate a comprehensive governmentwide reform plan for publication in the president’s fiscal 2019 budget. Starting February 2018, the Trump administration will begin tracking progress on its governmentwide reform plan.

What do White House Reforms Mean for Federal IT? The administration’s proposed reforms could have big implications across the government workforce, but particularly for IT managers and professionals. That’s why we looked at the three key issues for the IT workforce outlined in the memo.

Use Technology to Improve Processes This summer, agencies — in conjunction with OMB — will be required to create reform plans that outline how they will improve, consolidate, or eliminate business processes. To develop these plans, OMB has asked agencies to consider where workflows or positions can be automated by new technologies. OMB believes that by using new technologies, agencies can increase cost savings and improve efficiency across the organization. During this transformation, IT leaders will likely need to consider purchasing new IT systems, realigning existing resources, or retraining staff members. They should also keep in mind that infusing agency processes with new technology should improve organizational effectiveness and service delivery for constituents. The challenge for agencies is they must make these considerations in the face of steep, proposed cuts laid out in the president’s fiscal 2018 budget.

OMB also directs agencies to “keep positions current” by exploring which positions should be redesigned or eliminated to adapt to changing technology needs. The memo mentions database administration, invoice processing, and financial management as potential processes that can be automated or contracted to the private sector. So IT leaders should directly assess how to best automate these processes and how frontline IT employees may be impacted.

Enhance Cross-Agency Collaboration The memo also directs agency leaders to examine ways that they can break down silos within agencies and work with outside organizations. “Examples of crosscutting reforms may include areas where market or technology changes allow a service to be delivered more efficiently, such as by a shared service provider, or where multiple federal agencies interact in fragmented or duplicative ways with state, local, and tribal governments or other stakeholders,” according to the memo. Collaborating more closely with other agencies, state governments, or the private sector could be game-changing for the federal IT workforce. Also, the Obama administration previously

Although the change in administration has brought a lot of uncertainty to the federal workforce, there’s no doubt that IT leaders will play a key role in helping agencies align with new reforms.

endorsed the model in its Cross Agency Priority Goals. Using shared services for missionsupport functions, such as IT infrastructure or acquisition services can improve agency efficiency, reduce costs, and free up resources to more directly serve citizens. OMB suggests that agency leaders, including those in IT offices, “consider governmentwide contracts for common goods and services to save money, avoid wasteful and redundant contracting actions, and free up acquisition staff to accelerate procurements for highpriority mission work.” Cross agency solutions may facilitate quicker acquisition of new innovations, such as cloudbased technologies, and they may reduce implementation costs. Increasing cross agency collaboration will provide opportunities for agency and IT leaders to recognize duplicative processes and eliminate fragmentation across government.

Increase the Use of Data for Evaluation At multiple points in the memo, OMB suggests that data will play an increasing role in ensuring high employee performance and evaluating the costs and benefits of certain programs. The Obama administration also emphasized the use

of data, but for IT administrators, this might mean they will need to update the frameworks, systems, and personnel in place to collect, analyze and interpret data analytics. IT leaders can assist agency leaders with incorporating statistics, performance measures and program evaluation techniques during the strategic meetings this summer and with the creation of the reform plans. OMB officials have asked agencies to use these metrics to prove the worth and efficiency of programs. Also, OMB specifically requested that, “agencies maintain data on Performance Improvement Plans, including the number of employees placed on them and the number who successfully improve performance.” This will help managers make informed personnel decisions. Once the reform plans are finalized and implemented, agency and IT leaders will also need to help develop and refine metrics and systems that properly track progress. Although the change in administration has brought a lot of uncertainty to the federal workforce, there’s no doubt that IT leaders will play a key role in helping agencies align with new reforms. IT leaders will be greatly impacted by the reform process, but will also be in a great position to modernize agencies, manage the transition, and transform day-to-day operations.

How Career Feds Are Planning for Workforce Reforms Change can be hard, uncomfortable and downright overwhelming.

there will be efforts to centralize IT services where it makes sense.

Even planning for it can cause angst. But that’s the reality federal employees face as their agencies fall in line with White House mandates to reduce the size and cost of the civilian workforce.

“You may not be running a help desk in the future, but you’re going to spend more of your time working on technological solutions that drive mission,” he said of his talks with employees.

But rather than bracing for impact, career feds are trying to get out in front of these mandates to ensure that changes are implemented strategically. GovLoop sat down with some of them to better understand how they’re responding to the administration’s calls for reform.

Prioritizing Cuts Around the President’s 2018 Budget

“I think sometimes people tend to sit back and wait for political leadership to show up,” said Chad Sheridan, Chief Information Officer at the Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency. “It’s not my mantra.” Sheridan said career staff should proactively come to the table with insights and proposed plans that political appointees can use, or at least seriously consider. Personally, Sheridan is talking with his leadership team about how the agency will respond. Reading from the OMB memo during a recent all-hands meeting, Sheridan noted that there is a distinct role his staff will play in improving agency mission through technology. He told employees

The memo calls on agencies to align their reorganization and reduction efforts with the president’s fiscal 2018 budget, which called for deep spending cuts across civilian agencies. At USDA, the president proposed a 21 percent budget reduction. For the Health and Human Services Department, Trump’s budget includes an 18 percent cut. “You’re prioritizing against cutting X, cutting Y, cutting Z, and none of it is pretty,” said Leo Scanlon, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at HHS. “The question then is posed, well, of these things, what can we stop? And if we would stop, what would be the consequence?” From an IT security standpoint, Scanlon said the agency has been running lean for a long time. Like the rest of the federal government, HHS has been operating under a continuing resolution. In most cases, that means funding levels have been flat. “We’re going to cut from that,” Scanlon said.

In addition to hiring, Sheridan and Scanlon offered advice for managing through these reforms. 1. Communicate — a lot. “The key thing is you’ve got to get ahead of the rumors,” Scanlon said. “Because if you don’t do that, people will explain to themselves what is going on. You’ve got to help them get the right explanation.” 2. Maintain a recruiting presence. Even if hiring is slow or at a standstill, you will eventually need to replace people who leave. You have to have a pipeline. “You have to have an array of people who at least know that you are potentially recruiting, Scanlon said. “They might take another job in the meantime, but they’re on [your] list, and you’re on their list.” 3. Transition from a “permission-based model” to an “I-intend-to model. That’s the kind of culture Sheridan is cultivating at the Risk Management Agency. Under the old leadership model, employees went to the boss and asked for permission before they did anything. Sheridan’s employees are empowered to come to him with ideas that they intend to implement. 4. Tell a clear story. “We can’t just recycle the same old complaints,” Scanlon said. “We’ve got to give clear and verifiable status reporting” of the current state of affairs and what will change. “On the other hand, it tends to sharpen the mind,” he said about funding cuts. “It forces everybody to think about do we really need to do that this way, or is there another way to do this.”

Rethinking Federal Hiring Hiring is one of the things that agencies are being forced to rethink. In the wake of the governmentwide hiring freeze that President Donald Trump instituted his third day in office, some agencies are still operating under a freeze status. Among them are the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department. It wasn’t until weeks after the administration ended the freeze on April 12 that the Veterans Affairs Department announced it was removing hiring restrictions at the Veterans Health Administration’s medical facilities — for medical and nonmedical positions — and for Veterans Benefits Administration regional and field offices. “However, in order to streamline VA’s corporate structure and administrative positions, VA will maintain a process that requires thorough review before hiring,” the department said in a news release. “Hiring in the administrations

must have the appropriate Under Secretary level approval, and at VA’s Central Office, the Chief of Staff must approve.” But governmentwide, the Trump administration has been slow to fill top leadership positions, including deputy secretaries and undersecretaries, according to The Washington Post. Another part of the dilemma for agencies is that while their workforce is set to shrink, their workload will not always decrease at the same rate. Agencies still need staff to get work done. “The irony is when you are losing federal employees for various reasons, the way you keep doing what you need to do is you hire a contractor,” Scanlon said. At USDA, Sheridan is working through the right balance of federal and contract workers. He was able to get last-minute hires in before the freeze took effect. “We hired very good people,” he said. “In fact, I’ve had multiple people come over from other federal agencies on a lateral because they know and heard and have seen the kinds of things we’re doing. If that’s the kind of culture you’re building, people will naturally gravitate to it.”

What the Future Holds for Workforce Management Among the key issues that agencies will have to hash out in the coming months and years is workforce management, including ways to boost employee performance and discipline poor performers. These have been ongoing areas for improvement in the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. But like many instructions that come from the top, agencies, their senior leaders and middle managers were given high-level details for making Trump’s vision a reality. For example, agencies will be responsible for filling in the fine print and explaining how they will restructure their workforce and programs, improve employee performance, deal with poor performers and ensure managers are empowered to lead. In terms of employee performance, the memo calls on agencies to ensure that performance expectations are: •

Appropriately rigorous

•

Aligned to the work that needs to be done and the grade of the employee

•

Effectively communicated

The administration is counting on agencies to give managers the tools they need to effectively oversee employee performance. That includes recognizing high performers, helping employees identify and address areas in need

of improvement, and moving quickly to address employees who are not meeting performance expectations, according to the memo. But the type of performance and management overhauls called for in the OMB memo aren’t entirely new. If you’ve been in government for any amount of time, then you’ve seen past reports that detail specific actions agencies can take to improve performance feedback, such as connecting performance standards with agency mission and goals, ensuring that feedback is timely and provides actionable, constructive suggestions for improvement, and recognizing supervisors who successfully coach employees. Over the past two years, federal supervisors as a whole have seen steady increases in their FEVS scores, particularly around questions pertaining to how well they provide worthwhile discussions about employee performance and provide employees with constructive suggestions to improve their job performance. Where management falls short is addressing poor performers. Just 29 percent of feds said that steps are taken in their work unit to deal with a poor performer who cannot or will not improve. That’s one area that the new Trump administration wants to see overhauled. Specifically, agencies are being directed to

“We’re trying to figure out a way to make the government more responsive and more accountable, and that means taking care of the people who are doing a good job.” Mick Mulvaney, Office of Management & Budget Director

review and update their policies, procedures and guidance for addressing poor performance and conduct. Agencies should also review if their policies create unnecessary barriers for addressing poor performance. For employees on administrative leave, agencies must determine whether those individuals should return to work, be assigned alternative duties, or be subjected to other appropriate action, up to and including removal. Despite President Trump’s rhetoric about shrinking the federal workforce, Mulvaney said that’s not the only focus. “I think it’s wrong to sort of paint with a broad brush and say, because we are going to be reducing the overall size of government as part of this, as consistent with our budget, that that means that everybody should just focus on who is getting fired,” he said. “That’s the wrong message to take from this. The right message is we’re trying to figure out a way to make the government more responsive and more accountable, and that means taking care of the people who are doing a good job.”

Conclusion While creating and implementing reform plans, agency leaders will need to have strong lines of communication with their staff to gain buy-in. Here are a few tips for having critical conversations with employees about key reform efforts, such as employee performance, technology implementations and office restructuring: • To foster a culture of strong employee performance, take time to recognize high achievers. That can be as simple as a shout out in a weekly email. • Confronting poor performers is equally important. When talking to an employee about improving performance, make sure you focus on why you are having the conversation and what you hope to get out of it afterward. • As an employee on the receiving end of constructive criticism, it helps to be a good listener and offer concrete suggestions where you can improve going forward. • Make the time for critical conversations about new technologies or business processes. These talks should always center around how changes impact employees’ jobs and the agency’s mission. Managers must also recognize employee fears of uncertainty by providing transparency and training throughout the transition. Whether you are a manager or a frontline employee, having constructive, critical conversations can advance your mission and guide your agency reforms. For more information on how to have critical conversations, follow these tips.

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