Why Do Governmental Agencies Struggle To Attract and Retain Top Project Management Talent?

1 WHY DO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES STRUGGLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP PROJECT MANAGEMENT TALENT?

There is very little argument Yemi Oshinnaiye, PMP about the critical nature of Deputy Chief Information project management in the federal government. Officer The federal government is Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services one of the country’s largest employers with over two million employees and thousands of services that require project manager support. Given the vast array of efforts that take place in the government and the necessary oversight for requirements, project managers (PM) are critical to the success of government programs. The PM is assigned to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives (PMI, 2017). A variety of skills are needed to be a successful PM and a ‘one size fits all’ mentality, with respect to project management, does not exist. Depending on the sector, service area, and/ or geography, you can expect project management needs to be slightly different within the federal government as well as for the private sector. Where the government begins to differ is in the execution and its goals. Government projects deliver capability or value to its recipients under the constraints of budget and schedule; however, it is without the same regard for revenue and profit that the private sector values. For most federal government agencies, the revenues are the outcomes and/or the proper delivery of goods or services. Another example of an outcome is ensuring the availability of services or public safety. Although a few agencies generate, review, and manage revenue, the top priority still remains to deliver goods or services under budget constraints. While this paradigm lends itself well to the ‘iron triangle’ concept of managing cost, schedule, and scope, the government deals with additional challenges that normally do not exist in the private sector (PMI, 2017).

“The federal government is one of the country’s largest employers with over two million employees and thousands of services that require project manager support.”

Talent Acquisition

There is the well-known business saying, “Hire slow, fire fast.” This reference is a warning to employ an extensive interviewing and vetting process when selecting an individual in the hopes that the individual is the right fit for the organization. This has been one of the barriers for federal government entry for PMs, which has an extensive hiring process. Although the workforce has evolved, the federal government’s hiring processes have not evolved at the same pace. The talent is definitely there, however, since the hiring processes are mostly cumbersome, outdated, and bureaucratic, qualified project management candidates will avoid applying for federal positions. There are exceptions to these restrictions such as direct hire and other special hiring authorities that give managers more flexibilities. In some scenarios, there is an expectation that the entire hiring process, from cradle to grave, will extend months. The federal government’s challenge is to ensure fairness and equity in hiring and flexibility in making selections. In comparison, the private sector focuses on return on investment, which is a combination of the appropriate skills, organizational fit, and maximizing the talent of the job candidate. In many cases, with maybe the exception of some large corporations, there is far less oversight regarding how hiring selections are made. As a former hiring manager in the private sector, I can attest that private sector managers have more autonomy to make hiring decisions. In the federal government, process and policy challenges exacerbate hiring talented PMs, especially in the information technology (IT) arena, because the demand for talent is much higher. These processes are to ensure the integrity of the hiring process but it requires additional steps and oversight and increases execution time. The challenge is that there are numerous opportunities for PMs, especially those who have IT experience. In the private sector, a PM can be hired immediately. Job offers are not confined by restrictive government pay scales or the need for specific education requirements. In the private sector, IT PMs without a college degree can earn more than a comparable mid-level federal IT PM. As the federal government is slow to change its processes, it leaves hiring managers with fewer devices to attract and retain talent. Many agencies do not dedicate a marketing and recruiting staff to search for talent, with the exception of the military, as they have strong recruiting practices. In contrast, the private sector spends a fair number of resources to recruit and provide incentives, whereas federal entities primarily use job fairs and USAJobs, the federal government’s web portal for job postings. Awareness of job vacancies and opportunities are limited due to the restrictive marketing visibility. This trend is slowly changing, but it still leaves the federal government behind the power curve in terms of attracting top talent.

Retention and Industry Competition

Employee retention proves to be a challenge in any environment. It becomes increasingly difficult to retain a federal government employee when counterparts in the private sector have access to greater benefits, perks (higher salaries, stock options, and quicker career progression), and other opportunities. An example of a private sector opportunity is the ability to work on a variety of teams. As PMs gain experience by managing different projects at greater levels, they grow and become more marketable. In contrast, as vast as the government is, the ability to move around and sometimes advance in the field in the federal government can be just as difficult as the hiring process. There are limits to the benefits and perks the government can offer especially in the area of salary. PMs are limited to an established regulated pay system. Bonuses are not the norm, stock options are not offered, and upward progression is also restrictive. As a result, it is highly tempting and frequent for highly sought-after talented PMs to make the move to the private sector. This decision to leave the federal government to join the private sector creates a cascading negative impact. The government is left to assume the work of the departed PMs while it takes months to find a replacement. As the cycle continues, the government finds it difficult to retain the remaining overworked PMs and often less experienced PMs are assigned to projects due to lack of resources. These issues are common and may result in negative impacts on project delivery and program health. Another concern is the life cycle of the federal employee. According to federal workforce data from Office of Personnel Management, the average age of the federal employee is 46, while there are twice as many federal employees above the age 60 than there are below the age of 30 (Bublé, 2019). The detriment is that the older population (above 60 years old) will be leaving the workforce rapidly without a strong pipeline to fill gaps. Given the pace of hiring and competition, this leaves the federal government with a challenge to find talent or a structure to support a dwindling workforce.

The irony of all this, despite the federal government’s inability to acquire and retain resources, is that the project management training available is quite robust. Different agencies subscribe to different requirements, but in general, it is encouraged to obtain a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. For acquisition PMs, a Federal Acquisition Certification for Program/Project Management (FAC-P/PM) is encouraged, and in some cases mandatory, and the training to obtain these certifications are abundant. Training is usually performed by very skilled practitioners and instructors which serves as a significant benefit to emerging professionals. However, in some government agencies, the training is not well marketed. Even current employees do not take advantage of the training opportunities because they are not aware that it is an option. In the private sector, there are similar training opportunities but often the federal government has better resources and advantages in this aspect.

“Although the workforce has evolved, the federal government’s hiring processes have not evolved at the same pace.”

Current Efforts to Attract PMs

Given the importance of project management, there are a number of efforts to review and address deficiencies. A few of these efforts are creating special hiring authorities, reviewing federal salaries so that they are more competitive with private sector salaries, and developing an onboarding process that is faster and more efficient. (Boyd, 2021). Some of these PM hiring efforts are focused on IT engineering and IT project management that are needed for complex cyber security efforts. There are also efforts to expand marketing channels to allow the federal government to attract and recruit recent college graduates and those looking to switch careers from the private sector to federal government service. These efforts are supported at the most senior levels of government which demonstrates that there is a strong desire for change. As we move forward with these efforts, it will be very important to constantly review the progress and outcomes and make the appropriate adjustments that will promote better hiring and retention results.

References:

Boyd, A. (2021, March 5). DHS Wants Help Restructuring Pay and Bonuses for Cybersecurity Pros. Nextgov. https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2021/03/ dhs-wants-help-restructuring-pay-and-bonuses-cybersecurity-pros/172483/

Bublé, C. (2019, August 30). The Aging Federal Workforce Needs ‘New Blood’, Experts Say. Government Executive. https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2019/08/aging-federalworkforce-needs-new-blood-experts-say/159585/

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.