Prioritizing Federal Personnel: Policy Priorities for the Executive and Legislature
On the latest episode of the FEDtalk podcast, panelists discussed elevating the importance of human capital management in the federal government. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Associate Director of Performance and Personnel Management Pam Coleman provided an introductory keynote address on the Biden administration’s effort to strengthen human capital management in the federal government and revitalize the career federal workforce.
Coleman began the show expressing gratitude to federal employees around the country. “One of the most meaningful parts of my job is to remind folks that government is not some monolith, but a collection of dedicated and passionate individuals,” Coleman explained.
Coleman affirmed the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to empowering federal agencies and employees, while acknowledging that rebuilding the strength of the federal government will take significant time, effort, and unity.
“The clear question is what’s the path forward? How do we protect, empower, and rebuild? As a first step it is really important to note that words do matter. President Biden has made it clear to all of us that words matter, tone matters, and civility matters. It makes a difference when you tell our workforce that you deeply respect their expertise and service and will protect them,” Coleman explained.
Coleman further discussed President Biden’s initial executive actions aimed at protecting the health and safety of the federal workforce, restoring a focus on scientific integrity, and preventing the politicization of the workforce. Coleman noted the importance of collaborating with employee unions and stakeholders and President Biden’s actions to that end.
As a next step, Coleman explained the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on reviewing and reversing policies, actions, and rhetoric from the previous administration which may have had a negative impact on the federal workforce.
Following Coleman’s address, host Jason Briefel sat down with Loren DeJonge Schulman, Vice President of Research and Evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service and Terry Gerton, President and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
The group discussed the Partnership’s recent report on Transforming Human Resources in the federal sector. The report includes a case study on the Department of State’s efforts to prioritize human resource management.
“State has already done some good investments in their human capital functions through some centralization to increase better consistency in HR services. They have run into some challenges along the way that didn’t quite account for culture [within the Department] but have also seen some improvement. There is still a long way to go at the State Department… the State Department hasn’t been reauthorized in decades. There are authorities that it desperately needs in order to modernize much of its systems to correct disparities between civil service and foreign service personnel management, to have better end to end talent management systems, to improve information technology… and to correct some real challenges we see in its ability to attract, retain, and promote diverse talent,” DeJonge Schulman explained.
NAPA’s recent report on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) highlights the role of the federal government’s central human resource office in revitalizing human capital management. The NAPA report recommends clarifying the mission of OPM and moving away from a compliance focus.
“In the government we get squeezed by the amount of time we have to spend on compliance activities and that doesn’t start with the agency HR office, it starts with OPM. So I think one of the critical recommendations we make in our report that could help facilitate that better customer interaction at the delivery level is to move OPM from a focus on 100% compliance inspection to a risk based management approach to compliance,” Gerton explained.
A consistent theme of the conversation was the need for agency leadership, executive branch leadership, and Congress to come together to emphasize focus on the federal workforce. The guests talked through different paths for addressing these issues in each branch and amongst agencies.
You can stream the show online anytime via the Federal News Network app and listen to the FEDtalk podcast on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts.
FEDtalk is a live talk show produced by Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm. Bringing you the insider’s perspective from leaders in the federal community since 1993.
FEDtalk is sponsored by the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). The FLTCIP is sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, insured by John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company, under a group long term care insurance policy, and administered by Long Term Care Partners, LLC (doing business as FedPoint).