Measuring leadership — and identifying federal agencies that breed effective leaders–has rarely been a simple undertaking. Keep reading →
Office of Personnel Management
The federal workforce, 2.1 million strong, has been the subject of growing criticism as of late. Much of the criticism is unfair. There are many dedicated people working in the federal government; though there are certainly some clinging to the status quo. In any case, in a terrible economy, public calls for federal workforce accountability are entirely reasonable.
One reform measure would be to change what has become tantamount to an indefinite tenure system for the federal workforce. Renewable, four-year term appointments for new employees entering government would increase the accountability of federal positions without causing major disruption. This would begin to counter the criticism. Keep reading →
The story last week about the Office of Personnel Management bringing in a 25-year IT veteran, David Bohen, to serve as its new chief technology officer to concentrate on the agency’s outdated retirement system reminded me of my own recent experience with the federal retirement system.
I left federal government service over a year ago after 30+ years, but decided to delay my formal retirement because I was too busy and had heard about the long delays in processing retirement applications.
In fact, I remember well listening to OPM Director John Berry’s keynote at the FOSE Institute Knowledge Management Conference last May and about the improvements in processing time that had, and would, be made under his leadership. That gave me hope that if I waited a little longer my experience would be better and it was.
I was especially interested in the part of the story that said: “OPM also created a proof of concept of an online retirement application to demonstrate how an electronic, web-based application could be used to collect data from an applicant and his or her agency human resource office that is required when an employee retires. This information could be used to reduce dependence on the current paper process.”
The paper (online PDF) application was the only thing that really bothered me because I thought in this day and age it would be electronic.
So here are the things I learned and the timeline I experienced:
The online PDF form Application for Immediate Retirement (CSRS) and is 20 pages long. (Less than my OMB online security clearance which was over 50 pages long!)
You do not need to complete the Certified Summary of Federal Service part of the form(SF2801 pages 17-20) because your agency should forward that to OPM soon after you leave your agency. The story mentioned “on average, it takes 133 days to process requests for employee salary records from various agency in order to calculate retirement payouts. I really like that OPM starts giving you a interim payment that is usually less than the final calculated amount.
I sent my paperwork on November 22nd. Note: The paperwork should be sent to: US Office of Personnel Management, P.O. Box 440, Boyers, PA 16017-0440, unless you are in a hurry like I was, and then it should be overnighted to: 1137 Branchton Road, Boyers, PA 16017-0440. It cannot be hand-delivered to OPM in Washington, DC.
Keep reading →
The Office of Personnel Management has brought in a 25-year IT veteran, David Bowen, to serve as its new chief technology officer, an OPM spokeswoman confirmed today. His mission is to concentrate on the agency’s outdated retirement system and ensure that its new governmentwide hiring site, USAJobs.gov, continues to function properly after a rocky start in October.
Bowen, who until earlier this month had been the Federal Aviation Administration’s CIO and Assistant Administrator, will be working as a detailee with OPM’s CIO, Matt Perry, in an effort to tackle a growing backlog retiree applications. Keep reading →
A new online service has put a spotlight on the 1000 most highly paid federal civil servants, renewing the debate on whether government employees are overcompensated.
The list of highest paid civil servants, issued by an Internet start-up firm, WikiOrgCharts, provides a new perspective on the extent to which doctors, lawyers and banking professionals hold top paying government jobs and the sizable incomes that the federal government pays to attract senior management talent. Keep reading →
February’s “snowmaggeddon” storm that trapped commuters in their cars for hours during evening rush hour, has prompted a new set of dismissal and closure notifications for federal employees aimed at preventing a repeat of such problems.
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry announced the new procedures Thursday. Keep reading →
The General Services Administration instituted a new governmentwide telework policy Monday that essentially flips the managerial presumption that employees cannot telecommute to one that presumes they can. It also sets a new benchmark in detailing the government’s mobility and telework guidelines for federal employees and supervisors.
“Work is what we do, not where we are,” the GSA policy states, and a phrase that GSA Administrator Martha Johnson often repeats in her public remarks. Keep reading →
When a government senior executive once showed up for a new job, he had to ask where his office was. “There was a name tag on my door but the office had an antiquated computer and no Blackberry,” the executive said. Not exactly a propitious start.
The Office of Personnel Management wants to put an end to that kind of inhospitable experience for new leaders from the Senior Executive Service. Keep reading →
A just-released survey of more than 266,300 federal employees reveals a remarkably positive workforce that, despite the prospects of shutdowns, pay freezes and benefit reductions, still views the federal government and the agencies employees work for as a good place to work.
A large majority of federal employees (85 percent) like the work they do. And as recurring evidence of what often separates public sector work from the private sector, 92 percent believe the work they do is important. Still, as the threat of budget cutbacks and uncertainty loom over federal employees working all over the globe, a substantial portion–nearly seven out of every 10 federal employees– say they recommend their organization as a good place to work. Keep reading →
Last week, my organization and Deloitte released a snapshot of the Best Places to Launch a Career in the Federal Government.
The good news for government is that a majority of new federal employees under the age of 30 report high levels of overall satisfaction when it comes to their specific jobs and agencies. Keep reading →