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In remarks at a press conference announcing the white paper, SEA President Carol A. Bonosaro said, "We recognize that the paper we are releasing today will join a hefty set of documents from a number of good government groups, all seeking to advise the next Administration on how best to govern. We believe that our advice is critical - because it provides a foundation for success that is rooted in how to best utilize the critical human resource represented by the career Federal executive service.
"As the Senior Executives Association looked ahead to this year, we were focused on two major issues - restoring career leadership and reforming the Senior Executive Service pay and performance management system. The latter is especially important in view of the large number of career executives eligible to retire and the persistent reports of many talented and able potential applicants being dissuaded from aspiring to the SES positions which will be vacated.
"The foundation of this paper, however, rests on the cardinal role of the career Senior Executive - that of serving any and every Administration to the very best of his or her ability without regard to personal political beliefs. Put another way, the career executive is essential to the success of the political appointee(s) with whom he or she works.
"Therefore, we believe it important to also outline the steps which should be taken to facilitate the transition and contribute to the Obama Administration's ability to achieve its objectives. While the career executive/political appointee interface typically functions well, a substantial amount of time can elapse before that occurs in a given relationship or in a new Administration. It is in everyone's interest to minimize the time required for the career-political team to function successfully.
"At the time we started this project, few could imagine the huge challenges that would be faced by the next Administration. These challenges have made the message of this paper even more urgent. The Association looks forward to the 44th President and his Administration considering our recommendations carefully. We would also welcome an opportunity to work together to develop an effective partnership with the career executive corps, one that will better enable effectively addressing the issues confronting the nation."
Among the recommendations for action during the transition are:
- Placing knowledgeable former career executives on the transition teams assembled for departments and agencies;
- Naming high-performing career executives to jobs that have become the province of political appointees, namely Assistant Secretaries for Administration and other key positions that require experience and longevity to accomplish long term agendas such as energy policy;
- Cutting the number of appointed positions substantially and reducing the political layers which have multiplied over the years; and
- Developing a plan for a single, clear focus on the government's most valuable human resource, the career executive corps.
Recommendations for action once in office include:
- Meeting early in the first months with the career executive corps to send a signal of the Administration's view of the career corps as partners in meeting its key goals;
- Ensuring that political appointees are fully briefed on the value and operation of the career executive corps; and
- Directing agency political leadership to schedule, early in the term, focused, intensive meetings with their career executives to establish working relations and share policy and management goals.
Finally, recommendations for action during the term of the Administration include:
- To enhance communication and recognition, scheduling an annual Presidential address to career executive leaders at Constitution Hall, as well as the appearance of the President or the Vice President at the SEA banquet held each April in honor of the Presidential Distinguished Rank Executives;
- A series of administrative actions to restore career leadership, including requiring a pre-appointment review for all appointments of Schedule C and noncareer SES employees to competitive service positions (in contrast to the current requirement for such review commencing June 1 of an election year); and
- Support for legislation 1) to improve the SES "pay for performance" system and address pay compression, 2) to restore career leadership, and 3) to authorize part-time employment for retired executives with no reduction in annuity to offset the impending massive loss of experience and institutional knowledge.
Review the white paper, titled "A Message to the 44th President, Meeting Your Objectives Through Partnership with the Career Executive Service."
Under the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, several significant changes were made in the law governing the training and development of federal employees, supervisors, managers, and executives. One major change requires agencies, in consultation with OPM, to provide training to managers on mentoring employees.
In collaboration with several agencies, which are noted for their innovative and effective mentoring program and best practices, OPM developed the report as a tool to assist agencies in creating a business case for mentoring and as an outline of the critical steps in developing and implementing a formal mentoring program.
The PMF Program is a premier program for leadership development in the federal government and serves as a cornerstone of agency succession planning efforts to address pending human capital challenges. The PMF Program attracts outstanding graduate, law, and doctoral-level students from all academic disciplines in top ranked schools across the country and around the world. More than 400 PMFs enter the federal leadership pipeline every year, and OPM says the quality of the candidates, as rated by the agencies, remains exceptionally high.
Agencies are also being reminded that Presidential Management Fellows are available for hire year round, providing a constant stream of available talent. Currently, there are more than 300 PMFs available who are eligible for immediate placement with graduate degrees in Business, Finance, Environmental Science, Health Administration, Physical Science, Public Administration and more from top graduate schools such as Georgetown, Yale, Columbia University, Princeton, and Harvard. Agency PMF Coordinators have access to the list of PMFs currently available.
For more information, go to the PMF website at https://www.pmf.opm.gov/.
Two current United States Postal Service employees have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone. Kevin L. Lane, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Boston Field Division, United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, and Joseph Finn, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, have announced that Gerald J. Sadkowski, age 30, and Brian M. Faulkner, age 37, both of Massachusetts, were charged in a Complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone.
The Complaint alleges that between July and October 2008, Sadkowski and Faulkner conspired to distribute Oxycodone while employees of the U.S. Postal Service. The Complaint alleges that the pair sold Oxycodone on postal property and while on-duty as postal employees.
If convicted of the charges, Sadkowski and Faulkner face up to 20 years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine.
