Recruitment, Retention, and Utilization of Federal Scientists and Engineers (1990) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
APPENDIX C: WORKSHOP ON RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
APPENDIX C: WORKSHOP ON RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
Pages 143-179
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 143... ...
APPENDIX C WORKSHOP ON RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS Agenda Participants Proceedings 143 145 147 149
|
From page 145... ...
Merit Systems Protection Board 1:00 Differences in Recruitment, Retention, and Utilization Processes: A Comparison of Traditionally Operated Federal Laboratories, GOCOs, and Demonstration Projects* Sheldon B
|
From page 147... ...
Ragone, acting assistant director for research, U.S. Geological Survey Department of Transportation: Brian Andrews, supervisory computer scientist, Federal Aviation Administration Nancy Mowry, supervisory personnel management specialist Environmental Protection Agency: Clarence Hardy, deputy director, Office of Human Resources Management National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Dale Compton, acting director, Ames Research Center Robert E
|
From page 148... ...
Carey, chairman, Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (OSEP) Claudia Dissel, associate executive director, OSEP Alan Fechter, executive director, OSEP Michael Finn, director of studies and surveys, OSEP Steve Merrill, director, Office of Government Affairs Lawrence E
|
From page 149... ...
; ownership of intellectual property; the quality of the working environment, which varies substantially from lab to lab; and the increase in the number of noncareer appointees in the federal government and their effects on the quality of people that are attracted to federal service and institutional memory. Quantitative Inputs to Federal Technical Personnel Management Dr.
|
From page 150... ...
NSF provides data in 13 different types of tables in its annual Federal Scientists and Engineers. In addition, NSF provides data on the whole national science and engineering labor force, including the federal sector, facilitating comparisons across sectors of employment.
|
From page 151... ...
For example, although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is only the seventh largest employer of scientists and engineers in the federal government, environmental issues are the second largest focus of work activities of federal scientists and engineers.
|
From page 152... ...
" Having responsibility for the measurement of occupational employment at all levels, BES examined salary data for engineers-learning that those engineers who earn top salaries are managers of engineering work; thus, in the standard occupational classification structure, they are considered to be managers. Yet they are still engineers: they are trained as engineers and many of them are still doing engineering research, but they also are managing.
|
From page 153... ...
Mr. RAGONE commented on the 4 percent turnover rate cited in OPM data for hydrologists: of the 2,170 federally employed hydrologists, less than 200 work in the research program of the U.S.
|
From page 154... ...
NRL keeps more detailed, exhaustive information to deal with its own problems, retaining items that have been dropped from the OPM data base. Data disaggregated by NRL have enabled the agency to compare its i,800 scientists and engineers, more than 50 percent having Ph.D.s, with comparable agencies on a quartile basis, using maturity curves.
|
From page 155... ...
Quality of the Work Force: Several workshop participants emphasized that the most useful data would be those that indicate the quality of the federal scientific and engineering work force.
|
From page 156... ...
Dr. ROBINSON stated that improving the quality of the federal science and engineering work force is probably the most important issue for improving the way the government deals with science and technology, and Mr.
|
From page 157... ...
Meeting Federal Work Force Needs With Regard to Scientists and Engineers: The Role of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Mr.
|
From page 158... ...
" To answer that question, one needs to understand the changes that have occurred in the environment within which the government recruits. Twenty years ago, the hiring process for federal scientists and engineers was largely centralized in the U.S.
|
From page 159... ...
The individuals hired may be in government for a long time. With regard to OPM's role in the process, MSPB has looked at delegation and decentralization as part of its review of efforts to simplify personnel management.
|
From page 160... ...
Compounding the situation is that the department has little training money to advance mediocre applicants. Thus some hope that the proposed defense cutbacks and current hiring freeze will result in gravitation and cross-line transfers from DoD to DOT.
|
From page 161... ...
Mr. KLEIN noted that disillusionment sets in among entry-level scientists and engineers when they find they won't be doing real engineering work but rather preparing to be contract managers because so much federal work is contracted out.
|
From page 162... ...
Hiring Authority Dr. CAMPBELL reinforced the idea that, if there is one major cultural difference between the federal government and the private sector, it is the degree to which the chief personnel officer is the line officer.
|
From page 163... ...
AMBLER emphasized that Congress, OPM, and the departmental personnel offices should have no role in that process after granting agencies the flexibility, but Mr. PALGUTA concluded that a higher level decision-making, that of Congress and OMB, currently preempts OPM and the agencies from achieving greater flexibility.
|
From page 164... ...
Dr. NUMRICH wondered about the effect the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
|
From page 165... ...
Differences in Recruitment, Retention, and Utilization Processes: A Comparison of Traditionally Operated Federal Laboratories, M&O Facilities, and Demonstration Projects Dr. CLARK discussed some imaginative and different approaches to the management of the federal government's R&D activities, looking at labs directly operated by the government, contracted labs, and some of the civil service demonstration projects undertaken to provide increased flexibility to federal agencies.
|
From page 166... ...
Discussion Demonstration Projects Mr. THOMPSON cited the measurable benefits of the Navy demonstration projects as identified by OPM: (~)
|
From page 167... ...
Although lacking authority to grant recruitment bonuses, China Lake does have direct-hire authority and the authority to adjust beginring salaries beyond the broad pay band to be competitive in the marketplace. Assignment of position classification is the responsibility of line managers, with audits by the personnel department after the fact.
|
From page 168... ...
CAMPBELL felt that OPM would support demonstration projects, but Dr. NUMRICH believed OMB would oppose increasing the number of projects involving scientists and engineers; furthermore, OMB has criticized the existing demonstration projects as having not proved success through the use of acceptable metrics such as increased productivity.
|
From page 169... ...
Dr. KLINE said that when he attended Cabinet meetings during the 1980s, support for demonstration projects that would enhance the recruitment and retention of scientists and engineers was not forthcoming because the data showed an attrition rate of only 5 percent for scientists and engineers, half of the government-wide rate in general.
|
From page 170... ...
Dr. LYONS did not consider that a serious problem: the NIST demonstration project resembles an industrial personnel system.
|
From page 171... ...
Mid-Career and Senior Levels: Agencies-particularly demonstration projects-have devised special provisions to address issues dealing with supervisors and senior scientists. At NIST these included higher salary offers, a program of NBS fellows, and supervisor differentials of 3 percent for group leaders and 6 percent for division chiefs (NIST has no employees in the super grades GS-16 to -18, about two dozen on the ST salary schedule, and slightly more than 100 in the SES)
|
From page 172... ...
AMBLER, pay for performance was implemented at NIST before the demonstration project; it is a lot of work but is considered to be much better than the alternative. In fact, NIST hesitates to give retention bonuses because the whole system is based on pay for performance, and it is better to give employees permanent adjustment to base salary.
|
From page 173... ...
Dr. NORWOOD asked whether demonstration projects have been tried in an atmosphere where at least the m~ddle-level employees are unionized.
|
From page 174... ...
Finally, scientists and engineers expect political appointees to duly consider their work and to buffer these technical people from the whims of the political wind. Discussion Dr.
|
From page 175... ...
During the first year political appointees must develop loyalties with the career employees. A PAS member must develop a better image of the federal employee and be open-minded and willing to cooperate with the career staff.
|
From page 176... ...
CAMPBELL asked where political appointees should be in the system. The civil service Reform Act, which eliminated the designation of positions as either political or career and specified that no more than 10 percent of the SES appointments could be noncareer, attempted to open up higher level positions to career people, thereby making it possible for them to be appointed to assistant secretary positions and the like.
|
From page 177... ...
He said that political appointees can be good or bad, but if an agency has no political appointees, it will instead have a congressional oversight committee a situation that creates its own set of complications. General Discussion Dr.
|
From page 178... ...
Past Initiatives To Recruit Scientists and Engineers Dr. NUMRICH suggested looking at various initiatives, including DoD's attempt to extend the Naval Ocean Systems Center/Naval Weapons Center demonstration project to the rest of the department's laboratories, and evaluating why they have failed.
|
From page 179... ...
Dr. FALK said that although such committees could be effective, the real solution is establishing one central organization responsible not only for the welfare of science but also for the effectiveness of the federal science and engineering work force; such an organization could be the one to fight the political battle.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.