Recruitment, Retention, and Utilization of Federal Scientists and Engineers (1990) / Chapter Skim
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APPENDIX B: COMMISSIONED PAPERS
APPENDIX B: COMMISSIONED PAPERS
Pages 75-142
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. Quantitative Inputs to Federal Technical Personnel Management by Charles E
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. Furthermore, the usefulness of data collected in that study has led the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
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planning for the types and numbers of people needed. Perhaps the major problem facing those who pursue federal employment, at least in Washington, D.C., is that they must put their lives and finances "on public display in the fishbowI-on-the-Potomac" (Norton, 1989~.
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For instance, between 1981 and 1984 the Air Force TABLE 1: Quit Rates for DoD Engineers (in percent) Fiscal Year Quit Rate Fiscal Year Quit Rate 1975 1.8 1981 2.3 1976 1.5 1982 2.2 1977 2.0 1983 3.2 1978 2.4 1984 3.3 1979 2.5 1985 3.6 1980 2.4 SOURCE: General Accounting Office, Federal Work Force: Pay, Recruitment, and Retention of Federal Employees (GAO/GGD-87-37)
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Although the average annual DoD quit rate was 2.1 percent for the 1975-1982 period, it has remained around 3.4 percent since then, but staff have found no reason for this Jump. Factors Affecting Recruitment and Retention of Scientists and Engineers Several organizational, personal, and economic factors influence one's decision not to work for a federal agency or to leave federal employment: noncompetitive federal salaries, advancement opportunities, the nature of the work, geographic location of work, etc.
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Personnel Ceilings The 1979 GAO study of federal laboratories reports that "the directors were concerned over the adverse effect of personnel ceilings on their operations, [advocating for themselves] more personnel control, including hire and fire authority." Although 51 percent of the managers surveyed had control over the type of people hired and in what disciplines, the other 49 percent said that they must Beget approval or operate within parameters set by higher organizational levels.' Following close on the heels of the GAO study, DoD's Laboratory Management Task Force (1980)
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noted that the differences in salary for federal employees and their private-sector counterparts ranged from 26 percent on the General Schedule of Salaries to 65 percent for senior executives. Salary discrepancies are particularly prevalent for scientists and engineers, but such discrepancies depend on one's place of employment.
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. In 1986, when federal laboratories received $18 billion (or one-third)
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. In fact, the Committee to Study Strategies to Strengthen the Scientific Excellence of the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program (1988)
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, implying that the loss of federal scientists and engineers could be compounded by a change in retirement programs. Other Factors Still other factors influencing federal recruitment and retention of scientists and engineers have been noted not only in earlier studies but also recently by the press, including weak leadership within federal agencies, ownership of intellectual property, and ethics laws.
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One way of strengthening agency leadership, according to GAO (1987) , is participation in the training prescribed for Senior Executive Service (SES)
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. Among the senior executives who recently left federal employment after as much as IS years of service are William BalIhaus, Ir., director of NASA's Ames Research Center; Noel W
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Thus Congress considered legislation whereby scientists and engineers working in federal laboratories and cooperating with private industry could market their inventions that did not apply directly to the mission of the particular lab. This legislation was viewed as necessary because few federal scientists and engineers patent their work, yet they often publish their research.
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Two of the factors often cited as affecting the federal government's ability to recruit scientists and engineers are more tangible than others but appear to be just as difficult to correct: the geographic location of employment and quality of the working environment. Geographic Location of Employment: In considering whether to work for a federal agency, it is not unusual for an individual to consider the cost of living near the place of employment.
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Negative Public Image of Federal Service: Added together, the many factors cited above contribute to a negative public image of federal service, and at the same time the public has a poor image of scientists and engineers (Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, 1989~. The National Commission on the Public Service (1989)
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For example, most studies of the overall federal S&E work force note that recruitment and retention are adversely affected by such factors as personnel ceilings, salaries confined by civil service regulations, fringe benefit packages less attractive than those offered by other employment sectors, weak agency leadership, ethics laws, regulations governing ownership of intellectual property, geographic location of employment, quality of working environment, and the negative public image of federal service. However, there is often disagreement about the magnitude of the effects that these factors have on ..
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1989a. Untitled speech, Conference on Federal Workforce Quality Assessment, sponsored by the Office of Personnel Management and Merit Systems Protection Board, Washington, D.C., May 8.
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1987. Federal Work divorce: Pay, Recruitment, and Retention of Federal Employees.
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1989. Study of Federal Employee Locality Pay: Executive Summary.
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Thus any evaluation of the effectiveness of the federal technical personnel management system should assess both the adequacy of available data and whether such data are being used by those who operate and manage the system. To assist this facet of the study, this paper will explore the types of information required, briefly describe the data systems that provide this information, analyze some pertinent data readily available at this time, and finally make some recommendations related to the development and use of quantitative information on federal scientists and engineers.
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Dynamic Data One of the most important aspects of personnel management involves the dynamics of the work force. Related data provide information on the magnitude and characteristics of new hires.
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uses OPM data to produce an annual set of detailed statistical tables called Federal Scientists and Engineers: 19 -- . These reports present annual snapshots of the federal science and engineering work force and contain such descriptive data as occupation, agency, sex, highest degree level, primary work activity, management or supervisory status, median salary, and years or service.
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Consequently, the NSF system also covers individuals who have degrees in science and engineering but are not working in science and engineering occupations. Dynamic Data Information on the dynamics of the federal work force can be derived from the OPM data base.
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Clearly any future study of the processes of federal S&E personnel management should examine these possibilities. Descriptive Data The numerical information shown below comes from NSF reports that compile OPM data in a form compatible with other NSF human resource data.
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220 200 ~0 1 60 1 40 ~ 20 ~7 o1 00 - , , 80 - , 60 - , 40 - , 20 O / 1 L~ , ~ _ / / \ / \ / ~ / \ / \ / \ / \ /' \ / \ / ~ / \ / ~ \ \ l r r r 1 1 1 1 1 DoD USDA Interior BASE HHS Comm EPA DoE Vet Adm TVA DOT Other Selected Federal Agencies V~'l 1988 ~1978 TOTAL SOURCES: National Science Foundation, Federal Scientists and Eng'1'eers: 1988 and Federal Scientific and Technical Personnel: 1974 Ig77, and 1978, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office; OPM data.
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Because several agencies may work on a single issue of national concern, one cannot assume that distribution by agency reflects national interest or priority. For example, although EPA ranks only seventh among the agencies in terms of total S&E employment, the proportion of federal scientists and engineers who engage in environmentally related activities ranks second (Figure 3)
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Federal scientists and engineers, by highest academic degree earned, 19XS (in percent)
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Natural Resource Operations (7.9%) SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Federal Scientists and Engineers: 1988, Washington, D.C.: U.S.
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These relatively low figures have important implications for the future if the federal government or the nation should have difficulties in attracting sufficient numbers of scientists and engineers into their respective work forces. Salary The salaries of federal scientists and engineers, compared with those in other employment sectors, can be an important indicator of the federal government's competitiveness in the human resources marketplace.
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Age Age distribution, particularly the proportion of those beyond the age of 55, will have a significant impact on the federal government's requirements for S&E replacements during the next decade. The 1986 distribution, compiled from OPM data, shows that 14 percent of the S&E work force are older than 55.
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, Accession and Separation These are probably two of the most important data elements that are not made available in regularly published form but that can be accessed by agencies. One might argue that there is no need to publish these data since they are mostly used for internal personnel management.
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Moreover, a cursory examination of the system seems to indicate that personnel units in individual agencies are not using this available central resource, and the reasons for this should be explored. Any future examination of the personnel management of federal scientists and engineers 107
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Efforts should be made periodically to generate quantitative information on job satisfaction, reasons for separations, and quality of newly hired as well as experienced scientists and engineers. The current experimental efforts of the DoD and OPM are steps in the right direction.
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U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
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was assigned major, but by no means sole, responsibility for federal work force management. Indeed, a major thrust of the Reform Act was to provide greater flexibility and creativity to federal personnel management.
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Furthermore, although the total number of federal employees has remained remarkably stable for more than 20 years, the number and thus the proportion of employees who are in engineering and scientific occupations has steadily increased. From 1965 to 1985 the number of engineers employed by the federal government increased by 50 percent to approximately 103,000.
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In a 1986 MSPB survey returned by a representative cross-section of more than 16,000 federal employees, the Board asked supervisors whether the quality of applicants for different categories of job vacancies in their work group had improved, remained the same, or worsened during the previous four years. Commenting on the quality of the applicants for GS-5-7 entry-level professional or administrative positions, more than a third (36 percent)
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On the issue of salary, although different methods for calculating salary comparisons between the federal government and private industry yield different results, all of the major comparisons that have been done show that the federal government pays less, often significantly less, at the entry level for scientists and engineers. For example, the Department of Labor's Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical survey concluded that, as of March 1987, a federal engineer at a GS-5 salary level of $19,303 made 50 percent less than a private sector counterpart at $2S,95S, and at a GS-7 salary level of $23,956, an engineer in the federal government still made more than a third less than a private sector counterpart at $32,295.
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The Role of OPM In a recent assessment of the first 10 years of the OPM, the MSPB Board (1989b) noted that under the Civil Service Reform Act, OPM was expected to: delegate personnel management authorities judiciously to other federal agencies, including authority to conduct ~5
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. competitive examinations, to enhance the operation of the federal civil service system within the context of the merit system principles; establish and maintain an aggressive oversight program to ensure that federal personnel management authorities are being used in accordance with the merit system principles and to gather data and analyses that will help improve the civil service system; conduct or facilitate the conduct of research and demonstration projects to ultimately develop more effective or efficient methods of human resource management; and execute, administer, and enforce civil service laws, rules, and regulations, for the president, as one aspect of the provision of leadership and guidance to the federal civil service system.
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The relatively modest turnover rate among engineers and scientists suggests that the perception of the government as an undesirable employer is not fully shared by those in the best position to judge- that is, current employees. Indeed MSPB surveys have consistently found a very high level of job satisfaction among federal employees even though they also expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the work environment, such as pay.
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Shifting demographics, the rapidly changing international climate, and the declining image of federal employment all argue for some fundamental shifts in the way federal personnel management is carried out. This may be especially true as the government struggles to recruit motivate, and retain a large cadre of well-qualified engineers and scientists.
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OPM must continue recent initiatives to develop its internal research capability so that it can provide timely legislative proposals, recommend Presidential initiatives, and develop improved personnel management tools that can be adapted to the varied needs of individual federal agencies. OPM needs to demonstrate leadership in causing or influencing constructive change to the federal civil service system in response to the changing demands and pressures.
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l989c. Delegation and Decentralization: Personnel Management Simplification Efforts in Federal Govemment.
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Another group of alternative systems discussed in this paper includes two federal personnel demonstration projects. Also considered is a special-case federal agency, which has personnel policies and procedures that are markedly different from those of civil service agencies.
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Demonstration Projects Demonstration projects are conducted or supervised by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to determine whether a specified change in personnel practices or procedures will result in improved federal personnel management.
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One way to gain insight into what the laboratories perceive to be their problems in this area is to examine the objectives of the demonstration projects undertaken to overcome these problems. Navy Demonstration Project The two Navy demonstration laboratories are the Naval Weapons Center (NWC)
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To strengthen the manager's role in personnel management by delegating personnel authority to him or her; and 4. To increase the efficiency of personnel systems by installing a simpler and more flexible classification system.
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In the NIST demonstration project, in addition to higher starting salaries, recruitment and retention allowances are possible for all S&E positions. These allowances may not exceed $10,000 and are determined on the basis of relevant market factors such as special qualifications, turnover rates, and salary offer issues.
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OPM (1988) conducted a special study of the turnover rates at the Navy demonstration labs compared to the control labs.
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Perhaps more importantly, the new classification systems give labs more flexibility in managing salaries, including starting salaries. The changes in the classification system in the Navy demonstration project primarily involved combining the IS separate GS grade classifications into broad pay bands and simplifying the classification process.
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Certain kinds of performance bonuses also are acceptable under the M&O contracts. Because the pay bands incorporate at least two GS grades, the Navy demonstration labs have more discretion in determining the starting salary offers for new employees.
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Effective personnel management is hindered, since the ceilings tend to grow slower than budgets. Managers, who are best able to make decisions about how to allocate money and personnel to meet their programmatic commitments, are prevented from making the most productive decisions (IOM, 1988~.
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This trend underscores the necessity of civil service labs' being able to attract qualified scientists and engineers to fill the depleting ranks and especially of their improving the retention of senior staff to assume leadership roles. Conclusion As concern grows about the role of the federal civil service personnel system in the increasing inability of government laboratories to attract and retain high-quality scientists and engineers, there has been a call for more demonstration projects to address the shortcomings of the civil service system.
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1988b. Federal Workforce: Observations in the Navy's Personnel Management Demonstration Project (GAO Publication No.
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Other political appointees include about 650 noncareer Senior Executives and about 1650 Schedule C appointments at the GS-15 level and below. A certain proportion of these political positions are appropriate for those with science and engineering backgrounds.
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Commission on Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Salaries (December 1988~. The Volcker Commission findings are in Facing the Federal Compensation Crisis, report of the Task Force on Pay and Compensation to the National Commission on the Public Service (Washington, 1989~.
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Some complained of sizable legal and accounting fees merely to fill out the required forms. There was a corresponding increase in the number of appointees who felt that the financial disclosure requirements have gone too far: from 40 percent in the Carter administration to 64 per cent in the Reagan administration (NAPA, 1985; Mackenzie, 1986a)
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7 The NAPA survey found that the proportion of presidential appointees who reported that they made a "significant financial sacrifice" to accept their appointment increased from 40 percent in the Johnson administration to 52 percent in the Carter administration to 64 percent in the Reagan administration. In addition, "quality-of-life" factors declined.
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The number of PAS positions has increased from 152 in 1965 to 527 in 1985; noncareer Senior Executive Service (SES) positions increased from 582 in 1980 to 658 in 1986; Schedule C positions increased from 911 in 1976 to 1,665 in 1986.
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From 1979 to 1986, noncareer SES executives stayed in office an average of 20 months (Ban and Ingraham, 1986~. Among the difficulties caused by the increasing number of political appointees is difficulty of recruiting high-quality people for positions that are lower in prestige than executive level ~ or IT positions for relatively low pay.
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President Reagan's first personnel recruiter, Pendleton James, added that, even if offered a job in an administration, some scientists wilt turn it down for fear that their professional reputations might become "tainted" by political service. None of this is meant to imply that politics and political credentials are illegitimate in presidential recruiting, the point is that in looking for the best persons to run major programs for the government, the excessive use of political criteria may prematurely narrow the field and exclude those who might be best for the job but do not happen to have the right political experience.
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The President does not have time to be personally involved in recruiting for most PAS positions, but his attitude is decisive. He sets the tone for his recruiters, and by his final choices indicates whether he values professional qualities or prefers political loyalty over professional competence.
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Thus in accentuating the negative, the tone of this report should not overshadow the continuing very high quality of most political appointees and the scientists and engineers who have chosen public service. It must also be emphasized that any arguments about the level of quality of federal employees is inherently judgmental.
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Report of the Task Force on the Relations Between Political Appointees and Career Executives. Washington, D.C.: The Commission.
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