From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Talent Management Strategies for Federal Agencies to Better Meet Their Missions Description: GAO takes a look at how agencies can address trends affecting the future of federal work and workers. Related GAO Work: GAO-19-181: Federal Workforce: Key Talent Management Strategies for Agencies to Better Meet Their Missions Released: April 2019 [ Background Music ] [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] There are many challenges out there, but I think that the good news is that agencies aren't helpless. [ Matt Oldham: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Matt Oldham. Some employment policies within the federal government have been in place for generations. And it probably doesn't take much imagination to think of some changes in employment trends in that time like with budgets, contracting, or demographics. I'm with Robert Goldenkoff, a Strategic Issues director, who led a GAO report looking into how federal agencies can respond to changes in the workforce as they continue to hire current and future workers. Thank you for joining me, Robert. [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you. [ Matt Oldham: ] Did you find the federal government has been keeping up with changes in the federal workforce? [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] We've been tracking this issue now for at least 20 years. And during that time, we found that Congress, the Office of Personnel Management, and individual agencies have made changes to make themselves more competitive in the labor market and to address the needs of different workers coming into the workforce. But overall, we found that agencies need to do more. For example, the basic underpinnings of today's federal talent management system, how we classify employees and the Civil Service Reform Act are decades old. Classification system, that law was passed back in 1949. Last year, the Civil Service Reform Act celebrated its 40th birthday. So they were designed for a type of work and workforce that no longer exists. Today's workforce and today's work requires more skills, higher degree levels and so things need to change. [ Matt Oldham: ] So what are some of the bigger changes that we've been seeing in the past years? [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] First and foremost, there is technological advances. And these technological advances are going to change both the way work is done but also where work is done. We're also seeing an increased reliance on nonfederal entities in order to carry out the work of the federal government. A third trend we're seeing are fiscal constraints. And this is both the need to do more with less but it also deals with how agencies are structured to conduct their business. We're seeing a lot of overlap and duplication and fragmentation in the business of government. Agencies' missions are evolving and that's going to require some changes as well. And then we're also seeing, of course, changing demographics and shifting attitudes towards work. The federal workforce is aging. Increasingly, there is a large number of employees who are eligible for retirement so there is a risk of skills gaps there. But the important thing is that it both needs to be managed but also it'll be important to be mindful of this next generation of workers and be mindful of their needs and expectations of their employers because it will be different than the workforce of today. [ Matt Oldham: ] So then what's at risk if agencies aren't able to hire in a way that keeps up with these changes? [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] Well, strategic human capital management is already on GAOs High-Risk List and actually has been on our High-Risk List since 2001. So it's one of 35 high-risk areas but what's interesting about that is that if you look at the 34 other high-risk areas, talent management played a role in 16 of those 34 areas being on our high-risk list. So the point being that until and unless you address these human capital issues behind these high-risk areas, any improvements are going to be slow in coming. And so we've already seen this in such areas -- for example cyber security. There are skill gaps there and that's affecting the security of our data at different federal agencies. We've seen this at the Veteran's Health Administration where difficulties recruiting and retaining doctors and nurses and other clinical staff are affecting the quality of care that are given to our nation's veterans. So there is this direct connection between talent management processes and agencies' performance. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] It sounds like with things like evolving technology, tighter budgets, and changing mission requirements, hiring authorities within the federal government could find themselves with some skill gaps if they can't keep up with these changes. So, Robert, did your team have any recommendations for federal agencies? [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] Well, we did not have any recommendations in this report, but we did include recommendations that we made in prior reports over the years that address some of these trends. One of them is aligning human capital strategies with current and future requirements. We also made a series of recommendations on how agencies acquire and assign talent. A third area where we've made recommendations involves how we incentivize and compensate federal employees. So there are already a lot of flexibilities in how we pay employees as one example, also how we hire employees, but agencies aren't taking advantage of those flexibilities. And in a final area where we've made recommendations is how agencies engage employees. And agencies need to do a better job of that and this requires new supervisory skills. [ Matt Oldham: ] Well, Robert, last question. What do you believe is the bottom line of this report? [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] Well, there are many challenges out there, but I think that the good news is that agencies aren't helpless, that there's a lot that agencies can do to make themselves more competitive in the labor market. Basically that means giving human capital, people, a seat at the table and thinking about human capital in the policy and business decisions of an agency. Number two: building a culture within an organization that values human capital and sees that there's a direct connection between talent management and organizational performance. And it’s practice, basically having the talent management practices that meet the needs of the next generation of federal employees. [ Matt Oldham: ] Robert Goldenkoff is a Strategic Issues director at GAO. And he was talking about his report on how the federal government can respond to changes in the workforce. Take you for your time, Robert. [ Robert Goldenkoff: ] Well, thank you. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.