Department of Defense: Additional Actions and Data Are Needed to Effectively Manage and Oversee DOD's Acquisition Workforce
GAO-09-342
Published: Mar 25, 2009. Publicly Released: Mar 25, 2009.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Since 2001, the Department of Defense's (DOD) spending on goods and services has more than doubled to $388 billion in 2008, while the number of civilian and military acquisition personnel has remained relatively stable. To augment its in-house workforce, DOD relies heavily on contractor personnel. If it does not maintain an adequate workforce, DOD places its billion-dollar acquisitions at an increased risk of poor outcomes and vulnerability to fraud, waste, and abuse. GAO was asked to (1) assess DOD's ability to determine whether it has a sufficient acquisition workforce, (2) assess DOD initiatives to improve the management and oversight of its acquisition workforce, and (3) discuss practices of leading organizations that could provide insights for DOD's acquisition workforce oversight. To do this, GAO analyzed key DOD studies, obtained data from 66 major weapon system program offices across DOD, and interviewed officials from 4 program offices. GAO also met with representatives from six companies recognized as leaders in workforce management.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status Sort descending |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To better ensure that DOD's acquisition workforce is the right size with the right skills and that the department is making the best use of its resources, the Secretary of Defense should collect and track data on contractor personnel who supplement the acquisition workforce--including their functions performed, skill sets, and length of service--and conduct analyses using these data to inform acquisition workforce decisions regarding the appropriate number and mix of civilian, military, and contractor personnel the department needs. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In January 2011, GAO reported that DOD's inventory of contractor provided services had limitations with regard to determining the number of contractor personnel and the functions they supported. Additionally, the inventory is not intended to assess the skill sets of contractor personnel. In May 2013, GAO reported on DOD's acquisition workforce planning efforts to date and identified several remaining shortcomings (GAO-13-470). Specifically, DOD has yet to assess the appropriate mix of its military, civilian, and contractor personnel capabilities, and DOD has not updated its policies and procedures to guide the use of the inventory of contracted services to determine the appropriate mix of personnel needed. In addition, GAO found that the contractor FTE estimates DOD reported in its FY2013 and FY2014 budget submissions have significant limitations and do not accurately reflect the number of contractors providing services to DOD. In this recent report, we recommended that DOD revise its existing workforce policies and procedures to address the (1) determination of the appropriate workforce mix, and (2) identification of critical functions.
|
| Department of Defense | To better ensure that DOD's acquisition workforce is the right size with the right skills and that the department is making the best use of its resources, the Secretary of Defense should identify and update on an ongoing basis the number and skill sets of the total acquisition workforce--including civilian, military, and contractor personnel--that the department needs to fulfill its mission. DOD should use this information to better inform its resource allocation decisions. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In January 2013, GAO recommended that DOD use competency gap analyses to assist in decision making regarding the size of its civilian workforce. In May 2013, GAO reported on DOD's acquisition workforce planning efforts to date and identified several remaining shortcomings (GAO-13-470). Specifically, DOD has yet to assess the appropriate mix of its military, civilian, and contractor personnel capabilities, and DOD has not updated its policies and procedures to guide the use of the inventory of contracted services to determine the appropriate mix of personnel needed. In this recent report, we recommended that DOD revise its existing workforce policies and procedures to address the (1) determination of the appropriate workforce mix, and (2) identification of critical functions.
|
| Department of Defense | To better ensure that DOD's acquisition workforce is the right size with the right skills and that the department is making the best use of its resources, the Secretary of Defense should review and revise the criteria and guidance for using contractor personnel to clarify under what circumstances and the extent to which it is appropriate to use contractor personnel to perform acquisition-related functions. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In May 2013, GAO reported on DOD's acquisition workforce planning efforts to date and identified several remaining shortcomings (GAO-13-470). Specifically, DOD has yet to assess the appropriate mix of its military, civilian, and contractor personnel capabilities, and DOD has not updated its policies and procedures to guide the use of the inventory of contracted services to determine the appropriate mix of personnel needed. In this recent report, we recommended that DOD revise its existing workforce policies and procedures to address the (1) determination of the appropriate workforce mix, and (2) identification of critical functions.
|
| Department of Defense | To better ensure that DOD's acquisition workforce is the right size with the right skills and that the department is making the best use of its resources, the Secretary of Defense should develop a tracking mechanism to determine whether the guidance has been appropriately implemented across the department. The tracking mechanism should collect information on the reasons contractor personnel are being used, such as whether they were used because of civilian staffing limits, civilian hiring time frames, a lack of in-house expertise, budgetary provisions, cost, or other reasons. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In May 2013, GAO reported on DOD's acquisition workforce planning efforts to date and identified several remaining shortcomings (GAO-13-470). Specifically, DOD has yet to assess the appropriate mix of its military, civilian, and contractor personnel capabilities, and DOD has not updated its policies and procedures to guide the use of the inventory of contracted services to determine the appropriate mix of personnel needed. In this recent report, we recommended that DOD revise its existing workforce policies and procedures to address the (1) determination of the appropriate workforce mix, and (2) identification of critical functions.
|
Full Report
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
Contract administrationContract performanceContractor personnelData collectionData integrityDefense capabilitiesDefense procurementDepartment of Defense contractorsEmployee retentionHiring policiesHuman capitalHuman capital managementHuman capital planningMilitary forcesMilitary procurementPersonnel recruitingProcurementProcurement planningProcurement practicesSkilled laborStaff utilizationStrategic planning