The United States was underrepresented in three of the five UN agencies we reviewed, and increased hiring of U.S. citizens is needed to meet agreed-upon employment targets. Based on UN agencies' formal or informal targets for equitable geographic representation, U.S. citizens were underrepresented at IAEA, UNESCO, and UNHCR, and equitably represented at the UN Secretariat, though close to the low

GAO supports moving forward with appropriate human capital reforms and believes that implementing more market-based and performance-oriented pay systems is both doable and desirable. Importantly, broad-based human capital reform must be part of a broader strategy of change management and performance improvement initiatives and cannot be simply overlaid on existing ineffective performance manageme

The demonstration projects took a variety of approaches to designing and implementing their pay for performance systems to meet the unique needs of their cultures and organizational structures. GAO strongly supports the need to expand pay for performance in the federal government. How it is done, when it is done, and the basis on which it is done can make all the difference in whether such effort

The proposed human capital system is designed to be aligned with the department's mission requirements and is intended to protect the civil service rights of DHS employees. Many of the basic principles underlying the DHS regulations are consistent with proven approaches to strategic human capital management, including several approaches pioneered by GAO, and deserve serious consideration. However

Public sector organizations both in the United States and abroad have implemented a selected, generally consistent set of key practices for effective performance management that collectively create a clear linkage--"line of sight"--between individual performance and organizational success. These key practices include the following. (1) Align individual performance expectations with organizational

Employers face potential tax, regulatory, and liability barriers when they establish telecommuting programs for their employees. Telecommuting refers to working from remote locations rather than an employer-provided location. Even though telecommuting has grown, some proponents are concerned that various laws and regulations discourage employers from establishing these programs. Many telecommutin

GAO presented summary tables of GAO personnel assigned to congressional committees for fiscal year 1997, including their salary and other costs related to their work.

GAO discussed the size and costs of the U.S. government's overseas diplomatic presence. GAO noted that: (1) half of the 37,800 federal employees employed abroad at diplomatic posts are americans; (2) federal agencies spent over $2.6 billion in fiscal year 1993 to maintain their overseas diplomatic presence; (3) agencies need to consider whether their diplomatic presence is essential, given world

GAO discussed the impact of the President's economic plan on federal employees. GAO noted that: (1) the government needs to attract and retain employees of high caliber to meet the challenges facing the government; (2) it has identified the importance of federal pay reform to attract and retain quality employees; (3) the President's proposals represent a reversal of positive steps taken to addres

GAO noted that: (1) to attract and retain a high-quality work force, the government must sustain the initiatives begun in the last 4 years and respond to other emerging issues; (2) federal managers do not always have the flexibility, systems, or processes they need to downsize the federal work force effectively; and (3) issues facing the federal government include modernizing employment practices