In this report, the authors look back at history, noting that the Department of Defense (DoD) has made numerous attempts to reform its acquisition system over the last 50 years, but that these and similar reforms have produced only modest improvements.
Following the customer service initiatives launched by Gore’s reinventing government team in the 1990s, the federal government has waxed and waned on the importance of customer service in the course of serving the public. Now that citizen satisfaction with government services is under 20 percent, a new law may turbo charge the emphasis if it is passed, since it would tie customer service to employees’ performance ratings.
“If you give your employees the chance to learn and grow, they’ll thrive – and so will your organization,” says Gretchen Spreitzer and Christine Porath in an article they wrote in the January-February 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Their article doesn’t focus on creating happy employees but rather “thriving” employees. They say the focus should not be on creating contentment but engageme
Their article doesn’t focus on creating happy employees but rather “thriving” employees. They say the focus should not be on creating contentment but engagement. After all, “contentment” connotes a degree of complacency, note the authors of the article.
How do you assess the effectiveness and impact of mission support functions -- human resources, acquisitions, finance, technology, etc. -- on an agency’s mission?
This is the challenge of leading in a multi-generational workforce, which now spans four generations, and is increasingly driven by rapid technological changes that have changed the nature of work and how it gets done.
There are enormous benefits that can result from telework: improved employee retention and reduced sick leave, cost savings from reduced use of office space and utilities, and reduced pollution from commuting. . . . and yes, the ability to work from home when it snows! In fact, a study by the Telework Research Network claims potential savings of about $3.8 billion a year if all eligible federal employees participated.
As the mid-term elections near, the debate over the size of government seems to be a hot button issue. Interestingly, the debate seems to have taken an unexpected turn. Two recent polls show a significant decrease in voters’ confidence in federal employees. According to a Politico-George Washington University-Battleground poll, confidence slipped from 75 percent in July 2009 to 66 percent in September 2010.
