Recently The Performance Institute held The Human Capital Dialogue on the Future of the Federal Workforce in Arlington, VA. The dialogue prompted discussion on the state of the federal workforce; and reviewed solutions to the number one problem facing the federal government, the aging workforce.

Included in the panel discussion were Congressman Danny Davis, Vince Taylor, Vice President and Director for Human Capital Management at the Center for Naval Analysis, Chief Human Capital Officer Jeffrey Risinger, Leadership Academy Director Chris Meyers Asche and moderator Katie Malague from The Partnership for Public Service.

Congressman Davis serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia.

Throughout the dialogue, Congressman Davis made it clear that one of the most important ways to ensure that necessary information is passed on to the next generation is through education. Davis mentioned some possible solutions to the federal workforce dilemma, one of which was to start in the schools by making sure students are properly educated.

A main challenge to the mandate is that American children are not receiving quality education and in fact are falling behind much of the world. At an alarming rate, jobs are being outsourced to many different parts of the world and this inhibits American productivity and creativity.

Leadership Academy Director Chris Meyers Asche made it clear that he felt education was an important tool in possibly avoiding the workforce crisis, but also instilling back a sense of pride and honor in working in the public service. Asche argues that if students feel a sense of dignity and appreciation in working for the federal government then combating the workforce dilemma is in fact a possibility.

Vince Taylor of the Center for Naval Analysis made it clear that aside from education, continuity of political appointees also presents itself as a problem in the workforce. Taylor noted, “Often, I tend to think that in some cases [career employees] tend do an equal and sometimes a better job. Why not make some of those positions permanent ... so that as transition teams come and go, there's some element of continuity”.

Political appointees unlike career employees are under different constraints and that makes it very difficult to transfer the knowledge to the right people.

Jeffrey Risinger, chief human capital officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, also touched on the continuity problem, but also mentioned that this may all be a result of poor leadership at retaining good employees. At the SEC, Risinger remarked that their way of trying to adapt is by instituting a pay and performance management system. He also made it clear that while this might not solve all of their problems; it is a first step at addressing the issue.

Some recommendations from the panel on how to best address the federal workforce woes ranged from changing their recruitment strategies on college campuses to boosting the appeal of public service to high school students. There must also be a system of self-development of current mid-level employees and their agencies must be able to provide that. If they cannot then they run the risk of losing irreplaceable knowledge.

The Performance Institute, located in Arlington, VA., is a private, non-partisan think tank seeking to improve government performance through the principles of competition, accountability performance, and transparency. PI serves as the nation’s leading authority and repository on performance based management practices for government. The mission of the Institute is to identify, study, and disseminate the leading management innovations pioneered by “best in class” organizations.