A roundup of the latest reports, orders, and memoranda from the key federal oversight and policy organizations.
Factors to Consider When Reorganizing
Reorganization is hard, and for managers it requires a lot of time and planning. Done well, reorganizations can have many benefits for an agency, such as improved efficiency. If done poorly, reorganizations can affect the agency mission and employee morale. The Government Accountability Office conducted a study on reorganization at the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the National Protection and Programs Directorate. In its report, GAO identifies four factors to consider when evaluating or implementing a reorganization:
- Ensure that top leadership drives the transformation and establishes a communication strategy to create shared expectations and report related progress.
- Balance executive and legislative roles. All key players should be engaged in discussions about reorganizing government: the president, Congress, and other parties with vested interests.
- Safeguard the systems that support critical infrastructures.
- Achieve greater efficiency or effectiveness by reducing programmatic duplication, overlap, and fragmentation.
Go online: www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-140T
Federal Leadership Development Program Proves Beneficial
The Interagency Rotation Program enables emerging federal leaders to gain professional development through a meaningful rotational assignment and other developmental opportunities outside of their current agency. Since 2011 more than 350 people have participated. A recent evaluation of the program indicates that participants experience increased engagement and job satisfaction upon returning to their home agencies, as well as enhanced competence in the five Senior Executive Service Executive Core Qualifications. The Office of Personnel Management is working with federal executive boards around the country to expand the program.
Go online: www.chcoc.gov/content/president%E2%80%99s-management-council-interagency-rotation-program
Using Data to Measure Performance
Being results-driven is one of the SES Executive Core Qualifications, and using high-quality data to make decisions and measure success is important for all federal managers. The Executive Office of the President recently released Using Federal Data to Measure and Improve the Performance of U.S. Institutes of Higher Education, with techniques and findings that agencies can adapt to determine how to use data to measure performance. According to the report, using data requires:
- defining key outcomes
- determining what data is available to measure key outcomes
- communicating the available data in a meaningful way to customers.
Go online: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/assets/UsingFederalDataToMeasureAndImprovePerformance.pdf
