Filling the Gaps

The Senior Executives Association has launched a survey of GS-14s and 15s or their equivalents to gauge their interest in applying for and serving in the Senior Executive Service, Senior Level and Scientific and Professional positions. The purpose of the survey stems from concerns that many talented and able federal employees do not aspire to positions in the SES, largely because it would mean a loss of locality pay and a guaranteed annual pay raise, increased hours and responsibilities and executive pay overlap with the General Schedule and other personnel systems.

The survey is timely, given the substantial number of senior executives eligible to retire, and the need to ensure there is an adequate pipeline of talented workers to fill those gaps, especially in career fields like information technology.

The SEA survey can be accessed at www.seniorexecs.org. The survey will be open until Aug. 14, after which a second survey will be conducted of chief human capital officers to measure their views with regard to the size and quality of the candidate pool and agency experience in filling SES vacancies.