Retaining top employees is a key concern among federal chief human capital officers in the coming year, even more important than hiring new workers and upgrading HR technology systems.
A new survey of CHCOs by Federal News Radio found that most are more concerned about pay freezes and reductions in employee benefits than they are with overall cuts to agency budgets. But CHCOs also indicated that supervisor training and technology upgrades may also be delayed as they try to stretch tight budgets.
For example, 40 percent of survey respondents said the biggest HR challenge for their agency was the federal pay freeze and cuts to employee benefits, making it difficult to recruit and retain key talent. Hiring freezes compound this challenge, as agencies cannot backfill positions left vacant by retiring and unsatisfied workers, CHCOs noted.
Still, 20 percent of CHCOs said cumbersome technology is their chief concern for 2012. "It's way past time for more consolidation of services and investment in technology," one respondent said.
Hiring reform also is a key concern among CHCOs, with 60 percent saying that recent hiring reforms by the Obama administration to cut down federal hiring times have helped only "moderately." Cumbersome HR technology systems have been a major factor in impeding hiring reforms, and current laws and regulations still prevent agencies from fully modeling private industry hiring standards, the survey found.
What are some of the top personnel concerns for your agency in the coming year?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Nextgov does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.