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Why agencies can't attract top talent

Federal agencies may be their own worst enemy when it comes to recruiting top performers.

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Grassley questions costs of SES training

Some SES training courses cost 460 percent more than private universities and over 1,000 percent more than most public universities, a senior senator says.

People

Meet OMB's new point person on the acquisition workforce

Joanie Newhart, a veteran in the government procurement arena, will lead the Office of Management and Budget’s efforts on building up the acquisition workforce.

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Telework: Senate gives unanimous thumbs up

The Senate has unanimously approved the Telework Enhancement Act, which would give federal employees presumptive eligibility to telework and ensure that telework is part of continuity-of-operations planning.

People

What's on Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson's bookshelf?

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, the Army's chief information officer, shares his list of current favorites and a few classics.

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A makeover job for federal hiring

Would-be public servants rejoice at the prospect of a shorter, more transparent hiring process.

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Legislation would freeze agencies' hiring

As the Obama administration seeks to boost the federal workforce to balance the number of its employees with those in the private-sector, a group of House Republicans has proposed freezing agencies' ability to hire.

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New federal hires want meaningful work

Any instance these young people experience where they are not given work sends a terrible signal to them about expectations of federal employees, writes blogger Steve Kelman.

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Pay caps may be in store for thousands of former NSPS workers

As many as 40,000 feds transitioning from National Security Personnel System could face long-term pay caps with their switch to the General Schedule, according to the Federal Managers Association.

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Knowledge management's generation gap

Reaction to a recent blog post by Steve Kelman highlighted one of the barriers to knowledge management: animosity between those who know and those who need to know.

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Senate passes bill to fix federal hiring process

The Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act (S. 736) and the president's recent memo calling for an overhaul of the complex federal hiring process feature similar fixes.

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Want program staff more involved in contracting? Make their jobs more interesting

Blogger Steve Kelman proposes a way to strengthen the role of the contracting officer's technical representative in the procurement process.

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Beyond telework: How the federal workplace ought to work

Federal managers need to stop worrying about where their employees are working and start focusing on what work is getting done, according to Deloitte's Anne Weisberg and William D. Eggers.

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Workplace flexibility as the new normal

Federal managers need to stop worrying about where their employees are and more about the work that gets done, write Deloitte's Anne Weisberg and William D. Eggers.

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Porn provision stalls House IT bill

Reauthorization of the America Competes law to boost technology and innovation got stalled by a GOP motion that would punish federal employees caught watching pornography at work.

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Porn provision stalls House IT bill

Reauthorization of the America Competes law to boost technology and innovation got stalled by a GOP motion that would punish federal employees caught watching pornography at work.

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One way to improve security: Punish the ignorant

Perhaps federal agencies would have more success with information security training if employees knew they would be punished for allowing breaches through ignorance.

Modernization

PowerPoint combatants go at it again

One of the military's top leaders reignites a battle over the merits of the ubiquitous presentation software.

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How telework improves employee accountability

The oft-cited concern that teleworkers have no accountability is dead wrong, says one reader who. Tell us what you think.

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Living with stovepipes

Effective executives learn to reap the benefits of stovepiped organizations while still enabling collaboration, writes blogger Steve Kelman.