DHS touts success in senior-level hiring

The Homeland Security Department hired above and beyond its projected targets for fiscal 2007 and increased its leadership capacity by 17 percent, the agency's top personnel official said Friday.

Marta Brito Perez, chief human capital officer for DHS, said in an interview with Government Executive that the department added more than 70 senior executive positions in fiscal 2007, bringing its total number of authorized high-level positions to 722. Of those, all but 73 are filled, and those are under active recruitment, she said.

"We have virtually no vacancies in the department," Perez said. "I don't understand why there seems to be this perception that there are a lot of vacancies in the executive ranks."

A July report by the House Homeland Security Committee concluded that 138 of 575 senior-level jobs at DHS were vacant as of May 1. The report said the vacancies were "a critical homeland security issue that demands immediate attention."

Last year, Perez and human resource directors from all agencies across DHS met for a two-day retreat and established 47 priorities for fiscal 2007. The priorities, all of which were met, included streamlining the hiring process and creating a standard framework for measuring competencies, Perez said. The department met its targets for new hires and replaced many departing employees to offset attrition, Perez said.

For example, the Transportation Security Administration hired 11,245 transportation security officers, well beyond its target of 10,300 hires.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a goal of adding 646 protection officers, but hired a total of 2,327 to offset attrition. But Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said Monday that despite success in gaining new hires, CBP's attrition rates were too high. "Every port that I'm aware of is losing officers faster than they're hiring them," she said. "It's just a constant revolving door."

To address attrition, the department has implemented a "career paths" initiative designed to facilitate movement and retain experienced DHS employees. For example, DHS studied the agency with the highest attrition rate -- the Transportation Security Administration -- and encouraged officers who might have otherwise left TSA to move elsewhere, such as Customs and Border Patrol. In fiscal 2007, 486 transportation security officers moved to other DHS occupations, Perez said.

"Rather than losing them to the outside, this is a way to keep the talent in the department," Perez said.

Kelley noted that while the career paths initiative is commendable, it is also critical for the department to focus on hiring and retention rates at CBP. "Morale at the agency is very low," she said. "[DHS officials] know what the issues are, but they don't pay attention to them."

Meanwhile, DHS also has implemented a strategy aimed at increasing diversity in the senior ranks. "Our [diversity] levels are good, but they're not exactly where we want to be," Perez said.

For occupations at the GS-15 level or below, Perez said, DHS is far above the government average in its numbers of African-Americans and Hispanics. At the senior levels, the department hired 21 executives in August and September, of which 9 percent were African-American women, 4.5 percent were Asian women and 9 percent were Hispanic males.

Still, success at Homeland Security comes at a price, and fiscal 2008 may not be as bright, Perez said. The House version of the fiscal 2008 Homeland Security appropriations bill blocks funding for personnel reforms, providing only $3 million for a human capital survey. Likewise, the Senate version of the bill includes $5 million for human resources, far below the $15 million the president requested in his fiscal 2008 budget proposal.

"On the one hand, you hear the Hill criticizing us, but they're going after the exact programs that can improve employee morale, training and performance management," Perez said. "All the things we're doing to improve the areas where we're being criticized is exactly what [lawmakers] are going after."

DHS is finalizing its goals for 2008 and expects to complete them by December, Perez said. At the end of 2008, the department plans to implement a pay-for-performance pilot project that will focus solely on employees who work in intelligence.

If DHS is apportioned adequate funding, Perez said she hopes to begin integrating information technology systems and boosting training programs for employees. "For next year, we'll continue investing in our people," she said. "Whatever funding we do get, we will have good metrics and good stories to tell on how the money was spent."