HUD lacks comprehensive workforce management plan

The Housing and Urban Development Department does not have an adequate plan in place to manage its current workforce or to fill jobs left vacant by retirements, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office. The HUD 2020 Management Reform Plan, launched in 1997 by then-Secretary Andrew Cuomo, called for 3,000 staff cuts by fiscal 2002 through buyouts, attrition and reassignments. The agency stopped its downsizing efforts in 1998, and now has about 9,000 full-time positions. According to GAO, at least half of HUD's employees will be able to retire in August 2003, and the agency is not prepared for the potential exodus and has not developed a workforce management plan. "HUD has done a detailed analysis of its potential losses of staff to retirement, but without a complete workforce plan, HUD is not prepared to recruit and hire staff to pursue its mission," GAO said in its report, "HUD Human Capital Management: Comprehensive Strategic Workforce Planning Needed" (02-839). According to GAO, the agency needs to develop specific information about what jobs HUD employees should be performing, the skills and abilities needed to perform those jobs and how employees should be allocated across the agency. HUD launched an internship program in 2001, bringing in students from high schools, colleges and graduate schools for two years, hiring those who performed well. As of June 2002, the agency had hired 64 interns. "According to HUD officials, the internship program is a way to begin bringing new staff into HUD who could be trained to take over higher level positions as retirements occur," the report said. GAO commended HUD's internship program, but said the new program would not help fill the gaps left if mid-level managers decide to retire next year. "The program is designed to bring on new staff at support or entry levels," the report said. Managers at the Public and Indian Housing Agency said HUD's failure to develop a strategic workforce plan hinders their ability to meet the agency's mission, the report said. "We never have enough time to do all of the technical assistance that needs to be done," one manager told GAO. GAO directed HUD Secretary Mel Martinez to move forward on crafting a strategic human capital management plan. In a written response to the report, Vickers Meadows, HUD's assistant secretary for administration, agreed with GAO's assessment, and pointed to several initiatives already in the works, including the new Human Capital Management Executive Steering Committee, to show the agency was focused on effectively managing its employees. The steering committee will create a five-year strategic human capital management plan.