Agriculture facility uses hiring freeze to reduce job loss from competition

An Agriculture Department facility in Beltsville, Md., is trying to soften the effects of its competitive sourcing initiatives with a hiring freeze.

Earlier this month, in-house teams at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, one of the largest research facilities in the world, won two competitions, for animal care and maintenance jobs. BARC estimated that the competitions, which resulted in the elimination of 65 positions, will save $6.3 million over the next five years.

Facility director Phyllis Johnson is attempting to diminish the negative impact of the workforce reduction by offering early retirements and placing employees in other jobs within the facility. According to an internal memo she sent to employees, certain positions will be kept vacant until employees affected by the competitions are considered for the jobs.

The hiring freeze applies to biological science technicians, secretaries, office clerks and assistants at or below the GS-7 level.

"These people, if they do get RIFed and if they want to get another job and they're qualified for it, they could move into a slot that's vacant rather than have to bump somebody," said Sean Adams, chief of information at the Agricultural Research Service.

Employees will be told in March whether their jobs have been eliminated.

Managers across the federal government are struggling to mitigate the negative effects of competitive sourcing as the Bush administration urges them to hold more job competitions. Agencies are developing so-called "soft landing" packages, which are designed to help affected employees by aiding them in finding new jobs or offering early retirement.

"We're hoping that the combination of vacancies and possibly buyout authority will minimize the number of people that will lose their jobs," said Adams.

William Jones, a painter at BARC and vice president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3147 , which represents workers at the facility, said he doesn't like the hiring freeze but sees it as a necessary evil.

"It helps the people who are here now…. Looking from the big picture, it seems like [Johnson] is going above and beyond to make sure everyone's accommodated," he said.

Still, he added, the job competitions worried him. "It just wised us up that on any given day, our jobs could be at stake… Competitive sourcing is never a good feeling," he said. He has worked at BARC for 33 years.

Elizabeth Boudrie, vice president of research at the consulting firm Pivotal Insight in Arlington, Va., said job security and competitive sourcing tend to be seen as mutually exclusive. Managers are looking into creating soft landing packages as they ask themselves, "How do we keep both those balls in the air at the same time?"

Boudrie said human resources specialists can help employees with resume writing and interviewing skills, as well as making them aware of opportunities at other agencies and retirement options.

Matthew Biggs, legislative director for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said he was concerned that soft landing packages make job competitions more palatable from the outside, but don't actually help affected employees. "Is it just something…that's making it quicker and more efficient to get [employees] out the door?" he asked.

Adams said BARC management has not received any complaints about this month's job competitions. "There was a lot of applause when they announced the government had retained both contracts," he said. BARC struggled with confusion over competitive sourcing rules last year.