On the Spot

The government's personnel chiefs are in the right place at the right time to lead reform.

Federal agencies are embarking on the most dramatic personnel reforms in decades, and chief human capital officers are on the spot to make them a success. The Defense Department is finalizing regulations governing the shift to a pay-for-performance system. The Homeland Security Department is doing the same, though a judge recently dealt a blow by declaring a set of proposed rules illegal. This setback hasn't discouraged the Bush administration from pushing other civilian agencies to shed the General Schedule.

CHCOs must win employees' trust and support for the changes. They also must convince skeptical lawmakers to give them the resources necessary to train managers properly on fresh performance evaluation systems. And they must appease union leaders concerned that the reforms signal an attempt to curtail collective bargaining. The tasks require exceptional communication and unwavering attention.

This is expected of executives who also hold broad responsibility for attracting top talent to government service, making the hiring process more efficient, retaining employees, leading emergency preparedness and succession-planning efforts, and anticipating and filling upcoming skills gaps. Some CHCOs carry multiple titles, adding to their duties. Lawmakers have expressed concern that chiefs holding multiple titles might be stretched too thin.

Congress created the Chief Human Capital Officer position as part of the 2002 Homeland Security Act, and required the heads of 24 agencies to select career executives or political appointees to fill it. CHCOs bring much-needed focus and attention to personnel issues, former Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James told a House Government Reform subcommittee in May 2004. "Having a conduit at the very highest levels in these agencies . . . where these issues are being addressed and talked about, is critical," she said.

If CHCOs fail to perform, the consequences will be dire, said Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., at that hearing. "The best part of the federal government is the thousands of dedicated men and women who work on behalf of taxpayers each and every day," he said. "All the services Americans rely upon their government to provide, from protecting our homeland to regulating our markets, will be severely threatened unless we improve the way government manages its most important asset-its workers."

CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICERS

• Linda Springer
  Office of Personnel Management: Director
• Michael Harrison
  Agriculture: Assistant Secretary for Administration
• Otto Wolff
  Commerce: Assistant Secretary for Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer
• David S.C. Chu
  Defense: Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
• Michell Clark
  Education: Acting Assistant Secretary for Management, Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief Information Officer
• Claudia Cross
  Energy: Director of Human Resources, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Gail Lovelace
  General Services Administration: Chief People Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Robert Hosenfeld
  Health and Human Services: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Ronald J. James
  Homeland Security: Chief Human Capital Officer
• Keith Nelson
  Housing and Urban Development: Assistant Secretary for Administration, Chief Human Capital Officer (Nominee)
• Scott J. Cameron
  Interior: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Performance, Accountability and Human Resources
• Mari Barr Santangelo
  Justice: Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Resources and Administration, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Patrick Pizzella
  Labor: Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, Chief Information Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer
• Vicki Novak
  NASA: Chief Human Capital Officer
• Robert Danbeck
  Office of Personnel Management: Chief Human Capital Officer, Associate Director of the Management Services Division
• Reginald Wells
  Social Security Administration: Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources, Chief Human Capital Officer
• W. Robert Pearson
  State: Director General of the Foreign Service, Chief Human Resources Officer
• Linda Jacobs Washington
  Transportation: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, Acting Chief Human Capital Officer
• Patricia Pointer
  Treasury: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources, Chief Human Capital Officer
• R. Allen Pittman
  Veterans Affairs: Chief Human Capital Officer