Trusted Workforce is the kind of bipartisan, broad government reform we need

Elections come and go and political tides ebb and flow, but one thing remains constant when it comes to the federal government – the need for a vetted, trusted workforce to fulfill the jobs that keep the nation running. 

Reforming and improving the federal government isn’t just the focus of politicians, either. Those within government are often best poised to understand its shortcomings and work across branches in order to create change. 

One of the most successful examples of that currently is the government’s Trusted Workforce 2.0 reform effort. Began in 2018 under the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration, Trusted Workforce 2.0 has worked to reframe the government’s process of establishing credentialing, suitability and fitness, and eligibility to access classified information. It’s critical work, and the example of the kind of bipartisan, overarching change the government can and should be focused on regardless of who controls the White House. 

From the 1950s to the 21st century

The security clearance framework in place before Trusted Workforce was based on policies put in place in 1953. In the 1950s, professionals were likely to stay with a single employer for a lifetime, air travel was prohibitive and few traveled overseas, and individuals were likely deeply connected to their neighbors and neighborhoods. By 2000, societal norms had clearly shifted, but the thought process around how workers were vetted and their ability to transition between positions had not. 

Trusted Workforce creates a vetting process that better reflects how we live our lives today, switching from a process of episodic, periodic re-evaluations of an individual’s reliability and trustworthiness to a model of continuous vetting that continually considers issues in a person’s background that may affect their ability to do their jobs – giving the government more opportunities for proactive involvement versus passive – and generally punitive actions – when issues like alcohol dependence or finances spiral out of control between a five-or-ten year investigative window.  

It also looks to leverage technology to better track and transfer eligibility and access across positions – a critical issue today where individuals are likely to change jobs every few years versus staying with an employer for decades. That’s a process that’s been plagued by delays, but that’s critical for creating the kind of workforce mobility that’s needed, and it will be important for new leaders across government to continue to step up and provide the accountability and oversight to keep the National Background Investigation Services moving forward. 

The Government Accountability Office has offered regular updates on the program’s (lack of) progress, and updates expected in the months to come will be critical to helping to see if the program has created verifiable benchmarks and will be in a position to enable the next, critical stages of the Trusted Workforce reform effort. 

Transformation requires better technology

Trusted Workforce is far from over. With the policies in place, it’s time for federal agencies to begin implementing the reform effort and ensuring that reciprocity and transfer of trust are implemented at a pace that creates progress. And it’s time for other agencies to step up to start reforming aspects of the process that can come alongside the Trusted Workforce effort, like contract reforms that will enable more competition and create better equity through eliminating degree requirements in favor of skills-based hiring, and eliminating requirements on contractors to have fully adjudicated versus interim clearances when they begin work, which makes it impossible for entry level talent to find jobs and keeps small businesses from competing. 

Transformation requires better technology. But even more important than that, it requires better culture. Policies are already in place that could make a more candidate-driven personnel vetting process. But without awareness across the workforce and a commitment on improving the way the work is done – and not simply getting it done – it will be reform in policy only, devoid of practice. 

Creating better, more agile processes for onboarding federal workers is a bipartisan issue. And an example of the kind of reform that’s difficult, but not impossible when government agencies and the executive and legislative branches work together. The Trump administration was here when the Trusted Workforce reform effort began, bipartisan work by the federal workforce kept the plane soaring as it was built, and now let’s hope the next administration will take it to its flying altitude. The American people don’t deserve any less.