Senate panel approves supervisor training bill
Legislation introduced in 2009 advances, after more than one year on the shelf.
Senate legislation to improve the training of federal managers moved forward on Thursday, after sitting idle for more than one year.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed en bloc the 2009 Federal Supervisor Training Act (S. 674). The measure had been on hold since Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, unveiled it in March 2009, but the introduction of a similar bill on the House side might have kick-started consideration in the Senate.
On June 15, three Virginia lawmakers introduced their own Federal Supervisor Training Act, which also would require managers to receive initial training within one year of being promoted and once every three years after.
Both bills would establish a program to educate supervisors on a range of common managerial issues, including developing and discussing goals with employees, communicating progress and conducting performance appraisals. In addition, supervisors would receive training on prohibited personnel practices and employee collective bargaining rights.
When the House bill was introduced, Akaka said he was pleased with the companion measure. The Federal Managers Association has come out in strong support of the legislation; FMA National President Patricia Niehaus has called the development of supervisory skills "one of the greatest investments an agency can make both in terms of productivity gains and the retention of valuable employees."
She has expressed optimism that bicameral support would help the legislation move forward and said Thursday that she has been encouraged over the last year to see Congress and the administration demonstrating a strong commitment to examining the state of federal supervisory training.
"We find ourselves today in prime position to tackle the challenges posed by the need to bolster the supervisory ranks in the federal government, particularly as agencies seek to fill management vacancies resulting from the retirement of senior members of the federal workforce," Niehaus said following the vote. "This bill marks a positive step forward in ensuring rising managers and supervisors contain the skill sets necessary to achieve the tasks at hand."