Administration says it will expand opportunities for senior executives

Federal executives soon could have additional professional development opportunities, along with improved recruitment tools for top jobs, according to administration officials.

In a memo to Senior Executive Service members issued Friday, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Jeff Zients and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry wrote that tight budgets, along with a growing workload, impending retirements and limited opportunities for development are straining the SES workforce.

"At the very time we need ever greater output and performance, the SES is under tremendous pressure," they wrote. "Today's economic environment constrains agency budgets and federal employee pay; these limitations complicate developing, recruiting and retaining senior executives."

Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association, said she was very pleased with the results of her organization's collaboration with the government on expanding opportunities for top career civil servants. But she cautioned that the proof will be in the pudding as far as results are concerned.

"It's always problematic to get the resources for everything, and especially problematic now," Bonosaro said, adding the memo contains, "a very ambitious set of initiatives which will take sustained focus and effort to achieve."

The memo outlines proposals developed by the President's Management Council to streamline the performance appraisal process and certification system, boost recruitment for SES jobs and improve executive engagement and career development opportunities. The recommendations were developed in coordination with more than 50 officials from 19 agencies. Bonosaro said the SEA suggested in particular streamlining burdensome administrative processes related to performance management. "I think it makes a lot of sense given what we now know of how performance management has operated in some agencies, where it's become such a complex process."

Key initiatives include:

• Stronger links between employee appraisal systems and agency performance goals, as well as improved personnel performance planning, assessment and recognition.
• More engagement of senior agency leaders in SES issues through coordination with the PMC, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and the Performance Improvement Council, along with agency-specific SES forums.
• Additional opportunities for SES career development, including a one-year onboarding program for new executives; governmentwide leadership development curricula and events; networking programs; and a pilot project offering rotational opportunities for upper-level GS employees.
• Improved recruitment for SES jobs through a resume-based hiring pilot project, external talent searches and a cross-agency effort to market and recruit for open positions.

Kellie Lunney contributed to this article.