Tech workers will be guinea pigs for civil service changes

A House lawmaker will unveil legislation July 31 to change some rules for recruiting and retaining federal technology and procurement specialists. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., plans to propose some changes to civil service rules for those workers at a hearing of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement, subcommittee staff director Melissa Wojciak said at the E-Gov conference in Washington on Tuesday. Davis is chairman of the panel. One proposal that may be included in Davis' legislation is the creation of short-term appointments, from two to five years, for critical technology or procurement positions, Wojciak said. Such short-term positions would be a way to attract candidates who don't want to spend a career in government. Wojciak said the specific proposals would not be revealed until the hearing. "The government needs a skilled IT workforce," Wojciak said. Davis' plan to target civil service reforms at tech workers reinforces the government technology workforce's role as the main testing ground for changes to the federal civil service system. The Office of Personnel Management is experimenting with new classification and hiring procedures using technology occupations. The National Academy of Public Administration is conducting a $678,000 study of the federal technology workforce and will recommend changes to the compensation system by mid-September. Eleven agencies in OPM's test are trying out new qualification standards that look at a wide range of skills and experiences to determine whether someone is qualified for a technology job, rather than requiring a college degree or other specific certifications. The new standards also allow hiring managers to consider non-technical skills, such as oral communication ability or teamwork prowess, when hiring tech workers. If the test works out and is expanded, the governmentwide classification system could become less rigid and changes to standards could be made more quickly. Managers could hire people more quickly as a result. But Roger Baker, former chief information officer for the Commerce Department, said officials shouldn't be overly concerned about retaining federal technology workers. "I think the government needs to lose a lot of its entrenched knowledge," Baker said, though he added that many technology offices in government are filled with talented people. But because civil service rules are unlikely to change, it is more likely that agencies will outsource technology work than be able to hire good people, Baker said.

"The government makes it so hard to recruit and retain," Baker said. "It's easier to outsource."