4.2: Workforce Diversity and Environment

Maintain and Enhance a Diverse Workforce and Inclusive Work Environment through Strengthened Recruiting, Retention, Development, and Reward Programs

Other Information:

As GAO’s most important asset, the workforce defines the agency’s character and capacity to perform. Thus, recruiting a high-performing, diverse workforce is critical to ensuring that GAO has the talent it needs now and in the future: In fi scal year 2009, GAO began an assessment of its recruiting practices and determined that while it was successful in attracting highly qualified candidates, it needed additional structure and oversight to ensure the best return for its recruiting efforts. GAO has now set an overarching goal for its recruiting program and will continue to refine its strategy for recruiting a capable, diverse workforce. GAO also needs to improve its hiring process to make it more efficient and transparent for applicants and to remain competitive with other employers. GAO will leverage technology to enhance communication, simplify the application process, and reduce the length of time needed to finalize a hiring decision once a vacancy announcement has been posted. While GAO’s attrition rate has historically been low, the agency is experiencing the impact of changing demographics and workplace expectations. Currently, more than 35 percent of GAO staff have fewer than 5 years of agency experience, while about 15 percent of all GAO staff are eligible to retire, including about 35 percent of its executive corps. (See fig. 42.) Thus, improving staff-development and career-progression opportunities will be important to enhance institutional knowledge and succession planning. Performance and compensation systems: To sustain a high-performing diverse workforce, GAO must ensure fairness and equity in its performance and compensation systems. Several internal and external studies have been done of GAO’s performance programs that identify areas for improvement. GAO will continue its own studies and will develop initiatives to address suggested areas of improvement: GAO’s goal is to ensure that all staff are assessed fairly and that they are appropriately rewarded for their contributions. GAO must also ensure that it is providing staff with meaningful and targeted developmental experiences, training, and coaching, so that staff can feel valued and the agency can maximize their contributions to GAO goals. GAO will ensure that its managers and supervisors are equipped with the requisite skills, authorities, and incentives that are essential to developing staff effectively. GAO will provide a range of workplace and work-life balance programs to enhance employee retention, and will continue to evaluate its programs in these areas and work with staff to identify improvements. Diversity: A constant influence that will guide decisions about GAO’s human-capital practices is the agency’s Workforce Diversity Plan. GAO will continue to make diversity and inclusiveness a priority and will hold all managers accountable for taking actions that support a fair and inclusive work environment. Having a diverse workforce at all levels is an organizational strength that contributes to the achievement of results by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to policy development and implementation, strategic planning, problem solving, and decision making. GAO is committed to cultivating and sustaining an inclusive organizational culture that embraces diversity in all of its forms and emphasizes both agency and individual integrity and accountability (see fig. 43). GAO management will continue ongoing dialogue and engagement with GAO employee organizations, including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Local 1921; the Employee Advisory Council—which is composed of headquarters and field Administrative, Professional, and Support Staff, as well as Assistant Directors in analyst and analyst-related positions, and attorneys; and the Diversity Advisory Council—composed of diversity representatives of IFPTE, Local 1921, and employee liaison groups for employees who are disabled, Asian-American, African-American, Hispanic, veterans of the armed forces, people over 40, and advocates for nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity—to hear and consider employee needs, concerns, and suggestions as they arise. To achieve a more diverse workforce and inclusive work environment through enhanced recruitment, retention, development, and reward programs, GAO will implement the following performance goals and key efforts:

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

Content