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Perhaps nowhere in the federal workforce is trust more frail than in the intelligence community. It is still reeling from the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The Director of National Intelligence recently issued two policies to clamp down on employees' speech. The first says only a few authorized officials can talk with journalists. In this week's Legal Loop, Tom and Emily looked at the policy's impact on trust in the intelligence community as part of our special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees. Employment lawyer Debra Roth said on The Federal Drive the new policy stands out because it covers unclassified information.
When federal whistleblowers report wrongdoing at their agencies it's usually out of a sense of loyalty to the mission. So, why is it that they are sometimes shunned, or worse, for bringing issues of waste, fraud and abuse to the surface? In a column for Federal News Radio's special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees, Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project explains why he believes whistleblowers should be embraced.
Several agency chief human capital officers say wholesale changes to the federal hiring, recruiting, retaining and firing processes are needed now more than ever. It's no longer just a matter of using the authorities available, they say.
Despite the challenges they face, federal employees come to work every day and strive to do their best because they are dedicated to their jobs. What will it take for Congress to start treating them with the respect they deserve, asks AFGE President J. David Cox in a column written for Federal News Radio's special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees.
People work better and more efficiently when they feel respected. And lately, Congress hasn't done a lot to make federal workers feel valued, says Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in a column written for Federal News Radio's special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees. But, Tester says, he has a plan to start changing that low morale.
Every year, different groups, associations and magazines publish their lists of best federal agencies, best places to work, etc. A few places are always near the top but the lists do change. Partly because some places try harder and get better and partly because if the rankings didn't change, there would be no reason for a list, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. So who's on your personal best list?
NARFE's Chris Farrell joins host Mike Causey to talk about some of the bills introduced in Congress that affect federal workers. May 21, 2014
More than 5 million federal employees and contractors have security clearances. To keep track of them all, the government relies on periodic re-investigations and incident reports. But as the shootings at Fort Hood and the Navy Yard showed, the system doesn't catch all the red flags. In our special report Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and Its Employees, Tom and Emily spoke with Bill Henderson on the Federal Drive. He's a former federal background-check investigator now president of Federal Clearance Assistance Services. He says the government is developing a better way to keep tabs on clearance holders.
Social Security's inspector general revealed beneficiaries being unfairly charged due to unauthorized account changes. SSA will make policy changes to not hold beneficiaries liable for penalties due to fraudsters stealing or taking their payments without authorization.
The Federal Protective Service will no longer coordinate security at DHS headquarters on Nebraska Avenue in Northwest D.C. according to a May 1 memo from the agency's chief security officer to the undersecretary for management. The memo was brought to light Wednesday by members of a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee at a hearing on the security of federal buildings. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, cited the DHS memo as a possible sign that "confidence in FPS may be eroding" from within DHS.
Bob Tobias, director of the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, sees trust as a symptom of whether employee engagement exists or not.
Throughout our special series, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and its Employees, we've used the word trust repeatedly. But what is trust exactly? Rather than turn to a dictionary, Tom and Emily spoke with Michael Gelles, a former chief psychologist at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and now a director at Deloitte. He explains his definition of trust on the Federal Drive.
Millions of federal employees show up for work day after day. But are they all fully engaged? The evidence says no, and the problem is getting worse. People who run HR in agencies, the Chief Human Capital Officers, have a lot of the responsibility for helping ensure an engaged and enthusiastic workforce. Each year, Grant Thornton and the Partnership for Public Service survey federal CHCOs. John Palugta, vice president for policy at the partnership, joined Tom and Emily on the Federal Drive to discuss the highlights of the survey.
Trust but verify. President Ronald Reagan used that phrase when discussing relations with the former Soviet Union. Now it's taking on a new meaning in government. Agencies are developing insider threat programs and creating a new culture of "trust but verify." As part of Federal News Radio's special report, Trust Redefined: Reconnecting Government and its Employees,executive editor Jason Miller explores what it takes to create an insider threat program that equally protects the government, its employees and contractors. Read Jason's related article.