Don Kettl

The National Academy of Public Administration said that every day spent dwelling on the minor challenges with the existing federal personnel system is another day spent falling further behind.

What can government executives learn from the GAO’s high-risk list? What have agencies done over the years to get their programs off the list? How can programs stay off the list in the first place? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Dr. Don Kettl, author of the IBM Center report, Managing Risk, Improving Results: Lessons for Improving Government Management from GAO’s High-Risk List.

More and more agencies are turning to alternative personnel systems as a solution to hiring, accountability or performance challenges.

In a new white paper from the National Academy of Public Administration, federal experts say a breakdown of the federal human capital system ultimately led to some of agencies’ biggest challenges in recent years, from the cyber breaches at the Office of Personnel Management to the 49,000 vacancies at the Veterans Affairs Department.

Now we know what federal managers are asked to do in the latest executive order from the Trump administration. It’s not the first time they’ve been asked to look for waste and redundancy. Don Kettl, professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, offers some perspective on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the goal of the executive order is to make agencies more efficient, effective and accountable.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on agencies to create regulatory reform task forces. The task forces will investigate how to “eliminate red tape” and regularly report back on progress to their respective agencies.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) plans to continue his fight for the federal workforce, after winning re-election. He’ll join his fellow Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly and Republican Barbara Comstock for the 115th Congress, in which he says he’s looking to raise federal pay and assure fairness on oversight investigations.

While Republicans clinched the White House and both congressional chambers, government pundits say it’s important that both political parties support the federal workforce and government, especially in the D.C. area.

What might a Trump administration look like for federal managers? What would another Clinton in the Executive Office mean? Regardless of who wins the presidential election, by Nov. 9 the government workforce needs to be ready to go in any direction.