The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

A P R I L 2 0 1 2 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 55 A F S A N E W S per diem rates; unequal lodging arrange- mentswhile training inWashington; inel- igibility for FSI day-care services; and the lackof incentives, suchas overseas difficult- to-staff differentials. Themost serious problemcontinues to be lowentry-level salaries, whichputmany new USAID employees at extreme finan- cial hardship during orientation in Washington, D.C., and throughout their careers. More than 67 percent of DLI officers responded toQuestions 27 and 28 by stat- ing they felt theywere undercompensated, while 66 percent said they took a pay cut to join the agency. USAIDemployeeswith the exact same educational profiles and experience as their State counterparts receive salaries that are tens of thousands of dollars lower. This has caused serious morale prob- lems forUSAIDjunior officers. It gives the impression that agency leadershiphas low regard for its employees, even though the ForeignServiceAct of 1980 specifically states that there should be maximum compati- bility between Foreign Service agencies regarding personnel policies. Satisfaction Issues at Post: Our sur- vey reveals that USAID personnel over- whelmingly continue to believe that the International Cooperative Administration Support Services system has resulted in higher costs and poorer services, making it the main source for dissatisfaction for overseas employees. Forty-four percent of eligible family members aredissatisfiedwithemployment opportunities at post, and another 42 per- cent express concern over lack of educa- tional opportunities for students with special needs at many posts. USAIDSupportOffices: Wewereespe- cially interested in finding out how FSOs rate the support services of three offices: HumanResources, FinancialManagement, andTravel andTransportation (Questions 31, 32 and 33). Of the three, the Office of Human Resources scored the worst, with 59 percent rating it poor. Next, we asked respondents whether theyhadnoticedany improvements in ser- vices provided by the Office of Human Resources during the previous sixmonths —aperiod inwhichHR initiatedan inten- sive programto improve customer service. If one judges by the decrease in poor rat- ings and the increase in excellent and FSOs rated the support services of three offices: Human Resources, Financial Management, and Travel and Transportation. Of the three, the Office of Human Resources scored the worst, with 59 percent rating it poor. Survey • Continued from page 52 Continued on page 56