The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

30 MAY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL of today’s Foreign Service workforce, according to the Bureau of Human Resources. Unfortunately, recent trends suggest that tandems are encountering greater challenges to serve. For example, in the summer 2019 bidding cycle, 40 percent of sur- veyed tandem officers reported that they were unable to secure positions at the same overseas post as their tandem spouse. If the Department of State is to attract, support and retain a truly agile and skilled workforce, and if we are indeed to “out-work” and “out-hustle” our competitors as the Secretary envisions, then we need to maximize the potential of all our people— including tandems. There are both tangible and intangible benefits for the orga- nization when spouses can pursue dual Foreign Service career tracks together at U.S. missions abroad. The “two-for-one deal” that tandems offer creates value for the American taxpayer. According to Fiscal Year 2016 estimates, the average cost of a direct hire (USDH) position overseas is more than $400,000 per year. Assigning a tandem couple together overseas realizes savings on various allowances, including more than $40,000 per year on housing alone. And keeping tandem families living and serving together can have a positive impact on their morale, just as it does for non-tandem families. A common catchphrase of many tandems is “We’ll serve any- where, if we can serve together.” If the State Department works to ensure tandems can stay together at post, the payoff for the department will be significant. Working in Tandem Formed in October 2016, Working in Tandem has more than 700 members, making it one of State’s largest employee orga- nizations. The group helps the department develop creative and inclusive solutions to the unique challenges facing tan- dem couples. Working with department and American Foreign Service Association leadership, WiT raises issues of concern and advocates for policies that will improve the recruitment, reten- tion and morale of tandem officers. While tandems can share information in less formal discussion forums (e.g., Facebook and Yahoo groups) and in official ones such as HR’s recent tandem blog, WiT is the first group officially designated to represent tandem employees to the department. At the end of 2018, the WiT Executive Board conducted its second membership survey to identify the most pressing issues facing tandem professionals. There was strong consensus among respondents about the best ways to alleviate some of the chal- lenges. Many of these priorities, listed below, represent signifi- cant cost savings for the department and are in sync with the Secretary’s stated vision of supporting the families behind the Foreign Service. Expand Domestic Employee Telework Overseas opportuni- ties . DETOs provide the best opportunity for both spouses to be employed overseas together if only one is assigned to a post. While officers stay productively employed, bureaus can meet their staffing needs. DETOs leverage the time difference from D.C. to extend a Washington-based office’s coverage across the globe, increasing productivity, customer service and responsive- ness to needs of posts on the other side of the globe. DETOs can save money in travel costs because of their proximity to constitu- ent posts; and because they telework, they require no additional office space. They can also handle the more time-consuming, product-oriented tasks of an office. DETOs, however, are underutilized by most bureaus, although Consular Affairs, African Affairs and International Information Programs have historically authorized more DETOs than other bureaus. During the 2019 bid cycle, there were just eight DETO-eligible jobs listed on HR’s tandem blog. According to HR, there are about 20 members of the Foreign Service on DETOs currently, and that number is not expected to signifi- cantly increase this summer. Harmonize disparate administrative policies and pro- cedures. Currently tandems who have had to find creative solutions to keep their families together, such as leave without pay (LWOP) or a DETO assignment, also face complications in obtaining travel orders and benefits, or even simply logging into OpenNet. The idiom “square peg, round hole” often applies when it comes to securing travel orders and allowances for tan- dems who are on LWOP or working under a DETO arrangement. For example, tandem officers returning to D.C. for training after half of the couple has been on either a DETO or LWOP assignment are both precluded from receiving per diem. Due to an HR standard operating procedure (SOP) document (listed on HR’s intranet site) stating that tandems must be in the same status and the fact that LWOPs and DETOs are “administratively” assigned to D.C., tandem couples transitioning out of LWOP or The idiom“square peg, round hole” often applies when it comes to securing travel orders and allowances for tandems.