The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2019

22 JULY-AUGUST 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL management specialists (OMS) are still not being addressed. Thus, we focused particularly on the OMS, IT and diplo- matic security (DS) cohorts that comprise some 70 percent of all specialists. Our recommendations would revamp and strengthen the Foreign Service specialist system to attract and retain high-quality employees by adopting com- petitive compensation programs. Further, we recommend establishing additional senior positions in bureaus with large spans of control, oversight and increas- ingly complex policy and operational responsibilities. Civil Service Reform: A Pilot Project The State Department also faces chal- lenges in having two different personnel systems for its American workforce (a third deals with locally employed staff). The Civil Service system is rigid, frustrat- ing to managers and employees alike. In addressing these difficulties, we col- laborated with the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit orga- nization dedicated to making the federal government more effective. Together we recommend a pilot project to establish an excepted service, rank-in-person model for part of the Civil Service. This would be supplemented by robust rotation and development opportunities, a more meaningful evalu- ation process and mandatory leadership training. A rank-in-person system should also incorporate “up or out” promotion criteria, so that employees have an incen- tive to reach for higher positions and there is an upward flow of talent. In developing our recommendations, we heard many concerns. Civil Service personnel were concerned that they would be forced abroad or somehow penalized by change. Foreign Service officers worried that there would be an erosion of good Foreign Service positions in Washington. They were also concerned that CS colleagues doing an overseas tour would compete for good FS jobs. We believe these worries will prove misplaced because the rotations would be primarily domestic, and the CS rotations overseas would replace other CS overseas rotational programs already in existence and be very limited in number. We think that, in fact, the proposed pilot systemwill be a win for everyone. Civil Service personnel in the pilot would have an opportunity to broaden their experience and mobility. The recom- mendation is for a voluntary system, so no one would be forced into the program. And the overwhelming majority of rota- tions would be domestic. For the Foreign Service, the new systemwould reduce the loss of domestic Foreign Service positions when the need to rapidly meet a staffing priority has often meant conversion of a Foreign Service position to Civil Service because the For- eign Service assignment system is too slow to meet crisis needs. The new systemwould allow for both CS and FS rotations, so positions would not need to be converted; and, if occupied by a Civil Service employee, the change would not be permanent. Some Wash- ington positions of high value for Foreign Service learning at the desk level may revert to the FS. Personnel management at State would benefit, as well. Our recommendations would better align State’s management with national security agency counter- parts as State competes for Civil Service talent. State would gain a more flexible way of utilizing its personnel. Because Civil Service reform is ambitious, difficult and would occur in a climate of considerable suspicion of management, we recommend extensive consultation with employees and their representatives. And, I would stress, we are recommending only a pilot project, which could be discontinued or hopefully adjusted based on experience. Professional Education Another area in which the State Depart- ment has fallen short for years is profes- sional education and training. A broad lack of professional education—as opposed to training—has been repeatedly identified by us and by other commentators, but the department has made limited progress. The problem is cross-cutting, affecting the Foreign Service and the Civil Service. We recommend new attention be paid to a career-long devotion to continuing professional education. From the military to law, every endeavor with a claim to professionalism requires and provides for such education. It is time for the diplo- matic profession to catch up. In particular, we recommend estab- lishing a human capital account for the Foreign Service Institute within the State Department’s Working Capital Fund, for all Foreign and Civil Service employees. Such a longer-term funding mechanism is essential for rational professional educa- tion planning. Fees from other agencies Our recommendations would better align State’s management with national security agency counterparts as State competes for Civil Service talent.