The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

Realistic Expectations The Foreign Agricultural Service can be proud of the steps taken to recognize and fix the hiring process to bring in the right number of qualified new Foreign Service trainees. But we still have a problem. New employees are con- fused and uncertain about what to expect from their new career, especially when it concerns the frequency of overseas deployment. Miscommunication is a potentially dangerous drag on morale; both sides need to listen more carefully to each other. We need to ensure that FAS provides the leadership, ongoing education and expe- riences to make the most of our new group of employees. One way I suggest that we do that is to manage career expectations as part of the renewed and reinvigorated culture within FAS. Effective communication by manage- ment to help new employees create realistic expectations is paramount in minimizing attrition. Unrealistic views of the FAS career path are prob- lematic because qualified employees have many other options and opportunities and may not be willing to wait around if their expec- tations go unfulfilled. For example, new officers should not expect three or more consecutive overseas assign- ments, although that is not uncommon amongst officers in our currently depleted top ranks. New employees’ concerns about the timing and quality of first and second post- ings are most pressing and immediate, but their overall expectations also don’t reflect reality. The reality is that Washington tours will be and should be a more inte- gral part of a full FAS career. Management is trying to communicate on these issues, but the message isn’t resonating because it is too vague. Management must be able to better articulate its vision of a modern FAS Foreign Service corps, espe- cially what common career paths will look like and the career choices employees will encounter. The new employees need to hear and understand that their future career paths will likely be different than those of the current senior officers. However, “different” does not mean “less rewarding.” The story about the FAS Foreign Service must be accurate Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FAS VP. Contact: mark.petry@fas.usda.gov or (202) 720-2502 FAS VP VOICE | BY MARK PETRY AFSA NEWS and make for a compelling career of service; but it must also be realistic. Management needs to be more specific about what a career starting from today’s junior level looks like, while new employees need to take off their rose-colored glasses and be willing to really listen. If management and new employees continue to talk past each other, employees happy to have just joined are bound to be alienated. Attri- tion is a part of any work- place, but it shouldn’t be the result of miscommunication or divergent expectations. n 56 OCTOBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA SECURES AWARDS FUNDING AFSA is pleased to announce that the association has secured 10 years of funding for a number of annual perfor- mance and dissent awards. Two agreements cover the M. Juanita Guess Award for Exemplary Performance by a Community Liaison Officer and the Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy. We thank our partners and funders: Clements Worldwide, Dr. Sushma Palmer and the Palmer family, respec- tively. We greatly appreciate their support for AFSA and these awards. The awards are presented at AFSA’s annual awards ceremony, which takes place in June of each year. For more information on AFSA’s awards program, and how to nominate deserving colleagues, please visit www.afsa.org/ awards. n NEWS BRIEF New employees are confused and uncertain about what to expect from their new career, especially when it concerns the frequency of overseas deployment.