The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

NOVEMBER 2005 • AFSA NEWS 5 V.P. VOICE: FAS n BY LAURA SCANDURRA Capitalizing on FAS’s Human Resources T hese days, almost every federal agency is grappling with humancapital questions. Howdowe alignourpeople, bud- get, technology andorganizational structure toensure strate- gic goals are achieved? How do we create an organizational cul- ture that supports results-oriented leadershipand innovation? How do we attract, develop and retain the best talent? To get a picture of the perceptions of FSOs, AFSA FAS con- ducted our own human capital survey. As with all federal agen- cies, there are areas where FAS is doing well and areas that need improvement. Most of the survey responses fromour FSOswere onparwith the FAS-wide andgovernmentwide responses to the human cap- ital survey. However, in key areas, the attitudes and perceptions heldby FSOswere less positive. More thanhalf of FAS FSOs said they did not have sufficient resources — people, budget, mate- rials—to do their jobs, as compared to 37 percent in FAS over- all and 32 percent governmentwide. Only 19 percent of survey respondents agreed that our performance-management system rewards high-performing employees, as compared to 49 percent in FAS and 42 percent in other federal agencies. Only 32 per- cent of FSOs felt they received adequate training as compared to 56 percent in FAS overall and 60 percent governmentwide. On key issues such as communication, leadership andmanagement, FAS FSO responses were below governmentwide averages. Nearly 70 percent of AFSA FAS members responded to the survey. Of the respondents, 64 percent were in the field; 90 per- cent were supervisors or managers (including 21 percent in the Senior ForeignService); 66percentweremale and34percentwere female. The survey responses onsufficient resources toget the jobdone are troubling. Our overseas presence is indispensable to the effec- tive management of the agency’s programs. Our posts overseas play a vital role in negotiating new trade agreements, resolving tradedisputes, developing agriculturalmarkets andproviding agri- cultural market intelligence. To ensure that the activities of our posts and the resources committed to themare alignedwithagency goals, FAS conducts a thoroughandrigorous global reviewprocess every year. Surprisingly, there is not a similar structure in place to evaluate our domestic operations. AFSA encourages FAS to implement a “domestic review” process to ensure a more bal- anced approach to resource allocation and to help ensure that our FSOs have the resources necessary to do their jobs. FSO responses on performance management reflect a lack of confidence in the current system. A top AFSA FAS prior- ity is working with management to create an integrated per- formancemanagement andmeasurement system that rewards proven leadership andmanagement skills andmeets the objec- tives of the Presidential Management Agenda. Two AFSA FAS working groups—the Leadership andManage- mentWorking Group and the Perfor- mance Management Working Group —have been instrumental in develop- ing a memorandum of understanding to enhance our perfor- mance management system. We will circulate the draft MOU in the near future, and look forward to obtaining comments and suggestions from FAS FSOs. Enhanced training for FSOs is high on AFSA’s priority list. AFSA isworking through the FAShuman capital working group, which was established at our request, to develop a comprehen- sive trainingprogram for FSOs. Wewould like to see a compre- hensive training and development pro- gramfor junior,mid- level and senior FSOs that builds on the recently identified core professional competencies, lever- ages distance-learn- ing programs, better utilizes detail opportunities and equips FSOs with the manage- ment and leadership skills necessary to lead people, lead change and achieve results. The survey responses oncommunication, leadershipandman- agement likely reflect uncertainty on the part of FSOs regarding the ongoingFAS strategic reviewandalignment process andwhat it means for employees. To address employee concerns, AFSA is encouraging FAS leadership to strengthen its communication withemployees, particularly those in the field, and tomore active- ly involve employees in the strategic reviewandalignment process. Whilenot specifically addressed in the survey, theWashington Placement Plan is another issue thatmerits our attention. While we are convinced that FAS senior management makes every attempt to ensure the process is equitable, we are concerned that the process itself is flawed. If evaluated on the basis of its origi- nal objective — a mechanism to place returning FSOs in posi- tions best suited to advance the agency’s mission— theWPP is a failure. AFSA FAS strives to represent member concerns and inter- ests, but we need your input to be successful. Our door is always open and the cappuccino-maker is on. o More than half of FAS FSOs said they did not have sufficient resources — people, budget, materials — to do their jobs.