Weekly Newsletter- KEEPERS OF THE FIRE

Weekly Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter: Who will keep the fires burning as current federal and postal employees look towards retirement?  It is estimated that more than half of the federal and postal workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next 10 years or before.  This estimate represents a huge drain of institutional knowledge on the largest workforce in the world.  It not only represents a huge drain, but threatens the continuity of expansive services these workers bring to the world.

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Whose job is it to fill the potential gap in service delivery or is it necessary to fill the gap?  The question could be answered in a number of ways.  Most apparent would be that the leadership of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would be first on the firing line to ensure services and personnel qualified to render those services are in the pipeline of next generation federal and postal employees.  Not so obvious would be the workers themselves, who would become a part of the continuity of services by participating in and championing the need for succession planning in-action; part of an ongoing day-to-day strategy to pass on critical information to employees holding positions subordinate to their own.

Great ideas come from collaboration inclusive of all levels of an organization.  Imagine the feedback if OPM would send out a survey asking each employee to give at least 3 things that could be done currently to ensure continued service delivery after an individual retires.  We receive not because we ask not.  Federal and postal employees are imbued with information, knowledge and know-how that is absolutely remarkable.  Allowing such massive and critical data to leave when these valued workers exit the workforce would be the greatest breach of data harnessing imaginable.

Now let’s address the other part of the question – the necessity to fill the gap.  There are a number of individuals who think the government is too big, that there are too many employees.  In order to make that assertion with validity an exhaustive study would have to be initiated to determine the number and kinds of positions that would be needed to carry out the mission, goals and objectives of the federal and postal service going forward.  Until that is done, the notion remains merely an assertion.  It is however, good planning to determine the future needs of an organization as the world evolves and via technology becomes smaller and more integrated.

I am not endorsing any particular strategy in our weekly newsletter because I don’t have enough information to make an informed situation.  I am qualified to say that proactive Succession Planning is a key strategy that should be prioritized across government and industry. Whatever the course taken, it is the responsibility and the charge of federal leadership guided by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure that all  services within federal parameters are properly executed under the umbrella of the United States’ overarching goals.

The next generation of leaders in the federal and postal service stand waiting to keep the fires of our government burning.  Their success depends on the passing of the torch from the dedicated men and women who have served so gallantly before them. This concludes our weekly newsletter.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli