The next administration is likely to seek a higher performing, better executing government. Recent years have seen examples of where government did not execute as well as desired, such as the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, in providing health care at Walter Reed Hospital, and preparing for the 2010 Census.
If transformation is the goal of the next administration, there are five steps that the next President can take to get started on the road toward a transformed government:
Step One: Create a new government culture by taking advantage of the need for new hires. The next four years will bring an increased number of retirements, often referred to as the forthcoming retirement tsunami. These retirements will create a unique opportunity for government to recruit individuals with the desired set of skills and behaviors. Historically, the training or orientation of new hires has been mixed. Frequently, new hires receive little or no training or preparation for the government workplace. "Sign these many forms. Let me show you the restrooms. Now get to work!" This can change! For example, two week orientations sessions can be designed which can explore what it means to be a "resilient and flexible employee." Skills needed to collaborate and be more responsive and agile can be discussed. The government needs to provide "skills/behavior training" and a "cultural orientation" in addition to the traditional technical training many employees receive.
Step Two: Provide new collaborative technologies to all employees. We know that the "millenials" will provide the majority of new hires to government. We also know that these young people have grown up using computers and collaborative technologies. The challenge for government will be to learn how to apply tools such as social networking, wikis, blogs, and virtual worlds to making government more connected and less hierarchical. It has long been hypothesized that government will become less hierarchical, whether it wants to or not, because of the access to information now available to all -- both government employees as well as citizens. The "boss" can no longer "hold" or portion out information for bureaucratic reasons. Today, information is available to all and will change the way government operates. This will require dealing with new security and privacy issues.
Step Three: Develop new relationships between government and its contract workforce. A major challenge for a new administration will be to create a true partnership between employees and contractors. Today, the relationship has become increasingly adversarial rather than collegial. It is possible that the number of federal employees will increase in coming years. Nevertheless, government is likely to continue to use contractors and the trend toward a "blended workforce" will become an increasing reality for the government workplace. A proactive approach is needed to work with both government employees and contractors to better understand their respective roles and how each can perform that role and work effectively together. We need to build and train our contract officers and program managers and discuss anew what constitutes "inherently governmental".
Step Four: Enhance collaboration between the federal government and state and local governments, as well as the non-profit and private sectors. It is widely acknowledged that the federal government alone cannot effectively respond to all the challenges now facing the nation: challenges ranging from the environment to terrorism. The next Administration must develop new ways to improve inter-government collaboration to meet these challenges. Over the past decade, there have been successful inter-government collaborations; but most have occurred in an ad-hoc fashion due to the determination of a dedicated, collaborative team. The next Administration should learn from these previous intergovernmental collaborations and ensure that such working relationships become the norm rather than the exception. This same concept can also be applied to the federal government's work with the non-profit and private sector as well. A transformed federal government should no longer try to "to go it alone."
Step Five: Become more citizen centric. Citizens want government to work effectively and seamlessly for them and to do so in a more open manner. They do not care what happens in the "back office." They are concerned about how quickly their applications are processed and their questions answered. A transformed government would place increased focus on seamless and transparent interactions between government and citizens. And it would concentrate as much - or more - on execution and operational excellence as on the initiation of new policies or programs.
Note: This column is adapted from an article in the Spring 2008 Special Issue of The Public Manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment