Federal News Network’s Post

Grateful to get to work at U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where #leadership at all levels — starting from the very top — is working to prioritize and improve organizational #climate and #culture in meaningfully concrete ways. Some key insights from Secretary Mayorkas— * “Engagement begins at the top and must cascade throughout…. Whether it is your first-line supervisor, which is where the rubber meets the road, but [also] upwards and sideways and every which way, it has to be cascading.” * “[W]e don’t have a monopoly on what the workforce needs…. We want to hear directly from them and involve them as a team in addressing the challenges.” * [**THIS**] “[A] vacant position is a drain on morale, because the work needs to get done. And that means others are shouldering more.” [**YES**] * #DHS is “looking to hire from ‘places that we might not otherwise have gone to,’ Mayorkas said. He pointed to DHS’ goal to have its law enforcement ranks comprise 30% #women by 2030. ‘We’re going to exceed that goal,’ Mayorkas said.” * “Mayorkas has also been lauded … for his generous granting of administrative leave to DHS employees around the holidays. His affinity for giving extra time off to staff has even led some to jokingly dub him the ‘Patron Saint of Admin Leave’…. ‘It’s a small gesture of recognition and #appreciation,’ Mayorkas explained. ‘When one travels around the country and the world and sees how incredibly hard our people work and their unbelievable skill and talent, admin leave is a tool that I have to say, “We recognize that, we appreciate it. And here is an expression of #gratitude”.’.” “Mayorkas details DHS workforce gains, future plans” — https://lnkd.in/ddwQj-HG

Army commanders fail to adequately address all forms of harassment, DoD IG says: The review also uncovers a leadership failure to do historical comparisons to identify year-to-year trends in harassment. The post Army commanders fail to adequately address all forms of harassment, DoD IG says first appeared on Federal News Network. #FederalNewsRadio #IDefense

Article from a few months ago that I just came across. Still relevant as recruitment/retention are issues among military and we see similar things within LE. You get a sense of concerns from the organization and ground level VS the politician. Applicants are told approx 18-24 months to handle their application… About 15,000 of 21,000 permanent residents applying to the regular forces have walked away while waiting. #permanentresident #loyalty #oath Isn’t that good? You can’t wait a short 18-24 months from the comfort of your home, how are you going to do a 6 month deployment in horrible conditions? How will you give 20+ years to a profession that will kick you, both mentally and physically? I know cops who waited several years to get into their services. Makes me wonder if people are there for the right reasons. Meanwhile, the reasons given for the length of background checks are completely reasonable. #realitycheck #CareerOrCalling Brodie- “At the end of the day, we have to be a combat-capable force ready to fight tonight, and so standards matter,” Brodie said. “And when you’re dealing with sensitive military equipment in a national security environment, those factors are really important.” #standards #nationalsecurity Although if Defence Minister Blair 🙄 has any say it’s all about getting a vote: “Blair said the recruitment process has to move faster. He said he’s asked his department to look at allowing permanent residents to serve on a probationary basis while they wait for their security checks to be completed.” #JustANumber #YourWorth #replaceable 🤔 Hmm, what could go wrong? This is a problem of many facets and was started long ago. You don’t fix it overnight Minister. What do people think? #armedforces #army #navy #vetting #backgroundcheck #politics #protection #security #recruitment #retention #strategy #morepeople #fillinggaps #time Wayne Eyre Mike F James Chorley Chance Burles Mark Bouchard Ron Chhinzer News article: https://lnkd.in/gXNuMdBW Brodie speaking to standards: https://lnkd.in/gzUnaXzM

Excellent testimony and yet another great reminder that when we focus so much time and effort on such a small percentage of the entire #federalworkforce (I.e. only 15% of the entire government who lives and works in the National Capitol Region… and from that only 50% of those (at best) who are in positions that are even eligible to participate in #telework at all… let alone from that tiny percentage (approx 7% of the entire government) who does so with regularity and at rates between 20-70% of their duty hours… it makes you wonder WHY we are trying to legislate and mandate and force restrictions in a one-size fits all approach for how we will apply workplace flexibilities like #remotwork and #hybridwork when these efforts don’t apply to the vast majority… not a sermon just a thought… 🤷♀️

Employers and the government must work together to develop a skilled, productive, and inclusive workforce to compete and succeed in the modern global economy. Creating opportunities for untapped talent — older workers, veterans, military spouses and caregivers, formerly incarcerated individuals, individuals living with disabilities, and opportunity youth — are critical talent pipelines that help employers broaden their talent pools. SHRM asks that you contact your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives and urge them to support H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, which the House is expected to vote on soon. This legislation amends and reauthorizes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

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But, but, but, how can this be? Did we not appease the Star Chamber through sacrifice? Did we not rename all the bad Forts and Ships; did we not cater to over 22 new genders; did we not add drag-queens as spokespeople and unofficial "brand ambassadors"; did we not add a myriad new fanciful Tolkien-esque pronouns to the Correspondence & Awards Manuals; did we not dox GOP'ers; did we not try to prohibit Conservatives from attending certain rallies; did we not promote key leaders based solely on DEI checklists in lieu of actual accomplishments / skillsets; did we not kick thousands of people out for refusing rushed vaccines; did we not make Identity Politics MORE important than warfighting; did we not turn the 20-year Afghan "GWOT" withdrawal into an unmitigated disaster; did we not demonize veterans and accuse them of being domestic terrorists; did we not allow thousands & thousands of disability rating requests to backlog at the VA? What else can we be expected to do? Surely we've done all we can? Wait; wait just a second. I wonder if Title 10 USC has anything to say? (You know, our Country's Code of Laws - that mysterious and oft ignored entity (like The Constitution!) that officially codifies the USA's 54-ish general and permanent federal statutes.) What if - now hear me out; what if we GOT RID of anything and everything that interferes with our warfighting functions and / or clouds the needed warrior mindset and / or otherwise hampers/negates/prevents our Military from actually being that ultimate extension / Striking Arm of National Policy? Maybe we just stop turning the U.S. Military into an ever-morphing social science experiment based on Pandering Political Quixotic Whimsy (PPQW). Many have forgotten that our Military exists solely to kill people and/or break their toys. Stop trying to turn it into a twisted, pseudo-pygmalion showcase for fringe thoughts, concepts and ideals. Concentrate on building, fostering & mentoring effective COMBAT oriented Leaders, (and culling the ineffective ones); actual leaders who are knowledgeable AND fluent in their services' Title 10 USC responsibilities and warfighting functions. Stop breeding these politically reliable automatons; these sycophantic, agenda-driven 'supervisors/managers' who only know what it means to be "in charge" but have no functional understanding of actual leadership nor what it means to be a member in good-standing of the Profession of Arms. Do you want to know why we are at our lowest number in years? It's very simple. The realistic target audiences (and many of the veterans they'll seek guidance from) do not currently trust the Armed Forces of the United States writ large. They do not like the direction the military is headed. They do not like woke recruiting commercials and ads and policies - and worst of all they NO LONGER think our country is worth dying for anymore. All of that should scare the sh-it out of everybody. Personally, the last one absolutely terrifies me.

I’ve been preaching this to my restricted community leaders for the last three to four years. Sending up warnings that these issues that I felt were going to impact our staffing and retention. It’s here now, what’s the game plan? There isn’t one, we Marines, just rely on our culture of indoctrination and blind obedience. That indoctrination or as we call it “transformation and education”, includes the complete and ignorant obedience to any lawful order. I understand that this type of obiedence and discipline is required for Marines to continue obliterating the willpower of our nation’s enemies. But, as others have mentioned in previous shares, it’s all based on trust, trust that the Marine to our left and right is going to do their job to protect me as I will for them. This applies to all Marines, whether that Marine on our left or right is a private, or Commondant of the Marine Corps. As they’ve already stated, that trust is certainly not present with most current active personnel, veterans, and potential recruits. Say what you want, but most of our forces’ middle management that are eligible for retirement, are hanging on solely because of future financial benefits to their pension. They ignore the bad decisions, lack of guts, and empty reassurances from our senior political and general leaders in the DoD. But, guess what happened a few years ago…. we changed the traditional 20 year retirement to a TSP contribution system. Now, there is no incentive for a Staff Sergeant at 12 years to reenlist other than their commitment to the Marine Corps. You think the Marine Corps is doing okay right now, just wait, it’s coming. For all the gutless folks that dont stand for what’s right, take a lesson from the biography of Victor Krulak titled “Brute”. Ignore the derogatory impacts to your own selfish career goals and speak up and out when it’s needed against the political agenda. Especially, when it’s costing Marines their lives and careers.

The future of work is about diverse forms of work! According to Staffing Industry Analysts, 1 out of 5 workers is a contingent worker and the future trend is definitely going upwards. But are our policy frameworks ready? Let us know in the comments how the situation is in your country!

In “How to Keep the Troops Happy,” American Banker speaks with Robb Rempel and other experts about what institutions must do differently to attract, retain, and grow employees in today’s workforce.