Building a first-rate system

  • Published
  • By Jim Garamone
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  It is all about building a first-rate personnel system to complement a first-rate military, said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

In an interview, Chu spoke about the changes that may come about if Congress allows Department of Defense officials to set up the National Security Personnel System.

For civilian employees, the system will mean pay banding, easier hiring and firing, better compensation for the best people and many other improvements.

For military people, it will mean that many jobs -- 300,000 by some estimates -- now being performed by servicemembers will revert to civilian employees or contractors. It may change the length of time general and flag officers must serve to retire, and it may allow some officers to stay in certain jobs for a longer period of time.

For the reserve components, it may allow people to move between active duty and reserve component jobs more easily.

These changes were originally part of the Defense Transformation for the 21st Century Act of 2003. The legislation is now being considered as part of the Defense Authorization Act.

Chu said the vast majority of Americans "think we're stodgy and unresponsive, and they are right." Some of that is deserved, but some "reflects the statutes we're forced to operate with."

It takes a long time to hire a new worker, he said. This can cause serious problems in offices, especially if someone leaves unexpectedly.

Department officials also do a poor job of recognizing excellent workers, Chu said. Merit pay has to be more than a buzz word, he said, with compensation tied to performance. The proposed personnel system will allow merit-based compensation.

The current system also makes it difficult for DOD officials to get rid of poor performers, he said.

"Everybody wants to be part of a first-rate organization," Chu said. "And first rate means if you're not cutting it, then you're out of there. And we don't have the mechanisms to do that."

Officials will build on the successes of nine demonstration projects to put pay banding into effect. They will move immediately to institute the pay reform in the acquisition community -- they already have the authority to do that, Chu said. Officials must wait for changes in legislation to institute the practice throughout DOD.

If the new system is approved, there will be five career fields with three or four pay bands, depending on the career field. The system will give managers a lot of flexibility in placing new hires and rewarding good workers, Chu said.

Chu also spoke about proposed changes to reduction-in-force rules, which have to be approved by Congress. Current rules "are dominated by seniority," he said. "That's inconsistent with a pay-for- performance program."

In the current system, longevity counts first, veterans preference is second and performance, third, he said.

"As a practical matter, performance is such a distant third that it doesn't count," Chu said. "We've proposed to exactly reverse those three items. Performance would be first; veterans status, second; and longevity, third. We're very hopeful that the Congress will give us the authority to do that."

Chu said the proposals do not look to gut the civil service, but to bring it into the 21st century. The proposals respect the "bedrock" of civil service, but they do place that bedrock firmly in the present, he said.

Some proposals will not make it this year because they have not been included in either the Senate or House versions of the bill. Modernizing the training system is one such proposal.

"Under current law, we cannot train you for a job you don't have," Chu said. The undersecretary said department officials will resubmit the proposal to improve the training system next year.

Charges that the proposals would allow nepotism or political favoritism are "hogwash," Chu said. Prohibited practices will still be prohibited.

"It is critical that we assure people that their interests and our interests are aligned," he said. "We have no interest in a weak civil-personnel system. We want a strong civil-personnel system to produce a first-rate team for the nation."

It is important to modernize and transform the system not only for today's workers, but also for tomorrow's, Chu said.

"We have to appeal to the next generation of talented men and women -- the new people who are going to make the decision about 'Should I take a public-sector post?'" he said. "We are not seen by the nation's young people as a good choice. We have to change that."