us federal workforce: a pulse check on today’s human capital challenges

Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.

US Federal Workforce: A Pulse Check on Today’s Human Capital Challenges

Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.Copyright © 2015 Accenture. All rights reserved. 2Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.

• What are their top challenges?• Is their agency prepared to address

these challenges?• Are they measuring the right things,

the right way?

In 2015, Accenture Federal Services surveyed more than 200 defense and civilian agency executives to get their views on attracting, recruiting and retaining talent—and planning for the next generation of leaders:

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Federal executives cite four main challenges in achieving their workforce vision:

Defense agencies rated retaining top talent as the #1 challenge

Civilian agencies rated driving employee engagement as the #1 challenge

Top Challenges

RetainingTalent

Driving Employee Engagement

Attracting New Talent

Building Leadership Talent


Feds rank their top five challenges in attracting and retaining talent…

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1. Lack of career development

2. Attractive competing offers from other organizations

3. Lengthy hiring timeline

4. Lack of mobility withinthe organization

5. Lack of career paths


Top Challenges


C-suite:

… but perceptions vary between C-suite executives and HR leaders:

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HR:



3. Attractive competing offers

4. Lengthy timeline

5. Lack of mobility

1. Attractive competing offers


3. Lengthy timeline

4. Lack of mobility


Top Challenges

Civilian agencies cite lack of mobility

Defense agencies cite lack of career development opportunities

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Civilian agencies cite streamlined application process and defined skill sets and competencies

Federal executives ranked top changes needed to improve recruitment and promotion of talent:

2. Defined skill sets and competencies across the organization

3. Defined employee learning opportunities

4. Defined career paths across the organization

5. Articulated employee value proposition

Defense agencies cite defined employee learning opportunities and clearer employee value proposition

1. Streamlined application process

Top Challenges


Federal executives recognize there are challenges to overcome.

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How prepared are federal agencies to address these challenges and secure the next generation of leaders?



are optimistic that their agency will be able to develop the next generation of leaders over the next three years.

This optimism implies that agencies have processes in place:• To overcome the top challenges identified

in attracting and/or retaining talent

• For faster recruitment and promotion of talent

However, over 60% of executives feel at least some improvement is needed across a wide range of areas for their agency to identify and develop the next generation of leaders.

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Nine out of 10 federal executives Optimist or Realist?



view the retirement of 1/3 of current federal employees in the next three years as a positive development.

• This positive impact is attributed primarily tothe ability to attract and promote new talent.

• This widespread optimism suggests that these executives have greater confidence in their ability to handle issues, which are a cause of concern for their less optimistic counterparts:• 50% Lack of succession planning

• 26% Lack of knowledge management

• 24% Loss of mission-critical skills

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Nearly 70% of federal executives Optimist or Realist?


BUT only 12% of recent college graduates indicated federal government as their top industry choice.

On the upside, 74% expect to be with their first job for at least three years and almost 1/3 expect to be with an employer for more than five years.

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are optimistic about retaining the next generation of millennials.

Nine out of 10 federal executives Optimist or Realist?

Create a streamlined, transparent hiring process

Establish a flexible work environment

Increase use of social media

Accenture 2015 College Graduate Employment Survey

Federal executives identified top three steps that their agencies should take to attract and retain millennials:

Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.

>50 federal executives indicate that employee engagement has a major impact on their organizations’ productivity.

Federal executives ranked developing a positive culture and creating opportunities as the top two ways to address employee engagement.

Better opportunities Positive culture

Important steps to improve employee engagement:

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Optimist or Realist?


60+% indicate at least some improvement is needed in these areas.

agree SIGNIFICANT improvement is needed in:

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20% of federal executives Optimist or Realist?

significant improvement

needed

at least some improvement needed

20%

60%

Hiring Attracting and recruiting new talent

Onboarding new employees

Forecasting hiring needs 1‒5 years into the future

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80+% of federal executives feel data is important to understanding their key workforce and talent challenges:

Employee metrics (94%)Organization (93%) Employee movement (93%) Role information (89%) Employee demographics (81%)

But more than 50% of federal executives feel at least some improvement is needed in their ability to forecast:• Attrition in the next six months to one year• Retirement in the next one to five years• Hiring to fill resource gaps due to attrition and retirement• Skill sets required in the next five years

Optimist or Realist?


Are federal agencies prepared today for tomorrow’s federal workforce? Is YOUR agency ready?

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A prevailing sense of optimism exists. BUT federal executives agree there is room for improvement.

Align your agency’s optimism against reality. Evaluate your organization objectively and prioritize accordingly. What is the biggest impact that you can make to secure the next generation of leaders?

It’s time to rethink approaches and apply new ones. Today.Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.


Contact

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For more information:

Jeanne WardManaging [email protected]

David DiSantoSenior [email protected]

http://www.accenture.com/federal


mailto:[email protected]



https://www.accenture.com/us-en/afs-industry-index?c=psv_usfedwfss16_10000001&n=smc_0216

http://www.twitter.com/AccentureFed

http://www.linkedin.com/company/accenture-federal-services


Survey Methodology

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In July 2015, Accenture Federal Services conducted an online survey of US federal agency human capital executives and other C-suite-level officers.

The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into the human capital challenges federal agencies are facing, specifically in the areas of attracting and retaining younger workers, drivers of employee engagement, and the effective use of human capital data and analytics.

Results are based on an online survey of 219 US federal executives from more than 50 defense and civilian agencies.


Agency Type

Defense 73 33%

Civilian 146 67%

Total 219 100%

Job Title

HR 140 64%

C Suite 79 36%

Total 219 100%

us federal workforce: a pulse check on today’s human capital challenges

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