Managing in the Information Age

The looming retirement wave and subsequent efforts to replace retiring workers brings an opportunity for how organizations can function better, according to a new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The state of supervision in the federal government is changing, the report noted, largely due to an increasingly knowledge-based environment, new human resources flexibilities, telework initiatives and a move to a multisector workforce. While a mass exodus of seasoned supervisors in the coming years will present challenges for federal agencies, it also presents an opportunity to create a new supervisory cadre that is better equipped to manage this new knowledge-based work environment, MSPB said.

Specifically, the report noted that the increase in knowledge-based work has created an environment where supervisors and workers are called on to organize communication networks rather than hierarchies, and supervisors must adapt to being more of a teammate and coach than a traditional boss. "Agencies should take advantage of the coming supervisory exodus to recruit, select, appraise, and train new supervisors on their ability to engage knowledge workers in our increasingly information-based, technology-oriented, and collaborative work environment," the report states.

MSPB recommended that agencies reexamine the work demands currently placed on supervisors, and take into account the changing nature of supervision in the federal workplace as they build recruitment, assessment, selection and development programs for supervisors. Agencies also should train supervisors on how to better engage employees by empowering them, promoting teamwork and cooperation and rewarding employees appropriately, MSPB said.

How has the nature of work changed at your federal agency, and what specific challenges are supervisors facing as a result? Do you share MSPB's view that the looming retirement wave presents an opportunity to create a new supervisory cadre that is better equipped to manage in the information age?