New board will advise on improving government operations

President Barack Obama today established an advisory board to help his administration find the best ways to manage federal work.

The newly established President’s Management Advisory Board will offer advice and recommendations to the White House on how government agencies can improve their operations, such as paying close attention to productivity, applying technology usefully, and giving the public good customer service, according to a new executive order.

The board’s chairman will be Jeffrey Zients, deputy director of management in the Office of Management and Budget and the chief performance officer.

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Obama will appoint the remaining 17 board members,  who will be from outside of the federal government. The members must have a deep understanding of leading large and complex private-sector corporations or organizations and have top-level business experience in executive management, auditing and finance, and human resources. The president is also looking for people who know how to improve customer service and how to streamline operations, the order states.

The members may serve as representatives of their industries or public interest group. The composition of the board will reflect the views of diverse stakeholders, according to the new order.

Since he arrived at OMB, Zients has pushed for better management of government operations, including getting agencies to set up online dashboards to show the public if they are running well.

The board will last until 2012 unless the president extends the order.