Digital Government

What are the ingredients of a successful mentoring experience?

One former official says mentoring is a "significantly underutilized opportunity" in the government. How can federal agencies encourage more employees to embrace mentoring relationships?

Digital Government

Vince Lombardi and federal management

Sen. Tom Carper recalls a saying by a legendary sports figure to illustrate the importance of setting clear goals.

People

New website will track federal agencies' performance

A senior administration official told Senators at a hearing May 10 that the government will launch an early version of a new website, Performance.gov, in the next few weeks to publicly track the performance of federal agency programs.

Digital Government

Are bills targeting the federal workforce destined to fail?

Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) introduced a bill May 5 to freeze most federal hiring. But will Marino's legislation (or other similar bills) ever get anywhere?

People

OPM builds how-to site for hiring managers

A new website will give the federal government one-stop access to recruitment resources such as multimedia learning tools and interactive forums with experts.

People

New bill would increase oversight of IT projects

Last month, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) introduced legislation that would require agency CIOs and the Office of Management and Budget to conduct systematic reviews of IT projects experiencing performance problems.

Digital Government

TechStat: Getting into the weeds of IT management

Federal IT managers better get ready for a more intense discipline of program oversight.

Digital Government

Managers: Put down the BlackBerry and engage your employees

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry tells federal managers that staring at their smart phones won't create a more open culture.

Digital Government

Why breaking rank is sometimes a good thing

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry recounts how one employee saved the day by ignoring agency protocol.

People

Culture change: A squishy topic but a vital one

The success of a new program or policy almost always comes down to creating a culture of trust and inclusion.

People

OPM tests tech for more collaborative workforce

OPM has started several collaborative technologies to create a more open workplace culture, according to OPM Director John Berry.

Modernization

OMB sets deadline for telework IT policies

The Office of Management and Budget is giving agencies 90 days to develop or update policies on buying IT to enable and promote the federal government’s adoption of telework.

Digital Government

Government has 'late-mover advantage,' Zients says

Jeffrey Zients, chief performance officer, has an optimistic view of the government's productivity gap.

People

IT reform effort expected to meet most deadlines

The Obama administration is reporting significant advances in implementing its 25-point IT reform plan released last December, but changes that require congressional consent appear to be lagging.

Digital Government

Will PM title change lead to better management? Readers doubt it.

A new IT program manager title is in the works. But, will the title make much of an impact in terms of actually improving federal IT?

People

OPM releases new time-to-hire reporting requirements

Federal agencies will soon be required to submit reports every quarter showing how long it takes them to hire new personnel, according to recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.

Digital Government

Former political powerhouses join Partnership's board

The Partnership for Public Service has elected former Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag and other key figures to its board of directors.

People

IT bill would hold CIOs accountable, step up oversight

Senators have introduced legislation that would require agency CIOs to conduct a review of an IT project if it deviates 20 percent or more from its baseline cost estimate.

People

Senators to introduce IT oversight bill

A group of senators plans to introduce a bill soon that will hold federal agencies and the Office of Management and Budget accountable to either fix or terminate IT projects that are failing.

People

Shutdown Watch: Government funding expires today

Continuing disagreements over spending cuts make a government shutdown almost certain.