Digital Government
Embracing Young Ideas
Allan Holmes on Monday wrote an <a href="http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2010/07/governments_big_recruiting_problem.php#comments-area">excellent post</a> on how the federal government is losing talented young workers because it simply reacts too slowly and does not seem open to new ideas. DMNews has an interesting <a href="http://www.dmnews.com/ibm-engages-generation-y/article/174848/">interview</a> with Pamela Evans, global digital marketing manager at IBM, about how IBM has been successful at recruiting, retaining and appealing to the younger generation. The effort to appeal to younger workers, Evans says, started 11 years ago, when IBM established a website exclusively for software developers. "We're not looking to push them to go places where we are; we really want to intercept them where they are," she says.
Digital Government
IT Jobs: Fed vs. Private Sector
The private sector is steps ahead of the federal government when it comes to overall job satisfaction as well as managing, training and rewarding employees, according to data from the <a href="http://www.fedview.opm.gov/2010/Reports/PrivComp.asp?AGY=ALL">2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey</a>.
Digital Government
Top-Dollar IT Skills
The battle is on for hard-to-find technology talent, and companies are paying top dollar for the most in-demand IT professionals. This month's edition of the <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Mzg4MzA1fENoaWxkSUQ9MzkxMDYwfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1">Dice Report</a> notes that this year's most in-demand jobs include software developers, C#, security analysts and engineers, database administrators and technology professionals with active federal security clearances.
Digital Government
IT Jobs Still Pay Premium
Starting salaries for computer science and computer engineering graduates have taken a bit of a hit this year but still remain significantly higher than starting salaries for other professions, InformationWeek <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/07/pay_for_compute.html;jsessionid=2HUUYIN513ZSBQE1GHPSKH4ATMY32JVN?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_ALL+">reports</a>.
Digital Government
Cyber Ambassadors
The Homeland Security Department on Wednesday announced the winners of a contest designed to garner new ideas to improve the public's cybersecurity awareness and literacy.
Digital Government
House Passes Telework Bill
The House on Wednesday passed legislation that would make telework a statutory requirement for every federal agency.
Digital Government
Younger Feds Happier With Jobs
Federal workers age 25 and younger are generally more satisfied with their jobs, pay and benefits than workers in other age groups, according to data from the <a href="http://www.fedview.opm.gov/2010/Reports/AgeComp.asp?AGY=ALL">2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey</a>.
Digital Government
Survey Shows Telework Improvements
Survey results released Monday give the first complete look at the number of federal employees participating in agency telework programs.
Digital Government
No Room for IT?
I'm in the process of analyzing the results of the <a href="http://www.fedview.opm.gov/">2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey</a>, and you certainly can expect more posts, particularly on telework and the generation-specific results of the survey, in the days to come. But one thing from the survey struck me as a bit surprising: this year's survey did not ask how employees use information technology or how satisfied they are with IT systems to perform work. These questions have been asked of employees on past surveys, and I <a href="http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2010/02/opm_kicks_off_2010_employee_survey.php?oref=search">questioned</a> back in February whether the new survey might make an even better attempt to gauge employee perceptions of agency IT programs and their ability to promote knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
Digital Government
Feds Satisfied With Their Jobs
Federal employees overwhelmingly are satisfied with their jobs and believe the work they do is important, but many believe the government still has work to do when it comes to providing training opportunities and rewarding top performers, according to survey results released Monday by the Office of Personnel Management.
Digital Government
OPM to Overhaul PMF Program
The Office of Personnel Management is looking to better recruit and retain the younger generation of workers by beefing up the Presidential Management Fellows program. In a <a href="http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=3016">letter</a> to agency chief human capital officers, OPM Director John Berry said OPM is creating "power packs" - small teams of PMFS - to work on projects as part of the reinvigoration effort.
Digital Government
Gen Y's Social Media Future
Social media tools will continue to play an integral role in the lives of Millennials, even as they get older, start families and take on more responsibilities, new research suggests.
Digital Government
Top Chief Challenges
Establishing guidance and providing training to federal employees on new information technology systems and government 2.0 tools is one of the top challenges for agency chief executives, according to a new <a href="http://www.govexec.com/gbc/TheChiefs2010/">survey</a> by the Government Business Council.
Digital Government
IRS Recruits on YouTube
The Internal Revenue Service has become the latest agency to launch a new job search tool on YouTube aimed at recruiting veterans and recent college graduates. The new playlist, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/IRSVideos#g/c/C229B1637C71A518">Working at the IRS</a>," showcases videos in which IRS employees discuss their jobs, the diversity of the IRS workforce and the culture of the agency. The YouTube effort coincides with the launch the <a href="http://jobs.irs.gov/home.html?navmenu=menu2">IRS Careers website</a>, which has more detailed information on job openings, how to apply for positions and information on the benefits of working at the IRS.
Digital Government
Another Take on Pay for Performance
A new study by the Heritage Foundation aims to point out that federal workers are paid 30 to 40 percent higher than their private sector counterparts. And this discrepancy is not justified because the federal government employs a more educated and skilled workforce, as many in government have claimed, the report states.
Digital Government
Gov's Next Generation
The <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nextgengovt.com%2F&ei=InIzTOKDNMrvnQfCvNn2Aw&usg=AFQjCNHqGUZytIyvYUalAX-SNo_RPztCAg&sig2=Ai6qoZjTOZxv6hBzcEKEOw">Next Generation of Government Summit</a> is taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Arlington, Va., and while Wired Workplace is a few too many miles away to attend, I've been following the tweets and live blog posts from the summit. Word is that there's few, if any, feds over 40 years old at the conference, and it should come as no surprise that the overarching theme appears to be technology and open government.
Digital Government
YouCut Targets Federal Pensions
Republican lawmakers are <a href="http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/week2.htm">targeting federal employee pensions</a> this week as part of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's YouCut program, an online contest designed to highlight government projects that Republican lawmakers think are wasteful.
Digital Government
Hurricanes and Telework
I know this week's posts have been a little telework-heavy, but it's worth noting that the Office of Personnel Management is reminding agency chief human capital officers that telework is an option for workers who may be affected by the 2010 hurricane season and the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. According to a <a href="http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=3005">letter</a> sent to agency CHCOs on Thursday, OPM encouraged agencies to include telework in its emergency preparedness planning and discuss plans with each telework employee in advance. All expectations should be included in the employee's telework agreement, OPM said.
Digital Government
Don't Oversell Telework?
While establishing telework programs at federal agencies will no doubt help recruit the next generation of federal employees, it's also important that agencies do not "oversell" the benefit to federal applicants, two agency representatives said Thursday.
Digital Government
600,000 Teleworking by 2014?
The federal government should set a goal of having at least 600,000 federal employees teleworking by 2014, according to a new report by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton.
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