| Comment Number: | OL-10502792 |
| Received: | 3/2/2005 9:08:28 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
1. I disagree with the opinion that current position descriptions are too lengthy. Lack of concise written job description robs a worker of the ability to hold management accountable to a work agreement in annual negotiations about performance. Revising and rewriting the the job descriptions should be done as required so both parties understand what is to be expected and how performance of these duties is to be measured. 2. Simplifying the Reduction in Force process needs to be politically balanced with the associated loss in retained competency created by a RIF. Many civil service positions require years to understand the rationale for current processes unique to the government, keep pace with administrative change cycles of these processes, and then to provide insight into adjustments that will further optimize these processes for the next generation. When an employee commits to learning and becoming proficient in these processes, it represents a personal sacrifice of thier commercial marketability as an employee. This sacrifice is usually made by government workers based on a sense of Duty to Country and a TRUST that thier commitment will be reciprocated with continued employment and retraining as required when a process shift occurs. Making the RIF administrative process easier undermines this trust by further detaching RIF decision makers from the sense of administrative personal responsibility and accountability to government employees. It becomes very easy to discount the trust that goes on with the handshake and oath of civil service employment when you are looking only at a balance sheet. Better representation in dollars of the "Human Experience Asset" losses associated with a RIF need to be weighed carefully before changing any Civil Service positions or services to Contractor positions and services. In order for this to be effective however, there will need to be someone looking out for the long term good of the country rather than just the next budget cycle. Until the "Human Experience Asset" is fairly represented in RIF decisions, I do not want to see the process made any more streamlined.