HCMD Free Resources

According to Chase, rapidly advancing technology and communications platforms available today allow us to do things more effectively and efficiently than in the past, and this is a good thing. He and his team created an “as-is” vs. “to-be” business strategy comparing the current organization to what it would look like if created from the ground up today. Through this process, the team figured out how to perform more effectively with 114 employees currently, vs. 140 employees last year. In the same time period, the agency’s customer service ratings went up by more than 35 percent. “We didn’t do it because we were worried about more fiscally constrained times,” said Chase. “We did it because it was the right thing to do.”

In this podcast, you’ll hear Chase outline how he worked through this strategy and how, through a screening strategy to determine when to use contractors vs. government positions, he was able to achieve $18 million in savings.

While some may worry about risks like decreased productivity or a lack of protection for classified documents, studies and experiments are showing that these factors are not prevalent. In fact, allowing telework can improve employee satisfaction and also mitigate some of the challengesthat face DoD employees and their families, such as frequent relocation under BRAC. Various agencies within the DoD have already begun to implement telework policies, as well as hoteling (when space is rented out for employees to work as needed).

Budda hopes that as the DoD tags more positions for telework eligibility, employee engagement will improve and dollars will ultimately be saved as holding less real estate and retaining employees longer will save money for the Department.

What’s the key to the Navy’s recent recruiting success? In the below podcast interview, Mr. Garcia gives insight into that question, and talks about the Wounded Warrior program, which is also forging ahead, gaining supporters and employing young veterans at a steady pace. Part of the Navy’s success is due to a historically generous GI bill, part is because of the innovation a career with the government can provide and part is because many new recruits have come of age post 9/11, says Mr. Garcia.

Listen to this podcast to hear Mr. Garcia talk about why in order to successfully recruit and retain top talent, the Navy needs to continue marketing to today’s modern employee and appealing to his and her patriotism.

Also in the podcast, he addresses how the Change Academy is helping organizations understand the value of and necessity for change. At the Jack. C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma, patient care has improved significantly, in part due to a three-week training session where the Academy brought together nearly 1,100 employees to learn how to work with each other and move the center forward. Here, listen to him discuss these and many other important aspects of hiring reform, shortening the process of government hiring, dealing with succession and the promise that new, young workers are bringing to the defense sector.