Report recommends separate pay system for IT workers

A separate pay system based on performance and results is needed to stop the exodus of information technology workers from the federal government, according to a study released Wednesday by the National Academy of Public Administration. NAPA's study, "The Transforming Power of Information Technology: Making the Federal Government an Employer of Choice for IT Employees," was released during the annual Interagency Resources Management Conference in Hershey, Pa. The report was prepared for the federal CIO Council and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The report encourages the government to create an alternative pay system for technology workers to address shortcomings in the federal government's IT recruiting and retention methods. More than 50 percent of the government's information technology workforce will be eligible to retire in the next five years, NAPA said. According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government employed approximately 60,000 IT professionals at the end of fiscal 2000. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the federal government will need an additional 16,000 IT workers in the next 10 years. According to NAPA, a recent survey by Computerworld magazine found that not one mid-level or senior IT manager in the federal government was being paid the industry average. "The federal government must have the tools needed to win the 'war for talent,'" the report said, and the primary tool should be competitive pay. The report recommended a new governmentwide pay system for IT workers, with salaries set as close as possible to the going rate in the private sector. Under the new pay system, an annual IT labor market pay survey would be used to keep track of private sector pay rates. IT workers would no longer receive automatic pay increases, across-the-board pay increases, longevity pay increases and cost-of-living pay increases. Instead, federal IT workers would only get pay increases based on their performance and results. NAPA's plan calls for four new pay levels: entry, developmental/technical supervisor, full performance/analytical supervisor and expert/manager. Each would be linked to a General Schedule grade level. Current employees would be able to stay in the General Schedule system or move to the new one, but new employees could only be hired into the new system. "The new system must narrow the pay gap between private and public sector IT workers," the report said. The new pay system also must give managers the freedom to pay people based on their skills, competencies and contributions. NAPA suggested that managers be given the authority to set starting pay and determine bonuses, within the system's guidelines. Competitive benefits should be another facet of the new system, NAPA said. "Until the federal government can offer a more competitive benefits package for senior technical employees as well as executives, it will not be successful in its recruiting battles for these individuals," the report said. NAPA recognized that a governmentwide shift to the new pay system would be difficult to achieve. "Any change in the status quo is usually met with some resistance," the report said. To implement the change, there must be a collaborative effort by the CIO Council, the Office of Management and Budget and OPM. Both political appointees and career federal employees should be identified and empowered to lead this initiative in the agencies and departments, the report said. "This will require commitment at every level," the report said. "There must be both an understanding of the costs and a willingness to bear those costs."