The Week in Comments: Pros and cons of flip-flops, pay-for-performance and insourcing
The best in reader reaction to recent articles.
A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
On Defense ends performance-based pay for intelligence employees
GOOD! It never was pay for performance, it is a pay for patting the boss on the back. It is very difficult to work in an environment where a small handful of people 'surrounding' the boss are getting bonus checks for several thousand dollars, and the others---ZERO. Ratings are not doled out fairly but made to ensure that others prop the bonus of the elite few. GOOD. Its a extemely poor system, handled poorly by the greedy.
I'm sure I understand the alternative to being paid for performance- being present? tenure? good intentions? political connections? Employees have the right to have their performance measured and to know if they are doing the job or not. Anything less is an insult to employees. Who wants to be treated like a child and protected from feedback.
DCIPS forced participants to actually document what they were supposed to do and then document what they did. The old system was a "flip the form over and change the verbs in the few sentences to past tense" without any effort to actually support the ratings with metrics. So many feds are unable to clearly articulate what they do and how well they did it and why they were doing it in the first place - that is the real reason so many don't/didn't like DCIPS.
On Burning Question: Are flip-flops appropriate for work?
Say NO to flip-flops!
What's next? Mini skirts with no undergarments?
What about men or women being able to wear pants near the knees? I mean with the global warming and all its suppose to get hotter in the summer.
I would not even *consider* wearing flip-flops to work, they are definitely NOT work attire. (And I *am* a "young fed", 27 years old and in the gov't since I was 22).
No
I think flip-flops are appropriate for work. I have a pair on today that coordinates with proper work attire; dress slacks, dress knit top. I coordinate my flip flops with work clothing. It is no different from men wearing athletic shoes to work.
While I agree that dress should be appropriate for the conduct of business, A suit and tie, while it looks "pretty" does not make one a smart man. A professional environment is NOT one where everyone is dressed to the 9s, rather it is one where all work together toward a common goal. I am impressed only by what is between ones ears and the ability to present a useful idea. If you are sitting there in a tailored suit, starched while shirt, and tassled shoes nodding your head yes or simply reciting the bullet points from a powerPoint presentation - you are wasting my professional time! And for the ladies - lose the high heels - pumps or flats and save your feet...........
I don't know who decided that a suit/dress/uncomfortable shoes, etc are proper attire for an office worker or anyone else for that matter. Re footwear, the issue should be "safety" (i.e., fully shod for those working in an environment that warrants where accidental injury could occur more easily if unprotected (e.g., construction, laboratory, with machinery, etc). Of course, some common sense is needed but in general, it's a sorry state of affairs when appearance trumps intellect!
Uh, no. Unless you work for Jimmy Buffet in Key West...
They are only appropriate if you are telecommuting.
On Lawmaker seeks cap on federal workforce growth
More union exploitation. It won't be long before the only place hiring is the Government.
Whats wrong with keeping a lid on government spending and hiring excess employees? Why limit it as well to exclude certain agencies? The private sector has downsized and at times are forced to because of the economy, its the government meddling in the markets that prevents the private sector from recovering as well.
Why is it that outsourcing saves private companies a ton of money, but increases costs when the government does it? Could it be that internal/external "competitions" are stacked in the favor of the internal (union) employees by a margin of 10%?
Here it comes again. Eartth to Sen Hatch. If you do not constantly intake new young people you will create knowledge gaps like you already have. Once all your knowledge resides with the contractors, they will dictate how much ransom it will take to get it back!
On Senators are worried about counterfeit Defense supplies
The Pentagon should only be purchasing critical components from a list of approved vendors. This is not a new idea or requirement.
It's nice the Senators are worried, but you'd think they would realize that because the government is obligated to buy from the LOWEST bidder, the winner has to get their product from some supplier at a price that fits into their bid. So it's no wonder we are plagued with counterfeit products.
I thought this lesson would have been learned when we had the thumb drive snafu.... The government sure is a slow learner but then again look at the job loss overseas if we actually practice "Made In The USA" only.
On Gates announces major cuts at Defense
It's about time somebody stood up and said enough is enough. Mr. Gates is now my hero for making this tough decision.
I can see how displacing this number of workers is certainly going to help the economy recover. $240 million savings? Is he serious? $240 million is nothing compared to the things they are spending money on helping foreign countries known to be less than friendly and cooperative to the US. How about shutting of the tap that takes money from the US and puts it in the hands of these thieves in other countries? We'd be better off giving it to the people in Appalachia - at least they would spend the money IN our economy rather than buying from the very countries that want to subjugate them and us.
Confounded Military Retiree Civilian Employee
May all these soon-to-be unemployed servants remember to vote Conservative this November when they are jobless.
It is about time! Figures indicate that people have reduced their personal debt for each of the past 22 months. If I and millions of other Americans can reform and reshape priorities, why shouldn't the Government do the same?
I'm sorry, but this looks to me to be the same kind of short-sighted idiocy that is being demonstrated right now in our force layout in Korea. The bases were spread out so that a nuclear attack from China could not obliterate all the United Nations Forces in Korea with a single attack. Now that North Korea has nuclear capability, the US bases are being consolidated into one place to make it easier for North Korea to knock them all out with its limited nuclear arsenal. ??????????????
On Policies on temporary workers come under fire
Why have temporary workers? When you can get them in other areas of the agency. Government needs to use their heads. Of course management. We have folks who fall asleep all of the time, like their bored or they play games on their computer. Take time off even. Slackers! Get those slackers! Make them earn their keep. Taxpayer dollars at work!
Rep. Connolly's statement that the use of temporary workers does an injustice to taxpayers is devoid of fact. Temporary workers continue to serve a purpose which results in a more cost effective government. The use of anecdotal testimony or statements by selected temp employees is hardly representative of the entire temp workforce. All Rep. Connolly wants is to appease the NFFE. NFFE is also disingenuous by stating that its proposals have no price tag; of course they do..increased costs when we can least afford it.
On Pentagon abandons insourcing effort
I do not believe Secretary Gates was given accurate information as to cost savings/avoidance with respect to the insourcing efforts within DoD. EVERYBODY in DoD knows that work performed by contractors cost more. Where is the GAO review of the effort? I'll bet that the report given to Gates was produced by a contractor.
Ah, but the cuts aren't unfairly focused on contractors. Cutting contracts needs to happen if we are EVER going to shrink the true size (and cost) of government.
I'm acquisition and I think we need to shrink a lot. And I don't mean the waste all around us, but the fact that we have too many toys and not enough cash to pay for it all. Shrink baby shrink.
On Burning Question: How do you tell a government employee from a contractor?
Gov. employees work to get paid, contactors get paid to work.
Thats not the way it works in my office. The contractors wear flip flops, paint their toenails at their desks and kick soccer balls around the office. The government employees wear ties even during the casual season.
Two additional ways to tell a contractor employee from a fed: 1. Only feds wear brown shoes 2. Feds pay their taxes.
Its easy to tell. Were not hindered by whether or not its written in a contract. Were driven by our privledge to be a part of an organization that encourages excellence, not profit. One that is motivated by meeting objectives with respect to the fact public funds are being expended. We dont have jobs, we have careers and we'll still be here 5, 10 and 20 years from now, so we take responsibility and plan for the future; Were known by our fruits, were professionals! We shouild be easy to spot.
If the person is working, not taking breaks, not playing on the internet and comes in early and stays late those are the contractors. Besides they don't respond with the answer "that's the way we have always done it"
On Expert questions savings in Pentagon contractor cuts
So what exactly is this expert and expert of? Lot of smoke and mirrors in this article. Nothing but lies.
The point is being missed -- contractors are unnecessary overhead to the Government. Their goal is different than ours - goal=make pofit. So, they make sure they convince the govt that more FTE bodies are needed when in fact, I would bet, if you cut most of the contract support, without converting to Govt, you would find as much efficiency if not more. There are way too many employees in govt offices with no jobs to do, or insignificant jobs to do.
What is the surprise here - that there was no economic analysis performed to determine who should do commercial work for the taxpayer or that the HR folks in charge of insourcing changed the rules to encourage insourcing with or with out a cost analysis to meet arbitrary insourcing Quotas? Seems like all part of the biggger progressive plan to me.
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