Author Archive

Howard Risher
Workforce Management Consultant
Howard Risher is a consultant focusing on pay and performance. In 1990, he managed the project that led to the passage of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act and the transition to locality pay. Howard has worked with a variety of federal and state agencies, the United Nations and OECD. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State and an MBA and Ph.D. in business from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of the new book It's Time for High-Performance Government: Winning Strategies to Engage and Energize the Public Sector Workforce (2016), with Bill Wilder.
Howard Risher is a consultant focusing on pay and performance. In 1990, he managed the project that led to the passage of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act and the transition to locality pay. Howard has worked with a variety of federal and state agencies, the United Nations and OECD. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State and an MBA and Ph.D. in business from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of the new book It's Time for High-Performance Government: Winning Strategies to Engage and Energize the Public Sector Workforce (2016), with Bill Wilder.
Management
Why Biden Should Expand OPM’s Role
Changes instituted by the Trump administration reflect an outdated and discredited “do as you’re told” approach to management.
- Howard Risher
Management
Rebuilding Government as a Purpose-Driven Organization
An agency’s purpose should be the foundation for workforce management.
- Howard Risher
Management
It's Time to Rethink Employee Performance Management
The Trump administration’s plan to link layoffs to performance ratings is not credible because the ratings themselves are not credible.
- Howard Risher
Management
Why Agencies Should Invest in Managers (and Pay Them More)
The pandemic has created an opportunity for government to change the way work gets done. Managers will be the key to success.
- Howard Risher
Management
Remaking Government as a Great Place to Work
For reasons now buried in history, the Office of Personnel Management has never provided leadership in analyzing or tackling workforce problems.
- Howard Risher
Management
The GS System Is a Barrier to Effective Governance
The rigidity of the General Schedule, the political pressure to control payroll costs, the importance of tenure and the restricted authority of managers all impede effective workforce management.
- Howard Risher
Management
Rebuilding the Federal Workforce
The Biden administration will need to make the civil service more competitive with the private sector in attracting needed talent.
- Howard Risher
Management
The Speed of Workforce Change Is Undermining the Civil Service
Personnel practices rooted in blue collar work from the last century continue to hold government back.
- Howard Risher
Management
Reforming Agencies to be Ready for the Future
Former Comptroller General David Walker makes a strong case for transforming federal personnel systems to stress values of accountability, integrity and reliability.
- Howard Risher
Management
What Stakeholder Public Service Would Look Like
Leading companies have made commitments to their employees. Government should do the same.
- Howard Risher
Management
The Civil Service System Has Failed — Again
A new white paper reinforces the notion that the way forward is to work around the current system.
- Howard Risher
Management
Why Government Must Change Its Management Model
Bureaucracy is getting worse, not better.
- Howard Risher
Management
Empowering Employees is Essential to Improving Performance
Empowered employees take goal achievement very seriously. When problems arise, they know they are expected to act.
- Howard Risher
Management
The Missing Management Practice: Linking Metrics to Rewards
Engagement is clearly important, but it doesn’t assure an organization’s success.
- Howard Risher
Management
The Lack of Meaningful Human Capital Metrics Is Hurting Agencies
There’s no effective dashboard documenting the government’s efforts to solve its considerable workforce problems.
- Howard Risher
Pay & Benefits
Federal Pay is Way Off Track
The General Schedule system is unresponsive to labor market dynamics and agency staffing needs.
- Howard Risher
Management
OPM Should Take a Lesson From the Army
Making skills and competencies integral to talent management is an effective strategy in every field.
- Howard Risher
Management
It’s Time for ‘Stakeholder Public Service’
A commitment to fairly serve all who have a stake in government—including employees—would serve the nation well.
- Howard Risher
Management
HR Holds the Keys to Revitalizing Public Service
The pandemic and emerging budget problems make it imperative to manage government’s people assets more effectively.
- Howard Risher
Pay & Benefits
The Pandemic Drove the Final Nail in the GS System
The government is confronted with a different workforce management reality than at any time in the past.
- Howard Risher