Senior Executive Service: A Looming 'Brain Drain'

摘要

For several years commentators of the U.S. Civil Service System have claimed that a flood of departing Senior Executive Service (SES) employees will create severe problems throughout the federal government. These pundits base their concerns on data signaling tremendous increases in the number of retirement eligible SES's throughout the federal government. Recent studies by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Accounting Office (GAO) confirm that nearly three-quarters of today's entire SES population will be eligible to retire by Fiscal year 2005. Based on the OPM and GAO's statistics, this study will examine current/proposed initiatives designed to either retain those currently in the SES, or identify succession programs to train, and assign qualified replacements for senior executives leaving the federal government. A brief review of the U.S. Civil Service System, and personnel/compensation programs developed to meet the unique challenges of personnel management at the senior level of government will provide a backdrop against which to review current agency or federal wide initiatives and recommendations for the future.