NextGen+ The Next Generation of Leaders Making Changes at HUD

Many agencies have been prepping for the “retirement wave” hitting the Federal Government, including the Office of Personnel Management with new reforms to the Pathways Program. In addition to recruiting a talented workforce, however, agencies face the additional challenge of retaining young employees.

At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Michael Lawyer had noticed that attrition was especially bad with workers who had been there less than five years. It was with that in mind that he and Anthony Soriano began the group, Under 5, for employees who have been with HUD for less than five years. Laywer and Soriano spoke with Chris Dorobek of the DorobekINSIDERregarding both Under 5, as well as the impact of GovLoop’s NextGen and their upcoming involvement in NextGen+ as lightning speakers.

Lawyer said that what had initially begun as a griping session for the group quickly transformed into a problem solving session. “We had some good luck with our first initial push to make things better – it was amazing, it was a really small thing. We were using an outdated version of Internet Explorer as our browser, which doesn’t seem like much, but for new employees […] to come and use a five year old browser that wasn’t compatible was a real culture shock.” After reaching out and having conversations with the CIO, they were able to transition to downloading Google Chrome.

Other agencies are starting to take notice of Under 5, with many beginning to recognize the real need for organizations like this for new employees. Laywer also commended many new government leaders who attended the NextGen Summit, who are currently engaging in this issue all across the Federal Government.

Lawyer and Soriano will be lightning speakers at this year’s NextGen+, an extension of this summer’s NextGen Training Summit. The half-day training will focus on educating, inspiring and training emerging government leaders – these two are definitely a great success story for making change in government.

For more about Lawyer and Soriano, check out: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bureaucracy

To save your seat at NextGen+, sign up at:

http://nextgendc-glevents.eventbrite.com/