A while back, a colleague was on a young managers panel at a conference. She was asked, in the Q&A, what one message she would impart to future managers: The response, in a split second, was “What you’re giving now? You can never give less.” She was right. Your days spent treading water now areRead… Read more »
In business, it’s important to keep facilities running smoothly and efficiently so that daily operations don’t detract from the company’s core purpose. While the primary objective of most corporations is to generate revenue while serving their customers to the best of their ability, daily nuisances such as broken equipment, manual business processes, upgrades, replacements andRead… Read more »
Today is International Women’s Day, a holiday that originated as a way of recognizing working women and promoting fair and safe working conditions. Many women across the globe face the most basic issues with respect to the conditions in which they work. In the US, we are lucky to have made great strides in thisRead… Read more »
Read this before you sign another petition. What makes a proper petition? And are they useful? We Americans love our petitions, but too many don’t understand how they work. A well-written petition, directed to the appropriate target, can be an important tool to create change, but it can’t stand alone. Our Constitution’s First Amendment guaranteesRead… Read more »
With Telework Week fast approaching on March 4th and the leaked memo from Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, turning back the clock on workplace flexibility, it seems like a good time to comment on the twin concepts of “connection” and “innovation.” Whatever Mayer’s real motivation for wanting to bring the Yahoo workforce back into the office,Read… Read more »
By John Coombs, CFCM, DAWIA III As fiscal pressures rise, senior leaders across the federal government place additional emphasis on Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contracts. A prime example is the Department of Defense “Better Buying Power” memoranda. FFP contracting is an important method to add simplicity and cost efficiency, but with respect to services, FFP contractingRead… Read more »
All year we’ve been talking about how low employee morale is plaguing agencies. Pay freezes, budget cuts and the partisan debate over the value of feds’ work has led to a steady decline in employee morale and an ebbing commitment. In fact, the Partnership for Public Service’s annual Best Places to Work survey saw employeeRead… Read more »
Do you like where you work? It seems like a simple question on the surface, but for agencies who are fighting for personnel, budgets and morale the question is gigantic. So every year the Office of Personnel Management goes out to agencies and asks that question. In the past few months OPM has asked 1.6Read… Read more »
In my last post, I wrote about disengaged, yet loyal, employees. I received several comments from readers and colleagues about the message contained in that article. Some wanted to know more about the personal experience that I included in the article, others questioned who would stay in a job that they didn’t enjoy, and severalRead… Read more »
The answer may be yes! Studies show that while most government employees are satisfied with their jobs, many are not actively engaged in the performance and quality of their work. Yet, a hearty 63% of those public sector workers say that they intend to stay in their positions long-term. Factors such as leadership effectiveness, performanceRead… Read more »