The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) requires all federal agencies to prepare comprehensive plans to remove management layers; attract a high-quality, diverse workforce; and link workforce needs directly to the achievement of strategic objectives. PMA guidance calls for the creation of a results-oriented, performance-based culture in which agencies recruit, train, and retain the right people with the right skills to ensure success. Under PMA, the OMB, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and GAO have prepared consolidated guidance, Human Capital Standards of Success, to help agencies develop these plans.

PMA underscores the need for agencies to link their human capital planning efforts clearly and directly with their strategic and program plans developed under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (PL 103-62). In response, the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) prepared both workforce restructuring plans and an outline for a human capital plan, but these plans do not encompass all IBB staff nor meet the criteria set forth in the consolidated guidance. Moreover, the plans do not fully comply with OMB standards requiring agencies to link program goals with performance measures and results.

The agency uses its annual language service review to systematically evaluate performance, results, and service priorities as well as align organizational endeavors. However, the lack of a detailed human capital plan makes it difficult to measure how effectively the agency can validate its workforce planning and restructuring efforts.

OIG reviewed IBB’s workforce restructuring and human capital plans to determine whether IBB was facing challenges in complying with the PMA goals and OMB standards. OIG found that IBB was facing major human capital challenges in striving to meet the PMA. For example, the agency told OIG that after a series of nine staffing reductions between 1994 and 2000, it was challenged to meet its mis

sion while assuming the legal, security, procurement, training, personnel, and other administrative functions it inherited when it became an independent entity in 1999. According to the IBB Workforce Restructuring Plan for 2003-07 (September 24, 2001) and the BBG Workforce Analysis (July 3, 2001) to OMB by the chief of staff, the agency lacked expertise in administration, management, and budgeting, which adversely affected the support of its managers needed to make day-to-day administrative and programmatic decisions.

During this review, agency managers told OIG that many staff members needed training to adapt to changing broadcasting skill sets in order to respond more effectively to immediate and emerging broadcast demands.

IBB employees are closer to retirement, higher graded, better paid, and have fewer years of service when compared with other federal employees. According to IBB workforce plans, by 2007 up to 83 percent of current managers and supervisors and 67 percent of other current staff will be eligible for retirement. Additionally, given standard attrition rate projections, up to an additional 24 percent of staff not eligible for retirement may also depart over the next few years. By contrast, only 35 percent of the federal workforce will be eligible to retire during the same period.

IBB has made progress in diversifying its workforce through recruitment, training, and other initiatives. OIG found, however, that IBB did not provide specific plans for establishing a more diverse workforce.