Study Reveals a Training Gap

By Stephen Barr
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

It's all about the training.

Baseball players have spring training -- under cheerful sunshine in Florida and Arizona. Federal employees train, too -- increasingly at their desktops, in the glow of computer screens.

Most federal employees get enough training to find their way into the batter's box, but for many it's not enough to always get on base and drive in runs. That is one finding from survey data collected by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The data show that 63 percent of federal employees believe they have received enough training to perform basic and acceptable work in their jobs. But when it comes to stepping up to a higher level of performance, 48 percent believe they need more training.

The finding comes from a recent report released by the merit board, summarizing responses of 36,926 federal employees who participated in a 2005 survey. Some of their responses, such as their views on training, also were collected in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Trends in the data show increases in the percentage of survey participants who think they receive enough training and in the percentage who believe they need more training. For example, 32 percent of survey respondents in 1992 said they needed more training, compared with the 48 percent in 2005.

For the most recent survey, the board asked federal employees whether their supervisors served as coaches and offered training opportunities. Only 47 percent said they viewed their supervisors as a source of opportunities to improve their skills and performance.

Supervisors at the State Department and the General Services Administration got the highest marks on providing training opportunities. Still, just over half -- 55 percent -- of the employees surveyed at those agencies said their supervisors try to help them improve.

Although the overall survey response suggested a gap in the extent to which employees believe their supervisors provide training, the board's report points out that some supervisors may not have the money to provide training and that others may have to limit training because of funding shortfalls. And of course, supervisors also may disagree with employees on whether they need additional training, the report added.

In the 2005 survey, employees said they wanted to fine-tune their skills in an area of personal strength (72 percent), overcome weaknesses (66 percent) and try again to learn something they had not been able to master (28 percent).

"Federal employees are trying to use training to improve themselves by building on their strengths rather than struggling with weaknesses or past failures," the merit board report says.

Some members of Congress have said they are concerned about data from surveys conducted by the Office of Personnel Management that show that less than half of the federal workforce has a high level of respect for senior leaders in their agencies.

Last week, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) reintroduced a bill aimed at improving the communication skills of managers and supervisors by addressing what he called inconsistent and inadequate training for supervisors.

Akaka's bill would require that new supervisors receiving training in how to communicate with and manage employees. The training would come in their first 12 months on the job, with mandatory retraining every three years, the senator said. Current managers would have three years to obtain training to brush up their employee management skills.

"Meaningful training matters," Akaka said. "Training should not be discretionary for agencies."

Public Service Awards

The 2007 National Public Service Awards were announced yesterday by the American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration. The awards honor career managers who are models of excellence and accomplishment over a sustained period of time.

The winners are:

· Peter M. Blumberg, a department head at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics.

· Barbara S. Dorf, director of the office of departmental grants management and oversight at the Housing and Urban Development Department.

· James E. Hartwell Jr., program manager for the Air Force test and evaluation squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

· Thomas H. Muehlenbeck, city manager of Plano, Tex.

· Mark A. Pisano, executive director for the Southern California Association of Governments.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address is barrs@washpost.com.