DEmographic changes in the composition of the federal workforce are posing

technical and adaptive challenges to the continued smooth functioning of U.S.

government agencies. Agency officials must plan to replace an unprecedented

percentage of highly skilled and trained employees retiring from federal service,

and the remaining managers must learn to lead policy changes with a

younger generation that may not share the same values or career goals as their

predecessors.

The federal government is not taking full advantage of opportunities to

recruit or retain young people. Hiring managers can leverage a variety of human

resource policies and programs to attract and hold onto new talent for federal

government jobs.

This article quantifies the scope of this challenge by analyzing human resource

data on workforce demographics and suggests strategies that federal agencies

can use to attract and retain young talent based on a qualitative analysis

of younger generations values and career goals.

Aging Federal Workforce

The federal government workforce is aging. According to human resource

data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), approximately 60 percent

of the 1.9 million employees of federal agencies will reach retirement age

by 2017.

Members of the professional and administrative staffthe largest category

of government employeesare highly educated and trained. They will likely be the most important, but difficult,

segment of those retiring for managers

to replace. As the general population

also ages, federal agencies will have to

compete even harder with a private sector

that may be more prepared to offer

incentives for recruitment and retention.

At least 62 percent of the nearly

one million professionals and administrative

personnel who are non-seasonal,

full-time, permanent (NSFTP)

employees will be eligible to retire over

the next decade (Figure 1).

We will not have to wait ten years,

though, to start seeing the effects of this

demographic change. OPM data show

that an increasing number of NSFTP

professional and administrative federal

personnel are retiring each year in

absolute terms and as a percentage of

the total number of workers in this job

category.

In 2005, OPM projected that 18.5

percent, or nearly 300,000, NSFTP employees

would retire from federal service

in 200610. This estimate has

been close to the actual figures. In 2006

07, about 117,000 NSFTP federal personnel

retired, about 5,000 (17 percent)

more than expected.

Understanding Generational

Differences: Values and Career Goals

Effective leaders appreciate and

communicate in accordance with employees

values. However, most people

who have worked in a multigenerational

office recognize that individuals

of different ages often have age-specific

motivations and goals. This section

discusses how the values of Generations

X and Y may vary from those of their

parents and grandparents cohorts and

the implications these differences may

have for recruiting and retaining

younger federal workers.

The federal workforce features

four overlapping generations: traditionalists/

veterans, baby boomers,

Generation X/baby busters, and Generation

Y/millenials.

Traditionalists/Veterans

Born before the end of World War

II, traditionalists make up less than 10

percent of the federal workforce. In

2007, about 35 percent of traditionalists

working as professionals and administrative

personnel in the federal

government left their agencies. Nearly

all of those who left retired from federal

service (Figure 2).

Although exceptions abound, traditionalists

generally tend to value security,

loyalty, and persistence, even if

holding to these principles means deferring

or sacrificing some personal rewards.

They strengthen relationships at

work through camaraderie, teamwork,

and opportunities to mentor others.

Baby Boomers

Born after the end of World War

II through the 1960s, baby boomers

represent nearly 70 percent of federal

government employees. Many havealready left, and most of those remaining

will be eligible to retire

within the next ten years.

One reason baby boomers below

the age of fifty-five have low secession

rates is that they were hired before 1984

and are therefore covered under the

Civil Service Retirement System

(CSRS). CSRS rewards employees

who joined the federal government early

in their careers and put in many years

of service. For example, a federal worker

with thirty years of service can retire

at age fifty-five and begin receiving

full benefits, even if leaving to take

a job in the private sector. However, retiring

or leaving federal service early has

penalties, so boomers enrolled in CSRS

rarely leave ahead of the allowed

schedule. The new retirement plan, the

Federal Employees Retirement System

(FERS), effective in 1987 for almost all

employees hired in 1984 or later, gives

workers more flexibility in deciding

when they want to retire. FERS allows

those with at least five years of creditable

civilian service to receive deferred

retirement benefits even if they have left

federal service before meeting the

minimum age and service requirements

for immediate or early benefits.

Baby boomers have proven adept

at adapting efficiently and professionally

to rapid changes in the workplace.

While they are frequent customers of

technical and logistics support, boomers

may seek out developmental and

networking opportunities to build and

use new skill sets. They are often competitively

compensated and are beginning

to seek additional health and retirement

benefits.

Generation X/Baby Busters

Born in the 1960s and 1970s,

Generation X is underrepresented in

the federal sector. OPM reported in

Getting the X into Senior Executive Service

that Generation X composes only

about 20 to 25 percent of the federal

workforce, but by some counts over 40

percent of the private sector. OPM

suggests this disparity may be due to

hiring freezes and downsizing in the

1990s, when this cohort entered the labor

market.

The U.S. Merit Systems Protection

Boards January 2008 report to the president

and Congress, Attracting the Next

Generation: A Look at Federal Entry-Level

New Hires, notes that 62 percent of

new hires to federal jobs (typically age

thirty or older) surveyed said that they

planned to stay in government until retirement.

However, actual data from

OPM fail to support these optimistic

predictions. In 2007, members of Generation

X had among the highest separation

rates from federal agencies relative

to other generations working in

government.

This behavior could be seen as evidence

of disloyalty or impatience,

demonstrating that these individuals are

only looking for short-term jobs, but

surveys cited by OPM show that

young people in their twenties and

thirties want, but do not expect to find,

long-term employment. Their eager,

results-oriented behavior may also be

affected by the need to pay off student

debts of tens to hundreds of thousands

of dollars.

Generation Xers also adapt well to

change and are characterized as possessing

high levels of confidence and

self-reliance. Highly valuing innovation,

creativity, and social responsibility

may lead them to more goal-oriented

but nontraditional workplaces,

where their technical skills will be recognized

and rewarded and where

they can access networking and developmental

opportunities.

Generation Y/Millennials

Born after 1980, individuals in this

generation are just beginning to join

the public and private sectors. Generation

Y represents less than 5 percent

of the federal workforce, but this proportion

will almost certainly expand

over the next ten years as younger people

are hired to fill gaps as managers to

replace retiring traditionalists and baby

boomers.

Federal agencies can dramatically

expand recruitment of young talent

through even a modest outreach to this

generation. Many young people are interested

in working in government, but

may not be sure how to enter the public

sector or overcome the various bureaucratic

obstacles to finding a federal

job. A May 2007 report by the Council

for Excellence in Government and

The Gallup Organization, Within

ReachBut Out of Synch, noted that

more than one-third of Generation Y

is interested in working in the federal

government.

Hiring managers and supervisors

will be better equipped to reach out to

young people if they understand the

younger cohorts values and goals. To

disseminate some lessons learned,

OPM has created models that hiring

agencies can use to target students, recent

graduates, and other new professionals.

According to Gallup polling

and OPMs guide, individuals in Generation

Y are looking for creative, innovative,

and meaningful work aligned

with their interests. Independent studies

have added that a strong sense of

mission, positive corporate culture,

and a feeling of corporate social responsibility

are also important attributes

for workplaces seeking to hire

more young people.

For this generation, learning and

empowerment in the workplace arestandard requirements. They are looking

for meaningful work where they

can have an effect, but say they will

gravitate toward jobs that offer more

balanced work/life schedules.

Recommendations

Despite increasing rates of retirement,

the total number of government

employees has stayed about the same,

actually increasing by slightly less than

1 percent since 2003. However, federal

agencies are not taking full advantage

of opportunities created by opening

full-time employment slots to specifically

recruit young people (Figure 3).

To ensure a smooth transition

and continuity of government services

as older employees begin to retire en

masse, hiring managers can leverage a

variety of human resource policies and

programs to provide financial and

nonmonetary incentives. Retention is

especially important for positions that

require substantial on-the-job training.

Monetary Rewards

The federal government can offer

the following monetary rewards:

Recruitment, relocation, and retention

incentives

Merit-based pay and pay for performance,

which are emerging in the

private and public sectors as standard

systems for more competitive

compensation

Student loan repayment programs,

typically with a length-of-service

requirement, which have proven

popular with younger people coming

into the workplace who carry

enormous debts from their higher

education

Tuition reimbursement policies for

continuing education, which can be

used to encourage employees to attain

additional credentials without

necessarily leaving their agencies.

Professional Development

and Networking Opportunities

These opportunities are as follows:

High-quality professional development

and leadership development,

complemented by assignments

where employees can use those

skills

Opportunities to take on additional

responsibilities, such as leadership

responsibilities for nonsupervisory

positions

Developmental assignments, including

rotations outside federal government

to the private sector, state

and local government, foreign governments,

international organizations,

and non-governmental

organizations

Opportunities to connect and network

with peers

Mentoring programs can also benefit

older and younger cohorts by facilitating

the sharing of institutional

knowledge, such as agency or office

operations.

Other Nonmonetary Benefits

These nonmonetary benefits include

the following:

Emphasis on the importance of

mission and ability to impact and

effect change

Increased access and transparency

Broader variety of work

Improved diversity in the workplace,

such as through policies to

encourage continued education and

professional development for female

and minority staff members

Work/life balance, including options

to take advantage of flextime

schedules, telework, and child-care

and elder-care benefits.