## ARS WORKFORCE PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II\. THE NEED FOR WORKFORCE PLANNING 2

III\. THE CHANGING NATURE OF RESEARCH AND ITS IMPACT

ON THE WORKFORCE 3

IV\. CURRENT WORKFORCE 4

V. WORKFORCE DATA 6

VI\. STRATEGIES 10

VII\. COMMUNICATION 15

VIII\. IMPLEMENTATION 16

IX\. MONITORING AND EVALUATION 16

SKILLS GAP ANALYSIS PROJECTION MODEL Appendix 1

**Agricultural Research Service Workforce Plan**

**I. Introduction:**

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the premier agricultural
research agency in the United States. As a component agency of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research, Education and Economics (REE)
mission area, ARS provides scientific expertise and library and
information services which support the work of most of the Department's
action and regulatory agencies. ARS works in partnership with other
agencies, universities, and private collaborators, to solve agricultural
problems of national importance.

ARS provides the scientific knowledge and technologies needed to ensure
the viability of American agriculture. The VISION of ARS is to lead
America towards a better future through agricultural research and
information. ARS will meet this vision through accomplishing its mission
critical research projects.

The MISSION of ARS is to conduct research to develop and transfer
solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide
information access and dissemination to:

-   ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products

-   assess the nutritional needs of Americans

-   sustain a competitive agricultural economy

-   enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and

-   provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and
    society as a whole.

The ARS Strategic Plan supports the ARS Vision and Mission and contains
additional management initiatives of strategic importance.

ARS carries out its mission under a structure that includes Headquarters
components, Area Offices, research centers, laboratories, locations, and
the National Agricultural Library (NAL). The NAL provides library and
information resources to all of USDA as well as other Federal agencies,
universities, and customers throughout the world. ARS provides financial
management, human resources, contracting and procurement, facilities
management, extramural agreements, and other business services to the
REE mission area agencies.

ARS employs approximately 8,150 permanent management, research and
administrative employees, including nearly 2,200 research scientists
working in 125 U. S. and foreign locations. The agency's employee
population approaches 11,000 people when temporary employees and
students are included in the count.

The purpose of this workforce plan is to provide agency managers and
supervisors with strategies for attracting, developing, and retaining a
quality workforce with the right level and mix of employee skills and
abilities to accomplish the goals and mission of the agency over the
next 5 years. This plan incorporates a variety of initiatives related to
the agency mission and goals, the agency strategic plan, REE Human
Capital Plan, ARS Recruitment Plan, affirmative employment program
(Management Directive 715) objectives, other agency plans and
directives, and ARS' Business Process Re-engineering initiative.

The strategies in this plan provide actions and activities to assist
managers and supervisors in restructuring the workforce and closing any
existing or potential skills gaps. Some of the challenges in ARS
workforce planning include geographic diversity (location remoteness,
cost of living), location/university co-location, changes in program
direction and priorities, and various recruitment challenges,
particularly the declining number of U. S. citizen doctoral candidates.

**II. The Need for Workforce Planning:**

There are a number of external and internal factors driving workforce
planning, and these must be taken into consideration as agency managers
and supervisors strive to execute the plan.

Funding and program priority setting are the two primary external
factors driving and affecting workforce planning. The level of
Congressional appropriations and funding directly impacts the ARS
mission. Although the Administration and Department strongly favor
support of agricultural research, recent developments indicate that only
those areas of primary national importance (homeland security,
terrorism, etc.) may receive significant future funding increases. ARS
may face budgets that are relatively flat or even decreasing. The
management of agency funding to hire, train, and retrain staff within
available resources is challenging since a high percentage of funding is
marked for specific research leaving little discretionary funding.

ARS continues to have an expanding and cutting-edge research program.
While ongoing research is likely to continue, many new research areas
are being added based on administration priorities and congressional
mandates. The priorities of the administration for agricultural research
as outlined in the FY 2006 budget are homeland security, exotic and
emerging plant and animal diseases, food safety, genomics, human
nutrition and obesity, invasive species, national plant recovery system,
genetics, germplasm storage, climate change, agricultural information
services, and cyber security. While there will be some changes, it is
anticipated these areas of research emphasis are likely to continue over
the next several years.

Program changes made by authorizing legislation and changes in the USDA
operating environment affect the ARS research agenda and the specific
expertise and skills needed by ARS employees. Presidential initiatives,
Congressional action, and Departmental policy, can cause a shift in
research emphasis, increase the complexity of work, and change the
accountability of work performed. Some examples are: USDA emphasis on
the Administration's Policy Report -- "Food and Agricultural Policy;
Taking Stock for the New Century"; the Government Performance and
Results Act; and the President's Management Agenda.

Since September 11, 2001, one of the nation's major priorities has been
homeland security.

The contributions of ARS and related USDA agencies to homeland security
fall in the areas of food safety and animal and plant health and
protection. The threat of biological terrorism affects ARS research
priority setting. This shift in agency research emphasis will impact
recruitment efforts as the agency seeks to hire candidates from new or
different research disciplines requiring different skills and abilities.

In addition, research that enhances agricultural competitiveness in the
global markets, such as value added research, bio-fuels, and new uses of
agricultural products, is likely to grow. Support for the small farm
initiative and the growing emphasis on aquaculture is likely to
continue. There is a greater awareness that research in support of
consumer-driven agriculture is needed.

It is also anticipated there will be new initiatives that support the
research needs of USDA's action and regulatory agencies.

Technology advances related to agriculture are transforming agricultural
production, nutrition, environmental protection, and food safety. New
and significantly changed sets of knowledge, skills, and abilities are
required of employees to conduct research in these program areas.
Similarly, the worldwide use of the Internet and major changes in
communications, are changing the way ARS employees conduct their daily
business and serve the customers. Emphasis on infrastructure to support
e-Government initiatives is likely to continue and possibly increase, as
this provides for interaction between ARS, its stakeholders, and the
public.

The shift to an enterprise Information Technology (IT) system and
changes in the requirements and processes of other automation efforts
(particularly e-Government) will directly affect both the way ARS
performs its work as a whole, and especially the way employees perform
their work. New operational methods will require time and resources in
order to train and retrain employees so that e-Government can be
successfully implemented in ARS.

Along with technology, the structure of the food and fiber system has
changed dramatically in the 20^th^ century. Current and future changes
in the food and agricultural sectors will not only drive changes in
farming, manufacturing, etc., but will drive and necessitate changes in
agricultural research and the types of skills needed in the ARS
workforce. A growing global population, demographic changes, the
globalization of the food and fiber system, and increased foreign
agricultural efficiency, requires a change in the focus of agricultural
research and consequently impacts the recruitment, retention, training,
and development of the ARS workforce.

Competitive sourcing studies performed by ARS have restructured the
workforce and have driven strategies related to recruitment, training,
and retraining. This is especially true for supervisors who need new
skills related to monitoring work performance in a "most efficient
organization" -- MEO -- and for employees who are "customers" of the
MEO.

Changes in the workforce itself will drive certain strategies. An
increase in retirement eligible employees coupled with normal attrition
could result in a significant loss of technical expertise and
management/leadership skills over the next 3 -- 5 years. Employees in
today's workforce look for employers who are "family friendly,"
therefore, the ability of ARS to adapt to family friendly options in the
workplace (job sharing, flexible tours of duty, telework, and other
features of the REE Work/Life Program) is essential to accomplishing the
ARS mission.

Finally, the workforce available to ARS is shrinking. The highly
competitive job market, particularly when coupled with the smaller
number of college graduates pursuing agricultural science graduate
degrees, will require ARS to develop unique strategies and place greater
emphasis on recruitment, retention, recognition, etc., to ensure the
agency retains its place as a world-class research organization.

**III. The Changing Nature of Research and Its Impact on the
Workforce:**

As ARS proceeds in the 21^st^ century, the changing nature of research
and new and emerging areas of research activity will place new burdens
on the workforce. Greater flexibility among scientists and their ability
to receive and digest new and diverse training will be critical to
accomplishing the ARS mission. The trend toward "big science" is
resulting in more and more ARS research being carried out by
multidisciplinary teams of scientists and support staff from within and
outside the agency, who often perform their work at different locations.

The changing nature of the research will also require advanced
technological training for the research scientists in new methodologies
and instrumentation. Information technology, including informatics and
database management, will continue to place demands on scientists
requiring them to be trained in and able to pursue new technology to
conduct their research.

The growing emphasis on homeland security-related research introduces
new requirements for security clearances and background checks to the
research environment. This will continue to create obstacles to hiring
postdoctoral scientists who are non U. S. citizens performing research.

Secretarial support for research scientists has also been changing and
will continue to change. Traditional secretarial support is now not
often required. The new requirement for support is primarily
technological in nature, dealing with computer databases, presentation
software, and software that supports travel and procurement.

All of this necessitates developing new methods for interaction among
scientists and administrative staff, some of whom have non-traditional
and non-research backgrounds, but whose work relates to achieving a
common goal.

Throughout ARS the greater flexibility of a mobile workforce will become
a major influence on the work of the agency. The greater emphasis on
telecommuting will place additional challenges on research support.
Additionally, the aging facilities in ARS will require changes to meet
the needs of modern research. Finally, the greater reliance on
cooperative research with other entities will require additional support
in the areas of contracting, extramural agreements and budgeting.

**IV. Current Workforce:**

Challenges to workforce planning can be seen in the size and structure
of the organization, and the geographic dispersion of where ARS work is
performed:

The ARS currently employs approximately 8,150 permanent employees
(nearly 2,200 research scientists) and nearly 2,150 employees in various
temporary positions (e.g. students, post docs) (data source: NFC
personnel database 4^th^ Quarter FY2005). These employees are either
directly involved in or provide technical or administrative support to
over 1,200 research projects in the areas of crop and livestock
production and protection, human nutrition, and the interaction of
agriculture with the environment. The research projects fall under 22
national programs. A large and increasing number of these projects are
conducted in conjunction with other USDA and government agencies,
universities, state organizations, and public or private organizations.

ARS Headquarters is located in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area
with the majority of the Headquarters staff in Beltsville, Maryland.
Beltsville is also home to the National Agricultural Library and the
Beltsville Area, where the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
(BARC) is located. Seven ARS Area Offices are strategically located
throughout the U. S. and include over 115 research locations and
facilities in major farm and agricultural communities across the
country. ARS also conducts research at international locations in
Balboa, Republic of Panama; Beijing, China; Montpellier, France;
Queensland, Australia; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thus, ARS has
employees and is performing research at nearly 125 diverse and
decentralized locations across the United States and in several foreign
countries. While some of the same types of research may be performed in
multiple Areas and Locations, much of the research is particular to an
Area or even a Location.

**Category 1 and Category 4 Scientists (SY's):**

SY's comprise the mission critical "occupation" in ARS. SY's are
research scientists and service scientists, in Agency-designated
Category 1 and Category 4 positions. Five years ago ARS established a
goal of employing 2,250 permanent SY's to establish a critical core of
expertise at a time when there were fewer than 1,900 on the agency
rolls. Currently, there are nearly 2,200 on the rolls. The wide
diversity of scientific disciplines, specific expertise required, and
geographic dispersion make maintaining this employment level a
continuous and arduous task. These scientists are classified in 43
different OPM classification series, have numerous specialty research
areas within each classification, and are located in most ARS locations.
Aside from the numeric goal, the workforce plan goal is to hire and
retain scientists with current knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
needed to perform research service work critical to accomplishing the
mission of ARS, and who can adapt quickly to changing workforce
priorities.

**Support Scientists and Research Technicians:**

The ARS mission cannot be met without the support scientists and
research technicians who work directly with SY's on mission critical
work. The support scientists are also classified by numerous OPM
classification series and are located at many ARS locations. Thus, the
same workforce planning goal applies to these employees, matching the
right employee, with the right KSAs, at the right location. The nearly
2,150 permanent research technicians (data source: NFC personnel
database 4^th^ Quarter FY2005) are primarily placed in two general
classifications, biological science or physical science. Within these
general classifications, their work requires specific KSAs in
specializations such as genetics, plants, soils, hydrology, etc.

**All Other Employees:**

The other ARS employees, whose positions support the agency research
effort, are classified in over 130 series in both the general schedule
and wage grade classification systems. There is little similarity in the
hiring patterns among these positions. Some of these employee groups are
located at Headquarters, others are located throughout the ARS field
structure at various locations; some are senior leadership positions,
others provide customer service on the front-lines, while still others
are particular to a certain location or certain type of work performed
in only a few locations. Many of these employee classifications require
a recruiting and retention plan tied directly to the particular series
or location, or combination of both.

**Synopsis:**

This quick overview of ARS shows a large agency of many employee
classifications dispersed over many locations. The agency needs skilled
wage grade employees, knowledgeable administrative employees,
technically trained technicians and assistants, and scientists with
bachelor, masters, and Ph.D. degrees. In addition to subject-matter
knowledge and skill, employees need to know how to use IT; they need
customer service and communications skills; and some positions require
supervisory/managerial/leadership skills.

There is no single recruitment method that will work for the agency, nor
is there a single retention method that will suffice. The strategies
that will be listed later in this workforce plan, although often
specific in nature, are general enough to fit the needs of the
individual supervisor or manager faced with filling a vacant position.
Prior to discussing these strategies, a closer look at the current
workforce is needed.

**V. Workforce Data:**

The ARS current employment of approximately 8,150 permanent employees
has an average grade of GS-8 for General Schedule employees. An increase
in the average grade can be expected due to the larger number of
encumbered research scientist positions (typically GS-12 or higher) and
recognition that technological advances have led to more complex work
requiring employees to have higher skill levels. For Wage Grade
employees in ARS the average grade is WG-7.

The agency's supervisory ratio is 1 to 13.5 employees, which is slightly
lower than in previous years and primarily due to several restructuring
and realignment efforts in the agency.

Over the next five years about 25% of the agency employees will be
eligible to retire. For the subset of employees who are SY's, the figure
is 35%. However, these figures need to be considered in the context of
the national trend, that is, employees are working longer and retiring
later (that is, after they first become retirement eligible). Federal
employees generally become retirement eligible at age 55 with 30 years
of service, for example, and data shows that research scientists'
average retirement age is 62.

### One of ARS' workforce planning goals is to have a highly qualified workforce, reflective of the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). In setting workforce diversity goals, two indicators are used: the CLF (reported by the Labor Department) and comparison data provided for USDA overall. 

-   Based on the most recent data available (FY2004, as reported in the
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 715)
    the following groups of the ARS workforce fall under the CLF:

  --------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
  **GROUP**             **ARS percent**  **CLF percent**  **USDA percent**

  Black men             3.7              4.8              3.8

  Hispanic men          3.0              6.2              3.6

  Hispanic women        1.9              4.5              2.1

  White women           32.9             33.7             31.9
  --------------------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------

-   Since FY2000, the ARS Asian female workforce (2.2%) has risen above
    the CLF (1.7%) and USDA workforce (1.0%). The ARS Black female
    workforce (5.8%) has risen above the CLF (5.7%), but continues to
    fall below the USDA workforce (6.9%).

-   ARS should meet its representation goals for White women (33.7%) in
    the next five years provided the actual ARS hiring continues to
    exceed the USDA hiring goals.

-   The largest grouping of the ARS minority workforce and women is in
    grade GS-5 through GS-8 (81.8%). Minorities represent 31.1% and
    White women represent 50.7% of the 81.8%.

-   The following displays the ARS grade distribution for GS-12 -- 15,
    SES, and Senior Scientists:

+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| **GRADE**           | **Women and Minorities**  | **White Men**      |
|                     |                           |                    |
|                     | **percent**               | **percent**        |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| GS-12               | 49.9                      | 50.1               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| GS-13               | 46.2                      | 53.8               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| GS-14               | 29.8                      | 70.2               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| GS-15               | 18.9                      | 81.1               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| SES                 | 34.2                      | 65.8               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+
| ST, SL, SSRS        | 12.5                      | 87.5               |
+---------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+

-   Minorities and women represent 30.4% of the total SY workforce. ARS'
    goal is to concentrate on identifying a more diverse pool of
    qualified applicants.

ARS will continue to strive to meet and exceed its workforce diversity
goals as part of maintaining and retaining a highly qualified workforce.

**Mission Critical Positions/Retirement Eligibility:**

Although every position and every employee is critical to meeting the
mission of ARS, not all positions can be designated as "mission
critical". The positions that are designated mission critical are
primarily in the SY, support scientist and research technician
categories where high numbers of employees are retirement eligible.
Following is a synopsis of the current employment level and retirement
eligibility of employees in the 12 currently designated ARS mission
critical occupational series.

Occupational Series FY 04 FY 09 Retirement FY 09 Retirement

Employment Eligibility (All) Eligibility (Supervisors)

0401 Biological Scientist 327 26.9% 40.0%

0403 Microbiology 268 31.8% 26.0%

0404 Biological Technician 1,656 17.6% 33.3%

0434 Plant Pathologist 172 29.9% 33.8%

0435 Plant Physiologist 175 37.3% 42.2%

0440 Genetics 267 20.8% 24.3%

0471 Agronomy 103 25.2% 26.5%

0701 Veterinary Medicine 42 28.6% 33.3%

0890 Agricultural Engineer 117 29.3% 31.3%

1311 Physical Science Technician 159 28.0% \-\-\-\--

1320 Chemists 371 42.3% 49.8%

2210 IT Specialists 238 17.2% 38.5%

ARS (Total Employment 8,100 25% 34.8%

for all permanent employees)

In 5-year projections, the percentage of those eligible to retire in two
research categories

(Plant Physiology and Chemistry) is significantly higher than the ARS
overall average, while Biological/Physical Science Technicians and IT
specialists are at or below the ARS average.

A substantially higher percentage (35%) of managers and supervisors are
eligible to retire with a very significant number eligible in three
research categories (Biology, Plant Physiology, and Chemistry).

In order to determine the impact of retirements on the ARS workforce and
thus, accomplishment of the ARS mission, analysis of projected
retirements (and other separations) at the local level will be
essential. Factors to be considered include: criticality of an
individual position at a specific location, likelihood of employee
retirement versus eligibility to retire, importance of a specific
position now and whether it will remain the same in the future, and
availability and mobility of candidates to fill the position. Although
this can be an intimidating task for an agency with 8,150 employees,
analyzing retirement eligibility on a much smaller scale (area,
location, office, division), and/or analyzing each occupational series,
is essential to meet the mission of the agency. The Skills Gap Analysis
Model shown as Appendix 1 is a good method to analyze current and
projected future employment.

In addition, retirement eligibility in a number of other key occupations
exceeds the ARS average: Librarian Series 1410 and 1411 (48%),
Contracting (40%), Human Resources Specialists (38%), Administrative
Officers (38%), Secretarial (37%), Purchasing (37%), and the
Miscellaneous Clerical series 301 and 303 (36%).

**Recruitment -- Scientific Positions:**

SY's and the support scientists and research technicians that support
these positions are the core positions that accomplish the mission of
ARS. The challenges in recruiting for research scientists are several:
the need for candidates to possess a Ph.D. degree; the fact that a
significant percentage of students obtaining a Ph.D. are non-citizens
and cannot be hired into permanent Federal positions; and the fact that
there has been a significant decline in the number of U. S. citizens
graduating with degrees in fields related directly to the ARS mission.
In certain occupations such as engineers, agricultural engineers, and
general agricultural scientists more than 50% of the Ph.D. graduates are
ineligible for employment with ARS.

High college tuition costs are another challenge in recruitment.
Although the authority to offer student loan repayments and other hiring
incentives has been used in ARS, the much higher salaries available to
graduates in the private sector are a substantial lure to graduates with
high college debt.

Another concern is the number of college graduates working in a related
field, not their degree field, after completion of their bachelor
degree. The primary reason for this is again salary. Stated another way,
graduates cannot afford to work in the field in which they obtained
their degree. Three of the degree fields which show a rate of at least
50% of the graduates working in related fields are those with degrees in
biological science, engineering, and IT.

The final item to consider is increased competition from state and local
governments. Through the year 2012, overall government employment
(federal, state, and local) is expected to increase by 11.8% (although
federal government employment is expected to increase by less than 1%).
Assuming ARS maintains a stable employment level, ARS will face
increased competition from state and local governments for the same
qualified pool of candidates.

A specific review of some positions crucial to ARS shows other concerns
in addition to competition.

Agricultural Engineers -- The ARS employment of engineers is expected to
increase dramatically through 2012 with standardization, efficiency,
demand and conservation of agricultural production the key. However,
given the data previously cited regarding fewer graduates in the field
and the dearth of employment eligible graduates, added hiring
competition is another obstacle to overcome. To meet its needs, ARS may
need to hire, and then train, non-specialized engineers with the
aptitude to learn and work with other ARS research scientists on
agricultural research projects rather than, or in addition to, hiring
trained agricultural engineers.

Veterinary Medical Officers -- Shortage of candidates in this occupation
is already a major concern in ARS. The agency developed a Veterinary
Medical Officer Doctorate Program in an attempt to increase interest and
employment in this field where the on-board staff has decreased over 50%
since 1986. To ensure that this program remains viable, it is critical
to ensure the students are acclimated to the ARS environment and to
develop solid relationships with the students so they remain with the
agency upon graduation. Graduates of Veterinary schools have options
other than Federal employment in which a Ph.D. is required.

Chemists -- There appears to be an adequate on-going supply of doctorate
chemistry recipients and salary is not a major issue. The biggest ARS
concern will be to maximize recruitment in the coming years as this area
has the highest percentage of staff eligible to retire in the agency.

Biological Scientists -- This general grouping covers an array of
scientific disciplines including genetics, botany, plant physiology and
pathology, biometrics (bioinformatics), ecology, molecular biology,
microbiology, agronomy and others. There is expected to be significant
job growth in biological sciences over the upcoming years, along with a
projected decline in the number of PhD. recipients in traditional
agricultural disciplines. Competition for candidates will continue to
challenge ARS selecting officials, especially in relation to the new and
growing fields such as biometrics (bioinformatics) where demand for
candidates exceeds the supply and external salary offers exceed the
government limits. The challenge of hiring scientist in specific
geographic locations is a second major ARS concern. (Updated 4/16/2008)

Librarians -- The employment of librarians is expected to grow below the
average of all occupations in the coming years. Competition will be
heightened due to the expected high retirement rate over the next decade
and the limited number of individuals going into this field. This may
well result in more available jobs than available candidates, thus a
potential recruitment problem.

IT Specialists -- The continued job growth in this field will
approximate the expected growth in the applicant pool. The two issues
facing ARS in this area are the salary differential between government
and private sector offerings and the increasing need to hire specialists
with unique backgrounds, for instance cyber security and physical
security.

Administrative Positions -- Administrative positions are found
throughout the agency, at almost all of its locations. Administrative
positions are found in the functional areas of purchasing, procurement,
and contracting; accounting and fiscal analysis; budget analysis; human
resources; facilities building and maintenance; agreements negotiation
and administration. A particular occupation that is facing recruitment
challenges is the Location Administrative Officer. These positions
require knowledge and skills in a variety of administrative and business
functions, which have become more complex as the agency research
programs have become more complex. Increasingly, business and management
principles must be applied to the work situation, rather than
administrative processes as in the past. The need for an increasingly
sophisticated administrative workforce will present new recruitment and
retention challenges for ARS in the future.

The strategies documented in the next section will ensure that ARS
continues to meet its vision and mission in the coming years.

**VI. Strategies:**

ARS will employ a number of strategies to attract, develop and retain
the quality workforce essential to accomplishing the goals and mission
of the agency: Skills Gap Analysis, Recruitment, Succession Planning and
Skills Development, Workforce Restructure, and Retention.

Most strategies are for use by administrators, directors, managers and
supervisors, in their role as human resources managers. Others
strategies are specifically assigned to the ARS Recruitment Office, the
Human Resources Division, or the Civil Rights Staff, to assist the
agency's human resource managers as they fulfill their responsibilities.

***Strategy 1:* Skill Gap Analysis**

1\. Conduct skills gap analyses at all levels in the organization. Human
Resources Division will conduct skills gap analyses at the agency level,
and report results to the Administrator and the Administrator's Council.
Each Area/Center/Laboratory/Location will conduct a skills gap analysis
of its own workforce.

A skills gap is the difference between the skills that currently exist
in the workforce and the skills that are needed to get the job done. A
skills gap analysis consists of:

a)  identification of skills that will be needed at some point in time
    (could be currently, or

> a time in the future);
>
> b\) identification of skills in the current workforce;
>
> taking into account:
>
> c\) anticipated turnover due to normal rate of attrition (this is an
> estimated loss of skills

based on historical rates of turnover); and

> d\) projection of losses due to retirement (estimates of retirement
> eligible vs likelihood of
>
> retirement).

Identifying skills that will be needed in the future can be done in
terms of number of positions, type of positions, or specific skills
required by changes in program direction, new technology, or other
requirements. Skills gaps analysis may be done on a particular
occupational series, a particular type of position (e.g. supervisors),
and at any level in the organization. Simply stated, skills gap analysis
helps managers plan for the future.

After identifying skills gaps, implement appropriate intervention --
recruitment, employee development, competitive sourcing -- to obtain the
necessary skills and close the gap.

2\. Identify and establish competencies for all supervisory and
managerial positions. Use the competencies as criteria when recruiting
and selecting new supervisors and managers, in leadership development
programs, and in performance management/appraisal or supervisors and
managers.

3\. Continually review the changing nature of research priorities, keep
abreast of staffing levels, trends, and other factors which affect
skills gaps.

***Strategy 2:* Recruiting to Close the Skills Gap**

There are two aspects to Recruitment:

Marketing (the Agency as well as specific vacancies)

Hiring (the process, including use of recruitment incentives)

ARS has always been a strong proponent of the use of recruitment and
hiring flexibilities. However, with the added competition to hire and
retain the most qualified employees, it is essential that the agency
provide its supervisors, managers, recruiters, all other employees, and
applicants with complete and accurate information regarding the
availability and proper use of all incentives.

1.  Develop and distribute to all managers, supervisors, human resources
    specialists, and location administrative officers/assistants
    information on recruitment and retention incentives and bonuses and
    their applicability to various hiring and retention situations.
    Develop training for supervisors for presentation in the New RL
    Training Program, at Area leadership meeting, and via Webcast and/or
    AgLearn to be delivered to supervisors as they proceed with their
    particular recruitment.

2.  Managers/supervisors must allocate funds to pay recruitment
    incentives when mission critical positions are being recruited and
    based on a skills gap analysis. Vacancy announcements will clearly
    indicate which incentives will be paid. The ARS is committed to
    hiring the best available candidate for all of its positions in a
    timely manner:

3.  Use methods that will enhance and speed up the hiring process while
    still providing a quality list of candidates.

    a.  Pilot test and implement QuickHire automated hiring system,
        using alternative hiring authorities such as the USDA Direct
        Hire Authority, the Federal Career Intern, and other similar
        programs.

    b.  Develop broadly stated knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs)
        rather than narrowly-defined or restrictive KSAs as a means to
        increase the applicant pool. Restrictive (selective) KSAs can
        exclude candidates, rather than include all of the best
        applicants. Selective factors should be used only when required
        by the job.

    c.  Review and determine the cost/benefit value of operational
        methods: Areas to consider include candidate assessment methods,
        such as the necessity of convening panels to interview
        candidates for all types of positions; the reduction of the time
        frame to fill a scientific position (the current average is
        nearly ten months from HRD receipt of job vacancy to employee
        entrance on duty); and requiring selectees to report for duty
        within a specified period of time. HRD will evaluate the
        feasibility of shortening the life cycle of certificates.

    d.  Supervisors to consider recruiting at the entry level (for
        support scientists, technicians, and administrative support) as
        a possible way for ARS to be more competitive in the hiring
        process, and to bring in new employees at grade levels with
        promotion potential.

4.  Supervisors to develop a recruitment/marketing plan for each
    vacancy. This plan should include information on candidate
    qualifications, identification of the potential applicant pool, how
    best to reach the applicant pool, steps used to market the job, and
    documentation of the steps taken to reach a diverse applicant pool.

5.  Promote ARS as the "Employer of Choice": This is the responsibility
    of all ARS employees. Employees can be recognized for efforts
    undertaken to promote and market ARS to the general public,
    especially possible applicants. The goal should be a consistent
    message that ARS is a great place to work.

6.  Under the Recruitment Office Action Plan, the Recruitment Office
    will:

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a)  Create publicity and informational materials including a recruitment
    kit and an applicant interview kit, which will include a consistent
    informational message for use across ARS. Both kits will be
    supplemented with location specific information.

b)  Create occupation specific brochures for use in the recruitment
    effort including information on the ARS research agenda and
    accomplishments, locations where particular research is conducted,
    and the availability of career opportunities. The goal is to create
    occupational specific websites which link areas/locations/offices
    that conduct similar research for use in the recruitment process.

c)  Design a standard recruitment display and/or exhibit for use by all
    locations at career fairs, conferences, and other recruitment
    events.

d)  Develop an agency K-12 Outreach Kit with consistent information
    about ARS and available career opportunities. The kit should include
    specific information for teachers and information, or even research
    examples, for the students.

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7.  Supervisors use recruitment materials developed by the Recruitment
    Office to ensure that a consistent recruitment message is portrayed
    in all ARS activities. Continue to utilize location specific
    recruitment material as a supplement to the agency-wide recruitment
    materials. Use the "Agricultural Research" magazine in recruitment
    efforts.

8.  Establish mechanism for ARS to work with Cooperative State Research,
    Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) to partner with the
    National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges
    (NASULGC) in discussions with college personnel to ensure that the
    colleges and universities are aware of the needs of ARS when
    developing future curriculums. Inform the Recruitment Office of any
    curriculum courses offered by non-traditional agricultural colleges
    that may be used by ARS to potentially recruit, qualify, and hire
    future applicants.

9.  Expand the successful and award winning Western Regional Research
    Center (WRRC) Agricultural Sciences Academic Workshop to all ARS
    Area Offices. This program will provide ARS with the benefit of name
    recognition as well as serving as a potential recruitment tool for
    future employees.

***Strategy 3:* Succession Planning and Skills Development**

This strategy deals with the training and development of current ARS
employees. There are two aspects:

Skills Enhancement: training employees to enhance their skills in their
current positions; and

Skills Development: training employees to be prepared to take on new
responsibilities and to

be competitive when vacancies occur in higher level positions

(succession planning).

ARS does not have a natural career ladder in its mission critical
positions, that is, an employee would not typically begin their ARS
career as a research technician or support scientist, and expect to
compete and be promoted into a research scientist position, unless they
had obtained an advanced degree. Succession-planning in ARS would
normally occur in leadership positions and in administrative-type
positions.

1.  Promote a culture of continuous learning and education for all ARS
    employees. Ensure that each employee completes an Individual
    Development Plan (IDP) and that the IDP is utilized and updated as
    appropriate. Encourage employees to take advantage of training and
    educational opportunities to continually increase skills.

2.  Continue to support Agency-developed leadership training programs,
    Leadership Evaluation and Development Program (LEAD), Professional
    Excellence and Knowledge Program (PEAK) and Path to Leadership
    Program (PLP) as well as those programs offered by the Office of
    Personnel Management (OPM). Identify potential leaders and encourage
    them to apply for these training opportunities.

3.  Conduct the ARS New Research Leader Training Program (NRLTP)
    annually.

4.  Encourage the use of off-site training for scientists to promote
    continuous learning and education. Where appropriate, authorize
    Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments between ARS and
    cooperator organizations to enhance the skills of scientists.

5.  Take steps to prevent occurrence of skills gaps by providing
    training opportunities (allocating funds and time) for employees to
    obtain needed skills. Offer technical training for all employees to
    meet the future needs of the agency. Continue to explore and utilize
    advancing technology to make these programs available to more
    employees at a lower cost and time involvement. Use the Career
    Enhancement Program (CEP) as a method to provide training and career
    advancement for current non-scientific ARS employees (and as a
    method to fill vacant positions).

6.  Provide employees whose positions may be curtailed or eliminated
    with the opportunity to transfer or retrain for other ARS positions
    prior to job elimination. Use the IDP to document needed training
    and to monitor its accomplishment.

7.  Develop knowledge transfer plans within each management unit to
    ensure that specific subject matter, and other historical and vital
    information is retained in the agency when employees retire or
    otherwise leave the agency. Encourage the continuation of cross
    training and team assignments in each location and each scientific
    discipline for mission critical operations. Establish mentoring
    programs (whether formal or informal) at all levels in the
    organization.

***Strategy 4:* Addressing Skills Gap Through Workforce Restructure**

1.  Explore the use of tools available from OPM, such as Voluntary Early
    Retirement Authority (VERA) and/or Voluntary Separation Incentive
    Payments (VSIP). These authorities are better known as "early out"
    and "buyout."

2.  Use details and reassignments to deploy employees where their skills
    are needed.

3.  Use the Fair Act Inventory and the President's Management Agenda
    Competitive Sourcing requirements to identify opportunities for
    workforce restructuring.

***Strategy 5:* Retaining Employees to Close or Prevent Skills Gap**

Retention of employees is an important way to prevent a skills gap from
occurring. There are four aspects to implementation of this strategy:

Employee Recognition

Work/Life Balance or Family Friendly Work Environment

Retaining Students as a Source of Permanent Employees

Use of Retention Incentive Payments

1\. One of the most significant factors in employee retention is how
well employees are treated, that is, employees need to know how they
contribute to agency mission accomplishment and need to feel they are
valued for their contributions. **Employee recognition** programs can
significantly contribute to the retention of employees. Managers who
sponsor recognition programs (usually at agency or area level) are to
ensure the programs are widely advertised and that supervisors publicize
these programs. Supervisors are to identify innovative ways to recognize
employees. Recognition received by ARS employees from outside
organizations is to be widely publicized. ARS management will
continually assess the use of agency employee recognition programs,
develop new ideas as needed, and become creative in the use of
recognition programs.

2\. A second significant factor in employee retention is offering a
**family friendly** work environment. Supervisors are responsible for
implementing programs authorized by the agency such as
maxi-flex/flexible work schedules, telework, publicizing the
availability of transit subsidies and childcare tuition assistance
payments throughout their organizations. ARS will develop and make
available additional family friendly initiatives to assist current ARS
employees in meeting and balancing their family and work needs.

3\. Retaining **students** in the workforce upon graduation can be a
valuable recruitment tool, a means to retain knowledge and skills within
the agency, as well as contribute to achieving diversity goals. ARS
supervisors and selecting officials can use student programs as a means
to provide students with temporary or part-time employment, as an
introduction of students into the agency, and as a direct means to fill
future permanent vacancies.

a)  Supervisors are to use student employment programs to allow
    participation by students from high school through all college
    levels, including the PhD level. Use these programs as a proactive
    recruitment tool and as a means to educate students on the
    scientific and agricultural career opportunities available in ARS
    and the Federal

> Government. Particularly use Student Career Experience Program (SCEP)
> as a recruitment strategy to fill permanent (target) ARS positions.

b)  The Recruitment Office, Human Resources Division, and the Civil
    Rights Staff will identify all existing student programs (research
    apprenticeship, research fellow, intern, etc.) being used in the
    agency. Based on analysis of these programs, establish a policy for
    consistent use the two student appointing authorities available from
    OPM (the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) and SCEP).
    Ensure communication and linkage exists between the EEO/Civil Rights
    area managers, the HRD, and the Recruitment Office in the operation
    and utilization of the many student programs.

c)  For the SCEP, the ARS Recruitment Office and HRD have established a
    partnership to assist supervisors and students in understanding
    program requirements and obligations, to monitor SCEP participation
    to ensure the students remain in good academic standing and continue
    pursuing education related to the target ARS position; and to
    facilitate placement upon completion of SCEP program requirements
    (including placement of high quality SCEP students in positions at
    other locations if the current location does not have a position
    available at the time the student completes SCEP program
    requirements).

4\) Supervisors and managers are to budget for and use **retention
bonuses** in situations where the retirement or separation of employees
will adversely impact the continuance of mission critical operations
(based upon the skills gap analysis). Supervisors and managers may
implement a hiring overlap (i.e., hiring a new employee prior to current
employee separation) to enable employees to work together and facilitate
the transfer of knowledge.

**VII. Communication:**

The success of this workforce plan depends on active and committed
management leadership and employee acceptance. The plan will be posted
on the ARS website and copies of the plan will be distributed to each
location so that all employees will have access to it. Annual
accomplishments and updates to the plan will be placed on the website
with appropriate employee notification.

**VIII. Implementation:**

This workforce plan implementation begins with the issuance of the plan
and its placement on the ARS website.

**IX. Monitoring and Evaluation:**

The workforce plan will be reviewed annually to identify accomplishments
and determine whether strategy changes are necessary. Substantive
changes in the research and management strategies to achieve the ARS
mission would also necessitate a review of the plan. A complete
evaluation of accomplishments and revision of the plan will be conducted
at the end of the five-year life cycle of this plan.

**Explanation of Appendix 1:**

Appendix 1 is a simple skills gap projection model. The model can be
used for occupational skills gap projections, or to identify gaps in
specific skills which cross occupations (e.g. IT skills).

-   Project the number of positions in a certain occupation that will be
    needed in the future.

-   Identify current on-board strength, review historical turnover
    (usually over the past 3 years), and then project expected turnover
    (attrition and retirements).

-   Identify the future applicant pool, and consider the likelihood that
    enough applicants will be available to fill positions in the
    occupation being studied.

The result of the analysis conducted in the first 3 steps is the
projected skills gap.

-   Identify intervention strategies to address the skills gap

Ideally, after employing various interventions, the net skills gap is
zero.

Detailed instructions and a worksheet for applying the Skills Gap
Analysis Projection Model can be found in Appendix 1.

Appendix 1

Instructions for using the Skills Gap model:

1.  **[Current Authorized Number]{.underline} -** Identify the current
    authorized level for the occupational group for which you are
    creating a skills gap projection.

2.  **[5 Year Projection of Skills Needs]{.underline}** - Based on
    program needs, mission requirements, or other factors (external or
    internal), project the increase in positions that will be needed to
    accomplish the work 5 years from now.

3.  **[Projected 5 Year Outcome]{.underline}** - Add the current
    authorized level to the projected increase to arrive at the
    Projected 5 Year Outcome.

4.  **[Current On-board Strength]{.underline}** - Determine the Current
    On-board Strength in the occupational group for which you are
    creating a projection.

5.  **[Rate at which Positions are Filled]{.underline}** - Based on a 3
    year average, determine the annual Rate at which Positions are
    Filled in this occupational group and multiply by 5 (5 year
    projection).

6.  **[Projected Turnover]{.underline}** - Determine the annual
    Projected Turnover in the occupational group based on a 3 year
    average and other factors that can influence turnover (projected
    retirements, competition with other organizations, national and
    international issues, etc.) and multiply by 5 (5 year projection).

7.  **[Adjusted 5 Year Outcome]{.underline}** - Add the Projected
    Turnover to the Projected 5 Year Outcome. Subtract the Current
    On-board Strength and the Rate at which Positions are Filled from
    the sum arrived at to get the Adjusted 5 Year Outcome.

8.  **[Future Applicant Pool Factor]{.underline}** - Project what the
    applicant pool will look like relative to the applicant pool
    currently available. If you project that there will be more
    applicants available because of the economy, trends/course
    projections in academia, competition with other organizations
    (private and public), etc., then the applicant pool is likely to
    increase, and the factor would be 1.*x.* Whereas, if you feel that
    the applicant pool will decrease, then the factor would be less
    than 1. If you believe it will be unchanged, then the Applicant Pool
    Factor would be 1. The factor is based on your best assessment of
    the projected applicant pool. This factor can also be influenced by
    looking at the number of applicants that have applied for the
    occupational group over the past 3 years to determine a trend and
    using that to project.

9.  **[Projected Skills Gap]{.underline}** - Divide the Adjusted 5 Year
    Outcome by the Future Applicant Pool Factor to arrive at your
    Projected Skills Gap.

10. **[Intervention Strategies Projected Results]{.underline}** - First,
    identify intervention strategies to address the skills gap. For
    example, convert SCEP students to permanent positions upon
    graduation, train employees currently in the workforce, focused or
    emphasized recruitment, obtain services through competitive
    sourcing, use hiring flexibilities, or use recruitment/retention
    incentives. Determine the projected outcome of any intervention
    strategies to arrive at the Intervention Strategies Projected
    Results. For example, an intervention strategy employing the use of
    a retention incentive (allowance) may be projected to result in a
    10% reduction in the number of retirements in this occupational
    group. If the 5 year projection for retirements is 30, then the
    result would be 3. Or, an intervention strategy of increased
    recruitment activity (paid ads, targeted recruitment, etc.) could be
    projected to increase the fill rate by making more quality
    candidates available and have a projected result of 10% more
    positions filled over the next 5 years. Multiply that by the Rate of
    Fill to arrive at a result.

11. **[Net Skills Gap]{.underline}** - Subtract the Intervention
    Strategies Projected Results from the Projected Skills Gap to arrive
    at your Net Skills Gap. Ideally, the Net Skills Gap will be zero
    after factoring in intervention strategies.

> Skills Gap Analysis Worksheet

  ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- ---------- ------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ----------- -------------- ------- --------
  Occupation   Authorized   Projected   Projected 5 Current    Rate of Projected   Adjusted 5 Future      Projected   Intervention           Net
               Strength     Increase    Year Need   Onboard    Fill    Turnover    Year       Applicant   Skills Gap  Strategies             Skills
                                                    Strength                       Outcome    Pool Factor             Projected              Gap
                                                                                                                      Results                

  ** **        ** **        **+**       **=**       **-**      **-**   **+**       **=**      **/**       **=**       **-**          ** **   **=**

  Example      500          200         700         400        125     75          250        1.2         208         200                    8

                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                              
  ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- ---------- ------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ----------- -------------- ------- --------