# Presentation: 655413

## Improving the I/T Workforce

- at the
- U.S. Department of the Treasury

## U.S. Department of the Treasury

- Employs 9,300 I/T Employees -- 11% of I/T Workers Governmentwide
- Spends $2 Billion Per Year on I/T
- Spends 16% of  Operating Budget               on I/T

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
The U.S. Treasury Department is a huge organization with a major investment in information technology.  About two-thirds of its personnel work in the Internal Revenue Service.

## Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996

- Requires that the CIO:
- Assess IRM Knowledge and Skill Needed By Agency Personnel
- Evaluate Agency Executives and Managers
- Improve Performance by Recruitment and Development
- Report Progress Annually

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
As a result of this mandate, Treasury initiated a program of IT Workforce Development and has produced two annual reports to the Secretary.

The First Report, “Responding to the Crisis in IT Skills, has been released to the public.  The second, entitled “Building a Strategic Plan to Improve Information Technology Skills” will be released soon.

Both reports are available at www.treas.gov/itwip

## U.S. Department of the Treasury

- Establish the Program
- Take the Pulse
- Set Goals
- Measure
- Improve

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
We’ve moved to establish a long-term program and our goals are to:

1) take the pulse of the organization
2) set goals for recruitment, retention and development of the workforce
3) measure the results of our efforts, and 
4) improve the program 

## Establish the Program

- Lay out a Long Term Vision
- Gain the Support of the Treasury CIO Council -- Create a Subcommittee on I/T Skills
- Listen to Needs

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
The IT Workforce Program Office was established about 3 years ago to lay out a long term vision.

Getting and maintaining "air time" was critical to our success.  Have been on the agenda at most monthly CIO Council meetings.

Created a subcommittee which has been meeting monthly for three years with representatives from the CIO’s office from each bureau.  Collaborate on recruitment, retention, training and development issues.

## Take the Pulse

- Marketplace Review
- Discussions with CIO’s
- Statistical Analysis of Workforce

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Researched various workforce studies and reports - ITAA, Department of Commerce and others.

Met with each bureau CIO individually to discuss workforce concerns, issues.

Conducted a statistical analysis of our workforce - demographics, accessions, separations.

## IT Job Growth Has Been Strong During the Past Decade

- 1987-1997

_**177%**__** Employment Growth**_** for Systems Analysts, Computer Engineers and Computer Scientist Jobs**
**VS.**
_**12%**__** Employment Growth**_** for All Jobs!**

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
From1997 Dept. of Commerce Study, America’s New Deficit

## CIO Perspective

- Mid-Management Role Changes
- More Emphasis on Project Management
- More Emphasis on Contract Management
- Job Structures Out of Date
- Inadequate Investment in I/T Skills
- Executive Succession a Priority

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Almost universally, CIOs felt that the traditional IT manager role was giving way to more emphasis on project and contract management.

In reaction to this, we negotiated for an expansion of the IRS contract with ESI, International at a discount of 30-40% off standard rates.

Determined that there was the lack of a technical track to an expert level in the IT field.  Too often, employees were made managers to justify a higher grade.

Realized our average investment in IT training was about 1.5%.

We also realized we would be losing executives rapidly in the coming years.

## Treasury’s Workforce Picture 1999

- Average Tech Employee is 44+
- 22% of Tech Staff and 45% of Top Mgmt. Retirement Eligible within 5 years
- External Hires Down from 2/3 to 1/8
- Turnover Rate = 6 to 9%

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Our analysis showed from our first Report to the Secretary:

Average age of technical employee is over 44, 22%.......

In FY 1993, two out of every three hires were filled by private sector hires.
In FY 1997, that ratio had shrunk from one in eight.

The result is that in recent years, technical hires are on the average older, and have a 4.7% lower formal education level than those who have left the Department.

## Treaury’s Workforce Picture2000 Update (10/98 - 12/99)

- IT Workforce Grew 5 Times Faster than the Overall Treasury Workforce
- Average Age Increased from 44+ to 45+
- 70% of IT Workforce Growth from Employees Over 50
- 77% of Hires from within the             Federal Workforce

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

## Set Goals

- Treasury CIO Council I/T Strategic Plan
- Improve Customer Service
- Create Departmental Infrastructure:
- I/T Architecture
- Security
- I/T Workforce Development
- Shared Services
- Common Processes

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Treasury’s strategic plan now shows Department-wide goals.

We are working toward a common framework in architecture.

We are collaborating on security.

We want to achieve economies of scale for IT skills development.

We economize on shared network services and establish common processes.  

## Measure

- I/T Senior Management Assessment
- Department-wide
- IRS Specific
- IRS Assessment of 7,000 I/T Employees

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
In the Fall of 1998, we conducted an on-line confidential survey.  It was a self-assessment format covering 70 Departmental CIOs and direct reports with a 77% response rate.

IRS conducted a similar assessment of its top 40 IT executives.  In addition, in the midst of reorganizing, IRS conducted a skills and competency assessment of its 7,000 IT employees.

## Improve -- Removing Structural Barriers

- Address Compensation Structure through OPM and Independent Federal CIO Council Initiatives
- Update Federal I/T Job Definitions
- Recognize Value of I/T Technical Skills
- Competency-based approach

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Treasury has been actively working with the IT Workforce Committee of the Federal CIO Council to address compensation issues.  Fred Thompson, the former Treasury IT Workforce Improvement Manager, is the Government Task Manager for the National Academy of Public Administration study on compensation.
Treasury has worked closely with OPM, providing significant input on special pay rates and job definition and classification issues. Treasury advocated for higher graded technical expert positions.
OPM has adopted a competency-based approach for the IT occupation. In adopting this approach, it had gathered substantial material from an IRS IT competency study conducted a few years ago.

## Improve --Department Actions

- Improve Relationships with Customers
- Invest in Leadership
- Invest in I/T Staff

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Specific Treasury efforts to date include a joint memorandum from the Assistant Secretary of Human Resources and Assistant Secretary for Information Systems Management committing themselves to cooperation and promoting use of existing recruitment, retention and development flexibilities.

Bureaus have responded with various initiatives and a partnership agreement was approved to share resources within the Treasury Department.

## Improve Relationships with Customers

- Treasury Executive Institute Seminars
- E-Commerce
- I/T Security
- Architecture and Capital Planning
- Knowledge Management
- I/T for Non I/T Executives Program

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
The CIO’s Office partnered with the Treasury Executive to produce various seminars to enhance the knowledge of IT and non-IT executives. Each session was 100% subscribed with waiting lists.

For IT executives throughout the Department to exercise leadership that transforms their bureaus, they must become working partners with their business program counterparts.  For this reason, Treasury developed a pilot three day seminar for Non-IT Executives which covered capital planning, mapping IT to the mission, and an technology overview. 

## Invest in Leadership

- DoD IRM College Program
- Growth from 80 to close to 300 in One Year
- Information Management Forum
- Non-Federal Perspective on I/T Issues
- IRS IS Executive Readiness and SES Development Program
- CIO Executive Potential Program

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Treasury has embarked on an extraordinary training effort with this College.  Treasury negotiated an agreement to guarantee a certain number of slots in the Advanced Management Program each year, and a reduced rate on Intensive Class slots.  

The course were so popular, enrollment jumped 270% in one year.

Treasury has a membership with the Information Management Forum, a primarily private sector forum which encourages discussion and networking on significant IT issues.

IRS developed an executive readiness program for its IS execs and has had an extensive SES Candidate Development Program.

Jim Flyzik recognized the need for an IT executive succession program and developed the CIO Executive Potential Program. 

## Invest in I/T Staff

- Guideline to Bureaus to Invest a Minimum of 3% of I/T Salary Costs in I/T Staff Development by FY 2001
- Established as Top USSS Priority
- Expanded Use of Training Technology

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Management issued a guidance letter in May 1999.

Training and development was established as the Secret Service’s top priority for FY 2000 & 2001.

IRS is hosting the Treasury School of Information Technology and will offer close to 1,000 distance learning classes to all Treasury bureaus. 

## Issues Remaining

- Establishing Collaborative Strategies for Diverse Bureaus
- Moving Beyond Ad Hoc Responses
- Institutionalizing Measurement and Progress

- IRM College

- April 20, 2001

**Notes:**
We are still establishing cooperative programs to effectively and efficiently provide opportunities to share resources throughout the Department.

We are attempting to institutionalize the program, but staffing has been an issue.

New program goals include the establishment of a hiring program for the disabled and the development of a technical leadership curriculum.