Developing the Leaders of Tomorrow while
Maximizing Productivity Today!
Tyler Robinson & David Uejio
Young Government Leaders
Young Government Leaders (YGL)
 YGL is a professional organization whose mission is to
educate, inspire, and transform the current and future
leaders of government.
 YGL’s membership is comprised of over 2,700 federal
employees nationwide from various agencies.
 YGL is expanding its research capabilities to tap into the
opinions of its members
Today’s Goals
 What are the prevailing characteristics, perceptions and
behaviors of young government professionals?
 How do you develop tomorrow’s leaders while
accomplishing today’s mission?
 We will use the ideal young professional employee life cycle as a
tool for this discussion.
Why This is Important
 18.3 years – average length of service for GS 14, 15, and SES
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(12.9 years total workforce)
56% of GS 14, 15, and SES are over 50 (43% total workforce)
Budgets are getting tighter
There can be generational differences in career perceptions
Employee Skills – Mission Match can help in accomplishing
the organization’s mission
Survey Data from OPM’s 2011 Employee Viewpoint Survey http://www.fedview.opm.gov/
Data from OPM’s Fedscope http://www.fedscope.opm.gov/
Young Government Professional
Profile
 28 years– Median Age
 2 years – Median Length of Service
 GS 11 – Median Grade
 Hired through an Intern/Fellowship Program
 82% of those survey entered that way
 70% thought the intern/fellowship was effective or very effective
 Highly Educated
 38% with a Bachelors
 60% with a Masters or higher
Based on a 2011 survey of YGL members
Young Government Professional
Perceptions Compared to All Govt
Top 5 Differences where Young Professionals are More Positive than Government-wide
Question
26-29 Govt Difference
Prohibited Personnel Practices are not tolerated.
75.5% 67.0%
8.5%
I have a high level of respect for my organization's senior leaders.
63.2% 56.6%
6.6%
Managers/supervisors/team leaders work well with employees of different backgrounds.
71.8% 65.3%
6.5%
Senior leaders demonstrate support for Work/Life programs.
61.8% 55.4%
6.4%
I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization.
71.4% 65.1%
6.3%
Survey Data from OPM’s 2011 Employee Viewpoint Survey http://www.fedview.opm.gov/
Young Government Professional
Perceptions Compared to All Govt
Top 5 Differences where Young Professionals are Less Positive than Government-wide
Question
26-29 Govt Difference
I like the kind of work I do.
79.7% 85.0%
-5.3%
I am held accountable for achieving results.
81.1% 84.0%
-2.9%
My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment.
71.1% 73.9%
-2.8%
I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.
57.0% 59.4%
-2.4%
The work I do is important.
89.8% 91.8%
-2.0%
Survey Data from OPM’s 2011 Employee Viewpoint Survey http://www.fedview.opm.gov/
Ideal Young Professional
Employee Life Cycle
Agency
Mission
Recruitment
 We asked our members how best to recruit top talent.
 Getting in front of applicants at universities is most
preferred, with budget constraints this isn’t always possible
 Advertising to Career Counselors to push OPM’s Pathways
Programs may be the best route
Which of the following are the best modes for recruiting Percent of Total
the best talent? (select up to 3)
Respondents
University job fairs
83.1%
University career counselors
60.1%
Student ambassadors (through presentations and meetings)
56.5%
Social media
47.1%
USA Jobs
33.2%
Community job fairs
22.7%
Veterans Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
18.3%
Other
10.5%
Based on a 2011 survey of YGL members
Recruitment – Pathways
 OPM is about to launch the Pathways Program
 Pathways will be the best and easiest way to bring in new talent
 There are three Pathways
 Internship Program
 Recent Graduates Program
 Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program
Recruitment – Internship Program
 For Current Students
 Replaces SCEP and STEP
 May be non-competitively converted to a permanent position
Recruitment – Internship Program
 Great for managers who want to:
 Delegate tasks that are consuming valuable time from more
senior employees
 Get access to potential employees before they hit the job
market
 Have a low-risk trial period since interns are not required to be
converted to permanent positions
Recruitment – Internship Program
 Tips for success:
 Set expectations early so that the intern does not create
unrealistic ones, which can happen with people with little job
experience
 Sit down and develop an individual development plan (doesn’t
have to be a large document)
 Follow-up fairly regularly to see how the intern is progressing
and if there are opportunities for improving the experience
Recruitment – Recent Grads Program
 For those who graduated from any degree program within
the last 2 year
 Effectively replaces FCIP
 May be non-competitively converted to a permanent position
 Formal training and mentorship requirement
Recruitment – Recent Grads Program
 Great for managers who want to:
 Hire people quickly who have relevant education
 Infuse new talent into the organization
 Have tasks that can be done by an entry level person
 Reduce headcount budget costs (recent grads can come in
lower grads)
Recruitment – Recent Grads Program
 Tips for success:
 Have a plan for how you are going to use the recent grad
 Help them find a mentor somewhere in the organization
 Discuss an individual development plan including what
appropriate training they should pursue
 Consider whether a short (3-4 month) rotation would be
beneficial for the recent grad
Recruitment – PMF
 For those who graduated from an advanced degree program
within the last 2 year
 May be non-competitively converted to a permanent position
 Formal training and senior level mentorship requirement
Recruitment – PMF
 Great for managers who want to:
 Create a pool of talent that can be used in the future for
succession planning
 Get high quality employees who have already gone through a
competitive hiring process (less than 10% of applicants become
finalists)
 Have an individual who can start with entry level tasks, but
learns quickly so more responsibility can be added
Recruitment – PMF
 Tips for success:
 Help facilitate the PMF finding a senior level mentor
 Discuss the rotation requirement early
 Discuss an individual development plan including what
appropriate training they should pursue
 Have frequent contact about how the fellowship is going and
help ground expectations for what they were hired to do
Engagement
“Employee engagement has evolved from the
concept of satisfaction. Engagement occurs
when Satisfaction, Motivation and
Effectiveness intersect.” – Essential
Components of Employee Engagement
“Engaged employees are passionate, energetic,
and dedicated to their job and organization.” –
OPM EmployeeViewpoint Survey
“The world's top-performing organizations understand that employee
engagement is a force that drives performance outcomes. In the best
organizations, engagement is more than a human resources initiative -- it is a
strategic foundation for the way they do business.” – Gallup
Engagement – OPM Engagement Index
Engagement – OPM Engagement Index
 Engagement and Retention are highly correlated
 Those who are considering leaving, not for retirement have an
engagement index score that is almost 40 points lower than
those wanting to stay
Percent of Total
Respondents
Engagement
Index Score*
Positive
Engagement
Index%
No
71.1%
3.9
76.6%
Yes
28.9%
3.3
44.7%
22.5%
3.2
39.4%
Yes, to take another job within the Federal Government
15.8%
3.2
39.6%
Yes, to retire
6.4%
3.7
63.5%
Yes, other
3.7%
3.1
37.4%
Yes, to take another job outside the Federal Government
3.0%
3.2
40.4%
Are you considering leaving your organization within the
next year, and if so, why?
Yes (other than retirement)
*The Engagement Index Score is on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree
Engagement – How To Retain
 We asked our members how to retain employees after they
are done with participating in the Pathways Program
 Manager and Burnout did not receive wide support
What are the biggest barriers in retaining employees
after the two year internship? (select up to 3)
Percent of Total
Respondents
Quality of work assignments
73.2%
Career advancement opportunities
69.9%
Private sector opportunities
50.4%
Manager
39.4%
Burnout
19.4%
Other
15.8%
Based on a 2011 survey of YGL members
Engagement – What Young Folks Want
 We asked our members what they would like to see included
in the recent grads pathway
What should be included in the recent grads program? (Select all that apply)
Percent of Total
Respondents
Rotational assignments
84.8%
Job shadowing opportunities
81.0%
Leadership training
80.7%
Formal mentorship
Meetings with higher officials, including SES
77.7%
Yearly conference (e.g. all hands meeting and/or offsite training-speaker series)
63.6%
Agency paid continuing education
62.5%
Group orientation retreat
54.9%
Informal mentorship
52.7%
Hiring recent grads in groups or pairs within an agency
48.9%
Group assignments (such as book clubs/reading lists, special projects, team building activities, etc.)
45.7%
Newsletter among recent grads
39.7%
Other
7.9%
Based on a 2011 survey of YGL members
76.6%
Development
 5 Development Strategies that won’t break the bank
 Mentorships
 Job Shadowing
 Brown Bag Lunch
 Book Club
 Professional Organizations
Development – Mentorships
 Senior-to-Junior Style
 In this type of mentorship, an up-and-coming leader is advised
and counseled by a more experienced individual
 The relationship is based on developing the junior individual,
but often the senior individual learns and benefits just as much
from the mentorship
 79% of YGL members believe mentorships are effective or
very effective
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a
push in the right direction.” - John Crosby
Based on a 2011 survey of YGL members
Development – Mentorships - Why?
 Mentoring is important
 Mentoring is flexible
 Mentoring is effective
 Mentoring is scalable
 Mentoring builds depth
“Everyone has a transferable commodity: knowledge.
Sharing your unique expertise and making
introductions for someone creates a lasting legacy.” Marsha Blackburn
Development – Mentorships - Tips?
 Consider your personal motivation.
 Clarify what you are looking for in a mentoring relationship.
 Get comfortable with the mentoring skills you may need to
draw on.
 Coaching, Facilitating, Goal Setting, Feedback, and Listening
 Identify a couple of stretch goals
 Create a mentor development plan
“Mentors with the best attitude see the work as an
opportunity to expand and deepen individual and
organizational learning.” - Lois J. Zachary
Development – Job Shadowing
 Generally short term, 1 day to a week
 The shadowing employee learns through observation
 Critique, analyze, and discuss with shadowing employee to
provide an even deeper learning opportunity
 Can be a long term rotation (few weeks to a few months)
 Employee learns by observation and by doing
 Look for opportunities within or outside your organization to
expose new employees
 Think about swapping employees so work isn’t backlogged much
“Every man who observes vigilantly and resolves
steadfastly grows unconsciously into genius.” - Edward
G. Bulwer-Lytton
Development – Brown Bag Lunch
 Encourage a relaxed atmosphere of sharing
 Benefits both the speaker and the audience
 A key feature of the Brown Bag Lunch is having a group
question and answer session
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we
exchange these apples, then you and I will still each
have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an
idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us
will have two ideas.” - George Bernard Shaw
Development – Book Club
 Can be any type of book your team find interesting
 Builds a knowledge base and can improve team camaraderie
 Can have pre-designed discussion questions or a free flowing
discussion opportunity
 Encourage employees to examine what they have read and
appreciate the different opinions shared
“No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any
pleasure so lasting” - Lady MaryWortley Montagu
Development – Professional Organizations
 Professional organizations are present in almost any field
 YGL and Federal Managers Associations are but two of them
 Encourage employees to find one or more organizations to
get involved with
 These organizations can provide networking, training,
advocacy, and encouragement to members
“The more you lose yourself in something bigger
than yourself, the more energy you will have.” NormanVincent Peale
QUESTIONS?
Ideal Young Profession
Employee Life Cycle
Agency
Mission
NOTES
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• OPM’s New Pathways Program is a great recruiting tool
• Setting expectations early will enhance the experience
• Regular feedback is key
• Engagement, Satisfaction, and Retention are all interrelated
• Quality Work Assignments & Career Advancement
Opportunities are highly desired
• To engage young employees create opportunities to learn by
doing and from more senior staff
• Try: Mentorships, Job Shadowing, Brown Bag Lunches, Book
Clubs, and Professional Organizations
• Each tool can be used for a different purpose and requires
different levels of time and commitment
• Discuss what works best for your team before executing