Human Capital: Building Diversity in GAO's Senior Executive	 
Service (13-NOV-07, GAO-08-275T).				 
                                                                 
A high-performance organization relies on a dynamic workforce	 
with the requisite talents, multidisciplinary knowledge, and	 
up-todate skills to ensure that it is equipped to accomplish its 
mission and achieve its goals. For GAO having a diverse workforce
and Senior Executive Service (SES)corps is an organizational	 
strength that contributes to the achievement of results by	 
bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to policy
development and implementation, strategic planning, problem	 
solving, and decision making. The Office of Opportunity and	 
Inclusiveness (O&I) was created by the Comptroller General in	 
2001 to transform the agency's diversity management practices. As
such O&I is the principal adviser to the Comptroller General on  
diversity and equal opportunity matter. The subcommittee asked us
to provide information on the diversity of GAO's Senior Executive
Service and the agency's succession planning efforts. This	 
testimony focuses on the diversity of GAO's workforce and	 
leadership team and our efforts and processes for building and	 
maintaining diversity in our SES and throughout our workforce.	 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-275T					        
    ACCNO:   A78109						        
  TITLE:     Human Capital: Building Diversity in GAO's Senior	      
Executive Service						 
     DATE:   11/13/2007 
  SUBJECT:   Diversity management				 
	     Employees						 
	     Federal agencies					 
	     Human capital					 
	     Human capital planning				 
	     Minorities 					 
	     Performance management				 
	     Statistical data					 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Women						 
	     Program goals or objectives			 
	     Senior Executive Service				 

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GAO-08-275T

   

     * [1]Diversity of GAO's Workforce and Leadership Team
     * [2]Several Processes Help Build and Maintain Diversity in GAO's

          * [3]Top Leaders Involved in Rigorous Selection and Training Proc
          * [4]Various Processes Support a Diverse Workforce

     * [5]Concluding Remarks
     * [6]GAO's Mission
     * [7]Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony

          * [8]Order by Mail or Phone

     * [9]To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs
     * [10]Congressional Relations
     * [11]Public Affairs

Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the
District of Columbia, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House
of Representatives

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

For Release on Delivery Expected at 2:00 p.m. EST

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

HUMAN CAPITAL

Building Diversity in GAO's Senior Executive Service

Statement of Ronald A. Stroman, Managing Director Office of Opportunity
and Inclusiveness

GAO-08-275T

Chairman Davis and Members of the Subcommittee:

Good Afternoon. I am Ron Stroman, the Managing Director of the Office of
Opportunity and Inclusiveness at the United States Government
Accountability Office (GAO). I am pleased to be here today to address an
issue of such vital importance to GAO--Diversity in our Senior Executive
Service (SES).

GAO's mandate to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the
accountability of the federal government requires a highly skilled and
diverse workforce and leadership team. The diversity of our leaders--SES
and Senior Level (SL) executives and our Band III directors--increases the
range of perspectives and problem-solving approaches and creates higher
value solutions for the Congress and the American people. For example, our
leaders directed interdisciplinary teams of analysts, auditors,
economists, accountants, investigators, and others; conducted work that
addresses many difficult issues confronting the nation, and helped the
federal government achieve a total of $51 billion in financial benefits in
fiscal year 2006.

The Office of Opportunity and Inclusiveness (O&I), supports GAO's
strategic commitment to diversity. O&I is the principal adviser to the
Comptroller General on diversity and equal opportunity matters. The office
manages GAO's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program, including
informal pre-complaint counseling, and GAO's formal discrimination
complaint process. We also operate the agency's early resolution and
mediation program by assisting managers and employees to resolve workplace
disputes and EEO concerns without resorting to the formal process. In
addition, O&I monitors GAO's disability policy, including access to
reasonable accommodations, and oversees the management of GAO's
interpreting service for our deaf and hard-of-hearing employees. In
furtherance of our transformational diversity approach, O&I monitors,
evaluates, and recommends changes to GAO's major human capital policies
and processes including those related to recruiting, hiring, performance
management, promotion, awards, and training. These reviews, along with
independent reviews conducted by our Human Capital Office, are generally
conducted before final decisions are made in an effort to provide
reasonable assurance that GAO's human capital processes and practices
promote fairness and support a diverse workforce.

My testimony today will focus on the diversity of GAO's workforce and
leadership team and our efforts and processes for building and maintaining
diversity in our SES and throughout our workforce.

Diversity of GAO's Workforce and Leadership Team

The Office of Opportunity and Inclusiveness (O&I) was created by the
Comptroller General in 2001 to transform the agency's diversity management
practices. Since then we have worked closely with the agency's top
managers to improve diversity management practices in GAO. As an indicator
of our success, GAO's analyst and specialist population is more diverse
than the relevant civilian labor force (RCLF). ^1 Specifically, the
percentages of GAO's analyst and specialist staff, as of October 2006,
exceeded the 2000 RCLF percentages for African Americans, Asian Americans,
and Hispanic staff as well as for women. Figure 1 compares the GAO and
RCLF percentages.

^1 The Civilian Labor Force (CLF) is defined as those 16 and older
(including federal workers) who are employed or looking for work and not
in the military or institutionalized. The Relevant Civilian Labor Force
data (RCLF) are the CLF data that are directly comparable (or relevant) to
the population being considered. Throughout this testimony we use 2000
RCLF because it is the most current and reliable data available at this
time. Also, we use 2006 data for GAO in order to be make consistent
comparisons to the 2006 government wide data.

Figure 1: Comparison of GAO's Analysts and Specialist Staff as of October
2006, to the 2000 Relevant Civilian Labor Force Data

The diversity of our leadership team has also improved over the years. In
fiscal year 2000, minorities represented about 14 percent of the SES/SL
corps. As of fiscal year 2007, about 18 percent of the SES/SL members were
minorities. Similarly the representation of minorities at the Band
III--the SES/SL feeder pool--increased from nearly 12 percent in 2000 to
nearly 19 percent in 2007, and the representation of women in the SES as
well as at the Band III and Band II levels increased. Figures 2 and 3
illustrate changes in the percentages of minorities and women,
respectively.

Figure 2: Percentage of Minorities in GAO at the SES/SL level, Band III,
and Band II from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2007

Figure 3: Percentage of Women in GAO at the SES/SL level, Band III, and
Band II from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2007

While we have made progress, we still have work to do. We are committed to
improving the representation of all minority groups in the leadership team
and in particular, representation of Hispanic and Asian American staff
should be improved. As shown in table 1, percentages of GAO's Hispanic
staff members at the SES level and Asian American staff at the Band III
level were lower than governmentwide percentages. However, for both of
these groups, the percentages in the feeder pools--staff at the lower
levels--either equal or exceed the governmentwide percentages.
Specifically, 3.9 percent of GAO's Band III staff and the GS-15's
governmentwide are Hispanic and the Asian American staff represent 7.2
percent of the Band IIB level in GAO while Asian staff are 5.4 percent of
the GS-14 staff governmentwide. We expect that several staff will be
prepared to move into higher positions in the next few years and therefore
improve the representation at these levels. O&I is also working closely
with GAO executive committee and teams' managing directors to ensure that
sufficient developmental opportunities are being provided.

Table 1: Percentages of GAO and Governmentwide staff by Demographic Group
at the SES/SL, Band III, and Band IIB levels, October 2006

       SES/SL staff as of October 2006
Demographic Group  Government wide  GAO 
African American               8.6 11.6 
Asian American                 2.3  5.8 
Hispanic                       3.6  0.8 
Caucasian                     84.0 81.8 
Men                           73.5 59.5 
Women                         22.7 40.5 
GS-15/Band III staff as of October 2006
Demographic Group  Government wide  GAO 
African American               7.3 10.8 
Asian American                 7.1  4.1 
Hispanic                       3.9  3.9 
Caucasian                     80.9 81.2 
Men                           70.2 54.1 
Women                         29.8 45.9 
GS-14/Band IIB staff as of October 2006
Demographic Group  Government wide  GAO 
African American              11.5 10.3 
Asian American                 5.4  7.2 
Hispanic                       4.3  4.4 
Caucasian                     77.7 78.1 
Men                           65.2 48.8 
Women                         34.8 51.2 

Source: GAO and GAO's analysis of the Office of Personnel Management's
Central Personnel Data File

Note 1: Governmentwide includes civilian employees of all cabinet-level
departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils and boards in the
executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the Postal Service and
the Foreign Services (as of 2006). We included GS-15 , GS-14 and
equivalent employees. GS-equivalent employees are those in equivalent
grades under other pay plans that follow the GS grade structure and job
evaluation methodology or are equivalent by statute.

Note 2: While Band IIB and GS-14 levels are not equivalent, we compared
these groups because they represent the feeder pools for the Band III and
GS-15 levels, respectively.

Several Processes Help Build and Maintain Diversity in GAO's SES and Workforce

One of GAO's strategic objectives is to build and maintain a work
environment that is fair, unbiased,. and inclusive and that offers the
opportunity for all employees to realize their full potential. Several
efforts and processes support our strategic commitment to diversity. As
shown in figure 4, our workforce planning and recruitment processes,
training opportunities, reviews of human capital processes conducted by
O&I, and the selection process for SES candidates help support our efforts
to maintain diversity in our SES.

Figure 4: Processes That Support Diversity in GAO's SES

Top Leaders Involved in Rigorous Selection and Training Processes for SES
Candidates

Throughout the year, the Comptroller General and the executive committee
engage in broad, integrated succession planning and management efforts
that focus on strengthening both current and future organizational
capacity. The Comptroller General and the executive committee members
regularly discuss the anticipated leadership needs as well as the ability
of the current workforce to meet future needs. Our top leaders are
directly involved in the selection of our executives and support a diverse
senior executive corps.

Our process for selecting individuals from among a diverse pool of
qualified candidates directly affects the quality and diversity of our
executives. The process begins when the Comptroller General determines
that a need exists for additional executive candidates. Applications are
reviewed by GAO Executive Resources Board--a diverse group of senior
executives that includes the Chief Administrative Officer and the General
Counsel--and those they recommend are then referred to the Chief Operating
Officer and the Comptroller General. O&I reviews this list of applicants
and provides comments to the Comptroller General. During the review, O&I
considers the diversity of the proposed list of SES candidates, the
relative strength of each applicant's nomination package in view of the
workforce planning needs of the agency, and any issues regarding the
diversity management practices of the candidates. The Comptroller General
then selects the executive candidates.

Once selected, each SES candidate must complete a rigorous leadership
training program. GAO's Executive Candidate Assessment and Development
Program (ECADP) is designed to create candidates capable of becoming GAO
executives. The program is designed to provide all candidates with an
institutional framework to perform successfully as a GAO executive and to
ensure that the candidates have essential technical and managerial
competencies for success in the SES. The ECADP includes training
workshops, and assessment and feedback on leadership styles and skills.
Also, candidates are assigned mentors, shadow a senior executive, create
individual development plans, and complete special assignments and
projects. Some of the SES candidate special projects focus on human
capital issues that could have an effect on diversity in the workforce.
For example, one SES candidate conducted a review that examined whether
there were differences in the retention rates of new staff from various
groups. O&I participates in the training of executive candidates by
discussing leading practices in diversity management, the importance of
clearly communicating top leadership's commitment to diversity, and
strategies that managers can use to communicate that commitment while
holding staff accountable for results.

Various Processes Support a Diverse Workforce

Each year, to coincide with the budget, GAO initiates a workforce planning
process to help identify workforce requirements needed to accomplish our
strategic objectives. GAO's workforce planning process helps us accomplish
our mission efficiently and effectively; link our resources to our
strategic direction; identify and address skill gaps, surpluses and
succession shortages; and provide a strategy to attract and retain the
right people with the right skills at the right time. GAO's 2008-2009
workforce planning process established several principles to communicate
and guide organizational expectations and to foster a transparent,
effective and strategic resource planning process. Several of these
principles addressed key human capital areas that affect the diversity of
the workforce and the leadership, such as succession planning, hiring, and
promotions.

Our recruitment process includes a variety of steps to help attract a
diverse pool of candidates. We have identified a group of colleges and
universities that have demonstrated overall superior academic quality, and
that either have a particular program or a high concentration of minority
students. This group includes several Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and institutions with a
significant portion of Asian-American students. In addition, GAO has
established partnerships with professional organizations and associations
with members from groups that traditionally have been underrepresented in
the federal workforce, such as the American Association of Hispanic CPAs,
the National Association of Black Accountants, the Federal Asian Pacific
American Council, the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and
Accounting, and the American Association of Women Accountants. GAO's
recruiting materials reflect the diversity of our workforce, and we
annually train our campus recruiters on the best practices for identifying
a broad spectrum of diverse candidates.

GAO's training emphasis and framework supports our efforts to maintain a
diverse workforce by providing opportunities for all employees to realize
their full potential. Our Learning Center has established learning tracks
for all levels of the GAO analyst population that help all staff prepare
for leadership roles. These learning tracks identify mandatory courses
required by federal statute or GAO policy that all GAO employees must
complete, core courses designed to provide basic knowledge and skills
needed to succeed at each band level and elective courses that provide
supplemental knowledge and skills. As staff move to a senior level, the
core courses include those that help prepare them to manage a diverse
workforce. For example, Band II level staff should take a course on
coaching others. One learning objective for this course is to understand
the importance of recognizing individual differences and tailoring one's
coaching style to the unique characteristics of the person being coached.

The O&I staff conduct reviews to ensure fairness in performance appraisal
decisions, promotions, awards, hiring, and recruitment. For the review of
draft performance appraisals, O&I uses a two-part approach; we review
statistical data on performance ratings by demographic group within each
unit, and where appropriate, we conduct assessments of individual ratings.
The O&I performance appraisal reviews have identified areas for
improvement. As I testified before this Subcommittee on May 22nd of this
year, GAO is deeply concerned about the differences in average appraisal
ratings among African Americans at all bands for 2002-2005 compared with
Caucasian analysts.^2 We have hired a full-service management consulting
firm to conduct an independent assessment of factors that may influence
these rating differences and to make recommendations regarding further
steps that GAO can take to ensure fair, consistent, and nondiscriminatory
application of GAO's performance management system. The contractor has an
outstanding reputation for quality, working with public and private
entities, including the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The
contractor's report is due March 2008.

In addition, O&I staff perform a two-part review of the Band II and Band
III promotion process. First, O&I staff review the proposed list of Best
Qualified candidates. Generally, we expect that those candidates with the
best appraisals scores--those who have performed well--would also be
ranked highly by the panel. If our review identifies concerns, I discuss
these concerns with the senior executive who served as the chairperson for
the panel and in some instances discuss the matter with the executive
committee members. The second part of the promotion review process focuses
on the proposed promotion decisions, and we consider diversity relative to
available candidates. As with the appraisal review process, if there are
concerns I discuss them with the selecting officials and the executive
committee, when needed. Promotion decisions are not finalized until after
the O&I review process.

Concluding Remarks

The agency's top leadership is fully committed to creating an environment
that is fair and unbiased and that values diversity. Having a diverse
workforce and leadership cadre is an essential strategic component to
GAO's success. While the diversity of our workforce and leadership team
has improved, there are areas that still need to be addressed. Our efforts
to enhance diversity in the SES coupled with incorporating our core
diversity principles into our human capital processes will enable us to
continue to improve the diversity of our future leadership team.

^2 GAO, Human Capital: Efforts to Enhance Diversity and Ensure a Fair and
Inclusive Workplace at GAO, GAO-07-901T (Washington, D.C.: May 22, 2007).

This concludes my prepared statement. At this time I would be pleased to
answer any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee may
have.

(992238)

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