President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to infuse the “work or walk” spirit of the private sector into the federal bureaucracy.
The order is designed to reform the federal bureaucracy by creating a new class of positions called “Schedule F.” This will cover “employees serving in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions that are not normally subject to change as the result of a presidential transition,” according to a White House fact sheet.
The order itself, which was dated Oct. 21, notes that “effective performance management of employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions is of the utmost importance.”
However, the federal bureaucracy is not always meeting that standard, the order states.
“Unfortunately, the Government’s current performance management is inadequate, as recognized by Federal workers themselves. For instance, the 2016 Merit Principles Survey reveals that less than a quarter of Federal employees believe their agency addresses poor performers effectively,” the order stated.
“Separating employees who cannot or will not meet required performance standards is important, and it is particularly important with regard to employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions,” Trump said in his order.
The order said that the president is responding to a need identified by those trying to get work done amid the constraint of having employees in their workforce upon whom they cannot rely.
“Senior agency officials report that poor performance by career employees in policy-relevant positions has resulted in long delays and substandard-quality work for important agency projects, such as drafting and issuing regulations,” the order said.
The fact sheet that accompanied the order said that “Removing poor performers, even from these critical positions, is time-consuming and difficult. The Government Accountability Office reports that it takes 6 months to 1 year to remove Federal employees for poor performance.”
The order said that serving the taxpayers requires good people in government.
