Senior Executive Service members could be more beneficial to a wider range of agencies if they were more mobile, according to a recent report from the Partnership for Public Service and McKinsey & Company.
In the companies’ joint report, Mission-Driven Mobility, authors found nearly half of SES members stayed in same position throughout their entire career.
The report said that about 48 percent of SES members never transferred to another agency to utilize their skills in executive management.
Executives who have cross-agency experience could be of great help in emergency situations and day-to-day operations, according to the report.
The report authors said the government has no no centralized federal human capital system in place for executives to learn about cross-agency operations or to facilitate executives’ movement and professional growth.
The lack of a central system can lead to talent hoarding within agencies and a misconception that rotation is a punishment for government executives, the report said.
Report authors suggest creating a government branch under the Office of Management and Budget that would oversee rotation and mobility.
The report also suggests the Office of Personnel Management create incentives for SES members who rotate between agencies.
