The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a critical report on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)’s internal communications procedures and ability to attract and retain quality personnel.“(The) FCC lacks written procedures for ensuring that inter-bureau collaboration and communication occurs,†said the report.  “FCC’s reliance on informal coordination has created confusion among the bureaus regarding who is responsible for handling certain issues.
The GAO also indicated that a lack of written procedures has led to different chairman to determine the extent to which important inter-FCC communication occurs.
“FCC lacks internal policies regarding commissioner access to staff analyses during the decision-making process, and some chairmen have restricted this access,†said the report.  “Such restrictions may undermine the group decision-making process and impact the quality of FCC’s decisions.â€
The FCC is also facing a major problem on the horizon with a large percentage of economists and engineers set to retire in 2011, coupled with an inability to recruit quality young candidates.
While the FCC has begun to evaluate personnel needs, it has not met a previous recommendation by the GAO to include identifying needs, developing strategies to meet those needs and tracking the ensuing progress.
The FCC has not established goals for expertise needs, making it almost impossible to gauge the agency’s success in meeting its needs.
It is also noted in the report that the FCC has begun to address the issues raised by the GAO through a review of prior communications practices.