Figure 2: Pay for Entry-level Officers and Retirement Benefits for Each of the 13 Police Forces with 50 or More Officers Entry-level officers at 12 of the 13 police forces (all but the U.S. Postal Service Police) received increases in their starting salaries between October 1, 2002, and April 1, 2003. Entry-level officers at three of the four police forces (FBI Police, Federal Protective Service, and NIH Police) with the lowest entry-level salaries as of September 30, 2002, received raises of $5,584, $4,583, and $4,252, respectively, during the period ranging from October 1, 2002, through April 1, 2003. In addition, entry-level officers at both the U.S. Capitol Police and Library of Congress Police two of the highest paid forces-also received salary increases of $3,739 during the same time period." These pay raises received by entry-level officers from October 1, 2002, through April 1, 2003, narrowed the entry-level pay gap for some of the 13 forces. For example, as of September 30, 2002, entrylevel officers at the FBI Police received a salary $8,168 less than an entrylevel officer at the U.S. Capitol Police. However, as of April 1, 2003, the pay gap between entry-level officers at the two forces had narrowed to $6,323. Officers at the 13 police forces reportedly performed many of the same types of duties, such as protecting people and property, patrolling the grounds on foot, and conducting entrance and exit screenings. Police force officials also reported that officers at all of the police forces had the authority to make arrests. Although there are similarities in the general duties, there were differences among the police forces with respect to the extent to which they performed specialized functions. 1*In late April 2003, Supreme Court Police officers were granted a pay increase retroactive to October 1, 2002. This pay increase brought the entry-level pay of Supreme Court officers to the same levels as those of the Capitol Police and Library of Congress Police. DHS Organizational We have observed in our recent Performance and Accountability Series that there is no more important management reform than for agencies to transform their cultures to respond to the transition that is taking place in the role of government in the 21st century." Establishing the new DHS is an enormous undertaking that will take time to achieve in an effective and efficient manner. DHS must effectively combine 22 agencies with an estimated 160,000 civilian employees specializing in various disciplines, including law enforcement, border security, biological research, computer security, and disaster mitigation, and also oversee a number of nonhomeland security activities. To achieve success, the end result should not simply be a collection of components in a new department, but the transformation of the various programs and missions into a high performing, focused organization. Implementing large-scale change management initiatives, such as establishing a DHS, is not a simple endeavor and will require the concentrated efforts of both leadership and employees to accomplish new organizational goals. We have testified previously that at the center of any serious change management initiative are the people-people define the organization's culture, drive its performance, and embody its knowledge base." Experience shows that failure to adequately address-and often even consider a wide variety of people and cultural issues is at the heart of unsuccessful mergers and transformations. Recognizing the “people” element in these initiatives and implementing strategies to help individuals maximize their full potential in the new organization, while simultaneously managing the risk of reduced productivity and effectiveness that often occurs as a result of the changes, is the key to a successful merger and transformation. Chairwoman Davis, today you are releasing a report that we prepared at your and Senator Voinovich's request that identifies the key practices and specific implementation steps with illustrative private and public sector examples that agencies can take as they transform their cultures to be more results-oriented, customer-focused, and collaborative in nature." "U.S. General Accounting Office, Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: A U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Building on the Current Momentum to DHS could use these practices and steps to successfully transform its culture and merge its various originating components into a unified department. (See table 3.) Table 3: Key Practices and implementation Steps for Mergers and Organizational Transformations DHS Strategic Human As Secretary Ridge and his leadership team will recognize, strategic the agencies, should develop and oversee the implementation of a longterm human capital strategy that can support the capacity building across government required to meet the objectives of the nation's efforts to strengthen homeland security." With respect to DHS, in particular, this strategy should ⚫ establish an effective performance management system, which incorporates the practices that reinforce a “line of sight" that shows how unit and individual performance can contribute to overall organization goals; DHS must also consider differences in pay, benefits, and performance management systems of the employee groups that were brought into DHS. Last March, the Secretary of Homeland Security highlighted examples of such differences. For example, basic pay is higher for Secret Service Uniformed Division officers than for General Schedule police officers. TSA uses a pay banding system with higher pay ranges than the General Schedule system. The Secretary also cited differences in benefits. The Secret Service Uniformed Division officers and TSA Air Marshals are covered under the law enforcement officer retirement benefit provisions, while the Federal Protective Service police and law enforcement security officers and various Customs Service employees, among others, are not. Further, the Secretary stated that DHS and OPM employees will determine U.S. General Accounting Office, Homeland Security: Management Challenges Facing Federal Leadership, GAO-03-260 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 20, 2002). |