Managing a
Government Workforce

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has approved a bill that could reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent over the next three years. For every three federal workers retiring or leaving over the next decade, one worker will take their place.

As a federal manager or a human resources professional, how do you implement a reduction in force program and negotiate through all the legal and regulatory requirements. The answers to these and all the other issues involved are found in the very timely handbook ‘Managing a Government Workforce’.

The process for determining the methods of reduction is a complicated one and requires much thought and planning. Luckily, this handbook uses an easy to follow five step process that definitively covers everything you need to know to plan and execute a RIF and do all the necessary post-RIF follow-ups.

The process corresponds to the reshaping process, starting with developing, reviewing and analyzing mission requirements and finishing with post-RIF tools such as the Career Transition Assistance Plan. These major steps fall into two areas of responsibility—management and human resources – and both areas are comprehensively covered.

In the current climate budget cuts and loss of funding are likely to be the main reasons for implementing a RIF and this situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. However, there are numerous ways to minimize the need for a RIF as a result of management’s reshaping efforts and these too are discussed in detail.

The book uses case studies, checklists and best practices to guide you through the RIF process with a wealth of information on planning and implementation, employee counseling and outplacement assistance and how to handle appeals and grievances.

When an agency learns that it must realign itself or take a large cut in staff in order to meet its delayering and budgetary program requirements, panic often sets in, rumors fly and morale sinks. This is the time that the agency's top staff must quickly work to resolve what seems like insurmountable problems.

This Handbook covers the management and human resources role in planning for restructuring actions. It will assist both agencies and employees in recognizing alternatives that may minimize or even eliminate involuntary separations or downgrading resulting from restructuring situations. If you are faced with any reduction in force, this is the one handbook that you cannot afford to be without.