The purpose of the survey was to gain insights into the human capital challenges federal agencies are facing, specifically in the areas of attracting and retaining younger workers, drivers of employee engagement, and the effective use of human capital data and analytics.

1. Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.
US Federal Workforce:
A Pulse Check on Today’s Human
Capital Challenges

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• What are their top challenges?
• Is their agency prepared to address
these challenges?
• Are they measuring the right things,
the right way?
In 2015, Accenture Federal Services
surveyed more than 200 defense and
civilian agency executives to get their
views on attracting, recruiting and
retaining talent—and planning for the
next generation of leaders:

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Federal executives cite four main challenges
in achieving their workforce vision:
Defense agencies rated retaining top talent
as the #1 challenge
Civilian agencies rated driving
employee engagement as the #1
challenge
Retaining
Talent
Driving Employee
Engagement
Attracting
New Talent
Building
Leadership Talent

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Feds rank their top five challenges
in attracting and retaining talent…
4
1. Lack of career development
2. Attractive competing offers
from other organizations
3. Lengthy hiring timeline
4. Lack of mobility within
the organization
5. Lack of career paths
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C-suite:
… but perceptions vary between C-suite executives
and HR leaders:
5
HR:
1. Lack of career paths
2. Lack of career development
3. Attractive competing offers
4. Lengthy timeline
5. Lack of mobility
1. Attractive competing offers
2. Lack of career development
3. Lengthy timeline
4. Lack of mobility
5. Lack of career paths
Civilian agencies cite lack of
mobility
Defense agencies cite lack of career development
opportunities

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Civilian agencies cite streamlined
application process and defined
skill sets and competencies
Federal executives ranked top changes needed to
improve recruitment and promotion of talent:
2. Defined
skill sets and
competencies across
the organization
3. Defined
employee learning
opportunities
4. Defined
career paths across
the organization
5. Articulated
employee value
proposition
Defense agencies cite defined
employee learning opportunities
and clearer employee value proposition
1. Streamlined
application
process

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Federal executives recognize there
are challenges to overcome.
7
How prepared are federal agencies to
address these challenges and secure
the next generation of leaders?
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are optimistic that their agency will be able to develop
the next generation of leaders over the next three years.
This optimism implies that agencies have
processes in place:
• To overcome the top challenges identified
in attracting and/or retaining talent
• For faster recruitment and promotion of talent
However, over 60% of executives feel at least some
improvement is needed across a wide range of areas
for their agency to identify and develop the next
generation of leaders.
8
Nine out of 10 federal executives
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view the retirement of 1/3 of current federal
employees in the next three years as a positive
development.
• This positive impact is attributed primarily to
the ability to attract and promote new talent.
• This widespread optimism suggests that these
executives have greater confidence in their ability
to handle issues, which are a cause of concern
for their less optimistic counterparts:
• 50% Lack of succession planning
• 26% Lack of knowledge management
• 24% Loss of mission-critical skills
9
Nearly 70% of federal executives

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BUT only 12% of recent college graduates indicated federal government as
their top industry choice.
On the upside, 74% expect to be with their first job for at least three years and
almost 1/3 expect to be with an employer for more than five years.
10
are optimistic about retaining the next generation of millennials.
Nine out of 10 federal executives
Create a streamlined,
transparent hiring process
Establish a flexible
work environment
Increase use
of social media
Accenture 2015 College Graduate Employment Survey
Federal executives identified top three steps that their agencies
should take to attract and retain millennials:

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>50 federal executives
indicate that employee engagement has a major
impact on their organizations’ productivity.
Federal executives ranked developing
a positive culture and creating
opportunities as the top two ways to
address employee engagement.
Better opportunitiesPositive culture
Important steps to improve employee engagement:
11

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60+% indicate at least some improvement is
needed in these areas.
agree SIGNIFICANT improvement is needed in:
12
20% of federal executives
significant
improvement
needed
at least some
improvement
needed
20%
60%
Hiring Attracting and
recruiting new talent
Onboarding new
employees
Forecasting hiring needs
1‒5 years into the future

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80+% of federal executives
feel data is important to understanding their key workforce and talent challenges:
Employee metrics (94%)
Organization (93%)
Employee movement (93%)
Role information (89%)
Employee demographics (81%)
But more than 50% of federal executives feel at least some improvement is needed in their ability
to forecast:
• Attrition in the next six months to one year
• Retirement in the next one to five years
• Hiring to fill resource gaps due to attrition and retirement
• Skill sets required in the next five years

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Are federal agencies prepared today for tomorrow’s
federal workforce? Is YOUR agency ready?
14
A prevailing sense of optimism exists. BUT federal
executives agree there is room for improvement.
Align your agency’s optimism against reality.
Evaluate your organization objectively and
prioritize accordingly. What is the biggest impact
that you can make to secure the next generation
of leaders?
It’s time to rethink approaches
and apply new ones. Today.
Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.

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Contact
15
For more information:
Jeanne Ward
Managing Director
jeanne.r.ward@accenturefederal.com
David DiSanto
Senior Manager
david.a.disanto@accenturefederal.com
http://www.accenture.com/federal
Copyright © 2016 Accenture. All rights reserved.

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Survey Methodology
16
In July 2015, Accenture Federal Services
conducted an online survey of US federal
agency human capital executives and other
C-suite-level officers.
The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into
the human capital challenges federal agencies are
facing, specifically in the areas of attracting and
retaining younger workers, drivers of employee
engagement, and the effective use of human
capital data and analytics.
Results are based on an online survey of
219 US federal executives from more than 50
defense and civilian agencies.
Copyright © 2015 Accenture. All rights reserved.
Agency Type
Defense 73 33%
Civilian 146 67%
Total 219 100%
Job Title
HR 140 64%
C Suite 79 36%
Total 219 100%