Selected Key Mergers and Transformation Practices Can Help Guide DHS in Taking a Comprehensive and Sustained Approach to its Management Integration Efforts

DHS would have the comprehensive and sustained approach to its  management integration efforts that it needs over the long term to  successfully transform the agency, if it more closely adhered to three  selected key practices that we have found consistently at the center of  successful mergers, acquisitions, and transformations. To assess DHS’s progress to date in integrating its management functions,  we determined that three of the nine practices were especially important to  ensure the agency has the management infrastructure it needs this early in  the process to manage and sustain its integration: (1) an overarching  integration strategy, with implementation goals and a time line that links its  various individual management integration initiatives; (2) a dedicated  implementation team with the responsibility and authority to drive the  department’s management integration; and (3) committed and sustained  leadership. Such goals and time lines could be  contained in an overall integration plan for a merger or transformation  effort. Early on, the department made some progress in consolidating the  processes and systems of each individual function in areas such as  information technology, financial management, procurement, and human  capital. DHS has recently strengthened the role of its functional  councils through its management directives to help coordinate integration  departmentwide. The role of the Under Secretary for Management does contain some of the  characteristics of a COO/CMO as we have described, such as integrating  key management and transformation efforts by providing a single point of  contact as the chief integrator of management functions across DHS. The Congress  should continue to closely monitor whether additional leadership  authorities are needed for the Under Secretary, or whether a revised  organizational arrangement is needed to fully capture the roles and  responsibilities of a COO/CMO position, such as elevating the position, and  including a performance agreement and setting a term limit for it. Some of the guidance and plans DHS has already  created could be used as a foundation for building such an integrated  strategy. Matters for Congressional Consideration

To help ensure accountability and sustainability for DHS’s management  integration over the long term, Congress may wish to continue to monitor  the following:  the progress of DHS’s management integration, for example, by  requiring the department to periodically report on the status of its  efforts, especially to determine whether it has:  implemented a departmentwide integration management strategy;   provided the BTO with sufficient authority to serve as a dedicated  implementation team to help set priorities and make strategic  decisions to drive integration across all functions, and  whether the Under Secretary for Management has the authority to  elevate attention on management issues and transformational change,  integrate various key management and transformation efforts, and  institutionalize accountability for addressing these management issues  and leading this change. Scope and Methodology

To identify opportunities for DHS to improve its management integration  efforts, we assessed these efforts by using three of the nine key practices  consistently found at the center of successful mergers, acquisitions, and  transformations. The three selected practices are:  ensuring top leadership drives the transformation, setting implementation  goals and a time line to build momentum and show progress from day one,  and dedicating an implementation team to manage the transformation  process. Department of Homeland Security: Financial Management Challenges. Human Capital: DHS Faces Challenges in Implementing Its New  Personnel System.
Why GAO Did This Study

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents one of the largest reorganizations of government agencies and operations in recent history. Significant management challenges exist for DHS as it merges the multiple management systems and processes from its 22 originating agencies in functional areas such as human capital and information technology. GAO was asked to identify opportunities for DHS to improve its management integration.

What GAO Found

GAO found that while DHS has made some progress in its management integration efforts, it has the opportunity to better leverage this progress by implementing a comprehensive and sustained approach to its overall integration efforts. GAO assessed DHS's integration efforts to date against three of nine key practices consistently found to be at the center of successful mergers and transformations: setting implementation goals and a time line to build momentum and show progress, dedicating an implementation team to manage the transformation, and ensuring top leadership drives it. While there are other practices critical to successful mergers and transformations--including using the performance management system to define responsibility and assure accountability for change--GAO selected these three key practices because they are significant to building the infrastructure needed for DHS at this early juncture in its management integration efforts. Establishing implementation goals and a time line is critical to ensuring success and could be contained in an overall integration plan for a merger or transformation. DHS has issued guidance and plans to assist its integration efforts, on a function-by-function basis (information technology and human capital, for example); but it does not have a comprehensive strategy, with overall goals and a time line, to guide the management integration departmentwide. GAO's research shows that it is important to dedicate a strong and stable implementation team for the day-to-day management of the transformation. DHS has established a Business Transformation Office (BTO), reporting to the Under Secretary for Management, to help monitor and look for interdependencies among the individual functional integration efforts. However, the role of the BTO could be strengthened so that it has the requisite responsibility and authority to help the Under Secretary set priorities and make strategic decisions for the integration, as well as implement the integration strategy. The current responsibilities of the Under Secretary contain some of the characteristics of a COO/CMO. GAO has reported that such a position could help elevate, integrate, and institutionalize DHS's management initiatives. Recent DHS actions, such as management directives clarifying roles for the integration, can provide the Under Secretary additional support. However, it is still too early to tell whether the Under Secretary will have sufficient authority to direct, and make trade-off decisions for the integration, and institutionalize it departmentwide. The Congress should continue to monitor whether it needs to provide additional leadership authorities to the Under Secretary, or create a new position that more fully captures the roles and responsibilities of a COO/CMO.