Section 1053 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year  2012 added a requirement for DOD to include specific information on its  Financial Management workforce in the department’s strategic workforce  plan. With the exception of the first two principles, these principles are similar  to elements of DOD’s statutory reporting requirements. In our most recent   In our  report in September 2012 on the department’s overall civilian strategic  workforce plan, we recommended that DOD  include in the guidance that it disseminates for developing future  strategic workforce plans clearly defined terms and processes for  conducting these assessments;  conduct competency-gap analyses for DOD’s mission-critical  occupations and report the results; establish and adhere to timelines that will ensure issuance of future  strategic workforce plans in accordance with statutory time frames; provide guidance for developing future strategic workforce plans that  clearly directs the functional communities to collect information that  identifies not only the number or percentage of personnel in its  military, civilian, and contractor workforces but also the capabilities of  the appropriate mix of those three workforces; and enhance the department’s results-oriented performance measures by  revising existing measures or developing additional measures that will  more clearly align with DOD’s efforts to monitor progress in meeting  the strategic workforce-planning requirements in section 115b of Title  10 of the United States Code. The plan does not address 5 of the 32  statutory requirements. Section 115b of Title 10 of the United States Code requires DOD to  develop a strategic workforce plan to shape and improve the civilian  employee workforce of the department, to include specific elements such  as an assessment of the current critical skills and competencies of the  civilian workforce; any gaps in the existing or projected workforce; and the  appropriate mix of civilian, military, and contractor capabilities. The Financial Management workforce plan also does not address the  requirement to include an assessment of civilian, military, and contractor  capabilities. While this practice is not part of DOD’s statutory reporting  requirements, key practices in human-capital management identify  strategic alignment—which occurs when an agency’s workforce strategies  are linked with its mission and goals, and integrated into its strategic plan,  performance plan, and budget formulation—as one of six leading  principles for effective strategic workforce planning. DOD’s plan identified 31 strategies  for addressing workforce gaps, but did not provide specific information on  the funding required—an important element in budget planning  decisions—to implement most of these strategies. Our analysis of the Fiscal Year 2013-2018  Strategic Workforce Plan in particular indicates that without fully aligning  DOD’s strategic workforce plan with the budget process and management  workforce initiatives, such as those to address recruiting, retention, and  readiness issues associated with declining morale, the department will  not be in the best position to make informed management and resource  decisions about its workforce. However, until DOD aligns its strategic workforce plan with the budget  process and other strategic management initiatives, such as those to  address recruitment, retention, and readiness issues, both DOD and  congressional decision makers may not have visibility over the areas  most in need of attention. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense’s (DOD)  Fiscal Year 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan addressed the statutory  requirements of Section 115b of Title 10 of the United States Code, we  evaluated DOD’s 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan and supporting  documentation to determine the degree to which the plan addresses,  partially addresses, or does not address each of the required elements. To determine the extent to which DOD’s strategic workforce plan is  consistent with key strategic workforce planning principles, we compared  DOD’s 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan to key principles of effective  strategic workforce planning.principles—aligning workforce planning with strategic planning and  budget formulation and involving stakeholders, among others, in  developing, communicating, and implementing the strategic workforce  plan—that do not overlap with the statutory requirements. We consider a  recommendation open if DOD has not taken or has not completed actions  to address a recommendation. Human Capital: Critical Skills and Competency Assessments Should Help  Guide DOD Civilian Workforce Decisions.
Why GAO Did This Study

Strategic workforce planning can help DOD determine whether it has the civilian personnel with the necessary skills and competencies to perform a wide variety of duties and responsibilities, including mission-essential combat-support functions, such as logistics and maintenance, that traditionally have been performed by uniformed military personnel. In 2006, Congress enacted a requirement for DOD to produce strategic workforce plans, and GAO first reported on DOD's plans in 2008. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 mandates that GAO report to Congress on these plans.
GAO evaluated the extent to which (1) DOD's Fiscal Year 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan addressed statutory requirements; and (2) DOD's plan is consistent with key strategic workforce-planning principles. GAO examined DOD's Fiscal Year 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan and associated documents, relevant legislation, and key strategic workforce-planning principles, and interviewed officials from across the department involved in producing the plan.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense's (DOD) Fiscal Year 2013-2018 Strategic Workforce Plan addressed or partially addressed 27 of the 32 statutory reporting requirements and did not address 5 of the requirements. The statute requires DOD, for example, to conduct assessments of critical skills and competencies, to assess gaps in the workforce, and to assess the appropriate mix of civilian, military, and contractor capabilities. DOD has taken steps to address many of its reporting requirements since 2008. However, DOD has not yet addressed the requirement to assess the appropriate mix of civilian, military, and contractor capabilities in its plan, as shown in the table below. GAO previously has made 10 recommendations regarding statutory compliance covering a range of issues. In addition to recommending that DOD conduct the required assessments, GAO also has recommended providing clearer guidance for developing the plan and enhancing performance measures and is not making further recommendations related to statutory compliance at this time.
DOD's strategic workforce plan does not fully incorporate key strategic workforce-planning principles. There are six key strategic workforce-planning principles, and most are similar to elements of the statutory reporting requirements, such as assessing critical skills and competencies. A key principle that is not addressed in the statutory requirements is strategic alignment, which links workforce strategies to an agency's mission and goals, and aligns them with, among other things, budget formulation. DOD's 2013-2018 plan noted the need to integrate the department's plan with the budget process but did not include specific details and, according to officials, DOD does not have actions underway to do so. Further, the plan identified strategies addressing some critical-skill staffing gaps, but did not provide specific information on the funding required to implement most of these strategies. The plan also did not align with recent recruiting, retention, and readiness initiatives to improve the morale of DOD's civilian workforce as reported to congressional defense committees. Without aligning its workforce plan with the budget process and management workforce initiatives, such as those to address recruiting and retention issues associated with declining morale, the department will not be in the best position to make informed management and resource decisions about its workforce.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD align its workforce plans with the budget process and other workforce management initiatives. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendation.