by George Ray
There’s a common misconception that most of the Federal workforce is located in Washington, DC, but you probably know that most Federal employees (about 79%) are located outside the nation’s capital. They’re the park rangers in our national parks, the law enforcement officers who keep our borders safe, the air traffic controllers in airports around the country, and the postal employees in every town, large and small, throughout the US. But just because you may be far away from Washington DC geographically, where most all agencies have their headquarters, you shouldn’t feel isolated.
Back in 1961, President Kennedy established the formation of the Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) through a Presidential directive to provide interagency coordination and communications among local agency offices, outside of Washington DC. There are currently 28 Boards, overseen by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which serve about 38% of the Federal workforce. They’re located throughout the US and are typically comprised of the highest ranking local Federal officials. Officers on the Boards are elected annually. Most Boards have an Executive Director and an Assistant, who may be ‘on-loan’ from their agency(s) and are responsible for day-to-day operations. So, what do they do?
Strategic Lines of Business
In a similar manner to private sector companies, the Boards have developed ‘Strategic Lines of Business’. These lines help to provide a ‘big picture’ framework that helps to filter and focus the tasks the Boards choose to perform. Much of what they do can be assigned to one of these three business lines, which are:
- Emergency Preparedness, Security and Employee Safety
- Workforce Development and Support
- Intergovernmental and Interagency Collaboration and Community Outreach
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Emergency Preparedness, Security, and Employee Safety – An extremely important service provided by the Federal Executive Boards includes playing a vital role in keeping the workforce and the community safe and secure. This calls for collaborating with state and local governments to develop and plan for the continuity of services when emergency events take place. Over the last year, the Boards have worked with their local communities to designate Closed Points of Dispensing (POD) which could provide medical countermeasures and reduce the demand on local authorities in case of an anthrax attack. They’ve delivered hurricane preparedness briefings and hosted active shooter awareness exercises to assist with responding to an active shooter in a Federal facility. The goal is to prepare, and keep safe, both Federal employees and the local community when unfortunate events occur.
Workforce Development and Support—Critical training opportunities and learning experiences are also provided to the Federal workforce through the Federal Executive Boards—most at no cost or low cost. Examples of training and development from last year include leadership development and employee benefits training (I’ve had the pleasure of providing numerous benefits briefings). Support has come in the form of dispute resolution programs, recruitment and retention initiatives, and employee recognition and award activities. According to the FEB’s 2017 Annual Report, more than 41,000 employees were provided with a wide variety of training programs last year.
Intergovernmental and Interagency Collaboration and Community Outreach – The FEBs assist local agency offices by offering an opportunity for them to collaborate among themselves, including delivering wellness programs, improving Federal security, and strengthening the Senior Executive Service. They also provide an avenue for agencies and their employees to reach out to their local communities in a coordinated effort. As an example, the Boards assist with everything from local food and blood drives to the Combined Federal Campaign (the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign) by helping with the coordination of almost 200 CFC campaigns throughout the country which raise millions of dollars each year. In 2017, employees contributed almost 20,000 hours of community service.
So, as you can see, the Federal Executive Boards serve a key role at both the local and the national level. They do it by focusing their efforts on their stated 'Strategic Lines of Business'. But, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, here’s what they really do:
Add Value
The Federal Executive Boards provide a great deal of value to the agencies and the Federal communities they serve by acting as catalysts for both national and local initiatives. The Boards become hubs for cross-agency coordination on local issues, and because they are closer to the constituents they serve, the Boards can often ‘bubble up’ useful and innovative ideas from the local to the national level. They also help to obtain cost savings through the coordination and sharing of resources which is critical to achieving results, particularly in times of personnel reductions, budget cutbacks and reorganizations.
Enhance Communication
Through Board meetings, local officials from different agencies often find that they have similar challenges in their community that they can work together to solve. They can also help their workforces by communicating information about timely events that are taking place within the community. This could be as easy (okay, not that easy) as calling for a late start on snow days to helping to keep people safe in an earthquake or hurricane. The FEBs are models for partnership-based government.
Develop Leaders
The Federal Executive Boards also cultivate employees by providing forums and leadership development programs. They help employees extend their vision beyond their job and their agency into a broader picture that includes other agencies as well as state and local government. In addition, the Boards promote Federal careers to help their agencies find the future leaders that will be needed. And they sponsor employee recognition programs to let those who lead know how important they are to us.
Create Change
So, get involved. Don’t sit on the sidelines. There’s an opportunity for you to help your agency make an even greater difference in your local community. You can learn much more about the Federal Executive Boards at their main website at Feb.gov where you can find links to your local board, including the current Board Chair and Executive Director, phone number, and email address. Download a copy of the 2017 Annual Report to gain ideas on how you may be able to help by using this link. You can also keep up-to-date on news and events by following your local board on their Facebook page. Learn how you can get involved and help your Federal Executive Board to do more of what it really does.