Views of Mid-Level Staff

GAO discussed the views of its mid-level staff, focusing on: (1) communication and trust within GAO; (2) the GAO work environment; and (3) the rewards, recognition, and compensation systems. GAO noted that: (1) only 20 percent of surveyed employees believe that management is willing to listen to and consider the views of individuals and employee groups; (2) only 24 percent of the survey respondents believe upper-level management is fair and honest; (3) management has recognized that the lack of communication and trust in GAO is a serious problem and has made it a priority issue in the Quality Improvement Plan: (4) the GAO work environment is affected by external forces, such as limited fiscal resources, that are beyond its control; (5) the time-consuming review process and total quality management (TQM) implementation effort need to be addressed to improve the work environment within GAO; (6) the GAO broad-banding system has caused confusion and tension over staff roles and responsibilities by treating mid-level supervisors and staff as peers and creating a possible conflict when supervisors and their subordinates compete for bonuses; (7) recent employee attitude surveys indicate that the pay-for-performance (PFP) system has a negative impact on morale because its limits on employee recognition have created a de facto ranking process that is perceived as inequitable by many mid-level staff; (8) employee surveys indicate that only 3 percent of workers are encouraged by bonus and merit pay incentives; and (9) problems with the PFP system have been addressed by a recent TQM initiative.