Military Personnel: Oversight Process Needed to Help Maintain Momentum of DOD's Strategic Human Capital Planning
Highlights
The Department of Defense (DOD) has, in the past, lacked a strategic approach to human capital management. In April 2002, DOD issued two human capital strategic plans for military personnel. One plan addresses military personnel management and policies; the second addresses quality of life issues affecting service members and their families. As a follow-on to its recent work on benefits for military personnel, GAO reviewed the extent that these two plans, in addressing military benefits, promote (1) the integration and alignment of human capital approaches to meet organizational goals and (2) the use of reliable data to make human capital decisions--two critical success factors for human capital planning. GAO also reviewed DOD's plans for overseeing the progress and implementation of its human capital plans.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To improve DOD's strategic human capital management, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to establish an oversight process by which senior DOD officials may integrate and align benefits and other human capital approaches and promote a fact-based, performance-oriented approach to human capital management. As one option, the Secretary may wish to consider incorporating this oversight responsibility into the mission of the planned Defense Human Resources Board. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. In July 2003, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness established the Defense Human Resources Board to serve as the senior leader oversight process to ensure an integrated approach for human capital management within DOD. The membership includes the Under Secretaries of Defense, Under Secretaries of Services, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Vice Chiefs of Services. Longer term goals are to integrate the desired outcomes of the military human resources strategy, the civilian human resources strategy, and the Social Compact, to align human resource policies and procedures to achieve strategic goals, and to unify the department's approach to human resource management.
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