Department of Veterans Affairs: Improved Succession Planning Would Help Address Long-Standing Workforce Problems
Fast Facts
Turnover in key occupations threatens VA’s ability to deliver on its mission. Specifically, about a third of VA’s workers in 2017—including many senior leaders—would be eligible to retire by 2022. Also, VA medical facilities had a vacancy rate of 11% last year, including 24,000 medical and dental jobs.
VA has worked to solve these problems, but additional efforts are needed. Our recommendations include better planning to develop the next generation of leaders and fill key positions.
VA’s management of care and disability benefits are topics on our High Risk List.
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Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) have not fully incorporated key succession planning leading practices (see table).
Assessment of VA, VHA, and VBA Succession Planning Efforts against Key Leading Practices
|
Leading practice |
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) |
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) |
|
Obtain active support and participation from leadership |
○ |
◒ |
◒ |
|
Develop succession plans aligned with strategic goals |
○ |
● |
○ |
|
Analyze current and future workforce gaps |
○ |
◒ |
◒ |
|
Identify strategies for closing workforce gaps |
◒ |
● |
◒ |
|
Monitor, evaluate, and update succession plans and strategies |
○ |
◒ |
○ |
Legend: ● Met ◒ Partially Met ○ Not Met
Source: GAO analysis of VA's, VHA's, and VBA's succession planning efforts. │ GAO-20-15
VA lacks a current, department-wide succession plan. According to VA officials, VA has not produced a department-wide succession plan since 2009 due to leadership turnover. VA officials said the 2009 plan does not reflect their current succession planning efforts. Establishing a succession plan would help VA identify and develop high-potential staff to meet VA's mission over the long term.
VHA's succession plan is consistent with some leading practices, but our prior work found that VHA's physician staffing data are incomplete. Also, VHA performs limited monitoring and evaluation of its plans. Additional monitoring and evaluation could help VHA assess the effectiveness of its strategies in achieving its goals.
VBA's plan includes some analysis of workforce gaps for mission-critical occupations. However, VBA's plan does not address leadership positions or fully incorporate key leading practices for mission-critical occupations, such as veterans claims examiners. Developing a succession planning process for leadership positions and fully incorporating key leading practices into its existing processes could help VBA better meet its current and future workforce needs.
VA has not updated its succession planning directive since 2003 and VA officials told us that the directive does not incorporate legal requirements put in place since then. The directive establishes requirements and responsibilities for succession planning across VA. VA officials stated that they have not updated the directive because of leadership turnover and changes in legal requirements. Updating the directive could help to ensure it reflects relevant legal requirements. In addition, we found that VA, VHA, and VBA do not follow all of the requirements outlined in the directive. Updating the directive could help to clarify and recommunicate succession planning roles and responsibilities across the department.
Why GAO Did This Study
VA operates one of the largest health care delivery systems in the nation and provides billions of dollars in benefits and services to veterans and their families. However, VA faces serious and long-standing problems with management challenges and veterans' access to care and disability benefits. For example, as of December 2018, VA reported an overall staff vacancy rate of 11 percent at VHA medical facilities, including vacancies of more than 24,000 medical and dental positions, and around 900 human resource positions. Ensuring VA, VHA, and VBA have a pipeline of talent to fill leadership positions and mission-critical occupations is key to addressing these challenges.
The VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 includes a provision for GAO to review succession planning policies and guidance at VA and its administrations. This report addresses the extent to which succession planning policies and procedures at VA, VHA, and VBA are consistent with key leading practices.
GAO reviewed agency documents related to succession planning for leadership positions and mission-critical occupations, and interviewed agency officials. To identify key leading practices, GAO reviewed GAO’s past work and Office of Personnel Management guidance.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations. VA should develop a department-wide succession plan and update its succession planning directive. VHA and VBA should fully incorporate key leading practices for succession planning. VA agreed with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans Affairs |
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should develop a department-wide succession plan for leadership and mission-critical occupations that incorporates key leading practices for succession planning. (Recommendation 1) |
In September 2022, VA completed a department-wide succession plan for leadership and mission-critical occupations that incorporated key leading practices for succession planning. For example, the plan demonstrated leadership commitment and alignment with strategic goals. It also analyzed workforce gaps, identified strategies for closing workforce gaps, and made recommendations to improve VA's planning in the future. The new plan will help VA identify and develop pools of high-potential staff to meet VA's mission.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Under Secretary for Health should incorporate key leading practices into VHA's succession planning processes, including monitoring and evaluating VHA's succession planning. (Recommendation 2) |
VHA published a new workforce and succession plan in July 2022 that incorporates key leading practices. For example, VHA's succession plan and related guidance now incorporate monitoring and evaluations into VHA's succession planning process. In addition, VHA evaluated key aspects of its succession planning, including (1) the capacity of medical centers to conduct succession planning and (2) VHA's process for identifying a talent pool for potential medical center director vacancies. This additional monitoring and evaluation of VHA's succession planning will help VHA to assess the effectiveness of its planning and identify emerging challenges.
|
| Veterans Benefits Administration | The Under Secretary for Benefits should develop a succession planning process for all leadership positions and incorporate key leading practices into VBA's succession planning for leadership positions and mission-critical occupations. These practices include aligning the plans with strategic goals, identifying strategies to close workforce gaps, and monitoring and evaluating VBA's succession planning. (Recommendation 3) |
In March 2023, VBA published new succession plans for its leadership positions and mission-critical occupations that incorporated key leading practices for succession planning. For example, the plans demonstrated leadership support and alignment with strategic goals. The plans also analyzed workforce gaps, identified strategies to close those gaps, and established a process for monitoring and evaluating VBA's succession planning. These new plans will help VBA better identify and meet its workforce needs among its leadership and mission-critical occupations.
|
| Department of Veterans Affairs | The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should update VA's 2003 directive on workforce and succession planning to incorporate relevant legal requirements, including Office of Personnel Management strategic human capital management regulation requirements. (Recommendation 4) |
VA issued an updated directive on strategic workforce and succession planning in January 2022. The update incorporated relevant legal requirements put in place since 2003, including requirements in strategic human capital management regulations. The directive also outlines new requirements for workforce and succession planning, which will help VA clarify and recommunicate succession planning roles and responsibilities across the department and its administrations.
|