Overseas Real Property: State Should Improve Strategic Workforce Planning for Facilities Maintenance Staff
Fast Facts
The State Department maintains properties at over 275 posts worldwide. As of FY 2020, the properties had a maintenance backlog of $3 billion. State's efforts to address this backlog are complicated by challenges with hiring and retaining maintenance staff.
For its maintenance workforce, State has adopted most leading practices in strategic workforce planning. Adopting the remaining practices would help the agency better understand this workforce and best use limited resources.
We recommended that State develop an inventory of staff skills and review which part of State should be responsible for assigning staff to best address maintenance needs.
Maintenance staff work on an electrical panel at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of State (State) has faced challenges hiring U.S. Foreign Service facilities maintenance staff, who are responsible for maintaining U.S. overseas properties that had a $3 billion maintenance backlog as of fiscal year 2020. From fiscal year 2012 through 2022, the vacancy rate for these positions increased from 12 percent of 204 authorized positions to 23 percent of 244 authorized positions. State officials identified challenges in hiring and retaining these staff, including hiring delays and staff retirement.
State also employs more than 8,500 locally employed facilities maintenance staff to address overseas posts' maintenance needs. State officials identified challenges related to hiring and retaining locally employed facilities maintenance staff, such as English language requirements and low pay or salary potential.
Foreign Service and Locally Employed Maintenance Staff Hiring and Retention Challenges
For Foreign Service facilities maintenance staff, State has adopted five of the seven leading practices in strategic workforce planning that GAO evaluated. These include succession planning and assessing workforce needs. However, State does not maintain an inventory of Foreign Service facilities maintenance skills. Thus, it may not leverage these skills effectively. Further, State's current approach may limit its ability to match skills to the needs of overseas posts. Currently, State's regional bureaus are responsible for assigning these staff to posts in their regions, with advice from State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations. Regional bureau officials say they may be more aware of post-specific challenges, while officials from the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations maintain they have a more global view of needs across posts and the workforce. State may be missing opportunities to leverage its knowledge and optimize the assignment of these staff to posts.
For locally employed staff, State has adopted five of six leading practices that GAO evaluated. For example, State assesses current and future workforce needs and posts have processes to address skill gaps. However, GAO found that one of the five selected posts maintained an inventory of locally employed staff skills--the sixth leading practice evaluated. State does not have any agency-wide guidance related to maintaining skills inventories, which limits posts' ability to conduct workforce planning and training efficiently.
Why GAO Did This Study
State operates and maintains over 9,000 owned real property assets, at over 275 overseas posts. These facilities require routine operations and maintenance overseen by a network of facilities maintenance and locally employed staff.
GAO was asked to review facilities maintenance and locally employed staff at overseas posts. This report (1) describes trends in the U.S. Foreign Service facilities maintenance workforce for fiscal years 2012 to 2022 and challenges State identified related to hiring and retaining these staff, (2) describes the workforce of locally employed facilities maintenance staff and challenges State identified related to hiring and retaining these staff, and (3) assesses the extent to which State has adopted leading practices for human capital management for both of these workforces.
GAO analyzed staffing data and State documentation related to human capital management. GAO also interviewed officials at State headquarters and five overseas posts. GAO selected these posts based on each post's type of facility manager, size, and geographic region.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations that State maintain an inventory of U.S. Foreign Service facilities maintenance skills, review which bureau should lead the U.S. Foreign Service facilities maintenance staff assignment process, and develop guidance for posts to maintain skills inventories of locally employed facilities maintenance staff. State concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of OBO develops and maintains an inventory of job-related skills among the FM workforce. (Recommendation 1) |
State concurred with GAO's recommendation. In March 2023, OBO's Office of Facility Management created an application to collect facility manager specialty and certification information. OBO also developed an automated email system to ensure completion of the form. OBO plans to refresh the form biannually. As of September, 2023, State reported that 277 employees had completed the form, including both FM staff and Washington-based OBO employees. Creating this inventory and routinely updating its contents should allow OBO to know which skills and skill gaps exist amongst its FM staff, so that OBO can develop plans to better align those staff to department needs.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should review whether the regional bureaus or OBO are best positioned to strategically lead the assignment process for the FM workforce. (Recommendation 2) |
State concurred with GAO's recommendation. In particular, in its letter responding to our report, State noted that, as of March 2023, the agency was concluding a review to determine which bureau is best positioned to lead the FM assignment process. As a result of this review, in May 2023, the Secretary of State sent a notice to all diplomatic and consular posts indicating that OBO will coordinate the FM staff assignment process for mid- and senior-level FM staff starting with the fiscal year 2024 assignment cycle. OBO will consult with State's regional bureaus on assignments, but final offers will be made by OBO. Having OBO, as the functional bureau, lead the assignment process for its FM staff should help State have the right FM staff, with the right skills, doing the right jobs, in the right place, at the right time.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State should develop guidance for overseas posts to create and maintain an inventory of LE maintenance staff skills. (Recommendation 3) |
State concurred with GAO's recommendation. In September 2023, State said that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) initiated its review of State's standard job descriptions for locally employed (LE) maintenance staff and will complete the skills inventory in FY 2024. The Bureau of Global Talent Management, Office of Overseas Employment (GTM/OE) maintains the Department's LE Staffing Plan. In FY 2023, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) initiated the development of a centralized process to add LE Staff skills requirements to GTM/OE's SharePoint for all LE Staff labor categories. That new process is expected to be completed in FY 2024. This process improvement will allow FSI and OBO to identify LE staff training whenever skills sets are added or changed. As of July2024, OBO had completed a review LE staff job descriptions and updating lists of required skills, according to OBO officials. OBO was also developing a skills inventory toolkit. OBO anticipated disseminating guidance on using this toolkit to overseas posts by November 2024, with the intention of tracking existing and missing skills among LE staff and to inform LE staff training, according to officials.
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