TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT
01/29/10 12:46 pm ET
The White House is scheduled to release its fiscal 2011 budget blueprint on Feb. 1, and federal employees will be anxious to learn the Obama administration's proposal for federal pay in 2011. If history is a guide, and the president follows his promise to ensure pay parity between military members and federal civilians, federal employees should be in line for a 1.4 percent pay raise in 2011. >>
01/28/10 10:20 am ET
In his State of the Union address on Wednesday evening, President Obama proposed extending a student loan forgiveness program to students who commit 10 years to public service careers. Obama's proposal appears to be an extension of the 2007 College Cost Reduction Act, which took effect in July 2009 and allows students to tailor payments made on federal loans to their incomes. Federal loans they have not paid off after 10 years of public service are forgiven in their entirety. The law does not apply to private loans, however, and public servants must make at least 120 monthly payments on the loan while in a qualifying job for their remaining debt to be erased.>>
01/27/10 12:19 pm ET
Don Tennant at IT Business Edge tackles an interesting question of whether there is a shortage of skilled information technology professionals in the United States. The answer, he says, depends on who you ask.>>
01/27/10 11:50 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday announced it was withdrawing plans to create a consistent policy for restricting the use of federal employees' Social Security numbers by agencies to help combat fraud and identity theft. >>
01/26/10 01:56 pm ET
The federal intelligence community will hold a virtual job fair on March 16, and the community is seeking culturally diverse and technically savvy applicants for a number of jobs, including cybersecurity, engineering, information technology and intelligence analysis. The virtual job fair will enable job seekers to connect to the IC via their computer to explore career opportunities, visit virtual booths, chat with recruiters, network with other job seekers and apply for job openings.>>
01/25/10 02:31 pm ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Monday unveiled its revamped USAJobs.gov, the government's primary job search Web site. In a press conference on Monday, OPM touted the new site as easier to navigate, more streamlined and more personal, largely because it enables applicants to better refine job search results, as well as share job search information on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking Web sites. >>
01/22/10 03:46 pm ET
A new report from the Human Capital Institute and Saba estimates that 66 percent of local, state and federal government agencies currently use some form of social networking, including blogs, wikis, instant messaging and online discussion boards, as part of their recruitment and/or talent management strategies. >>
01/21/10 11:50 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday unveiled a memo sent to chief human capital officers earlier this month, outlining a new flexibility that enables agencies to use dual compensation waivers to rehire retired federal annuitants. The new authority, which was signed into law in October as part of the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization Act, is designed to help agencies bring back retired workers to share knowledge and mentor the younger workforce. >>
01/20/10 01:58 pm ET
The White House on Thursday held a forum on modernizing government with more than 50 of the nation's top chief executive officers. As Wired Workplace noted last week, federal labor groups were also involved in the conversation, offering insight into how the government can streamline operations, improve budgeting for technology projects, and become a better employer. >>
01/19/10 10:23 am ET
Private sector technology professionals received nearly flat salaries in 2009, with many citing a decrease in satisfaction with salaries and non-compensation incentives, according to a new survey by Dice.com. >>
01/15/10 01:08 pm ET
A recent survey by consultant Deloitte found that social networking has become so central to teens' lives that they would consider their ability to access them during work hours when weighing a job offer. The survey found that 88 percent of teens surveyed use social networks every day, with more than half saying they would consider their ability to access social networks at work when weighing a job offer from a potential employer. >>
01/14/10 12:27 pm ET
On Thursday afternoon, more than 50 of the nation's top chief executive officers participated in a White House forum on how the government can use technology to save money and improve performance. In addition to including top federal leaders in technology and government performance, the forum also reached out to federal labor groups for advice on how the government can streamline operations and become a better employer. >>
01/14/10 11:11 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday held a ceremony to unveil its new renovated health unit, which is part of the agency's effort to create a model work-life campus for the federal government in improving the wellness, morale and productivity of federal employees. >>
01/13/10 01:53 pm ET
A new discipline that uses systems and software to help direct business processes is creating demands for new sets of IT skills both in the private sector and in government, according to the January issue of the Dice Report. The discipline, called Business Process Management, or BPM, has led to an expanding number of job postings for software developers, systems architects and business analysts, mostly by organizations that are looking to cash in on a potential cost savings of as much as 20 percent within the first year of implementing BPM. >>
01/12/10 12:40 pm ET
A report released on Monday by the Maryland state government seeks to put the state at the center of the federal government's cybersecurity efforts. The report cites the presence of several federal agencies including the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the National Security Agency, as reasons why Maryland is the national leader in security the country's critical cyber infrastructures. >>
01/11/10 01:24 pm ET
A new survey by Forrester Research shows that American workers not only support the concept of telework, but also want smartphones to help them stay even better connected to work e-mail and documents as well as co-workers, ComputerWorld reports. In fact, many workers are willing to foot all or part of the bill for such access, the survey found. >>
01/11/10 12:05 pm ET
The New York Times has an interesting article on how the ever-accelerating pace of technological change may be creating a series of mini-generation gaps. In fact, recent studies have shown that 16- to 18-year-olds are able to perform seven tasks, on average, in their free time, like texting, sending instant messages and checking Facebook while sitting in front of the television. People in their early 20s can handle only six tasks, and those in their 30s can perform about five and a half, the research found. The heightened ability to multitask has created concerns that younger generations may not be able to focus in school or in the workplace. >>
01/08/10 11:32 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration have teamed up to create a new blog about telework progress across the federal government. The blog, called Telework Talk, poses questions to federal employees about what they believe could be viable solutions to telework challenges and allows readers the opportunity to vote on solutions offered by others. Only federal employees with a valid .gov or .mil email address can vote on or offer telework ideas and solutions.>>
01/07/10 03:46 pm ET
If you're a federal information technology worker with less than five years of experience, the Partnership for Public Service wants to talk to you about your recruitment, hiring and onboarding experiences.>>
01/06/10 10:59 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday announced a complete restructuring of its organizational chart. The restructuring outline includes a few plans for information technology, including elevating the role chief information officer at the agency. >>
01/05/10 12:51 pm ET
NetworkWorld has an interesting article on the outlook for IT jobs and skills in 2010. IT professionals affected by the economic recession will not find immediate relief in a booming employment market this year, and companies will be looking to fill internal IT roles with individuals who can also make critical business decisions, analysts say.>>
01/05/10 11:29 am ET
Do you plan to use your own vehicle in 2010 to attend a work-related technology conference or other government-related meetings or events? The General Services Administration announced on Monday that it is lowering by 5 cents the 2010 mileage reimbursement rate for federal employees using their personal vehicles for government business. >>
01/04/10 10:30 am ET
Federal employees already know that the new year promises a 2 percent overall increase to their paychecks. But it's important to note that the actual pay raise that each employee receives varies depending on where they work. The Office of Personnel Management has posted the total base pay and locality pay increases for the 35 locality pay areas in 2010, and it may prove useful in helping determine what your next paycheck will look like.>>
