As a part of the Washington Academic Internship Program, every Glenn fellow is assigned an Ohio State alumni mentor who works in D.C. As a result of my interest in the Human Resources field, I was quite excited that Joe, the program coordinator, was able to pair me with an alumni that works in HR at the Maritime Administration, an organization within the Department of Transportation. My mentor, Jack, was very willing to get involved in his first mentoring relationship with an Ohio State student. After having an initial lunch, Jack invited me to come to his office for two full days at the DOT to experience what Human Resources was like from a federal government perspective. After getting permission from my internship supervisor, that's exactly what I did.
For two days in late June, I talked to several people in his department about their different roles at the Maritime Administration. I spoke with a position description specialist for probably two hours, where we discussed everything from her day-to-day duties to her son's girlfriend's dog bowl in Seattle. I also spoke with someone that advises employees on benefits and retirement inquiries. On the second day, I had an opportunity to speak with the Training Coordinator, Robbin. She runs all of the orientations and schedules any in-house trainings for the employees.
I learned a lot about the Maritime Administration organizational structure, too. The average employee is 55 years old in this organization and the majority of the staff are at a grade 13 or higher. In the next four years, 75% of their SES employees will be eligible to retire. As a result, Jack and his team put together a succession plan for the organization to make the org-chart look more "pear" shaped rather than "mushroom" shaped. I was able to sit in on the meeting where Jack's task force pitched their "pear" initiative to all of the SES leaders in the Maritime Administration. It was an interesting and tense meeting, and most leaders seemed resistant to the proposed change. The problem seemed to be that employees continue to get promoted until they reach a high-grade level, and once they leave the organization, the organization replaces them with another high-grade level employee, rather than hiring at a lower grade level. This cycle perpetuates the "mushroom" shaped organization.
I have lunch with Jack again this week and will be interested to hear how their "pear" initiative has panned out in the last month.
Overall, the takeaway I got from my two days at the DOT was that Human Resources in the federal government does not focus so much on employee relations as it hones in on the rules and regulations that bind every action. This visit, while informative, solidified my original notion that I need to work in an environment that welcomes change and innovation.
Aubrey Houston
For two days in late June, I talked to several people in his department about their different roles at the Maritime Administration. I spoke with a position description specialist for probably two hours, where we discussed everything from her day-to-day duties to her son's girlfriend's dog bowl in Seattle. I also spoke with someone that advises employees on benefits and retirement inquiries. On the second day, I had an opportunity to speak with the Training Coordinator, Robbin. She runs all of the orientations and schedules any in-house trainings for the employees.
I learned a lot about the Maritime Administration organizational structure, too. The average employee is 55 years old in this organization and the majority of the staff are at a grade 13 or higher. In the next four years, 75% of their SES employees will be eligible to retire. As a result, Jack and his team put together a succession plan for the organization to make the org-chart look more "pear" shaped rather than "mushroom" shaped. I was able to sit in on the meeting where Jack's task force pitched their "pear" initiative to all of the SES leaders in the Maritime Administration. It was an interesting and tense meeting, and most leaders seemed resistant to the proposed change. The problem seemed to be that employees continue to get promoted until they reach a high-grade level, and once they leave the organization, the organization replaces them with another high-grade level employee, rather than hiring at a lower grade level. This cycle perpetuates the "mushroom" shaped organization.
I have lunch with Jack again this week and will be interested to hear how their "pear" initiative has panned out in the last month.
Overall, the takeaway I got from my two days at the DOT was that Human Resources in the federal government does not focus so much on employee relations as it hones in on the rules and regulations that bind every action. This visit, while informative, solidified my original notion that I need to work in an environment that welcomes change and innovation.
Aubrey Houston
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