MEETING WITH WILLIAM COLBY: CAREER SERVICES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76-00593R000100020004-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2005
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: April 5, 1973
• Content Type: MFR

Approved For Reese 2006/06/29, CIA-RDP76-00593ROOW 00020004-4
5 April 1973
SUBJECT: Meeting with William Colby:
Career Services
1. The team II Bavis, and
Mr. Broe and et with Mr. Colby on April 4th to
determine the focus of the paper to be written on Career
Services. Mr. Colby noted that the paper would now be
prepared for the Management Committee (rather than the
Executive Director). He identified the problem as follows:
how to develop the most experienced, qualified and refreshed
officers (e.g., analysts, operators and engineers). The
implication is, however, much broader, namely to develop
executive talent to serve anywhere in the Agency, and pro--
vide job satisfaction. The first step, he said, is an
exposition of how the current personnel system bears upon
the problem. Mr. Colby, therefore, asked the IG to prepare
a paper which would describe how the several personnel sys-
tems in the Directorates function in respect to the central
problem.
There will then be a second paper, which should be
prepared by a task force to include representatives from
the several Directorates. This will be undertaken also
for the Management Committee. The task force will be asked
to study and develop proposals for a career service structure
for the Agency. He would hope that the second paper would
be finished for the Management Committee by mid-May.
3. Mr. Colby remarked that he was surprised the team
had found so little wrong with the present personnel system.
He had understood from the Junior Management group, for example,
that there were dire weaknesses and ills in the Agency because
it had such a poor, that is nonexistent, career service. We
told Mr. Colby, briefly, that: the needs of the several 'Direc-
torates were fairly well met by the present personnel systems;
the needs or wishes of individuals were less well met; and
Agency-?level needs were also not well met. On the last point,
No/
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however, we noted that early decisions in the Agency had been
to establish more or less autonomous directorates and not a
monolithic organization; and that,. in fact, there had been. no
executive needs or positions at the Agency level to fill (with
a few exceptions such as the appointments of heads of direc-
torates). We noted, with regard to individual officer interests,
that there had never been a serious attempt to establish a sys-
tem for developing careers. The lack of planning for advance-
ment, and security s.a more or less guaranteed program
would provide, is basically what the young officers complain
about most. Nonetheless, we said, most Directorates have
well-conceived ideas as to the general pattern required for
advancement within their own structures even though there is
little planned movement of personnel to develop them for
advanced positions. There is nothing in the present structure
or system, however, which precludes mobility, or planning in
terms of a bona fide career service.
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