THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL

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CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7
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C
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8
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December 9, 2016
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December 8, 2000
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Approved FoLeRelease 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP84.01826R000800050015-7 THE ROLE OF TBE DrhECTOR OF PERSONNEL I. HIS POSITION IN Ta AGENCY 1. The impending retirement of the present Director of Personnel aed the appointment of his replacement makes it a most appropriate time to reevaluate the position in terms of the Agency's requirements and the functions the Personnel Director will be expected to perform. The Office of Personnel has been the target of constant criticisn from all quarters ever since the Ageney was organized. Some of the current criticises are warranted, but others are unfair because there are basic deficiencies in the concept of the role of the Director of Personnel and a leek of understanding and agreement concerning his resporedbilities, authority, and capability. e. The problen is not unique to this Agency. Research conducted at Barvard University shows that namagement in industry is faced with the same problem and that there is no standard pattern or formula that can be applied. Each organization must resolve its own problea based on its particular needs and on its management philosophy. It is essential, however, to remove the doubt ehd confusion that exists among Operating Officials in our Agency by providing a tailored division of responsibility which will enable line and staff officers to know who does what in personnel admivistration. It is the purpose of this paper to offer suggestions and recommendations which will more cleanly define the role of the Director of Personnel in CIA, 3. The first determination to be rade and agreed upon by all concerned is the character of the position, that is, whether it should be staff, line or a combination of each. To aid in making this determination, the distinction between staff and line ahold be clarified. Trie purely staff position would require only that the Director of Personnel counsel the DCI? the Deputy Directors, and their subordinate supervieors on matters of policy and provide certain service? such as the maintenance of personnel records, interpretation and application of Civil Service and other government regulations, and morale builders like recreation facilitieo and benefit programs. A truly line position would give to the Director of Personnel complete authority for all personnel actions and would remove from the supervisors some of their banic responsibilities. The single division of staff and line is not realistic. 4. A combination of both positions would give the Director of Personnel the staff responsibility for advice and guidance plus certain specific command responsibilities delegated by proper authority. This is fairly representative of the situation in the Agency today. The problems that have arisen ettlA frau a lack of understanding and agreement on the extent of command responsibility aosigned to the Director of Personnel and an unwillingaese or inability on the pert of line supervisors to discharge their basic reeponsibilitiee. To clarify the staff/line responsibilities requires a review of all of the functions in- volved in personnel administration to determine bow they could best be performe.i and by whan. Approved For Release AT/1)3/04": CIA-R61580-01826R000800050015-7 Approved FoUelease 2001/03/04 : CIA-RDP801826R000800050015-7 etheeTiain OF PiesSeaNee AderellIeldientON A. E.9.11a Makin& 1. Policy raking is basically the responsibility of the DCI since he decides the course the Agency will follow. It is obvious, however, that the Director is not in a position to personally initiate all policy, 'Lid sug- gestions for introducing or altering policies originate in many places. The Deputy Directors and their subordinate officers as well as the IG are responsi- ble for many of them. In relatively minor matters, the Director of Personnel makes a policy decision or refers the matter to the DDiS eh? has been given certain authority to act for the DCI. Major policy suggestions are referred to the DCI, usually through the Deputy Directors or the Career Council. Some are submitted to the DDCI as well. When a policy suggestion results in an Agency regulation, it is subjected to the fantastic procedure of "concurrence" which permits wide and practically unrestricted use of veto power. In effect, the Deputy Direltors and their Operating Officials make much of the personnel policy in the Aikency. Thus, the policy making function is scattered. 2. The Director of Personnel as a specialist in personnel adminis- tration should be the principal source of personnel policy suggestions end his role in this respect must be clarified. Personnel policies are Agencyewide in effect and. must be uniform and consistent. The Director of Personnel should have the principal voice and his advice and guidance on major issues must reach the Director undiluted and undistorted. Sufficient authority should be dele- gated to him to permit him to make minor policy decisions on his own. Under our present structure, this authority would be granted the DD/S. Its extent should be made perfectly clear to the other Deputy Directors. B. Hiriqg 1. There appears to be little question that hiring is a function properly assigned to the Director of Personnel and that be should have decision- making authority for this purpose. Hiring includes recruiting, interviewing, clearance, testing, and record keeping. In actual practice, the Operating Officials are content to permit Office of Personnel to hire clerical and secre- tarial personnel and to tatb the colleges and universities for suitable candi- dates, but in the higher brackets there is still a great deal of recruiting, if not actual hiring, being done by office and division chiefs. 2. Independent and uncontrolled recruitment is responsible for many of the marginal or unsatisfactory employees now carried on the Agency's rolls. It frequently results in selection by favoritism, on the basis of "elle you knee: not what you know." Employment standards are lowered or become inconsistent and sometimes appear to be abandoned completely. 3. The Director of Personnel should know better then any individual supervisor the over-all needs of the Agency, the attrition rate, the unusual requirements, and the most desirable qualifications to fit a person for work in the intelligence field. The Operating Official knows best the immediate specific requirements of the jobs he wants to fill. It is his responsibility to make these requirements known to the Director of Personnel. Approved For Release, etriff/Or3/1:154:13areprI0-01826R000800050015-7 Approved For Release 2001/03/94 ? PIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 e . 41, The reerUtang staef provided the eeeector oe Fereoneel shouln consist of members having a thorovgh knowledge of intelligence work in addition. to knowledge of eanpower sources of supply. Recruiters should be selected from operational and support components and not be limited to purely personnel work. The function of hiring should be performed exclusively by Office of Personnel. AsmentandReents 1. The initial assignment of a new employee is the single most impor- tant event in his career with the Agency. On it depends to a large degree the course his career will follow. If he has been properly signed to a job for which be has the necessary qualifications of education, training, aptitude, and teeperament he will be happy in his work. His morale eill be high, his enthusiaen Crest, and he will give of his time and energy to the fullest extent. Given an improper assieeeent to begin with, particularly one too far above or below hie capabYlities or lacking in opportunity or purpose, will usually result in a disaffected ennloyee who either stays on because he lacks initiative to move or becomes frustrated and quits. The Agency has lost many potentially valuable employees because of malassignment. 2. The Director of Personnel should be responsible for ma1ing initial essignments of new employees. The supervisor must be consulted and given an opportunity to interview the candidate. Whenever possible, he should be given a choice between several velified candidates. The appointment amnia_ be made on a temporary basis pending a demonstration of the employee's fitness for the job. This need not be for the customary one-year trial period provided by Civil Service regulation. In fact, it should be for a considerably shorter period. Usually, it is possible to judge an employee's suitability within 1;hree months and only in exceptional circumstances is it neceseary to evelnate a parson's pereoreance over a longer period of time. If the employee ?roves tf) be unsatisfactory, the supervisor should be privileged to turn hi e beck to the Office of Personnel with a request for a replacement. It is not always possible to estimate a man's performance in advance of an actual assigrment and a method of temporary test assignment will permit adjustments to be made before permanent harm is done to the employee and consequently to the Agency. 3. The supervisor assumes a major responsibility when be tfAkcl; on a new employee. He must see to it that the new man is given n tborou& indoc- trination in the broad aspects of intelligence work as well as detailed irstrue- tions in the reqpirements of the specific job. Be nest give careZul direction and guidance and provide the new employee with every opportunity to dmonstrate his capability. Above all, the supervisor !mast evaluate objectively the pote7)tis.1 of the new employee and not permit himself to be influenced, either fw,rorably or unfavord4y, by extraneous factors. Undue sympathy or compztanian may icz7A to the unjustified continuation of the wrong men in the job to the detriment of both the TWA and the job. The proper utilization of mappovee is a basic responsibility of the supervisor. 4. Reaasieemeat presents a far more difficult problem. Norml reassignment actions for purposes of rotation between Headvarters P,nd the Field or changes in assignments within a particular component are Iv:ed in a routine fashion and in a generally acceptable manner. The problens In reassignment usually occur when an employee (1) has outgrown his job and is 3 Approved For ReleasdiffiglIMPO1NIVIINIMRS0-01826R000800050015-7 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 'Nee *sae. prevented from advancing because ef the unavailability of titable pooitions within his component, (2) vas hired because of a special competence for which there no longer is a demand, (3) was assigned to a Job for which he mas inade- quately qualified, (4) has incurred the displeasure of his supervisor for aey reason whatever, or (5) simply becomes tired of vhat he is doing and wants a change. The unfortunate employee vho finds himself in such a position can expect little or no assistance in obtaining a more suitable position. Within his own component, he can apply for and receive a release which entitles him to seek employment elsewhere in the Agency. Be may then appeal to the Office of Personnel either directly or through the component's Administrative or Personnel Officer. The Office of Personnel will then gp through the Shr unslatisractory "shopping" procedure which at the very leapt results in unfavorable publicity for the employee and frequently destroys aey opportunity he bad for reassignment. ("ahoggne is the circulatingeef official personnel jackets throughout the Agency in the hope that someone will develop an interest in the employee and offer him an assignment. This free circulation of official personnel jackets should be halted immediately. The control of personnel files Should be tightened drastically. They should be released only to the Inspector General and the Office of Security When required in the course of inspection or investigation. The following procedure is suggested as being more productive of good personnol eelations. Upon receipt of an application for reassignment the Office of Personnel should determine the type of work for which the employee is best valified by examination of the record and personal interview. This determina- tion having been made, it should be followed by a review of all suitabie position vacancies. The employee Should then be provided with a detailed resume of his histoey and activities and an objective evaluation of his performance. Inter- views with selected supervisors should be arranged for the employee awl, when deemed appropriate, participated in by the Personnel Officer. This procedure could be adopted immediately without waiting for concurrence in any other recom- mendations contained in this study.) 5. There is an almost complete absence of responsibility to accoeplich reassignments in circumatances such as described above. Supervisors, Office of Personnel, Career Service Boards or Panels go through their feeble motiona but in the end the employee finds he must shift for A etelf. He either finds his own job in the Agency or quits. This is an important factor contributing to the high attrition rate but even more important is the.fallure to properly utilize available, qualified manpower. The Derector of Personeel ehould be authorized to make directed reassignments of qualified personnel when normal Channels of reassigpment are ineffective. D. Erc_ts_ ot_inEzejltnia____finsead DI schar e These functions are lumped together because they ere e comeaud reppon- 25X1 A sibility of the line supervisors. Revised providing for coepetitive promotions is MIMI. and Should enable supervisors to exemlse judgment AnA authiNritr wisely. Diacipline certainly is a command reepoesibility and aenior supervisors should be able to exercise the power of separation foe cause, Recognizing the rights, privileges and benefits of goverawat employment, the Director of Personnel must perform a staff supervisory funotion in these areas EC should ensure that uniform and conalstent practices are adhered to and advir: proper command authorities in accepted procedures. - 4 - .1 I In 4.= aal Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 Nee 6144.i4:141C,a;,44iaU This is definitely a function for which the Director of Personnel ehould bave sole responsibility. Be must keep up with wage scales in govern- ment and industry and be able to establish fair cempensation rates for job reqpiremento. Here again, uniformity and consistency tbroughout the Agency is of vital importance and cannot be achieved by Operating Officials. . ItETIALemenDevelkleash Menagement development reqeires the cooperative effort of both Operating Officials and the Director of Personnel but the latter should have principal responsibility and authority.- The Operating Official identifies employees with capability and potential for management development and pro- vides opportunities within his limitations. The Director of Personuel, how. ever, Should have the authority to carry the development further and to conduct a process of screening and selection on an Agency-wide basis, G. Tea:ate% 1. Training is ea integral part of personnel administration and should not be treated as a function outside the scoye of Director of Persoenel responeibilities. We have previously recommended tbe ultimate merger ot Office of Personnel and OTR and it remains a sound recommendation today. For the purpose of this peper, however, we will consider only the role of the Director of Pereonnel in training as such, without regard for the present organizational strueture. 2. In all aspects of personnel neeinistratiome in hiring, placemen" aud proper msepower utilization., the individual's qualifications to fill a position are paramount. Training, particularly in this Agency, is eseential to the full development of the required qualifications and the Director of Personnel met eave a strong voice in determining the nature and extent of training given each individual. 3. Prior to the initial assignment of a now employee, the Director of Personeel should determine the extent of basic training required., for the particular job. The eupervisor then assumes rcsponability for on-the-job training and for initiating further formal traineng when indicated. Other means or impeoving competence such as rotatiou and experience are the responzi- bility of the supervisor often working in conjunction with a Career Service Board. In all of these activities, the Director of Personnel has more than a passing interest. Be should participate in a staff capacity in helping to vork out training progeams particularly of the long-range variety. BO should take an active part in the screening of personnel for career development and be given the authority to move the career services program tovard the achieve- ment of its objectives. H. Control After personnel policies are established and an appropriate nueber of Agency regulations are published, one more element must be added?that of - 5 - Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 25X1 A Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 'ewe Noe Is tte policiike; ion 4. carried out. It includes the examination and adjudication of complaints env grievances whech are symptomatic of failure to follow already defined eolicies and procedures. This is more than a staff function and one which must be backed by high authority. /t ahouldte performed by the Director of Personnel acting through the DD/i5, if necessary, and hacked by DCI when the situation warrants it. I. Welfare Other "rale Services" 1. Such services ehich are intended to improve the morale of Agency employees are definitely the responsibility of the Director of Personnel. These include the life and. health insurance program, Credit Union, Aid Society aed recreational programs. In these functions, he should exercise command authority ender policies established by the DCI or DD/S. 2. Other services not included in this discussion are normal functions of Orfice of Personnel which are not questioned. These include job couuseling, personal problem), in and out processing, ete. ifl..r.ffja.j.2wzkq.9s_nc 1. There are a number of influencing factors which make the problem more complex and add to the difficulty of precisely defining the role of the Director of Personnel in CIA. Among these are security, the Career Services, pereonalities? compartmentalization, centrealzation vs. decentralization, and the size of the organization. 2. Security hampers recruiting by placing strict limitations on the extent to which Agency activities?that is, jobs--can be discussed. The length of time required for clearance also adversely affecte recruiting. While the nuMber of gpplicants rejected for security reasons is relatively small, it further reduces the nueber of prospective candidates available for duty. The SI clearance adds another hurdle and eliminates still more otherwiee well-epalified employees. Technical interview occasionally tura up individuals whose abnormal tendeacies create joint medlcal-security-personnel problems. Infractions of security regu. lations and etandards brings the Office of Security into the act over the heeds of the Operating Officials as well as the Director of Personnel particularly when disciplinary action or dismissal are the result. The constant pressure of living and working with classified information affects the disposition and morale of Agency employees and sometimes creates serious personal prOblems. The respon- sibilities and authority of the Director of Security are not qaestioned here. The security factors are described only to illustrate boy, within CIA, they impinge upon functions normally assignea to a personnel director In any other organization. 3. The Career Council and the Career Services were establieheA by Regulixtionor the purpose of developing e career program to establish personnel management practices ehich eill develop people to the fullest exteni:, to meet present and anticipated personnel needs of the Agency: The policy stated in the regulation contemplates a peogressive program that identifies, develops) effectively uses and rewards individuals 'who have qualifications required the Agency; motivates them toward rendering maximum service to the Agency; and -6 . mems=11011?11011 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 Approved FoOeleaseaMOTRITerrierrRDP8Q;91826R000800050015-7 elAoivateo from the ;',Z.YVA. irt egysitable manner, those, who fail eo perfora as effective members of the Agency. Tele policy iu to be implemented by the beads of Career Services and the several Boards and Panels. Ay this regulation, an entirely separate mechanism has been created to engage in personnel management. Whereas we were initially concerned with a clearer distinction, between the func- tions of the Director of Personnel and Operating Officials we must now contend with a thirclfactor whioh has been assigned personnel management responsibilities. It is true that the Director of Personnel is associated with the Career Service program as Chairman of the Career Council, but his influence in the Career Ser- vice Boards is little felt. The dispersion of responsibility for personnel management adds to the Inarky problem of the Director of Personal. 4. There is no problem area in the Agency which does not to some extent revolve around personalities. Sound organizational structures have been distorted to accommodate personalities. It is said. with some measure of truth that "everyone in the Agency thinks he is an expert in personnel management." Extensive distortions of sound personnel management in this Agency have been caused by personalities. The absence of clearly defined, authoritatively assigned responsibilities of the Director of Personnel encourages the display of individual personality which serves only to add confusion to an already obscure situation. 5. Compartmentalization is a word highly revered in some parts of this Agency. Some regard it as the cornerstone upon which is built the Clandestine Services. TO others it spells deliberate obstructionism and frustration. Ho effort will be made here to weigh the pros and cons. To anyone attempting to provide an adequate personnel service to the Agency, it M48MB an artificial barrier has been erected which effectively prevents the close relationship between the lino officers and the Director of Personnel essential to good personnel management. No other single factor has so successfully obstructed the development of sound personnel practices in this Agency. 6. Centralization vs. decentralizatiOn has been debated for many years. Simply stated centralization strives for a single unified CIA while decentraliza- tion advocates as a minimmm the present organization of three Semi-autonomous areas and hopes for further and wider separation of components for the future. The effect on the Director of Personnel can be stated in equally simple termot centralization will reqnire a greater concentration of responsibility in the Director of Personnel for personnel management in the Agency; decentralization will result in a complete dispersal of these responsibilities to individual components. Whichever is determined to be the best course for the Agency, it should be made clear to all concerned so that appropriate steps can be taken in that direction. 7. The size of the Agency has a bearing on the role of the Director of Personnel in its effect on the magnitude and complexity of the job. Relatively speaking, the Agency is small. Compared to Amtor units, it is about the size of an Infantry Division. Compared to international industrial and commercial enterprises, it would not even reach the level of medium size. Within the structure of U. S. Government organization, it is a unit of almost insignificant proportions containing considerably less than one per cent of the total number of government civilian employees. In this respect, the functions; of a Director of Personnel described earlier in this report are not beyond the capabilities of a competent Director of Personnel. Approved For Release 2001/0.3/94.: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7 4111?11EN00111mlimiimiftilmimil=1, Approved For Release4944416494?41116.14,6060-01826R000800050015-7 Noe Nome AT COW?Wa1011 This paper has atteapted to describe the major problems of personnel 'administration within the Agency and to suggest some means whereby such problems could be overcome. The single conclusion that can be drawn from this discussion is simply this: the respective responsibilities of the Director of Personnel and line supervisors mast be clearly defined and authoritatively enunciated. Only by this means can the role of the Director of Personnel he established on a firm basis and pro5rese be made toward better personnel administration in CIA. It is recommended that: a. This paper be forwarded to the Career Council for further study. b. The Career Council be directed to produce for the signature of the DCI a stateaent of policy and specific implementing instructions which will clearly define the respective responsibilities of the Director of Personnel sx4 line supervisors in the area of personnel administration. c. Such policy statement and implementing instructions be issued at the same time the newly appointed Director of Personnel assumes office. GIONIF -8 - ae? XI 4.14 Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01826R000800050015-7