CRITICAL REVIEW OF OFFICE OPERATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00780R003400060073-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 25, 2003
• Sequence Number: 73
• Publication Date: January 23, 1969
• Content Type: MF

STATINTL
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 Approved For Release 2003/95/-17`,~ CIA-RDP84-00780R003400060073-1
2 S' JAN ?969
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Support
SUBJECT : Critical Review of Office Operations
REFERENCE . Memo for DDS Office Heads and Chief, SSS fr DDS
dtd 21 Nov 68, same subject
1. This memorandum is for your information.
2. At my meeting with you, Mr. Coffey and I Ion 21 January,
I reviewed. in general terms what we were doing in the Office of Personnel
in response to referent memorandum. This is to record briefly the sub-
stance of my remarks at that time.
3. As you are all too aware, I undertook, immediately upon my
appointment as Director of Personnel, a review of the functions, activi-
ties and structure of the Office of Personnel and with your approval made
some reorganizations. We--my staff and I--look upon this as an ongoing
and continuing process. I need not tell you that we feel we are probably
under the eye of not only the command but all of the Agency more than any
other single component; consequently, we are made acutely conscious of our
shortcomings very quickly.
4. I should mention some specific actions that we have initiated.
At my instigation, the Director of Medical Services, the Director of
Security and I meet about once a month for an hour or two to review common
problems and to seek improvement in our approaches and processes. These
meetings are reflected at a senior working level in our Offices on a much
more frequent basis. It is my feeling that, whether we identify specific
instances of improvement or not, the fact that these meetings occur has
improved the general tone of the relationships among the three Offices
which, in turn, has a rippling effect throughout the respective Offices.
We have also instituted a regular monthly meeting with the senior personnel
officers of all the components of the Agency at which various staff officers
of the Office of Personnel review new policies, respond to problems, and
lead discussions on subjects of common interest. We have held only three
of these meetings and, though the start has been a little slow, we are
still optimistic that much good can come from them.
5. Probably most important in the matter of internal reviews is the
action initiated by the attached 6 December memorandum. No product of this
exercise has yet reached my office, but I am told that a good deal of
material is beginning to bubble up from below. The current cycle of this
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approach is to be completed in late February when I and my senior staff
will get out of town for a weekend for a free-swinging exchange. I will
be coming forward with a specific request in this regard. Our present
planning is that it be the weekend of Washington's Birthday; we may be
able to save a day away from the office. I plan to report at least in
general terms on the result of this exercise later in the spring. I hope
that you can leave the timing of this response to our determination.
Much of what we will be doing is not clearly susceptible to definitive
scheduling.
25
Robert a es
2
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EYES ONLY
6 December 1968
TO ALL NNMERS OF THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
SUBJECT: A Look at Ourselves
As we all know, the Agency is limited in size--further growth in
numbers is most unlikely. At the same time, we in Personnel--partly
through our own development of new'programs or services--have increasing
responsibilities and work loads. In such circumstances it is only wise
that we have a critical look at what we do, why and how. Can we identify
out-of-date or cumbersome procedures; records we no longer need to keep;
functions that are no longer needed or are duplicated somewhere else;
organizational structures or relationships which are awkward? Does each
of us know exactly what we are supposed to be doing and why we are doing
it? Anything--internal or external--that we should be but are not doing?
I am a great believer in asking the person doing the work what he
thinks about it. I could ask each of you to write me an individual
memorandum, but that would mean an awful lot of papers, and I know also
that I don't always enjoy committing myself in writing and you probably
feel the same way. I think, too, that there is value in group effort--
in talking things out. What I propose is to ask you within your Branches
and Divisions to get together, talk about your own jobs and functions and
send forward your collective ideas. So that you will feel free to be
frank and candid, those of you in a single Branch should meet without
your Chief--just as he and his fellow Branch Chiefs will meet without
their Division Chiefs, and so on.
This'will all take some organization and further explanation so I
am sending this to you through the respective Deputy Directors of Personnel
and their Division Chiefs. This memorandum will be discussed at each step
along the way and suggestions made on setting up the meetings and reporting
the results.
Although it probably is obvious, I want everybody in the Office to
have a chance to contribute to this. review of our operations. I think
much good can come of it. I have discussed staff-
STATINTL If at any point,
ong a way ere is any question about what I have in mind, don't
hesitate to ask for an explanation. Please call me or come in to see me
personally.
ADMINISTRATIVE -- INTERNAL USE ONLY
r..l EYES ONLY
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