NewsLink

Links to Internet news items and other information related to diversity and inclusion, provided every week by the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity (06), a program office within VA's Office of Human Resources and Administration.

Volume 7, Issue 32                            May 7, 2008

This Week's Web Highlight
The 4th Annual National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo

Creating Engaged Employees. The Society for Advancement of Consulting canvassed its members to determine how best to engage employees in their organization’s goals.  Here's a representative sample of members' comments.

Civil Service Honored with Weeklong Events in Washington.  Public Service Recognition Week, held annually since 1985 during the first full week of May, is designed to educate citizens about the many ways in which government serves them.

Agencies Urged to Pitch Job Flexibilities to Attract Applicants of All Ages.   Witnesses told the Senate Special Committee on Aging that the Federal government should expand its use of flexible schedules and promote them more widely if it is to become a model employer for workers of all ages.

Wake Forest Study Finds Better Job Commitment with Worker Flexibility.  Workers who reported increased work flexibility from one year to the next also had fewer absences for illness and higher job commitment, according to a new study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Hewitt Survey Suggests U.S. Companies not Effectively Managing Workplace Flexibility Programs.  Most companies believe they are getting a good return on investment from their flexible work arrangements, but very few have formal measurement strategies in place to actually substantiate it.

Has Telecommuting Fallen from Grace?  Once considered the cure for all workplace ills, many businesses and employees are questioning the merits of working from home.

Want to Retain Your Top Talent? Try Using Retention Interviews.  While benefits, perks, and other programs help attract, retain, and engage employees, some human resources professionals are turning to the retention interview—a more intangible, but arguably more effective, long-term strategy.

Rethinking Employee Development.  Employers should consider re-emphasizing the training and development of employees.  When structured in a way that employees share the costs, such programs can aid retention as well as productivity.

The Dark Side of Mentoring.   Experts report that when the protégé backstabs or the mentor steals ideas, you know the feel-good process has gone awry.

Sharing the Wealth.  Robert Ott wasn’t always sold on the idea of collaborative management.  But once he tried it, he was hooked.

The Next Internet.  For 25 years, the Federal government has led the world in advancing what many consider to be the greatest communications innovation of our time: the Internet.  But now that lead is at risk.

Engagement, not Page Views, Key to Online Success.  Organizations that gauge the success of their Web sites based on the number of clicks are missing the real value of the Internet, according to the founder of Monster.com.

More Agencies Adopt Wikis to Share Knowledge.  Wikis are proliferating in the Federal government as officials seek effective ways to share information and collaborate.

Transportation Secretary Launches Blog.  Transportation Secretary Mary Peters became the latest government head to join the blogosphere, posting her first journal entry on April 29 at Fast Lane, the official blog of the Transportation Department.

GAO to Launch Employee Diversity Reforms in Response to Job Performance Report.  At the Government Accountability Office, an independent report concluded that cultural issues are contributing to disparities in how African-American and Caucasian analysts were rated on their job performance.

House Oversight Committee Approves SES Diversity Bill.  Recent statistics show minorities comprise about 16 percent of the Senior Executive Service, versus 22.5 percent of the next highest rungs of career positions.

Intelligence Community Launches Executive Performance System.  Similar to the performance evaluation system used for employees below the GS-15 level, the process will require intelligence agencies to use six common measurements to rate senior executives.

Common Ground.  Civil service has a longer history in China than it does in the United States, but in recent years, Chinese government and universities have turned to U.S. graduate schools to teach their government officials the latest public administration theories.

Feds Need to Tap Aging Boomer Workforce.   Experts report that agencies must attract aging baby boomers to Federal jobs or retain those they have to avoid shortfalls in staffing and a loss of mission knowledge.

Ways to Connect with Gen-Y Workers.   Author suggests employers engage younger workers  in meaningful work, cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit, offer flexibility, and foster work/life balance.

Nearly 25 Percent of Children Younger than 5 are Latino, Census Says.  Hispanics, the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority group, now account for about one in four children younger than 5 in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans.  What makes an Asian American join a particular company—and stay there and get promoted?  Find out how companies create a culture of inclusion for ALL of their employees.

Defense, VA Urged to Spend More on Mental Health, Brain Injury Treatments.  The RAND Corporation calls on the Defense and the Veterans Affairs departments to lead a nationwide effort to care for the growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Investigation Finds Unmet Needs among Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury.  The Department of Veterans Affairs' Inspector General found that not all veterans with traumatic brain injury are receiving needed long-term follow-up.

VA Unable to Compete in Recruiting Medical Personnel.   Witnesses at a recent Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing said the Federal pay system poses a significant challenge to the Veterans Affairs Department's ability to recruit and hire enough doctors and nurses to provide care for veterans.

Veterans Affairs Committee Passes Bill Updating Benefits Claims Processing.  Legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to update its benefits claims processing system cleared the House Veterans' Affairs Committee last week.

Conectiv, Others Will Pay $1.65M to Settle Racial Suit.  Conectiv Energy and three subcontractors will pay $1.65 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by four Black workers who said they were subjected to racial slurs, Ku Klux Klan graffiti, and a noose that was left hanging for more than a week.

UCLA Pow Wow Offers Glimpse of Native Culture.  The 23rd Annual UCLA Pow Wow, held by the American Indian Student Association, was a celebration of Native American culture.

Highest Ranking Veteran in Congress Calls for Repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  Congressman Joe Sestak urged fellow lawmakers to join him in repealing the law banning lesbian, gay, and bisexual personnel from serving openly in the military.

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NewsLink is part of VA's ongoing effort to increase awareness and acceptance of diversity and to promote a flexible and inclusive work environment. For more information, visit the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity Web site at www.va.gov/dmeeo.

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