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FCS Survey January 2008. Donald Businger AFSA VP Stephen Anderson AFSA Rep. Overview of AFSA Surveys. AFSA surveys of foreign service officers taken in late 2007 including State, USAID & US&FCS Following results are from 122 of 211 active duty Commercial Officers (58% of all COs)
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FCS Survey January 2008 Donald Businger AFSA VP Stephen Anderson AFSA Rep
Overview of AFSA Surveys • AFSA surveys of foreign service officers taken in late 2007 including State, USAID & US&FCS • Following results are from 122 of 211 active duty Commercial Officers (58% of all COs) • Previous FCS Survey was conducted in late 2005 /early 2006 and results published in the Foreign Service Journal June 2006
Focus of Survey • This survey (and previous one) focused on: • What AFSA’s top priorities should be • How well Commercial Officers are served by HQ HR-type units (OFSHR/CDAS/OPD) and the DG • Views on Morale and Conditions • Views on Directed Assignments • Views on Domestic Assignments (7 and 15 Year Rules) • Satisfaction with AFSA
What AFSA’s top priorities should be • Number One Priority: Overseas Comparability or Locality Pay for FS-1s and below – Two-thirds of respondents supported this • Equal Benefits similar for all FS Agencies and Fairness in Assignments and Promotions ranked second and third, respectively • Assignment system fairness and domestic tours were issues of shared concern
Commercial Officer Views of HR-type units (OFSHR/CDAS/OPD) in HQ and of the DG • OFSHR received generally good grades with top honors to Payroll, Time and Attendance; but Travel & Benefits and Awards & Service Recognition somewhat sub-par • CDAS received modest grades, which were dragged down by a sub-par grade for consultations • OPD shined even less, especially with respect to Commercial Officer orientation at senior & junior levels • Less than half of respondents (48% and 43%, respectively) rated the DG’s overall performance and ability to secure resources as excellent or good
Results Over Time: Worsening Conditions • US&FCS’s member surveys conducted • in March-April 2006 and • in December 2007-January 2008 December 2007-January 2008 finds 67% of Commercial Officers thought work conditions were “worsening” & only 8% said “improving.” March-April 2006 survey found that 57% of Commercial Officers thought work conditions “worsening”& only 10% said “improving.”
More on Morale and Conditions • A majority (57%) views CS morale as fair or poor, and believes AFSA should be more vocal (61%) • Three-quarters (74%) consider CS efforts on EFM employment overseas fair-poor • Fully two-thirds (67%) believe overall conditions of work are worsening
Views on Directed Assignments • A majority (56%) would be opposed to directed assignments • But virtually half might be willing to serve in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan, with two-thirds (66%) supporting worldwide availability • Security and separation from family were the top two “disincentives”
Views on Domestic Assignments (7 and 15 Year Rules) • Only one-third (33%) are convinced that domestic assignments to USEACs are necessary during the first 7 years of service (“7 year rule”) • Similarly, barely a third (35%) are convinced that any domestic assignment is necessary every 15 years (“15 year rule”) • Although USEAC tours are seen as beneficial to CS (48%), they are detrimental to promotion (42%) and should get a TIC waiver (30%). • “Hard core” of 27% believe USEAC tours should be eliminated
USEAC Tour: Mixed Reviews “should be meaningful and optional” “should be optional TDYs” “Forced USEAC tours are a HUGE mistake!” “should be done before going abroad” “create a financial hardship for FSOs” “Sr management now managed w/o USEAC “ “tours should be in conjunction with training” “Should not be a ‘tenure’ or ‘promotion’ factor” “are essential to understanding US&FCS”
Satisfaction with AFSA • Although AFSA should be more vocal, 90% were satisfied with AFSA’s general efforts • Similarly 88% were satisfied with the efforts of the AFSA FCS VP and Rep
AFSA FCS Contacts • Results will be summarized for AFSANET and • Foreign Service Journal • Contacts: • Donald.Businger @mail.doc.gov • Stephen.Anderson @mail.doc.gov