Human Capital Management
The FDIC's human capital management program is designed to attract, develop, reward and retain a highly skilled, cross-trained, diverse and results-oriented workforce. In 2007, the FDIC continued to implement workforce planning and development initiatives, as well as strategies to more fully engage employees in advancing the Corporation's mission.
Succession Management Strategies
Over the next decade, the FDIC expects to reshape its workforce in light of the projected retirements of a large proportion of its current employee base. In 2006, Corporation leadership developed several programs to plan for and address those retirements. These programs were designed to assess executive leadership bench strength, identify potential skill-set shortages or gaps, and institute strategies for closing these gaps.
During 2007, the FDIC began implementing a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening our human capital capabilities. First, senior leadership distributed a summary report of the findings of the 2006 Executive Manager (EM) talent review to all EMs. As a result of the review, several recommended succession planning initiatives are being pursued, and the talent review process will be cascaded down to capture Corporate Manager (CM) II leaders in the first quarter of 2008. Second, the Office of Personnel Management's management competency assessment tool was administered to all EMs and CMs to establish a baseline for identifying and closing leadership competency gaps. Finally, the Corporate Executive Development Program was launched with the selected high potential employees beginning an 18-month program of rotational assignments, mentoring and training that will prepare them to assume leadership roles in the Corporation as part of the succession plan. The FDIC will continue to pursue these and other succession management initiatives in 2008 and the years to come.
Employee Engagement
The FDIC continually evaluates its human capital programs and strategies to ensure that the Corporation remains an employer of choice and all employees are engaged and aligned with its mission. The 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey provided the FDIC with a baseline for employee satisfaction and engagement in a number of areas associated with working for the federal government and the FDIC, in particular. In reviewing the results released in early 2007, the Chairman established broad objectives for addressing areas of concern. She also launched an employee engagement initiative to include an employee survey that was more narrowly targeted to issues of importance to the FDIC and its employees. The 2007 employee engagement survey had an exceptional overall response rate of 77 percent, and focus groups were conducted to glean insights on causal factors underlying the 2007 survey results that highlighted areas needing improvement. Dialogues regarding the 2007 survey results will continue into 2008 and an action plan to implement recommendations will be developed. A principal benefit derived from this initiative and others is enhanced communication among employees and leadership in the Corporation.
Corporate Employee Program
During 2007, the FDIC continued its focus on new employee development through the Corporate Employee Program, which is the pipeline for new employees into the Corporation's business line divisions. The program provides a foundation across the full spectrum of the Corporation's business lines, allowing for greater flexibility to respond to changes in the financial services industry and in meeting the Corporation's staffing needs. At the end of 2007, 364 employees had entered the multi-year, multi-disciplined program.
Employee Learning and Growth
The FDIC implemented its Professional Learning Account Program, which emphasizes continuous employee learning and growth. It provides employees a greater role in planning their career development. Also, to further enhance the FDIC's readiness and flexibility, the internal certificate program was expanded during 2007 to include the areas of Bank Secrecy Act, Receivership Claims, Franchise and Asset Marketing, and Basic Compliance Examination functions. In addition, the FDIC continued its sponsorship of industry-recognized professional certifications such as Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS); Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE); Certified Information Systems Auditor® (CISA®); Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM); Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®); and Financial Risk Manager® (FRM®).
With the Corporation's increased focus on consumer protection, the Advanced Compliance Examination School (ACES) for commissioned compliance examiners was launched to address current and complex consumer compliance issues. The content of the online Examiner Continuing Education Program, which provides examiners access to a variety of risk management and compliance technical training offerings, was also expanded.
Information Technology Management
Information technology (IT) resources are one of the most valuable assets available to the FDIC in fulfilling its corporate mission. The FDIC continued to improve its IT administration and management practices in 2007.
Enterprise Architecture
The Corporation is committed to using IT to improve the operational efficiency of its business processes. In 2007, the IT program focused on establishing an economical enterprise architecture that supports effective IT systems portfolio management as well as security and privacy programs. This architecture, which is being implemented over a three- to five-year time frame, will provide for better accountability and transparency while offering service delivery efficiencies.
Internet Program
The FDIC's public Web site, www.fdic.gov, is a key communication delivery method for the FDIC. Each of the three major business lines Insurance, Supervision, and Receivership Management utilizes the Web site extensively. A Brown University research study released in July 2007, ranked the FDIC's Web site eighth in federal government Web sites, up from 27th last year. The FDIC's Web site was the highest ranked among all federal bank regulators. During a typical weekday, www.fdic.gov hosts approximately 30,000 user sessions. On October 5, 2007, a day after the Miami Valley Bank closing, the FDIC logged 157,986 user sessions. This was the largest single day usage for the Web site, representing a 500 percent increase in traffic and resulting in over 2.6 million hits to www.fdic.gov in a 24-hour period. To ensure the continued availability of this facility, the robustness and security of the Web site were improved during 2007.
Securing the FDIC
During 2007, many IT initiatives were undertaken to provide a more secure environment within the FDIC, including implementation of tools to combat the increasing levels of Internet and e-mail scams, conducting disaster recovery tests and updating the Corporation's disaster recovery plan, and conducting privacy and sensitive data walk-about inspections.
