2017 Annual Report
I. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The Year in Review
EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF STRATEGIC RESOURCES
The FDIC recognizes that it must effectively manage its human, financial, and technological resources to successfully carry out its mission and meet the performance goals and targets set forth in its annual performance plan. The FDIC must align these strategic resources with its mission and goals and deploy them where they are most needed to enhance its operational effectiveness and minimize potential financial risks to the DIF. Following are the FDIC’s major accomplishments in improving operational efficiency and effectiveness during 2017.
Human Capital Management
The FDIC’s human capital management programs are designed to attract, train and develop, reward, and retain a highly skilled, diverse, and results-oriented workforce. In 2017, the FDIC workforce planning initiatives emphasized the need to plan for employees to fulfill current and future capabilities and leadership needs. This focus ensures that the FDIC has a workforce positioned to meet today’s core responsibilities and prepared to fulfill its mission in the years ahead.
Strategic Workforce Planning and Readiness
During 2017, the FDIC continued to develop and implement the Workforce Development Initiative, an integrated strategy to address workforce challenges and opportunities. The effort is focused on four broad objectives:
- Attract and develop talented employees across the agency;
- Enhance the capabilities of employees through training and diverse work experiences;
- Encourage employees to engage in active career development planning and seek leadership roles in the FDIC; and
- Build on and strengthen the FDIC’s operations to support these efforts.
In 2017, the FDIC continued to develop the infrastructure, governance, programs, and processes to help meet its long-term workforce and leadership needs. The FDIC is committed to building and expanding its talent pipeline to ensure succession challenges are met. To that end, the agency expanded its succession planning review process in 2017 to include all managers and an assessment of their leadership attributes. The effort began with a survey to assess the level of aspiration among current managers. More than two-thirds of current managers reported that they were interested in seeking higher-level positions at the FDIC, demonstrating their ongoing interest in leadership development. Senior FDIC leaders from across the agency then convened to discuss leadership needs and strategies to address them, including efforts to develop the pipeline of the FDIC’s aspiring leadership pool.
As a result of the succession planning review process, FDIC managers received recommendations to participate in diverse programs to enhance their leadership capabilities, including the Leadership Mentoring Program, external educational opportunities through Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Georgetown’s Government Affairs Institute, executive coaching, and enriched management training.
The FDIC also continued to focus on ensuring the availability of a workforce equipped to meet today’s responsibilities, while simultaneously preparing for future capability needs. The FDIC furthered development of a Career Paths initiative, targeted at non-supervisory employees at all levels, to promote the acquisition of cross-organizational skills and knowledge. Additional support is provided to employees seeking professional development opportunities through expanded career management services.
The FDIC’s strategic workforce planning initiatives require a long-term and sustained focus to identify future workforce and leadership needs, assess current capabilities, support aspiration to management and leadership roles, and develop and source the talent to meet emerging workforce needs. Through further development of its human capital strategies, the FDIC will work to ensure that the future FDIC workforce is as prepared, capable, and dedicated as the one it has today.
Corporate Employee Program
The FDIC’s Corporate Employee Program (CEP) sponsors the development of newly hired Financial Institution Specialists (FIS) in entry-level positions. The CEP encompasses major FDIC divisions where FIS are trained to become part of a highly effective workforce. During the first-year rotation within the program, FIS gain experience and knowledge in the core business of the FDIC, including DCP, RMS, DRR, and DIR. At the conclusion of the rotation period, FIS are placed within RMS or DCP, where they continue their career path to become commissioned examiners.
The CEP is an essential part of the FDIC’s ability to provide highly-trained staff for its core occupational series, and ultimately for its future senior technical and leadership positions. Since the CEP’s inception in 2005, nearly 500 individuals are active in this multi-discipline program, and 875 have become commissioned examiners after successfully completing the program’s requirements.
The FDIC continues to sponsor the Financial Management Scholars Program (FMSP), an additional hiring source for the CEP. Participants in the FMSP complete an internship with the FDIC the summer following the conclusion of their junior year in college. The program serves as an additional avenue to recruit talent.
Employee Learning and Development
The FDIC is committed to training and developing its employees throughout their careers to enhance technical proficiency and leadership capacity, supporting career progression and succession management. The FDIC is focused on developing and implementing comprehensive curricula for its business lines to prepare employees to meet new challenges. Such training, which includes both classroom and online instruction for maximum flexibility, is a critical part of workforce and succession planning as more experienced employees become eligible for retirement.
The FDIC also offers a comprehensive leadership development program that combines core courses, electives, and other enrichment opportunities to develop employees at all levels. From new employees to new executives, the FDIC provides employees with targeted leadership development opportunities that align with key leadership competencies. In addition to a broad array of internally developed and administered courses, the FDIC also provides its employees with funds and/or time to participate in external training to support their career development.
Corporate Risk Management
In September 2017, the FDIC Board of Directors approved the integration of the functions of the Office of Corporate Risk Management (OCRM) into a newly-constituted Risk Management and Internal Controls Branch (RMIC) within the Division of Finance (DOF). This change enhances the effectiveness of the FDIC’s enterprise risk-management function, integrates those functions with the FDIC’s internal control processes, and better aligns the risk-management process with existing annual corporate planning and budget processes. The existing operations of OCRM and DOF’s Corporate Management Control Branch were consolidated into RMIC. This branch will be led by a new Deputy Director, who will also carry the title of Chief Risk Officer.
Employee Engagement
The FDIC continually evaluates its human capital programs and strategies to ensure that it remains an employer of choice, and that all of its employees are fully engaged and aligned with the mission. The FDIC uses the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey mandated by Congress to solicit information from employees, and takes an agency-wide approach to address key issues identified in the survey. The FDIC continues to rank at or near the top in all categories of the Partnership for Public Service Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® list for mid-size federal agencies. Effective leadership is the primary factor driving employee satisfaction and commitment in the federal workplace, according to a report by the Partnership for Public Service.
The FDIC’s Workplace Excellence (WE) program plays an important role in helping the FDIC engage employees. The WE program is composed of a national-level WE Steering Committee and Division/Office WE Councils that are focused on maintaining, enhancing, and institutionalizing a positive workplace environment throughout the agency. In addition to the WE program, the FDIC-National Treasury Employees Union Labor Management Forum serves as a mechanism for the union and employees to have pre-decisional input on workplace matters. The WE program and Labor Management Forum enhances communication, provides additional opportunities for employee input and engagement, and improves employee empowerment.