From the
Baltimore Sun:
Hiring by Maryland's largest employer — the federal government — has fallen by more than 40 percent nationally over four years, and the state's job market is feeling the pain. ...
One agency that has taken an especially hard hit is the Social Security Administration, headquartered in Woodlawn. New hires in Maryland fell from 1,507 in 2009 to 117 in 2013. Employment at the agency in Maryland has dropped from 12,744 in 2010 to 10,769 this year. ...
Withold Skwierczynski, president of the American Federation of Government Employees' council for employees of Social Security field offices, said attrition has led to shorter office hours and longer waits for people seeking services.
"The public is getting very frustrated and angry because of the diminishment of service, and people take it out on our employees," he said. "We're really producing a shoddy product. It's not the Social Security of old." ...
Nicole Tiggemann, a spokeswoman for Social Security, said service has not deteriorated. She pointed to customer satisfaction ratings in which the agency consistently scores about 80 percent...
Why, why, why would Social Security try to downplay its service delivery problem? That's how the Department of Veterans Affairs got in such trouble. Is denial just a conditioned reflex in the public affairs office?
The answer is to quickly implement
ReplyDeletean enhanced,secured online myssa account. If done right,it should allow access to alot of the number holder's personal information.
Information that can be changed online should be restricted or limited to verification.
Major question: how many people at SSA headquarters in Woodland or at any regional or area offices take claims? Better to hire for field offices and TSCs than for HQ, regional, or area offices.
ReplyDeleteIf you read the ideascale site that is referenced in an earlier blog, the public, or maybe the attorneys, want more online access to everything. Vision 2025 gives them that. Of course, it also gives them fewer employees who know how to fix problem cases and errors made when the public has do it yourself claims. But that is the price that has to be paid.
ReplyDeleteOnline access to client files would be great at the initial and reconsideration levels, but it will not be popular because reps will be able to see what SSA is doing wrong in real time and there would no longer be the cloak of secrecy and layered bureaucracy to protect their incompetence.
ReplyDeleteThat gives me an idea. They could have a new slogan. "Incompetence. That's our thing and we do it well.