From The Social Security Administration’s Major Management and Performance Challenges During Fiscal Year 2023, a report by the Office of Inspector General at Social Security:
... As of September 23, 2023, SSA had increased its staff size from 56,423 full-time permanent staff in FY 2022 to 59,591 in FY 2023. FY 2023 hiring helped SSA reverse the recent trend of declining employees in more recent years ...
SSA curtailed additional anticipated hiring in June 2023 in response to the passing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. No. 118-5). SSA lowered each of its component’s allocation of employees because it did not want to hire employees whose salaries future budgets may not support given that the Act limits non-Defense funding in FY 2024. ...
While it hired many new employees, SSA reported it still had challenges recruiting and retaining employees because its positions are complex and require more training compared to similar positions in private industry. SSA’s Office of Operations acknowledged its self-online-training model is less engaging than in-person training and does not work well with all new hires. Also, SSA cannot offer its frontline employees some workplace flexibilities other agencies can, such as full-time remote work. Employees who separate from SSA reported they were leaving to take higher-paying jobs or because they felt overworked at SSA. ...
When you hire leftovers, dont be surprised with what you get.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is actually paying attention....usually on USAjobs, there seem to always be immediate posting for HQ/Senior Leadership positions. For some reason, those get filled immediately. The field/TSC/PC just lose people by attrition and agency leadership just says "nope, can't fill that position!" It's astounding how often leadership will hide behind the excuse of hiring or the budget, but as soon as a position comes open in HQ, it immediately gets filled- someone's family member or friend need an "in" to the agency *hint hint, wink wink*, or someone needs to be promoted and that's more important than hiring anyone in the field/TSC/PC, just let them flounder with attrition!
ReplyDeleteLikely some managers bonus is dependent on the degree of backup on the phone queue.
DeleteAnd now leadership is hiring senior judges when there are not enough cases for the regular judges - brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe latest Human Capital Operating Plan has some interesting data in Appendix D on hires, retentions, and separations through FY 22.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ssa.gov/open/materials/SSA-Human-Capital-Operating-Plan-FY2023-FY2026.pdf
Worst place I’ve ever worked in my life!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL new hires feel overworked.. wait until if and when they develop some decent proficiency and then see what mgmt dumps on them. ask any of the valedictorians from conventional training classes who have become CTE's !!!
ReplyDelete…or they just dump on you like you’re a TE despite refusing to promote you.
DeleteThat’s why I’ve given up. Been a TE before for a NTE one year and they didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t a pushover.
Now they wanna treat me like a TE without the pay…lol. We have a TE…he’s no good. Promoted for reasons other than his job knowledge and abilities.
This place is a nightmare.
My biggest observation from training CSR and CS new hires is the lack of reading comprehension. I try to encourage my trainees to attempt independent research to learn how to find answers but I’m shocked at how even after finding the correct policy reference they don’t know how to apply it. The quality of new hire has nosedived significantly in my 13 years. However what do you expect? What talented or bright graduates are going to want to stay here? It’s a sinking ship and I want off too.
ReplyDeleteOnce we hire and train people we send them into the offices where they are micromanaged within an inch of their life. They leave because no one wants to put up with that kind of nonsense. The legacy FO/DO managers are the problem.
ReplyDelete@10:41am
ReplyDeleteThis is a large part of it. FO management are brain dead and most couldn't manage their way out of a wet paper bag if they tried. The ADM (#2 in charge, the ASSISTANT District Manager- Why the hell does the DM need a redundant Assistant anyways) in my FO will just sit in her office all day watching the phone widget and the reception widget. Legit, that's all she does, watches it like a HAWK. If one of them turns red for half a second (too many callers in the queue, or too long of a wait time in the lobby), she will send out FLURRIES of messages just yanking people from their desks and into the fray. That person might get on phones to literally answer one phone call. Or help one person in reception, before the "surge" dies back down to normal. This doesn't sound like a lot but it is when it's multiple times a day and you're in the middle of working through your backlog of paperwork. Constant interruptions from management about trivial shit, just so they can "meet metrics" None of the managers will actually pick up the phone on the general line or help claimants in reception, 99% of management at the agency think that's beneath them.
The new hire training is really hard for older new hires who aren’t as comfortable with the internet as younger hires, however, they are more willing to put up with the work demands. Younger new hires can navigate the training but won’t tolerate the work. We had a young hire with a masters degree walk off essentially two months into training because she said the workload was crippling. I wish we had more face to face or IVT back. The on demand stuff just isn’t that good.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, does anyone watch the frontline trainings? I feel like there is never enough time for that or any of our other mandatory training like the sexual harassment stuff, fraud stuff or diversity that is mandatory each year. How does anyone expect is to have time for our work and that?
@9:12
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I am able to "watch" the frontline trainings, as in actually listening and digesting. I literally have the training going on one computer monitor and then Im trying to get actual work done on the other monitor. I try to listen but really, it's just background noise most of the time. There's not not enough time in the day (hell, even enough time in the week) to get the insane workloads done, on top of phones, reception, mandatory trainings and meetings...good luck if you decided to take a vacation day or two....you're certified to be coming back to a shit show then.
I am in a small office of eight full time (DM, TE, 5 CSs; CR) that currently keeps up with its workload, but only because:
ReplyDelete- We are fully staffed;
- All of use have good work ethic;
- All of the CSs know their shit;
- The CR is excellent with the public and knows enough that he does not try to do too much and break things;
- Most of us work credit regularly and OT when available;
- Our DM gets out of our way rather than micro-managing;
- Our DM is our surge employee on both phones and reception.
@9:12 I keep up with all the trainings, but most often by working credit.
Keeping up sounds wonderful. Good for you. Wish my office was like that.
Delete@6:37. Not sure about management in your office. But not all of us are that way. Some of us are more than willing to jump in and help but some Regions expressly prohibit management from doing production. Not sure if that is the case for your office. But maybe some grace is needed for a situation where they are just following directives from above that they may not necessarily agree with.
ReplyDeleteThat’s why they are in the position they are in…the higher-ups love puppets.
DeleteWhat a ridiculous response. They are puppets for not doing something they are prohibited from doing? If I ask you to sell me some PII and say no because it’s prohibited does that make you a puppet too?
ReplyDeleteTons of the older employees refuse to work, and avoid bad workloads like T16. Get rid of the union, hold employees accountable, hold management accountable.
ReplyDelete