149. Memorandum From the Director General of the Foreign Service (Laise) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Management (Eagleburger)1

SUBJECT

  • Realigning the Department’s Personnel Functions

Problem

To realign the personnel functions of the Department to maximize utilization of the present workforce and other resources in accomplishing policy objectives.

Discussion

The Secretary, in his speech of June 27, 1975,2 remarked that “it is time to turn our attention to the development of a Departmental structure that is more responsive both to the needs of its members and the demands of an increasingly interdependent world.” In particular, he focused his attention on personnel operations and directed new departures to improve the recruitment, evaluation, assignment, and career development processes.

Since then we have concerned ourselves with deciding how we might best realign our organizational structure and allocate our workforce and other resources to meet the Secretary’s challenge and mandate.

I am recommending the establishment of a Bureau of Personnel, headed by the Director General, with the overall management of its operations under a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Personnel. We have already established a Program Coordination Staff, reporting to me, to coordinate planning, policy formulation, execution and evaluation of our programs. We would abolish the four Directorates (PER/REM, PER/CA, PER/PCE, and PER/MGT) and replace them with six offices, organized on functional lines (recruitment and examination, career development and assignments, evaluation and promotion, employee services, position and pay management, and general management services). We would continue the present employee-management relations, public affairs and grievance staff units. A visual design is pre[Page 524]sented at Tab A, with functional statements at Tab B. A proposed Department Notice is at Tab C.3

We anticipate improved communications of policy priorities to operating levels by reducing layering in the hierarchy; improved coordination among, and execution by, Bureau of Personnel operating offices through monitoring and overview by the Program Coordination Staff in my office, whose members chair various coordinating groups on programs that need priority attention; more efficient operational accomplishments by realigning functions into offices that correspond to classical personnel system activities:4

  • —Bringing in of new people (Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment);
  • —Career development, training, and assignment (Office of Career Development and Assignments);
  • —Evaluation and promotion of people (Office of Performance Evaluation);
  • —Services to employees (Office of Employee Services);
  • —Control of positions and pay matters (Office of Position and Pay Management);
  • —The management of our resources (Office of Management).

In addition to meeting the Secretary’s emphases, I believe we also will be responsive to criticism of the Civil Service Commission in our administration of Civil Service programs; meet the Commission’s requirements for a Personnel Management Evaluation Program; and the Inspector General’s recommendations on greater attention to, and resources for, our foreign national (local employees) personnel program.

In our resource review allocation process during the summer, we identified a number of positions for reprogramming to higher priority efforts. A summary of the results of this process is at Tab D. This is the beginning of linking our resources to policy priorities through our improved organizational structure. Such reallocations will give resource emphasis to the priorities of the Secretary in the direction of recruiting, not only through the classical FSO examining process, but also professionals through the lateral entry and FSR process, including women and representatives from minority groups; more effective methods for evaluation, including an expansion of the threshold concept to senior levels; a more open and more centrally directed assignment process; and expanded and more dynamic training program, with special emphasis on junior officers, administration, and secretaries; expanded details to other agencies, and states and local government; and greater emphasis on the needs, and fuller utilization, of our total workforce.

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I believe our proposals for restructuring our organization, the setting of priorities and goals, and the reallocation of our resources to meet these priorities, represent a positive and significant beginning in moving forward toward accomplishment of the Secretary’s clear and urgent mandate.

Recommendations:5

1. That you approve the redesignation of the Office of Personnel to the Bureau of Personnel and my proposed organizational structure as reflected in Tabs A and B to be effective the beginning of the first pay period after your approval.

2. That you approve the attached Department Notice (Tab C) for issuance.

3. That you approve the reprogramming of positions within M/DG (Tab D).

  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, General Administrative Correspondence Files of the Deputy Under Secretary for Management, 1968–75: Lot 78 D 295, M Chron, November 1975 (1). No classification marking.
  2. See footnote 7, Document 144.
  3. The tabs are attached but not printed.
  4. Eagleburger added the handwritten note “outplacement?” next to the following six points.
  5. Eagleburger initialed his approval of all the recommendations on November 19. The Office of Personnel (DG/PER) was re-designated the Bureau of Personnel (M/DG), under the direction of Ambassador Laise, on November 23. The provisions of the reorganization were published in the Department of State Newsletter, December 1975, pp. 24–25.