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Direct from the D.G. |
By Edward W. "Skip" Gnehm Jr.
The author is director general of the Foreign Service and director of Personnel. |
A Holiday Letter s we enter the December holiday season, much of our focus is on our families, whether they be with us or far away. In a similar vein, much of our focus during the past year in Personnel has been on improving the environment for our families. I'm very proud to say we have made some real progress. I want to take this opportunity to send all of you my best wishes at this very special time of year and to note several significant steps we in PER have taken to improve the lives of the families of all of our employees. Tandems--First, we have made real improvements in our handling of tandem couples, who have been an integral part of the Foreign Service since the early 1970s. The 1,017 individuals involved in tandems currently tracked by the Department account for almost 12 percent of the Foreign Service. We fully recognize the many challenges they face trying to negotiate assignments, advance their careers and keep their families together. The Department needs to continue attracting the best possible candidates to the Service, so I was particularly concerned about tandem assignment policies as they affected new hires. We have been very successful at assigning incoming tandems, including simultaneously entering couples, at the entry level. Our concern for tandems already in the service has grown, too, as their overall numbers have increased and as more tandems have reached the senior ranks. Our tandem coordinator, Meg Keeton, works with other foreign affairs agencies, legal adviser's office, the regional bureaus and posts to come up with workable assignments as well as alternative supervisory arrangements. We will continue to work toward earlier identification of tandems and better tracking of their careers. Family Member Employment--Our non-Foreign Service spouses are also a great resource, as we were reminded so forcefully by the recent McKinsey survey. The Family Liaison Office has worked hard to improve employment opportunities for these multitalented members of our mission communities overseas. I was very pleased when in May of last year, the Family Member Appointment was enacted, allowing Foreign Service family members working in our missions overseas to become eligible for retirement deductions, life insurance, health insurance and the Thrift Savings Plan. The Family Liaison Office has also worked to redesign the Skills Bank, which will soon be relaunched as the Resume Connection. It will allow family members' education, training and skills to be sent electronically to their next overseas post in the form of a resume. We also realize that our Foreign Service family members have a wide range and high level of skills that cannot always be accommodated within the mission. We anticipate that the possibilities for employment in the local economies will improve because of the increasing number of bilateral work agreements--currently 136--FLO has negotiated. Foreign Service National Retirement--Our FSN employees around the world depend on a variety of government and private retirement plans to provide for themselves and their families when they leave the service. Because we have found that some of these plans are not up to our standards of reliability, we have been working to set up an offshore retirement program for these employees. The Internal Revenue Service ruled in September that this program will not be subject to federal taxation, giving us the green light to proceed with implementation. I know that this news will be a great relief and comfort to many of our Foreign Service National colleagues and their families. Eldercare--How to cope with caring for our aging parents is a growing concern of many State Department families, both Civil Service and Foreign Service, here in Washington and overseas. This year, I established the Department's first eldercare coordinator position and initiated a policy review to look at our existing resources and to examine regulations and practices that affect employees caring for elderly parents. The Eldercare Working Group has presented a series of recommendations for an enhanced eldercare support program and for specific regulatory changes, which we hope will be of use to all of you who are facing this difficult and delicate issue. As we stand on the brink of a new century, I want the Department of State to be a leader in providing a supportive and welcoming environment for all our employees, both Civil Service and Foreign Service, and their families. Our families are our strength. Keeping them together, productive and professionally satisfied will make our organization stronger and will allow us to continue attracting the best possible candidates. Family concerns, I pledge, will remain a top priority. I wish you all the best for the holiday season and for the new millennium we will enter on Jan. 1.
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