Federal worksite managers are grappling with growing workloads and workforces, while simultaneously dealing with tighter budgets. In response to these tough times, Chief Performance Officer of the Department of Treasury Dan Tangherlini gave up his large office in favor of a smaller workspace. Tangherlini hoped to convey to others that as budgets become compact and workloads increase, everybody has to make sacrifices.

In light of the after effects of the financial crisis, the workforce of the Department of Treasury has increased by an estimate of 18 percent within the past one and a half years. As a result, the average space employees occupied has shrunk from 191 square feet to 167. “There is a word for that,” says Tangherlini. “Tightsizing.”

Deputy Inspector General for Tax Administration Joseph Hungate says that the employees have been positive about the changes taking place with regards to the tightsizing and believe that the measure will lead to reduction in costs and continue to protect the mission of the Treasury.

Has your agency implemented any tightsizing of its own? If so, how? Has it been effective?

Six months after President Obama’s May memorandum mandating hiring reform government-wide, the Department of Defense seems to be making serious strides. According to the Federal Times, The DoD is just one of federal agencies that have made considerable progress in reducing the time taken to hire new employees.

Kathy Ott, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel policy, says the DoD now takes 79 days on average to hire new employees, as compared to 151 days on average this past January. At a hiring reform event held at the Housing and Urban Development Department’s headquarters, Ott vouched for the faster, more efficient hiring of civilians.

“DoD understands the need for, and has embraced, hiring reform,”Ott said. “Hiring qualified talent and making sure it is available when we need it is a key to our mission readiness. It is critical we have the civilian talent we need to support our warfighters. There is nothing more important.”

Attracting good candidates and developing useful hiring assessments are next on many agencies hiring reform to-do lists.

Are you surprised that DoD has reduced their time to hire from 151 to 79 days? Do you work at an agency that has similarly reduced its time to hire? Share your hiring reform experience with us in the comments.

In a recent Washington Post poll, the majority of Americans don’t seem to have much faith in their public sector peers; many believe that federal employees are overpaid, underqualified and not very hard workers.

Poor public image is nothing new for government employees—but the fact that much of the ire seems to come from Republicans was a surprising revelation.

Over 80 percent of GOP members think public sector folks are over-compensated; just two percent of Republicans think government workers work harder than private sector employees. In contrast, 11 percent of Democrats believe federal workers work harder, and almost one in five believe they’re of a higher quality than those in the private sector.

Democrats were also found to have better overall perceptions of government employees they had encountered in the past year, while just 26 percent of all surveyed Republicans thought those they had encountered were good at their job.

John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, blames unions and the Obama administration for not sticking up for federal employees as needed.

Gage noted that public opinions can change fast, so perhaps an image overhaul is in the feds’ future?

Are you surprised by the lack of respect among Republicans for federal employees? Why or why not? And in your experience, have the government employees you’ve encountered been competent?