Understanding Competitive Sourcing

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service
at the NRCS Competitive Sourcing Seminar,
Beltsville, MD
May 28, 2003

Good morning. Thank you for coming to today’s Competitive Sourcing Seminar. This is a controversial and disruptive issue for all of us, so I wanted to be here to talk about where we stand, and, wherever possible, make a few commitments. I know the concept of Competitive Sourcing has been very unsettling to many NRCS employees, particularly for employees whose jobs are being studied.

I know that most of us within NRCS regard our careers as a calling – something beyond a job. Our dedication results in quality performance and a great reputation for NRCS. I value the contributions of every NRCS employee.

That said, the fact is that we have been directed to compare the costs for a number of services now provided by NRCS employees with the costs of obtaining the same services from outside sources. This year, we are making these comparisons for more than a thousand FTEs nationwide, including headquarters functions. This process will continue for two more years, until we have made cost comparisons for more than 4,000 positions nationwide.

Numbers alone do not tell the entire story – and they tend to mask the disruption of the process.

There are a few things I would like you to keep in mind when you are thinking about Competitive Sourcing.

First, Competitive Sourcing is not a reflection on the quantity or quality of your service or your dedication to conservation. NRCS employees do excellent work.

Second, Competitive Sourcing is not directed at NRCS. Competitive Sourcing is a government-wide effort to bring down the costs of government services – to provide value to the taxpayer.

Third, Competitive Sourcing is not an effort to get rid of government employees. There are no workforce reduction targets. If the government can do the work more efficiently, the work will stay in government. We think cost comparisons will be favorable in many cases. I am confident that much of this work will stay inside NRCS -- we do many things very well and very efficiently.

If you have been working for the Federal government for a while, you have seen initiatives targeted at reducing the number of Federal employees. The Competitive Sourcing initiative is different. It is targeted at getting the work done at less expense to the taxpayer, whether the work remains in the government or moves to the private sector.

Under Competitive Sourcing, we look first at the most efficient way we could accomplish the work within the government. Then, we compare that cost with how much the work would cost in the private sector. Only when the outside source can do the work more efficiently does the work move to the outside source.

Let me stress that Competitive Sourcing starts with a comparison. It does not assume that the private sector will be able to perform any particular function more efficiently than NRCS employees do.

And fourth, NRCS will do whatever we can to help any employees who will be affected by Competitive Sourcing. We have a lot of tools at our disposal to minimize the effects of Competitive Sourcing, and we will use those tools.


Today’s Agenda

You will hear from several people today, and you will have a chance to ask questions.

First, Dwight Holman will talk a bit about the role of Competitive Sourcing in the President’s Management Agenda.

Then, Patty Brown will go over the Competitive Sourcing Process with you, step by step. If you haven’t been on the Competitive Sourcing web page, a lot of this will be new to you. The entire process is quite lengthy, and has many features to make it fair.

Then, Karen Karlinchak will go over the various methods available to assist employees affected by Competitive Sourcing – from local reassignments to retraining to early outs.

And at the end, we will have a Question and Answer session.


Conclusion

Before I sit down, I want to mention the commitments I said I would make today.

The first commitment is to communicate openly with you throughout the Competitive Sourcing process. I hope each of you has received the various letters we have sent out concerning Competitive Sourcing. We will continue sending out letters to keep you informed.

I also hope you have visited the NRCS Competitive Sourcing web site. We will continue to put the latest information on this web site. We have already had meetings around the country with all of the employees whose jobs are being studied this year, and with their supervisors.

We will continue to have meeting with affected employees and supervisors during the coming years. We have started looking at the positions to be studied next year. As soon as we determine the positions to be studied, we will let you know.

My second commitment is to make sure the comparison studies are fair. We have to make the resources available to fully describe the jobs being done by NRCS employees. A sloppy comparison could result in bids from outside sources that do not fully cover the work we do within NRCS. The comparisons will only be as good as the information we gather, so it is important that we do the best job we can in describing the work. We will need your help in this effort. I know this can be tough, but it is important.

Finally, I want to repeat my commitment to helping affected employees in every way possible. If any of our studies result in work moving to the private sector, we will do everything we can to retain affected employees within NRCS and to assist affected employees into the career options of their choice.

The federal personnel system includes many ways to help employees whose work moves to outside sources. We will make full use of those tools.

And now, on with today’s seminar.