Deloitte: Survey Shows Efficiency Lags

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4com

Competing priorities are slowing down federal government efficiency, according to a new study from the Government Business Council (GBC), sponsored by Deloitte. Just 29 percent of the federal managers surveyed give high marks to the efficiency of their agency and 16 percent say the same about the federal government as a whole.

Additional specific report findings include:

• Various factors contribute to inefficiency, but competing priorities is viewed as the most significant impediment. Eighty-five percent of managers agree that competing priorities is a challenge to reducing inefficiency.
• Of the respondents who find managing cost reduction initiatives to be difficult, tracking the effectiveness of these efforts is the top challenge (80 percent).

The report, “Cutting Costs: Inside the Effort to Improve the Efficiency of Federal Operations,” assesses the perceptions, attitudes, and experience of federal employees regarding government efficiency and cost reduction. The study is based on survey data collected from about 600 senior-level federal employees from the GS/GM level 11 through 15, the Senior Executive Service, and high military ranks, supported by focus group input and extensive secondary research.

Deloitte provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and tax services to selected clients. More than 6,600 professionals are dedicated to serving U.S. federal clients with wide-ranging missions. Deloitte is helping federal organizations explore how to be more efficient or do things differently, with a deep understanding of the government’s requirements, processes, and systems, and insights into workforce and technology issues. By drawing on industry-leading restructuring practices across government and business, Deloitte applies a mix of private-sector perspective and public-sector experience to help federal agencies rethink, reduce, and restructure—from day-to-day operations and large-scale transformations. Deloitte helps agencies in their efforts to address today’s biggest challenges and build a stronger foundation for tomorrow.