DHSImproving resilience of DHS work force

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should develop and promote a unified strategy and common vision to build and sustain work-force readiness and resilience across the entire agency, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. DHS expressed concern that it was not reaching the level of impact that it had hoped to achieve with its program to build resilience at the agency and asked the IOM to review its efforts, identify shortcomings, and provide recommendations for a five-year strategic plan.

“We commend DHS for recognizing the importance of its work force in achieving the DHS mission and for requesting advice,” said James Peake, chair of the committee that wrote the report and senior vice president of CGI Global Health in Austin, Texas. “However, there is work to be done to improve the readiness and resilience of the DHS work force, which will be a large undertaking and require input from and coordination among every facet of the agency.”

An NRC release reports that the committee recommended that the “work-force readiness and resilience” effort employ a holistic approach that includes attention to physical, mental, and emotional health; organizational culture; and the work and home environments.  The nature of the DHS work environment is inherently stressful, and responsibilities can weigh heavily on DHS employees at every level of the organization, the report says.  If the work force is not ready to perform its mission and resilient enough to respond to and bounce back from crises and everyday stressors, it can compromise the DHS mission.  Therefore, DHS needs a work force that is healthy — both physically and mentally, has high morale, is adaptable, finds purpose in its work, and is productive and engaged.

As part of its task, the committee was asked to examine DHSTogether, a headquarters-based program started in 2009 that focuses on building resilience and wellness in the agency.  The committee found that since the program’s inception, it has not achieved its intended purpose due to lack of consistent leadership support, the absence of a strategic plan, and a lack of needed authority and accountability.  In addition, the program does not have a clear vision, mission statement, specific goals, measurable objectives, or a working definition for work-force “resilience.”  Because DHS does not use a validated measure of resilience, the committee could not be certain whether the DHS work