1939: Civil Service

Fundamental to any improvement in working conditions in government is the extension of the merit system. During the year 1939 progress in this respect continued in all levels of government. The United States Civil Service Commission examined more than 600,000 applicants, and more than 50,000 new appointments were made.

The Reorganization Act which went into effect in July 1939, brought about a number of changes in and consolidations of various bureaus and agencies, all of which were designed to produce greater efficiency at less expense. The transfer of personnel resulted in bringing additional employees under the merit system; the United States Employment Service, for example, was consolidated with the Social Security Board and its employees thus became eligible for classification.

The Reorganization Act also authorized the appointment of six administrative assistants to the President. William H. McReynolds was appointed as liaison officer of the White House in charge of personnel management. With the cooperation of Mr. McReynolds and the various departments and agencies, the Civil Service Commission is working to establish definite procedures for assisting departments in fulfilling their personnel needs more efficiently than has been in the past.

Improved methods of selection play a large part in the functioning of the merit system. To this end the Commission devotes special effort to recruiting the best-qualified persons available. Of special interest to college students is the movement to recruit professional assistants from recent college graduates and seniors. An examination with 22 optional subjects for junior professional assistant was announced in 1939; over 40,000 persons applied, and approximately 9,400 were placed on the registers of those eligible for appointment. Another examination of this kind, with 28 options, was to be held early in 1940; others will probably be held yearly.

Among recently improved personnel policies should be mentioned the system of transferring employees from one department to another, or from one bureau to another. The Research Division of the Civil Service Commission demonstrated its punch-card method for locating present employees qualified for appointment to higher-grade positions, using chemists for the trial program. It is expected that this system will soon be in operation in all Federal departments. Besides improvement in morale as a result of the greater number of promotions which would result from the use of this system, an obvious advantage of the system would be its usefulness in determining the need for holding examinations, since the punch cards would show demand for and turnover in certain classes of employees.

The following rule was put into effect early in 1939:

'Employees in any positions in the classified service who are qualified to enter any open competitive examination shall, upon earning a passing mark therein, be placed also upon a separate list of eligible government employees, which list may be certified separately in accordance with the civil-service rules to fill vacancies occurring in the positions for which the examination is held. Age limitations may be waived for employees otherwise eligible to compete in such examinations. Employees eligible to compete in any such examination shall be granted leave of absence for the time required to take such examinations.'

This is a means of giving to persons already in the Government service additional opportunities to be considered for openings in the service. This policy does not mean that they will necessarily be appointed. It is the privilege of the appointing officer to choose someone from the outside register if he wishes.

Improvement in techniques of examination methods continued during 1939, both in oral and in written examinations. An Oral Examining Section of six specially trained and instructed examiners was set up, and improved methods of conducting oral interviews were put into effect. New types of written examinations, particularly this prepared by the Research Division for selection of personnel directors, were devised.

The importance of selecting capable executives for Government service is readily apparent. Construction of a new type of test to be used in the selection of junior executives was begun, and a preliminary trial of the material prepared was carried out with the co-operation of an industrial firm.

The necessity of in-service training of employees was implied in the Executive Orders of 1938, which directed that training of employees for the particular work of their agencies be provided. Within the limitations of their budgets, many Federal bureaus and departments are conducting effective training programs. The Civil Service Commission, for example, is endeavoring to improve its own operations through a series of conferences on administrative management in which all of its employees are participating.

Another development in the Federal Civil Service during 1939 was that of heavier responsibility being placed upon the Investigations Division of the Civil Service Commission. This was necessitated partly because of revisions in the Civil Service rules requiring that, whenever practicable, character and fitness investigations of applicants be made.