ICASS AFSA Survey Results - American Foreign Service Association
ICASS AFSA Survey Results - American Foreign Service Association ICASS AFSA Survey Results - American Foreign Service Association
officers are collectors of information who report information up the chain of command toWashington. While they meet with their country government counterparts mostly theyremain in the major cities. On the other hand, USAID employees overseas are technicalspecialists who design, implement and monitor projects country wide. Their meetings withforeign country counterparts and program implementers are carried out frequently andinvolve close technical negotiations.The categories of concern listed below address the areas where consolidation under ICASShas become problematic:Transportation ServicesThe most often reported complaint at all Missions is the sharp negative impact caused bythe absorption of the motor pool into the Embassy. Use of a vehicle is crucial to the job ofUSAID employees because a great part of their work involves site visits to the field andconstant contact with in-country officials. As stated above, the nature of USAID'soperations are significantly different from State's because USAID is implementing technicalassistance programs that need different sets of skills and human resources. This survey hasshown that in almost all cases, priority for vehicle use had shifted to Embassy personnel.Dispatchers and drivers were no longer responsive to USAID employee needs as before.The result is an increase in missed or late appointments with counterparts, poor vehiclemaintenance issues, frustration, and wasted time trying to arrange for vehicle use. USAIDstaff is in many cases reduced to using local taxi services which are less safe and timeconsuming. Embassy drivers are less knowledgeable about USAID work sites and are moreresponsive to the perceived higher authority of the Embassy FSOs versus USAID FSOs.Under these circumstances, the job of the USAID employee becomes even more difficult.Some responders mentioned that the relationships with government had become straineddue to the unreliability of USAID personnel in attending meetings.Out of country travel has also become more difficult for USAID FSOs resulting from theconsolidation of travel services under one Travel Agency. The differing rules andregulations between State and USAID cause many errors for travel agents which result in
major problems for USAID employees. The system worked better when USAID had its ownTravel Agency.Building, Warehouse and Residence OperationsRespondents state that there has been a sharp decrease in maintenance quality, reliabilityand basic fairness with the switch to the ICASS system. USAID staff end up spending anenormous amount of time in checking of vouchers and services due to an increase ininappropriate billings and mistakes. Priority for services is skewed towards Embassy staffneeds to the detriment of USAID employees. One reason can be explained by the practiceof the Embassies to place Junior State FSOs in positions under ICASS where they have notraining or capacity to carry it out. These FSOs are frequently trainees who leave afteronly two years to be replaced by another set of trainees whose career goals are notadministrative services. In contrast, USAID Executive Officers are career specialists inadministration and like most USAID officers, commonly stay for two full two year tours intheir country of assignment.Another common complaint which results when ICASS takes over building, warehouse andresidence operations is that USAID staff gets the leftovers, poorer maintenance service andthe smaller working spaces compared to Embassy personnel. Poor customer service andoutright hostility is now being reported by USAID personnel and the FSO must now worryabout the comfort and safety of his family in foreign settings. Some of the time, they areeven forced to pay for services out of their own pockets in order to avoid the hassle anddelays dealing with ICASS supported services.The Foreign Service National (FSN) ImpactAt overseas USAID Missions, one of our most valuable assets is the FSN, who is typically avery specialized individual in the areas of development or administration possessingsignificantly different skills from State Department FSNs. USAID FSNs are empowered tooperate at a high level of independence and authority due to the specialized nature oftheir skills which in many cases matches those of the USAID American staff. USAID FSNpositions are highly competitive and only the best are hired. As a result, USAID FSNscommand a higher level of salary than State FSNs and are valued by other international aidorganizations who compete with us to hire them.A particularly damaging influence on USAID's work is the overwhelming preference forEmbassy Human Resources offices to keep FSN grades artificially lower than USAID needs.Because of its preference for US employees, State makes minimal use of professional FSNsat the higher grades, but nevertheless, does not believe other agencies really need FSNsthat perform at the higher professional grade levels. Therefore, when the Embassy takesover FSN hiring and management, USAID FSNs are not treated fairly or compensatedappropriately. This creates morale problems and frequent turnover making us all lessproductive.Also, whereas the USAID Executive Officer, with a team of FSNs, would typically manageall areas such as Human Resources, General Services, Information Technology, andProcurement, the Embassy tends to hire an expensive American national to oversee eacharea. Compared to US employees, USAID FSNs are very economical and the budget sufferswhen they are replaced by high costs U.S. personnel when ICASS takes over services.Computer Systems
- Page 1: News aboutUSAID and theForeign Serv
- Page 6 and 7: There has been a push by State to r
- Page 8: AFSA Vice President USAIDConsolidat
- Page 12 and 13: not sure why, other than they get i
- Page 14 and 15: My experience as an EXO at other po
- Page 16 and 17: time. There seems to be no official
- Page 18: The biggest disadvantage has been t
- Page 21 and 22: the OIG report on the Kabul Embassy
major problems for USAID employees. The system worked better when USAID had its ownTravel Agency.Building, Warehouse and Residence OperationsRespondents state that there has been a sharp decrease in maintenance quality, reliabilityand basic fairness with the switch to the <strong>ICASS</strong> system. USAID staff end up spending anenormous amount of time in checking of vouchers and services due to an increase ininappropriate billings and mistakes. Priority for services is skewed towards Embassy staffneeds to the detriment of USAID employees. One reason can be explained by the practiceof the Embassies to place Junior State FSOs in positions under <strong>ICASS</strong> where they have notraining or capacity to carry it out. These FSOs are frequently trainees who leave afteronly two years to be replaced by another set of trainees whose career goals are notadministrative services. In contrast, USAID Executive Officers are career specialists inadministration and like most USAID officers, commonly stay for two full two year tours intheir country of assignment.Another common complaint which results when <strong>ICASS</strong> takes over building, warehouse andresidence operations is that USAID staff gets the leftovers, poorer maintenance service andthe smaller working spaces compared to Embassy personnel. Poor customer service andoutright hostility is now being reported by USAID personnel and the FSO must now worryabout the comfort and safety of his family in foreign settings. Some of the time, they areeven forced to pay for services out of their own pockets in order to avoid the hassle anddelays dealing with <strong>ICASS</strong> supported services.The <strong>Foreign</strong> <strong>Service</strong> National (FSN) ImpactAt overseas USAID Missions, one of our most valuable assets is the FSN, who is typically avery specialized individual in the areas of development or administration possessingsignificantly different skills from State Department FSNs. USAID FSNs are empowered tooperate at a high level of independence and authority due to the specialized nature oftheir skills which in many cases matches those of the USAID <strong>American</strong> staff. USAID FSNpositions are highly competitive and only the best are hired. As a result, USAID FSNscommand a higher level of salary than State FSNs and are valued by other international aidorganizations who compete with us to hire them.A particularly damaging influence on USAID's work is the overwhelming preference forEmbassy Human Resources offices to keep FSN grades artificially lower than USAID needs.Because of its preference for US employees, State makes minimal use of professional FSNsat the higher grades, but nevertheless, does not believe other agencies really need FSNsthat perform at the higher professional grade levels. Therefore, when the Embassy takesover FSN hiring and management, USAID FSNs are not treated fairly or compensatedappropriately. This creates morale problems and frequent turnover making us all lessproductive.Also, whereas the USAID Executive Officer, with a team of FSNs, would typically manageall areas such as Human Resources, General <strong>Service</strong>s, Information Technology, andProcurement, the Embassy tends to hire an expensive <strong>American</strong> national to oversee eacharea. Compared to US employees, USAID FSNs are very economical and the budget sufferswhen they are replaced by high costs U.S. personnel when <strong>ICASS</strong> takes over services.Computer Systems
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