Replies

“Start with an across the board 5% cut “

Every turnaround downsizing in the private sector I was involved in had at least a 10% across the board cut within 60 days of a new CEO taking office. In every instance, workforce productivity increased in the months after the downsizings due to:
1) Effective prioritization. With limited resources, executives and managers had to focus on a few critical priorities and drop the projects and activities not contributing significantly to the bottom line.
2) Individual agendas were subordinated to the goals of the organization. Teamwork and increased along with cooperation between departments.
3) Fear is a great motivator. Individuals developed a sense of urgency about accomplishing tasks which resulted in higher quality output and on time completion of assignments.
4) New CEO’s (i.e. leaders) know they have limited time to effect change before inertia sets in. Good turnaround CEO’s, move quickly to remove any under performers after the downsizing.

For three decades corporate America has been downsizing its bureaucracies, leveraging technology to do more with fewer people. At the same time government bureaucracies have been adding staff rapidly. Given the absence of belt tightening for decades, the federal bureaucracy could probably handle a 30% across the board staff cut, assuming strong leaders with vision and focus are in place to direct the survivors.