SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Everything we do in the government has a system. More often than not, these systems are inefficient, costly, and lack common sense. This does not mean government workers have no common sense, but more likely, they have to operate within a system that denies them the use of common sense.

An example: My office has no light-switch. We can't turn off the lights when we leave, and I have 6 double-tube fluorescent lights... more »

It takes way too much time and effort to remove an employee from federal service. The process should be updated to include threshold levels. It should be easier to remove a GS-09 with less than 3 years of service than, say, a GS-14 with 25 years of service. We need to apply the common sense rule -- it should not cost so much time and effort to remove a lower-graded person.
For example, a GS-15 (supervisor) and a high-step... more »

We waste thousands of hours and dollars on training that is not relevant to the employee and not relevant to the program. Some of these classes are repeated over and over again, every year. Some examples of this are the Civil Rights and Internet Security classes. Having all employees take these classes every year is excessive and a waste of time. Other examples include ICS 100, ICS 700, ICS 800, HAZWOPER, and NARA... more »

Dozens of federal agencies produce statistics for the public (Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Stats, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Justice Stats, etc.). Most of these agencies are staffed with statisticians, mathematicians, geographers, and survey methodology experts.

Combining the U.S. Statistical System into fewer agencies (or just one!), like most other countries, would reduce redundancy, consolidate resources,... more »

My idea is...To improve on the use of sick leave and how to make it a positive and reduce the use of sick leave. Using sick leave within TSA has been a negative item for many years. We need to make sick leave a positive. The fact the sick leave is now saved up until the officers retire and then it is added to your retirement date. Not all officers think about retirement so many years in the future. Saving time to have... more »

Stop cluttering up work email with junk mail like 'We changed our phone number' or 'We are snowed in so we are closed today', or 'We have a job opening in Podunk'. The use of group mailing for "ALL" the agency needs to be restricted. This broadcasting of usless information clutters up everyone's email. The Agency should ban these group mailings or restrict them to the President and above. This will save countless... more »

Federal employees should have the ability to convert unused sick leave accrual to annual leave. Employees should be mandated to carry a minimum balance of unused sick leave before they would be able to convert furture hours into annual leave. For instance: an employee must have 240 hours of accrued sick leave in order to convert future hours. Conversion could be a two hour or three hour of sick leave for one hour... more »

Establish a central Joint Service MWR (Morale Well-Being & Recreation) Command that is capable of serving all bases and all services similar to how AAFES serves all the bases retail needs. There are 5 separate service MWR HQ commands such as MCCS, Air Forces Services Agency, Army MWR, Coast Guard MWR and Navy MWR. Many of these departments have many company and field grade officers supporting running their departments... more »

VA needs to upgrade the structure and content of standard language used in its automatically generated letters (MAPD and PCGL) to provide optimal service to Veterans, slash claims inventory, save money, and boost employee morale.
Edits should be done by VA employees who work claims daily, not contractors in Washington who have never opened a Veteran's file.
Every month VA receives thousands of requests to clarify... more »

Communications, Clarity of Purpose, and Transparency are key elements of any successful mission/organization.

Develop a robust communication strategy and implement it. It is a dynamic and living thing that should be giving top priority for the success of the mission.

Utilize every tool, strategy and idea available in this realm. If you do not have it, develop it. Again, clarity of purpose and transparency are... more »

Creating an Urgent Care Clinic that is open 12 hrs daily, regardless of whether a veteran has a primary care Dr. or is unassigned a primary care Dr., would offer help in the the problems of sending pt's back and forth from the ER to the PACTS within each facilty in each VISN. Not every Visn has this option. Our hospital would benefit greatly in many ways including;less frustration for vets,fewer walk ins in the clinics,... more »

We could save multiple items with my proposal of working longer hours and shorter days. For instance, someone who could work 40+ hrs. during the work week and not be required to show on Fridays. This would save money on electricity and fuel, as well as increase morale in the environment. I know this doesn't involve all the workers, being that some are required to have a 24/7 presense. Most, however could utilize... more »