TSA Digital Transformation | OPM Workforce Innovation | USDA Digital Service Fellows

Smoothing Out Travel Turbulence with TSA’s Digital Transformation

Kristin Ruiz, Deputy Chief Information Officer at the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), discussed TSA's recent initiatives to enhance the travel experience and employee efficiency through digital transformation. By testing touchless ID systems at several airports, TSA aims to speed up the security clearance process, demonstrating a significant 30% improvement in processing speed. This initiative is part of a broader effort to modernize identity verification using an open architecture approach, ensuring flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in. Ruiz emphasized the concept of "total experience," focusing on improving customer, user, and employee experiences simultaneously. She highlighted the importance of considering TSA's employees as internal customers and the benefits of reusing successful solutions across different applications.

Key Takeaways:

1. TSA's digital transformation efforts have significantly improved the speed of the security clearance process by 30% in pilot airports.
2. The agency employs an open architecture approach to technology, allowing for flexibility and preventing vendor lock-in.
3. The focus on the "total experience" aims to enhance customer, user, and employee satisfaction through efficient and reusable solutions.

Crafting the Future Workforce with OPM’s Innovative Playbook

Kim Holden, Principal Deputy Associate Director for Workforce Policy and Innovation at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), introduced the Workforce of the Future Playbook. This initiative is designed to help federal agencies create a more agile, inclusive workforce capable of making data-driven decisions. The playbook offers 12 strategic plays, including pooled hiring and using data for workforce decisions, tailored to help agencies adapt and thrive in changing environments. It emphasizes customization to each agency's specific needs and encourages collaboration among different stakeholders within the agencies. Holden also highlighted the importance of metrics and feedback, such as satisfaction scores and the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, in measuring the success of these initiatives.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Workforce of the Future Playbook provides agencies with strategies to develop an agile and inclusive workforce.
2. Agencies are encouraged to customize the playbook's strategies to their specific needs, with OPM serving as a support resource.
3. Success metrics, including employee and applicant satisfaction scores, are crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of the implemented strategies.

 USDA’s Leap Forward with the Digital Service Fellows Program

Fatima Terry, Acting Executive Director and Deputy Director of Digital Services at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), unveiled the department's inaugural Digital Service Fellows Program. This initiative aims to recruit experts in customer experience, procurement, and digital service delivery to address immediate challenges and modernize USDA’s digital capabilities. The program, which operates on a tour-of-service model, seeks to attract diverse talent with a focus on embedding principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into recruitment and talent acquisition. Terry emphasized the program's dual focus on addressing current issues and preparing for future technological advancements, highlighting the importance of data in making informed decisions and shaping the program's impact.

Key Takeaways:

1. USDA's Digital Service Fellows Program targets experts in three critical areas: customer experience, procurement strategy, and digital service delivery.
2. The program is designed to foster a diverse and skilled workforce capable of tackling both immediate challenges and future technological advancements.
3. Data-driven decision-making is central to the program's strategy, with an emphasis on measuring success through metrics related to partnership development, problem-solving, and alignment with strategic goals.