CAREER SERVICE PROGRAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01826R000600010006-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: January 26, 1954
• Content Type: MF

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26 January 1952
IEMORMD FOR: Director of Central Intelligence Agency
SUBJECT : Career Service Program
1. The purpose of this mew raMum is to report to you the status
of the Career Service Program, and to obtain your approval of certain
steps which should be taken to reorganize the present system of career
dement.
2. The following major developments have been accoupliahed in the
Career Service Program since 1 July 1953:
a. A legislative task force vas established to examine:
those aspects of emp1oyyee benefits which cculd not be accomplished
administratively. This group has finished its work. The CIA
Career Service Beard has studied its report in detail and forwarded
it to you with its arnrovarl. It recognized that the appropriate time
should be chosen for submission of this legislation to Congress.
It is ny opinion that it snot submitted in the present
session. However, regardless of when it is submitted the study has
been made a the findings and rec nations land, legislation pro-
posed will be valid in the future.
b. The Senior Fxcecutive Inventory has been completed. This
required the nominati by the tap 70 executives in the Agency of
individuals considered qualified to be their successors. These
names were in turn reviewed by the Deputy Directors. The result
is approximately 200 came, now assembled in a loose-leaf notebook
for your use. It should. be noted that a tremendous amount of work
was required to assemble the biographic data on these Individuals,,
in many instances still incslete, due to the chaotic condition
of the personnel files. To insure proper security for the Registry,
the material was prepared in this office.
c. The charter of the ProfesaionlJ. Selection Panel was com-
pletely rewritten. Inasmuch as this is one of the important aspects
ref the proposed reorganization, it will be dealt with later.
d. An insurance task force has cleared actuaries surveying
types of insurance avedlable to agency employees,_. This program
may result in a more beneficial form of insurance for employees
and produce an armed incentive for making a career with CIA. It
can proceed regardless of the organization of the Career Service
Px 0a sr..
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e. A Women's Panel and a Junior Officer's Task Force. have
prepared reports relating to the problems of woven and junior
officers in making a career with CIA. Their reports have been
studied by the CIA Career Service Board. Any beneficial results
from these two studies will came from the Personnel Office and
from the supervisors.
f. A task force coeuced the preparation of a paper to
inform employees "What a Career in the CIA Means to You." It is
important that such a paper be produced. The lack of k w sledge
about the career service program is very great overseas, and is
also apparent in Washington.
g. The CIA Career Service Board has 49 Career elopme
Slots assigned to it. These slots enable e n loyees to take
external training or a tour of duty with another office without
encumbering a slot in the parent office, although the parent
office must guarantee to have a slot, open upon the emplcgee'a
return. The fact that there are still many of these slots open
is indicative of a lack of interest In career develoyment or
encouragement of rotation Ong the offices.
h. The CIA Career Service Board worked with the honor
Aw&rds Board in developing a system of awards for meritorious
or valorous service. This has now been a=oaplished and there
is no purpose to be served for continued affiliation been
these Boards.
I. The CIA Career Service Board int reeted itself in
nominations for the ova Schcol for Advanced. `tea G=,eant and
the senior schools of the military services. The la c,% of interest,
particularly in the )/P A ea, in naminatiug cwndidat es for theso
schools is also indicative of a lack of interest in career
development.
3. There are 25 other Career Service Boards in the Agency
besides the CIA Board. These include boards for all. of the offices,
the l1)/P staffs plus a M/P, 11)/I and 1)3)/A Board. Thaza Boaxds
have functioned with varying degrees of effectiveness and
authority. In many cases the Boards are purely advisory to the
office or staff chief; in others the Boards, in effect, have more
influence. Unfortunately the Bow have concerned themselves
largely with matters of proaotion, transfers., eta.-personnel
actions previously handled on a routine basis by executive action
of the individual offices. There is no indication that creation
of "career service boards" has improved these actions any.
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k. The CII Career Se-rice Boyd h? r< tem terl to ar ita'ate
a difference of opinion bet een the /A and IiS/I Boards. The
t)/A Boaxd holds that all adminiotrative personnel in the /I
Area should have career designations to W/A C'ereer S Irv ae Boatrd3,,
e.g., au personnel officer in OR? would have a career deviation
to the Personnel Office rerher then O RR. There is an alaiva?t
un ananadty of opinion against this in the 10/I Area. In the III /.P
Area most administrative officers have accepted /A career
designations, although it shoutl be noted that -this eras done with
so+newhcat of a shots aMroach_-they were told to either take ad-
ministrative designations or be prepared to explain in six -months
why they Sze in administrative positions.
34 It is j opinion that the Poll ng major defects navy exist
with the CIA Career Service Program:
a. There are- too many Career Service girds and they are
iMroperly constituted. A Freer service board for each office
has sinTly continued office rationalism and done nothing to further
making CIA a career. The m=ber of boards creates a taste in
ex cutive ms pover for the participants and in clerical time for
suet.
b. The carer service boards devote the bulk of their time
today to matters that should be har4led differently. P
should ba a matter for intr ncy boexdz, nct office=M=.
Inter-office r tions or traa fe cennot be h=andled an a
unilateral basis by an office boazd. Pard therefore beoc ee a case
of hater-office ngotiation, or "e?eve. mart" t ra s ti by the
individual.
C. With the exception of one or two offices there is little
career planning by the ids, yet this is one of the most
i ?texst aspects of career service and o:se of the most gl.e :ed.
parts of career dievelo,-s nt. The lack of career p1z=WU%,-r is
probably the greatevt single factor in poor morale in the Agency.
More and n re c loyees are leaving, the Agency cause they s dt
kww vhat future there is in M.
d. The career service boards have served to dissipate both
the authority of the supervisors and of the Pei: aonnel. 1g at ann$nt .
It should be noted that the major ainal.e reaoou for the: e creation
of a Career Sea vice Program yes the failure oe' both the Personnel
Office and the supervisors in the Agency la pera-,mel
l rt it is Mr opinion that continu. tio'n of a large' number of ca er
service boards will not solve the p blem of pea: son l
for which the Personnel Office should be held re- one b F_e for policy
and the supervisors for implemntatian.
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e.. As is. natural. in a government the career service boards
have tended to become paper-mi.ll8. The amount of paperwork done
by the various boards varies, but generally speaking it has
gotten-beyond either reason or value.
4. It is recaa?eaded that the following steps be taken to reorgan-
ize the Career Service Program:
aa. : All of the office career service boards be abolished and
in their stead be created five professional boards, namely: Intelli-
gence,, operations, Administration, Training and Co mications.
b. The mazer of career designations be reduced from 26 to 5--
as above. However, there should be a lbuited number of sub-desig-
nations such as Analyst, Researcher, Collector under Intelligence;
Paychological, Espionage, and Para mllitasy under operations; Person-
nel, Fiscal, Logistics under Administration.
c. Theca five hoards would be charged primarily with the
career dews nt of all employees. This career evelo nt would
insure t each employee received proper training, opportunity
for rotation within CIA, consideration for pro ion, eta. To
acccWlish this the boards would be supported by staffs supplied
jointly by the Personnel Office and the offices primarily co r ned
with each, board. Career plans vw l;d be developed for all. profession-
al employees of the Agency.
d. Three selection or pr*wtiott Pamela VV;uld be mated. These
panels would be charged with ingg selection in, selection out,
and promotion of all Agency aaWloyees. These would bet
(1) Supergrande Panel (or Board) composed as presently
proposed by the Deputy .Director of Central Intelligence of
the Deputies plus Assistant Directors for Personnel,, Commmi-
6ations and Training to pass on all pronaoticxne or selections
in or out of supergrades.
(2) senior Selection panel to pass on selection in, out,
or prom Lion of all personnel in Grades GS-13, 14 and, 15. The
praaaiations would be intro-agency, conducted twice annually on
a caaaaapetitive basis.
(3) Junior Selection Panel to pass on selection in, out,
or promotion of all personnel in Grades Gs-9, 10, 11 aid'12.
NO These Panels would operate on the following basis. No
employee-applicant would be considered until the gaining office
bed submitted a career plan indicating the assignieuta of the
individual for at least the first three years sad preferably
longer. Each ea aloyee-applicant would be personally interviewed
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by the appropriate (for his or her grade) board prior to
employment. Preovotioa would be rade twice ammaliay--V'im'
and Deoerber- -and vould be an intra-A n cc. etitive
basis. Rotations between offices would be acco? a1.i. ahvd on
a quota basis, e.g., 10 from DD/I to . /P and vice versa
each year; 20 from /A to i/P and vice versa each year.
Selection-out consideration would be given to each c loyee
at the end of the first-year of a sploya znt (when, under
Civil Service procedures,, termination can be accomplished),..
and at the end of three-years which sb=x3A be the ? zxtni-
stratively-established CIA probationary period.
e. The standard probationary period for all CIA e lcyecs
be established at three yearn--ate as of a specific sate all in-
coming employees will be advised of the probationary period and
informed that if they fail to live up to standards they way be
selected out at the end of one year or three years (or any point
in the first three years).
f. It is the belief of the CIA Career Service I3o that for
a true career service enployees should be obligated to sew when,
where, and ho the may desires--pereaval consider .tions being
given full evaluation in the decision. ch as rr4y individuals
entered CIA under different terms, this cannot be it .cased by a n ate
but should be on a voluntary basis.
g. rMe CIA Career Service Bcard be *=tinuad on ch the s
basis as presently, being primly an advisory body and a soundi
board for insuring develp9ma t of the Career Service Program. This
body might eventual v be chaired by the Asaiste t Director for
Personnel, when that individual has been on duty for a loaZ r pcrioc .
5. In summation an floe's career in the CIA 1*7 d be guided in
the foU iug faahioo:
a. Prior to employment the individual's carer p3 vculd be
reviewed by the appropriate selection p 1, and the Individual
would appear before the panel;
b. At the end of one year and again at the end of three
years the appropriate selection panel l review the Individual's
performance and indicate continuance or termination;
C. At the end of the three year probationary period. the
appropriate career service board will m new the individuals n a r
plan for the ensuing period;
d. At the time an individual is p ad to G 3-13--selected
by the Seuior Selection --determination will be =,de ether
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the irA viduai is qualif tesi for the Junior Executive !wentorjr--ar
should be assigned to epecialist jobs.
6. Finally it is reeoended that. a date b sseleeted for ia ie-
mentation of the above steps in the Career Service Program. At that
ti all employees viU be gtaeried to de- rmiae whether they wieb to
make a career with the Agency and are willing to accept the oblipaaion
to serve when and where rev d. At that time. al.l e loyees should
be given a fall. and frank a tato .ut of what a career in CIA memo
(2.f. above)
7. Z believe what I propose vM enable a to eabark on a true
career program.
/s/
S. ctrl
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