A Historic Opportunity to Build a Smarter Government

Federal Hiring Crisis and Opportunity - A Call to Public Service

RESTON, Va., May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Horne Creative Group (HORNE)
and Pamela Foss, FAA Senior Executive (Ret.) and President of Pamela Foss
Consulting, today released their white paper "A Call to Public Service - A
Historic Opportunity to Build a Smarter Government," which examines our
current federal hiring crisis and recommends several critical actions
including a rebranding of the federal government to make it the Employer of
Choice. In this current economic climate, coupled with the new
administration's call for change, it's imperative to put qualified people to
work quickly who are passionate about serving their country.

"We and millions of Americans agree with President Obama's call to build a
smarter government," says Foss. "But to accomplish this, we need to hire and
retain the best and the brightest to fill current vacancies and new positions
being created by the stimulus package. It's the people who make or break
economies, societies and governments."

We are on the brink of a major human capital crisis. The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) estimates that we will lose an estimated one-third of the 1.8
million civil service employees over the next three to five years and this
estimate applies to other federal agencies not regulated by OPM, as well. Many
government agencies and programs are already woefully understaffed. At the
same time, an estimated 150,000 people have been losing their private-sector
jobs on a monthly basis and media reports cite 2 million have become
unemployed since December of 2008.

This presents a unique opportunity to put qualified, unemployed Americans back
to work -- filling both current vacancies as well as new jobs being created by
the economic stimulus package. But with every opportunity, there is often an
obstacle. Justified or not, our present federal government is burdened with a
negative brand image. Obviously, this doesn't apply to every individual
employee; there are thousands of dedicated public servants who do great work.
But unfortunately, this negative brand image makes working for the government
a career choice of last resort for millions of people.

"Unless we make working for America something to be proud of, where the term
'public servant' replaces the negative term 'bureaucrat,' we can't be sure
that all applicants are choosing a federal position out of pride and a desire
to serve -- rather than out of desperation," says Horne Creative Group CEO
Phyllis Horne.

The opportunity to fill these vacancies and infuse the federal government with
individuals who want to make a difference and are proud to serve, has not
presented itself like this since World War II. However, in addition to a
public relations crisis, there is another significant obstacle to bringing
unemployed people into these vacancies. Most government agencies lack the
technological, procedural and human resources to rapidly process a huge number
of applications as well as quickly move those applicants through the hiring
process.

Title 5 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (in place since 1923) and the
Classification Act of 1949 are so outdated that reform is absolutely
essential. While legislation was introduced on March 30, 2009 to reform the
federal hiring process, it is unlikely to be passed and implemented in time to
meet the government's immediate hiring needs.

To ensure that the programs the Obama administration deems mission critical
are successful, the white paper recommends that the President Obama declare
this situation a national crisis and address it in two ways:

-- Work with a professional agency to develop and deploy a full-scale
branding, marketing, advertising and public relations campaign that
reverses the negative perceptions and builds a sense of pride in
public
service. This campaign should clearly and compellingly position
America
as the Employer of Choice and motivate dedicated, experienced
Americans
of all employable ages to apply for existing and future vacancies.

-- Empower OPM Director John Berry and leadership at organizations not
bound by OPM rules and regulations, with the mandate and funding to
take
action on all possible fronts to quickly bring qualified, unemployed
Americans into the federal workforce.

"If we don't take advantage of this historic opportunity, hundreds of
thousands of Americans will continue to suffer economic hardship, when they
could be putting their diverse and vast talents to work for America," says
Horne. "American taxpayers deserve a government that works. Let's renew the
sense of pride in public service and act quickly to fill these vacancies."

You can download the white paper "A Call to Public Service -- A Historic
Opportunity to Build a Smarter Government" and view our Call to Public Service
video at www.calltopublicservice.com.

Phyllis Horne is Chief Executive Officer of Horne Creative Group -- a
woman-owned, full-service marketing, advertising and communications company
that employs print, broadcast, display and interactive media to meet federal
government agencies' communication needs. www.hornecreativegroup.com

Pamela Foss is an FAA Senior Executive (Ret.), and President of Pamela Foss
Consulting -- a woman-owned industry, state and federal government human
resources consulting firm.

SOURCE Horne Creative Group

Kathleen Goldstein, +1-202-841-0295, for Horne Creative Group