Senior Executive Service

The Extent to Which SES Members Have Used the Sabbatical Program Gao ID: GGD-88-90 August 4, 1988

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) sabbatical program for Senior Executive Service (SES) members to determine: (1) the costs of sabbaticals; (2) the positions to which SES members returned after their sabbaticals; (3) whether participants remained in federal service for at least 2 consecutive years after completing their sabbaticals, as required; and (4) whether agencies considered the program worthwhile.

GAO found that: (1) from July 1981 through May 1987, 15 of the 71 agencies interviewed had granted 21 sabbaticals; (2) sabbatical costs totalled over $1 million; (3) of the 20 participants who had completed sabbaticals as of May 19, 1987, 14 returned to the same positions and 6 went to different SES positions; (4) as of May 1988, seven participants had left either SES or the federal service after completing their sabbaticals, and two of those left within 2 years; (5) officials in 13 of the 15 agencies that granted sabbaticals said the sabbaticals benefited their agencies; (6) officials in 44 agencies said the participation level was appropriate, 16 said participation should be higher, and 11 had no response; and (7) the most frequently cited reasons for the low level of participation were that agencies could not spare additional SES members and few SES members expressed interest in the program.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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