4/4/19
The Transportation Security Administration loses employees at a rapid rate due to low pay and limited opportunities for career growth, according to a new report, though the head of the agency recently told Congress he plans to boost salaries for his front-line workers. The frequent turnover among TSA screeners, known as transportation security officers, has negatively impacted the security of the aviation system, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general found in an audit. Staffing shortages have lowered morale, further exacerbating attrition rates. TSA hired 9,600 screeners in fiscal 2017, out pacing the nearly 8,100 officers who left the agency. However, about one-quarter of the new hires left within the first six months of their start dates. The agency spent $16 million to hire and train those workers, part of the $75 million it spent on boarding employees overall that year. The agency has failed to demonstrate opportunities for employees to move from entry-level to higher-earning positions, the IG said, a problem employees identified as the top reason for moving on from their jobs. TSA officials told the IG that employees at airports in competitive job markets can earn more money at a retail store or a sandwich shop than as an entry-level screener.
At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, TSA Administrator David Pekoske told lawmakers he agreed the agency’s screener attrition rate of 17 percent was too high and that low pay was partially responsible. Pekoske said he has also addressed the workforce development issue with the creation of a TSO career development plan to show employees where they could be several years down the line. Many screeners never have that opportunity, however, as they are only hired on a part-time basis. Of the 9,600 officers TSA hired in fiscal 2017, more than two-thirds were part-time employees. TSA also has failed to maintain an adequate hiring pipeline to fill vacant positions, the auditors said. It has relied on overtime shifts to make up for staffing shortfalls, but the IG found that higher use of overtime has led to lower job satisfaction, which in turn has resulted in higher turnover. The inspector general recommended that TSA make better use of exit survey data, do a better job of communicating career opportunities and increase screener pay—all of which agency management agreed to do. “Improving retention, hiring, and training of TSOs would save costs and provide a more stable, mature, and qualified workforce to better secure the nation’s aviation transportation system,” the IG said.