Presidential Transition: Identify, Connect, Engage

While the election may be behind us, transition efforts are in full swing. As stated by The Partnership for Public Service, “during this time, the transition team must handle the influx of campaign staff and additional personnel into daily operations and prepare to take over the functions of government.” This involves collaboration and partnership from the White House to each individual department and agency.

In our first post of the Presidential Transition blog series, we will focus on how personnel within governmental organizations can prepare for success through critical support and guidance of the Transition officer and their team. With the formal agency review process already underway, here are just a few of the key steps necessary to ensure the process is as smooth and seamless as possible. Remember, it is never too late to implement these best practices.

1) Engage the Transition Officer to identify emerging issues

The Transition Officer/Team’s function is to gather information; engage them as early as possible to offer education about key aspects of your organization including culture, size of your workforce, and policy issues. Guide them to critical areas to ensure they are on the forefront of the transition effort. FMP can support these efforts by fully articulating and presenting the results of initiatives in a clear and compelling manner using reliable data. Identifying these results to the Transition Officer can be the critical difference on whether certain issues and initiatives start, stop, or continue post-inauguration.

2) Create connections between the Transition Officer and key agency personnel

Coming from the outside, it can be daunting to navigate complex organizational structures. Over the next weeks, organizations should create meaningful connections between the Transition Team and the correct key personnel. The transition effort can only be as successful as the individuals involved, as the transfer of critical knowledge is key. FMP’s team can support organizations to identify these connections and develop thoughtful and informative channels to support the transfer of knowledge.

3) Maintain open lines of communication and engage stakeholders

Open lines of communication are key to any organizational initiative; the Presidential Transition is no different. One especially critical task will be to create open communication lines that allow key stakeholders to share previous transition efforts, including what has and has not worked well. Remember, every agency and organization is vastly different and requires a customized approach. The sharing of this institutional knowledge will build the foundation of a successful transition. However, it is vital that these lines of communication continue well after January 20^th.

FMP Consulting has over 25 years of experience supporting Federal agencies across a number of human capital efforts, including presidential transitions. Contact us today to learn how we can support your transition efforts from post-election to inauguration, and beyond.

Don’t forget to check back soon for our next post in the Presidential Transition blog series; you won’t want to miss it!

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