But all the criticism and outrage overlooks an apparently mundane but crucial issue: the role of governmental employees in fighting disasters. Call it "the people factor."
Great companies, like Goldman Sachs and General Electric, understand the power of focusing on their employees. We use the term "human capital." These firms put substantial resources and effort into training, leadership development and innovative management strategies that motivate and enable their employees to excel - whether in day-to-day operations or in a crisis. Profit and reputation follow.
A 2001 Harvard University study found that companies that focused most on their employees had 10-year stock returns more than 10 percent above the market average.
In this regard, recent proposals to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) have missed a significant point: Effective government must start with investing in government's most important asset - the men and women who commit their lives to the mission of public service. Merely changing the names, organizational charts and mission statements of agencies as a means of making them more effective is insufficient. We need to focus more on improving the ways in which federal employees are managed, trained and motivated.
As importantly, we need to learn the lessons from the agencies that succeeded in their response to Hurricane Katrina. The fact is, not every government agency failed during Hurricane Katrina. Their stories point a compass for the rest of the government to follow.
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THE U.S. COAST GUARD
Despite having two bases destroyed and a third looted, the Coast Guard carried out rescue missions throughout the night of the storm. Teams regularly got only three or four hours of sleep between 24-hour non-stop missions. With so many simultaneous missions, the Coast Guard did not have the capability or the desire for a top-down management approach to the mission. Instead, independent rescuers relied on training and discipline to rescue as many as 33,000 people, more than half of the size of the entire Coast Guard organization, in the days and weeks following the disaster.
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THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
The DEA helped to rescue 3,000 stranded Americans during the hurricane. In particular, one small team of DEA employees discovered an assisted-living facility with 90 residents who had been essentially abandoned. Despite nearby gunfire and the fear of another levy break, the team stayed to get supplies and provide security for the residents. With the aid of the National Guard, they helped evacuate 70 residents. The team carried the residents, many in wheelchairs and beds, down five flights of stairs and resuscitated one resident who had a heart attack. They then continued to provide supplies for the remaining residents until their evacuation several days later.
The common thread among these powerful stories is that the Coast Guard and the DEA get the people piece right. Both agencies are recognized for emphasizing worker training and then empowering their employees to make independent decisions in the field. Not surprisingly, the employees of both say their agency is among the top places to work in government.
The 2005 report, "The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," compiled by the Partnership for Public Service and American University, offers insights into employee satisfaction and morale. This report ranked the Coast Guard 24th out of more 200 sub-agencies when it comes to employee engagement. DEA ranked 52nd. By contrast, FEMA falls within the bottom quarter of all 200 sub-agencies and DHS as a whole was ranked second to last among the 30 largest cabinet and independent agencies.
In most respects, government employees are no different from those in the private and non-profit sectors. They want to come to work excited by the mission, engaged by their leaders, and given the skills and opportunity to contribute creatively to those efforts - be it designing a better light bulb or responding to a national emergency. Provide such an environment and success will follow.
While we brace for Mother Nature's next fierce assault or whatever national crisis may occur, we should expect DHS and other government agencies to re-examine how they prepare their employees to perform their missions every day and when Americans need it most. To be effective, they need better training so they can be prepared and empowered to make decisions on the ground.
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(Dr. Steven Kerr is the chief learning officer of Goldman Sachs and previously held a similar post at General Electric. E-mail: SHowe(at)ourpublicservice.org)
