Former DHS and IRS CIO Richard Spires joins Francis Rose to break down what “build back” really means for agencies after months of disruption. He praises efforts to cut bureaucracy, reduce stovepipes, and modernize acquisition, pointing to OPM’s ambitious push to consolidate 119 HR systems into one as the kind of big swing government needs.
But he argues the biggest problem isn’t tech—it’s people. Spires says workforce treatment has damaged morale and trust, especially among technologists, and rebuilding starts with a fundamental shift in how leaders view and support employees. He recalls DHS’s HR consolidation work: requirements and procurement moved, but leadership turnover created a vacuum and internal fear about job loss helped collapse the effort.
Subscribe and listen to the Fed Gov Today Podcast anytime on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at FedGovToday.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.