Date of Conferral
8-23-2024
Date of Award
August 2024
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Kenneth Gossett
Abstract
At the onset of COVID-19, federal agency leaders had to increase workforce remote work capabilities to address the underperformance of teleworking employees. Considering the employees' need for continued remote work while balancing this with the continued federal government functionality, improving employee performance regardless of work location is essential. Grounded in the job demands-resources theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies that remote managers use to improve the performance of underperforming remote federal contract specialists. The participants were seven remote supervisors who manage remote working contract specialists at federal agencies. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and publicly available government reports. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged: communication and feedback, workload, performance management, and collegial cohesion. A key recommendation is for federal administrators to evaluate whether underperformance exists, if a fair performance evaluation method is used, if there is a significant workload imbalance, and if adequate on-the-job training has been conducted outside formal courses. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the performance of contract specialists, ensure the appropriate expenditure of taxpayer dollars, and provide timely customer service to U.S. citizens.
Recommended Citation
Berryman, Shaneika Imani, "Effective Strategies for Improving the Performance of Underperforming Remote Federal Contract Specialists" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 16045.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/16045
