The Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology resumed its annual forum today, with a focus on the future of recruitment, retention, and education in the military and national security communities. The first panel focused on recruiting, retaining, and engaging the Intelligence Community (IC) workforce.
Moderator, Scott Englund, Assistant Dean at the College of Strategic Intelligence and Federal Executive Fellow for Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, walked panelists through challenges specific to the IC’s efforts to attract a broader swath of talent – and a broader base of skillsets.
What the Intelligence Community Wants to see in Talent
Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Human Capital for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Cynthia Snyder said the IC needs talent with an understanding of people. Snyder explained the role of humanities in the IC. Technology is important, but national security also requires the ability to understand human nature and cultures. Snyder also pointed out that the IC needs courageous people who are willing to speak up when something looks wrong. Character is key in getting hired and succeeding in the IC.
Former Assistant Director of Analysis and Production at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council John Gannon said that he focuses on finding talent that has put the necessary rigor into a specific expertise. But along with a deep expertise, Gannon says the ability to collaborate is very important. High levels of expertise only work well when there’s a collaborative spirit.
Gannon also noted that the IC needs people who won’t quit, saying that “this outlook often comes with military experience in the background.”
Dean of the College of Strategic Intelligence – National Intelligence University Amy Kardell said that the United States is focusing a lot of attention on technology, which is important. But she says to not overlook the ability to communicate. Kardell shared that the world is very complex and “young professionals and students need to be able to manage more information and not just look at the first five responses on Google.”
She also noted that ChatGPT is another challenge that has to be managed to make sure that students are able to think on their own. It’s easy to get duped by bad information.
Finding the Right Talent and Reaching Gen Z
It’s not easy to increase the pool of qualified talent in the IC without compromising security. Snyder confirmed that the competition for talent is challenging.
But ODNI is looking at two key untapped talent pools. She noted that the IC needs people who can make a decision – even under pressure. But they also need people who are disciplined.
While the military has been a great talent resource to meeting those requirements, Snyder noted that ODNI has their eye on college athletes. She wants this next generation of talent to go from the locker room to the situation room. They are working with about 60 schools and collaborating with athletic directors to bring in this next wave of talent. Snyder said that with recruiting, you have to “think beyond the traditional.”
Snyder also said that they’re creating intelligence studies programs with colleges and universities. Getting a consortium set up with neighboring colleges and universities is key in building invested and educated professionals ready for the IC to hire. Places with higher levels of minorities or in more rural areas are often overlooked in the talent search. Snyder said, “We have the talent. It’s up to us to come up with innovative ways to attract the best talent.”
Gannon agreed and said that he’s extremely impressed with the younger talent that he has seen. But he shared that the IC needs to sell the value of national security work to the next generation. Security challenges aren’t going away. He said “we have to help security to innovate so that we can get the people we want in the best way. There has to be ways where the security establishment can feel like the default position of saying no is not good enough.”
Risk aversion can impede getting the right people in the door.
Kardell pointed out one important distinction between the military and civilian workforce. She shared that the military has education ingrained with their promotion opportunities, but the civilian side does not. In fact, moving around and leaving a position to pursue education can have a negative career impact for civilians, depending on the office. The next generation wants to move around, so Kardell pointed out that we don’t just need to clear talent. We have to be able to get them to stay. Snyder noted that the DNI invested resources in automating our current security systems. As those get more integrated, the hiring and onboarding process will speed up. But security isn’t the only piece that slows down the process.
The role of education in retention
Language skills and proficiency is a current IC talent gap. Kardell pushed that we need to incorporate education into the work day – both by incentivizing it and offering more opportunities. Instead of hoping for the right skills to walk in the door, Kardell said it’s about creating a learning workplace. She said, “Find out what the cutting edge things are and add them to the workday.”
Culture, language, and economics are all areas that are typically lacking, so embedding them into the overall process is the key to winning. Gannon noted that leaders play a key role in paying attention to their people and noticing when they need to be challenged. Lags in leadership can contribute to attrition.
Snyder confirmed that while it’s challenging to make the necessary changes, the pace has picked up. She shared, “we will see the maturation of these new initiatives much faster.” Snyder confirmed to an audience question that obscure languages are especially challenging within the IC. But she noted that ODNI is looking at ways to increase proficiency levels to fill that void. Specifically, Snyder said that it starts in the K-12 years, as well as focusing on the Centers for Academic Excellence. While security clearances can be an issue for some of the obscure languages, she reminded the audience that the IC clears individuals. Snyder said, “It’s okay to have a lot of travel or to have a family member who is abroad – that doesn’t disqualify someone.” She shared that part of the education process is getting candidates to understand the security clearance process and what’s needed to move through the system.
Snyder said that educating on the security clearance process is “helpful in moving the dial.”
