Michaelle “Mickey” Theall

I was there. I watched my colleagues pack their things and say goodbye. I told my team not to answer the phones. And I carried the same fear the employees were carrying — while holding the line for all of them. This is what 2025 looked like inside federal HR operations. And this is what we have to do differently.

When we think about federal government challenges, we usually think about high-level policy debates, budget gridlock, or massive IT overhauls. But there is a hidden crisis quietly undermining agencies from the inside out. It isn’t happening in abstract policy meetings—it’s happening every single day at operational desks. It is the federal HR operations crisis, and the numbers behind it are staggering. For more than two decades, the federal government’s HR skills gaps have landed it squarely...

Follow me... At 6 p.m., just 24 hours after an employee’s death is reported, a Benefits or Retirement Specialist is on the phone with the next of kin. This is the unseen reality of federal HR, where professionals navigate life-altering events and an overwhelming, compounding workload. This blog is a direct challenge to agency leadership: it's time to stop the reckless neglect of this vital field and invest in the people who hold the government's workforce together.