Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO reported on: (1) past and ongoing gainsharing efforts in the Department of Defense (DOD); (2) reported cost savings, productivity improvements, and other benefits resulting from these efforts; (3) barriers to and elements necessary for the success of such efforts; and (4) gainsharing trends in private industry, including their applicability to the federal sector.

GAO found that DOD gainsharing efforts have demonstrated that individual or small group programs, when properly designed, implemented, and maintained, can generate cost savings and productivity improvements. According to DOD officials, the major barriers to gainsharing programs are the lack of specific legislation authorizing such programs and the absence of Office of Personnel Management policies and guidance. In light of the trends in private industry to large-group, participative gainsharing programs, GAO questioned whether the federal government should apply such programs in its environment.