The Social Security Commissioner (SSA), Frank Bisignano has stated that he does not anticipate the agency’s workforce to face widespread layoffs. He does, however, expect employees to increase productivity levels as the SSA looks at artificial intelligence tools as a means of streamlining work.
In a Wednesday address to managers, the SSA Commissioner shared that he has no plans for a Reduction in Force, however, “AI will be a great enabler” at aiding employees with the growing workload.
Federal News Network obtained exclusive access to the transcript of this Wednesday address. Here is what you need to know.
What’s the Social Security Commissioner saying
In the largely unscripted 90-minute address on Wednesday, Bisignano said to the managers, “I have no intent to RIF people. If I wake up and find out we can do all our work with 20,000 people — which I can’t see that right now — we’ll be 20,000. If I wake up and say, ‘We need 80,000,’ we’ll be 80,000. I’ve got to determine what the right staffing level is,” — as per Federal News Network.
The SSA offered early retirement and separation incentive payments of up to $25,000 to employees in February when it planned to cut its workforce by 7,000. Many employees at regional offices were reassigned to field office positions as well.
“We’ve got a lot of turmoil. I think we reassigned a lot of people,” Bisignano said. “I guarantee you, we’re going to get the job done, and my dream is to not have to let people go,” Bisignano added. “If we can’t get the job done, that’s a different problem. You guys don’t want people who don’t give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, do you?”
Making the SSA a “digital-first” organization, as well as overhauling its website, is a goal of Bisignano’s so that beneficiaries, particularly retirees and individuals with disabilities, can have their queries answered online, rather than over the phone or in-person.
An AI “anti-fraud” check for claims filed by telephone was launched by the agency in mid-April, however, this added three days to the claim’s processing time.
“We’re never going to be client-first if we’re not digital-first in this era,” he asserted. “That’s the only way we’re going to win. You’re competing with experiences that people have with Amazon. If I can get something done at Amazon, why can’t I get something done the same way with Social Security? That’s how people think.”
According to Federal News Network, Bisignano — during his informal remarks — also spoke at length about his multi-generational household, a “viral” meeting with Pope Francis in 2015, and his father who worked several jobs in the federal government. He further shared that he had turned to Google to research what the SSA and its Commissioner does after the Trump Administration tapped him to lead the SSA.
“I don’t think the commissioner of Social Security is like a globally known title. It is to you, right? But, like, it wasn’t to me,” Bisignano said. “I’m like, ‘Well, what am I gonna do?’ So I’m Googling ‘Social Security.’ That’s one of my great skills, I’m one of the great Googlers on the East Coast … I’m like, ‘What the heck’s the commissioner of Social Security?'”
AI at the SSA
With regards to the rollout of new tools, deploying AI on the SSA’s phone lines is Bisignano’s first tech priority. “The phone has to have artificial intelligence to do the work. We can all do this in a year, and then your jobs will be more enriching,” he said. “The reason we get so many phone calls is because half the people have to call twice.”
Bisignano also said that eventually, the agency could get to a point where it uses AI tools for more complex tasks. “Do you think those people are happy waiting 230 days, 270 days? There’s a ton of things that AI can apply to move it along faster,” he said.
Employees will not be replaced by automation, Bisignano said. “I’ve always believed in, if you automate over here, well, you’re going to find jobs for people over somewhere else,” he said. “The best thing that could happen is we answer the phone in one minute, a lot of it through technology. We turned around claims — whether they are disability or retirement — at a much different speed.”
“We’re not going to get everything done in a week, but if we need to spend more money on tech, I’ll do it. I’m not sure I need to. We spend a boatload of money on tech. But we can make our technologists better, too,” he stated.
Bisignano said that these upgrades will be lead by DOGE employees. “Your bias has to be — because mine is — DOGE is helping make things better. It may not feel that way, but don’t believe everything you read,” he said. “I will ensure we have very smart, talented people that can get technical chores done. I’m counting on them helping me rebuild the website.”
The SSA Commissioner also said that he is focused on improving low employee satisfaction scores, according to Federal News Network. Data from Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government scorecard revealed that the “SSA received the lowest employee satisfaction scores among large agencies last year.”
“My job is to fix that. I’m not going to improve your job satisfaction by giving more cookies, alright? No balloons. It’s how do we make the jobs more meaningful? How do we service people well? How do we invest in technology?” Bisignano said.