(CNN) Some members in the federal workforce are voicing concerns about the incoming Trump administration's readiness to assume control of the federal bureaucracy on Friday, citing unread transition memos, vacant administration posts and a host of appointees with scant government experience.

Staffers at the most senior levels, including in the White House and at federal agencies, have met with their incoming counterparts. Deeper into the hierarchy, however, there's been little contact between the staffers currently operating the levers of government and the team who takes over when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at noon on January 20.

"I don't think they are ready for prime-time," said a longtime Obama administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe concerns about the state of the transition.

"They are not ready," said a Republican who is close to Trump's transition.

Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on Wednesday, November 9.

Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on Wednesday, November 9.

Trump shakes hands with President Barack Obama following a meeting in the Oval Office on November 10. Obama told his successor that he wanted him to succeed and would do everything he could to ensure a smooth transition.

Trump walks with his wife and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a meeting at the US Capitol on November 10.

Trump walks with his wife and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a meeting at the US Capitol on November 10.

Ryan listens as Trump speaks to the press at the US Capitol on November 10. Trump talked about his eagerness to join forces with Ryan to begin implementing new policies.

House Speaker Paul Ryan shows Trump and his wife, Melania, the Speaker's Balcony at the US Capitol on Thursday, November 10.

House Speaker Paul Ryan shows Trump and his wife, Melania, the Speaker's Balcony at the US Capitol on Thursday, November 10.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews Trump and his family at his New York home on Friday, November 11. It was Trump's first television interview since the election.

Trump is flanked by Pence and Romney after a meeting in Bedminster Township, New Jersey, on Saturday, November 19.

Trump is flanked by Pence and Romney after a meeting in Bedminster Township, New Jersey, on Saturday, November 19.

Trump waves to a crowd at The New York Times building after meeting with some of the newspaper's reporters, editors and columnists on Tuesday, November 22. Six takeaways from the meeting

Trump and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney share a meal in New York on Tuesday, November 29. Romney was reportedly in the running for secretary of state.

Trump visits the Carrier air-conditioning company in Indianapolis on Thursday, December 1. Carrier announced that it had reached a deal with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is currently governor of Indiana, to keep about 1,000 of 1,400 jobs at its Indianapolis plant rather than move them to Mexico. The Carrier plant had been a theme of Trump's campaign promise to prevent more jobs from being outsourced to other countries.

Trump speaks to members of the media at Trump Tower in New York on December 6.

Trump speaks to members of the media at Trump Tower in New York on December 6.

Trump greets retired Marine Gen. James Mattis at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, December 6. Trump said he would nominate Mattis as his defense secretary.

Trump shakes hands with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, December 8. Trump re-introduced Branstad as his pick for US ambassador to China.

Trump waves during the Army-Navy football game, which was played in Baltimore on Saturday, December 10.

Trump waves during the Army-Navy football game, which was played in Baltimore on Saturday, December 10.

Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state, the transition team announced December 13. Tillerson, seen here at a conference in 2015, has no formal foreign-policy experience, but he has built close relationships with many world leaders by closing massive deals across Eurasia and the Middle East on behalf of the world's largest energy company.

Trump selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right, to be his nominee for energy secretary, which would make Perry the head of an agency he once suggested he would eliminate.

Trump and rapper Kanye West speak to the press after meeting at Trump Tower in New York on December 13. Trump called West a "good man" and told journalists that they have been "friends for a long time." West later tweeted that he met with Trump to discuss "multicultural issues."

Trump, Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan wave during an event in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, December 13. "He's like a fine wine," Trump said of Ryan at the rally, which was part of his "thank you" tour to states that helped him win the election. "Every day that goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more."

Three of Trump's children -- from left, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric -- attend the meeting with tech leaders on December 14.

Three of Trump's children -- from left, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric -- attend the meeting with tech leaders on December 14.

Trump meets with technology executives in New York on Wednesday, December 14. From left are Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon; Larry Page, chief executive officer of Google's parent company Alphabet; Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook; and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The three main areas discussed were jobs, immigration and China, according to a source briefed on the meeting.

Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway talks to the press in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, December 15. Conway, who was Trump's campaign manager, will work in his administration as "counselor to the president," it was announced on Thursday, December 22.

Trump attends a meeting with Steve Bannon, chief White House strategist and senior counselor, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Wednesday, December 21. Trump spent the holidays in Mar-a-Lago.

Trump stands with legendary boxing promoter Don King after meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, December 28. Trump and King met to discuss the relationship between Israel and the United States.

Trump stands with Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Asia's richest man, as they walk to speak with reporters at Trump Tower on January 9. Ma met with Trump to tease plans for creating "one million" jobs in the United States. Trump praised Ma after the meeting as a "great, great entrepreneur and one of the best in the world."

Trump gets on an elevator after speaking with reporters at New York's Trump Tower on January 9.

Trump gets on an elevator after speaking with reporters at New York's Trump Tower on January 9.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, arrives on Capitol Hill for a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday, January 9. Kushner, a 35-year-old businessman-turned-political strategist, will be senior adviser to the president, a senior transition official told CNN.

US Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee for attorney general, is sworn in during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday, January 10. Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling high-level positions for the new administration.

Trump speaks at Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday, January 11. In his first news conference since winning the election, a combative Trump made clear he will not mute his style when he is inaugurated on January 20. He lashed out at media and political foes alike.

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Martin Luther King III after they met at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, January 16. Afterward, King said the meeting was "constructive" and that the two discussed the importance of voting accessibility. Trump didn't speak to the media about the meeting.

Deep differences over policy and tone have divided the incoming and outgoing administrations for months, but both sides have insisted that political differences would not prevent a smooth hand off of power. Indeed, the Obama and Trump teams have made shows of cooperation, including last week when top members of Trump's incoming Cabinet and White House staff participated in tabletop exercises with Obama's team.

But officials at the White House and federal agencies who have been preparing for months to hand off memos with detailed instructions on presidential logistics and navigating the federal bureaucracy say there's no one in place to deliver their documents to -- and have little faith those people will be named by Friday.

At a White House function Monday for Obama aides who have served for all eight years of the administration, senior officials were heard wondering aloud whether to expect any contact from the Trump administration before they packed their desks and vacated their offices.

"People running major offices in the White House currently have had no contact with their successors," said one person who attended the function. "It is stunning. And we always kept thinking they're going to have a plan, they're going to come through at the last minute. We're less than 48 hours away. This should be concerning to anyone."

Trump's national security transition team has been slow to interact with the Obama administration's National Security Council, according to a source close to the transition, who cited delays in the appointments of key staff and getting required security clearances. NSC staff have written a series of briefing materials to bring the Trump team up to speed and there is uncertainty within the Obama administration on whether Trump's team have read them, the source said.

Trump's transition on Wednesday downplayed any suggestion the transition was lagging behind.

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"The level and comprehensive nature by which this transition has conducted itself will become the gold standard going forward, because it's not just the nominees and the prep and the White House staff, but it's the level of continuity of government, and peaceful transfer of power, that we have concentrated on," said Sean Spicer, Trump's incoming White House Press Secretary, on Wednesday.

"I would just give a shout out to the Obama administration," he said. "President Obama, Mrs. Obama, Denis McDonough, and their various counterparts, especially on the White House staff, have been really gracious with their time and their support on the logistical nature to make sure that we have the support that we need."

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford also had reassuring comments Wednesday.

"We talked about the state and nonstate challenges we have [and] spoke about our priorities we've had in our national military strategy," Dunford said of his transition team discussions, according to DoD News.

According to a person close to the transition, Trump's new administration does have beachhead teams prepared to walk into each agency on Friday when Trump is sworn in. These teams range in size, from one to 30 people, and are staff-level jobs, which don't require Senate confirmation. Technically temporary presidential appointments, at least some of those hires are expected to become permanent once the administration gets fully up and running.

But the transition source conceded Wednesday that beyond the Cabinet level posts, the top tiers of leadership in various federal departments remain largely unknown.

Republicans who have observed the transition at close range describe a stalled hiring process after Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, was ousted from his role leading the transition team shortly following November's election.

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Some of those Republicans complain the President-elect and his closest advisers placed too great an emphasis early in the process on barring those in the party who had disavowed Trump during the campaign -- many of whom had experience working in past Republican administrations.

Current administration officials and wary Republicans alike were relieved when Trump named Joe Hagin, a veteran of George W. Bush's White House, to the key post of deputy chief of staff for operations. The move places an experienced hand in charge of the complicated world of presidential logistics.

But, say current and former administration officials, one person alone can't be expected to manage the complex and deeply engrained system of running the executive branch. Those officials said that presidential scheduling, bookkeeping, document flow, and travel is a deeply complex system that requires a modicum of knowledge at all staff levels in order to prevent major disruptions in services.

Managing a president's day-to-day schedule involves deep coordination both with the Secret Service and the US military, which handles the president's meals, his aircraft, his secure communication equipment, and his medical care. Trump has named government outsiders to the roles responsible for organizing his logistics, including appointing his former head of security as director of Oval Office operations.

Another area of concern cited by an official: paper flow, a mundane but vital function of any White House. The White House releases thousands of documents yearly that have been approved by the president, many continuing obscure programs already in place.

"Let one piece of paperwork get lost and suddenly a whole set of sanctions is lifted," one official warned.

Trump, like past presidents, will work through a staff secretary to manage paper flow and circulate important documents among his senior staff. A name hasn't officially been put forward by Trump's transition team, but reports have pegged Rob Porter, Sen. Orrin Hatch's chief of staff, as Trump's pick. President Barack Obama named a staff secretary in November 2008, shortly after he was elected.

Questions over the Trump team's preparation for office have even trickled to the East Wing, where permanent staff -- some of them preparing to work for their sixth president -- are awaiting marching orders. Unlike his predecessors, Trump hasn't named a decorator to assist in redesigning and personalizing his private living quarters and the Oval Office.

The National Gallery of Art, which has lent artwork to White Houses dating back decades, say they haven't received any requests from Trump or his team. Meanwhile, the selection of 20th Century art the Obamas used to decorate their own living quarters has been returned.