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Federal Hiring Process Improvement Initiatives Face Uncertainty

As Angie Quirarte, a senior talent strategy advisor in the Executive Office of the President, reflects on her experiences over the past year, she identifies a significant challenge facing federal hiring practices. During a recent webinar focused on talent management, she emphasized that many federal agencies remain unaware of the hiring tools available to them, creating an “information vacuum” that complicates efforts to implement the Biden administration’s federal hiring initiatives.

In August, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a strategic plan aimed at enhancing the federal hiring process. This comprehensive framework seeks to improve the experience not only for applicants but also for hiring managers and human resources officials across various agencies.

Key aspects of the plan include ensuring that hiring managers have access to the USAJOBS portal, which contains over 1.5 million resumes. Additionally, it promotes the use of shared certificates, allowing multiple agencies to recruit candidates from the same job posting, thereby optimizing the hiring process.

“This memo outlines specific practices and strategies we encourage agencies to embrace,” Quirarte stated, highlighting the proactive approaches being encouraged to modernize hiring practices.

While agencies have started to report early successes in implementing these strategies, there is concern about the potential impact of a second Trump administration, which may push for a reduction in the federal workforce. The uncertainty surrounding this political shift could hinder ongoing progress in federal hiring enhancements.

In a November update on the President’s Management Agenda, the White House showcased initiatives that align with the objectives set forth in the OMB/OPM plan. One notable initiative is the OPM’s launch of the “Federal Hiring Experience Learning Series”, aimed at educating hiring managers and HR officials, with ten events held since September. Furthermore, in the same month, USAJOBS introduced an online tool designed to connect job seekers with open federal positions based on their interests.

Despite these advancements, neither the OMB nor the OPM provided comments on further actions taken by agencies as part of the hiring improvement plan. Data from an OPM dashboard indicates that the average time to hire for critical federal positions rose from 97 days in fiscal year 2021 to 101.2 days in fiscal year 2023, underscoring the challenges still facing the hiring process.

Steve Krauss, a director at OPM who participated in the webinar, noted that regular inter-agency meetings have been instrumental in raising awareness about available solutions for improving talent management. “For virtually every challenge we face, there’s someone out there who has either addressed it successfully or is on the verge of doing so,” he said. “Effective networking and sharing best practices within the federal community can significantly accelerate progress.”

Krauss further commented on the plan’s emphasis on “investing in modern, standardized human capital systems,” noting that many agencies rely on disparate systems from various software vendors, which complicates HR processes. “The fragmentation of HR IT systems considerably slows operations, often extending the time required to onboard qualified candidates,” he explained.

He pointed out that leveraging artificial intelligence could offer a path toward streamlining these systems, citing OPM’s intention to modernize its decades-old retirement system code using AI technologies.

However, the realization of these technological advancements hinges on adequate funding. The anticipated Trump administration has signaled its intention to reduce federal spending alongside cuts to the workforce, which raises concerns about the sustainability of ongoing improvements.

Jonathan Alboum, a former CIO at the Agriculture Department and now ServiceNow’s federal chief technology officer, provided a broader perspective on the situation. Post-webinar, he remarked that improving talent management has historically been a bipartisan interest. “There is inherent value in refining the hiring process, increasing transparency, and utilizing existing data to inform decision-making,” he stated. He stressed the necessity of having data on the skill sets of federal employees to facilitate effective workforce evolution tailored to emerging needs, such as advancements in artificial intelligence and other policy initiatives.

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