Managers told to get real about how long it takes to fill jobs

Most federal managers think it should take less than two months to fill job vacancies, but their expectations may need readjusting, according to a Merit Systems Protection Board study.

In a survey of managers, MSPB found that 73 percent think their organizations take too long to fill vacancies. MSPB published the results of the survey in the latest issue of its newsletter, Issues of Merit.

Managers said getting their personnel office to announce vacancies was the most time-consuming part of the process.

MSPB concluded that in most agencies, it is unrealistic to expect that a job can be filled even in two months, because of the many steps involved in merit-based hiring.

"This information suggests that while it may be possible for personnel offices to improve their timeliness on recruitment and placement actions, supervisors may also need to adjust their expectations," MSPB said.

Here's a look at some steps in the merit hiring process and an idea of how likely it is that these steps could be completed in a week or less: