Ten Hiring Fixes

The Office of Personnel Management sent a memo to agencies earlier this year that details "10 easy ways" to improve hiring.

• Eliminate self-wrapping red tape. Most of the complications and delays that remain in the federal hiring process stem from internal agency procedures: excessive layers of approval, redundant reviews and unnecessary paperwork.
• Use plain language in job announcements. Many are also flat-out boring, repeating lengthy passages from position descriptions that would confuse all but the most determined candidates.
• Recruit veterans. There is no better source of talent for the federal government than those who have completed their military service.
• Adopt an accelerated hiring model. Federal hiring does not have to be a protracted process. To speed up action and achieve this goal, management must make a commitment.
• Compete on campus. You have the authority to bring in student interns and recent college graduates on the spot, without any protracted competition.
• Offer incentives for talent. The federal government can compete with the private sector when it comes to starting salaries, using recruiting incentives (signing bonuses, relocation expenses, student loan repayments and superior qualifications appointments) that already exist.
• Use on-the-spot hiring authority. Direct-hire authority allows agencies to literally hire right there and then to meet mission-critical staffing needs or severe shortages.
• Leverage new hiring flexibilities. With category rating, you can place applicants in broad categories according to their qualifications, and then, subject to veterans preference requirements, select any candidate from within the top group.
• Go after outstanding scholars. The Outstanding Scholar program allows federal managers to supplement competitive hiring processes for certain entry-level positions covered by the decree by hiring college graduates who have a 3.5 grade point average or above, or who are in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes.
• Fully engage the HR staff. Providing sufficient, well-trained support is vital, so it's important to invest in your human resources staff.