Agencies to begin filing quarterly reports on length of hiring process

Federal agencies this summer must begin submitting regular reports on the time it takes to bring new talent on board.

In a memo sent on Tuesday to chief human capital officers, Charles Grimes, acting associate director for employee services at the Office of Personnel Management, outlined requirements for submitting time-to-hire reports.

According to the memo, data collected on a quarterly basis will help agencies effectively monitor progress in reducing the average hiring time for government jobs.

President Obama in May 2010 directed agencies to implement changes to improve government hiring, including reducing the time it takes to fill open positions. Agencies are shooting for 80 days from start to finish in the hiring process as a marker of success.

According to the new guidance, agencies in fiscal 2011 must collect and report time-to-hire data for delegated examining hires -- those hired under agencies' authority to post jobs independently and fill them with external hires -- and, when possible, positions filled through announcements posted at USAJobs, the government's comprehensive online jobs board.

Beginning in fiscal 2012, agencies will transition to reporting information for all new hires through USAJobs, as well as data for mission-critical occupations and commonly filled positions. According to the memo, this timeline will give agencies the opportunity to adapt their systems to support the new data collection requirements.

As of June 30, agencies will be required to submit information from the first two quarters of fiscal 2011. Going forward, reports will be due on a quarterly basis.

John Palguta, vice president for policy at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, said specific metrics drive behavior in a way that broader goals do not. The level of detail required in these reports also will provide solid benchmarks against which agencies can measure their progress, he said.

"If you really want to figure out how good a job they are doing on hiring and are they really getting faster and better, you need to break it down by different [hiring] authorities being used, what types of jobs are being filled and whether they've gone through USAJobs," said Palguta. "This is going to definitely help get a handle on who's doing a good job, who's lagging behind, and in what areas do we need to pay special attention."

Palguta also said he is somewhat optimistic the reports will be used to improve the process, in part because agencies, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and the public are focused on changes in federal hiring. But if the data is not used, agencies are going to start ignoring the requirements, he added.