The push is on to reform hiring

A year ago, human resources officials began a complex overhaul effort of long-standing policies that have bogged down federal agencies' efforts to hire new talent. Many complain that bureaucratic hoops and hurdles drive away candidates with critical skills who simply can't wait an average of five months or more for a government job offer.

But in the slow march to reform, agencies are navigating some rough terrain that includes tight budgets, negative public perception and pay freezes. They are pushing ahead and beginning to fill open jobs more quickly, but a bigger challenge remains - making government an employer of choice for quality candidates and putting people with the right skills in the right positions.

President Obama in May 2010 directed agencies to implement changes that would allow them to hire faster and smarter. Reforms include dropping the much-maligned knowledge, skills and abilities essays in favor of resumes and cover letters. Critics say KSAs, which have long been a cornerstone of the federal application process, require cumbersome detail and drive away talented candidates who might not be well-versed in bureaucratese. In addition, hiring managers are being given more authority to identify workforce requirements and the skills needed for specific jobs, and to recruit and interview candidates. To keep quality applicants from moving on during the lengthy hiring process, agencies are shooting for 80 days from start to finish as the primary marker of success.

According to Angela Bailey, deputy associate director of recruitment and diversity at the Office of Personnel Management, agencies have made great progress on a number of reforms. The average time to hire, for example, has dropped from 160 days to 105, and nearly 90 percent of job announcements are three to five pages long versus up to 35. Agencies also have made significant strides toward eliminating KSAs and posting information about open positions in plain language, steps designed to improve the applicant's experience, she adds.

To ease the process for hiring managers, OPM has designed and delivered a three-day training course to boost their involvement in the recruitment process. Officials at 10 agencies are piloting a new assessment tool that tests applicant skills against job competencies. OPM also is focusing on constant communication with human resources offices to make sure no agencies are left behind.

Agencies are breaking down the hiring process into its component parts to determine what steps are necessary to bring on new employees and the time required for each hire, says Jeff Pon, former chief human capital officer for the Energy Department and now a principal at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

"It's not just about the speed of hire, it's about the ease of hire," he says. "Many agencies are now realizing what overall processes and tools they have that either make sense or don't make sense . . . We're trying to speed things up, but the whole process between [human resources] specialists and hiring managers is becoming more streamlined because there is greater focus and practice in actually performing the hiring process."

Agencies already are making headway, Bailey says, but she notes some friendly competition could reduce hiring times even further and eventually below the 80-day mark. "If the goal is to try to get somebody on board as quickly as possible because time is money for them, I think what you'll find is not a reevaluation but instead an actual push because success breeds success," she says. "Because they have seen the results of what happens when you're successful, they'll keep striving and pushing themselves to get better and better."

In the May issue of Government Executive, Emily Long looks at federal hiring. Click here to read the full story. Also, see the following:

• Best Practices Case Study: Hiring Reform at the Veterans Affairs Department
• Expert Dialogue: Better Hiring. Emily Long takes your questions on how the reform process is unfolding.