OPM launches online recruitment tool for hiring managers

Agency managers now have access to a Web tool that will ease their involvement in the hiring process, a top official said Wednesday.

During a speech at a federal recruitment strategy conference in Washington, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry announced the launch of USAJobsRecruit, an online community for agencies to showcase best practices, share marketing and outreach strategies, and post hiring events. The one-stop shop gives hiring managers and human resources personnel access to recruiting guidance and communication tools, such as discussion forums, chats and blogs, he said.

USAJobsRecruit is designed to further manager involvement in the hiring process, Angela Bailey, deputy associate director of recruitment and diversity at OPM, said in an interview with Government Executive. The website includes a tool, developed in partnership with the Education Department, that allows hiring managers and HR staff to search for schools that offer specific degrees or academic specialties. The school sorter will allow agencies to better target their recruiting, she said.

Berry also encouraged agencies to take advantage of student hiring through the new Pathways Program. Presidential Management Fellows in particular offer a qualified pool of candidates for federal jobs, he said.

"If you like them, and they fit with the chemistry of your organization, hire them," he said. "They can start the next day. I can't make it any easier than that."

Additional investment in college partnerships is a cost-effective recruitment strategy, Michael Kane, chief human capital officer at the Energy Department, told conference attendees during an earlier presentation. Former interns can spread the word about their experience, as well as create a pathway to professors willing to recommend high performers for jobs, he said.

"They're there every day," said Kane. "They know the mission. Who better to persuade people that we are what we say we are than those students?"

To encourage new hires, agencies should stress the benefits available to employees, such as a family-friendly environment, flexibility of health insurance options, work-life programs and opportunities to work across many disciplines, Kane said. They also should focus on performance and communicating with employees. "It's how you manage your own skill, it's how you learn, it's how you progress," he said.

Mentoring is another way to encourage new employees and improve collaboration and innovation, Berry said. OPM this spring launched a pilot program to match managers with younger workers. The agency currently has 30 mentor-mentee pairs and used a speed-dating format to introduce them.

"One of the things we will do well through this mentorship is build bridges of communication," he said. "I think it will help us in a lot of ways."