Human Resources | Hire the Best Talent

The Federal Government often misses out on talented people because the application and hiring process is so cumbersome and slow that people choose not to apply for Federal positions or find other jobs before the hiring process is complete. To address this challenge, the Administration has emphasized reforming the hiring process so agencies can better compete against other employers for talented applicants. We are streamlining the end-to-end hiring process (from the first action by a manager to initiate the hiring process to the moment the new employee starts work) to create a positive experience for applicants, managers, and human resources specialists. We have also simplified the application process to make it less cumbersome for applicants. We are beginning to work to improve the selection process so that managers consistently have the best choice among applicants. Finally, we are helping veterans and people with disabilities to join the Federal workplace and are promoting an inclusive environment which encourages high performance.

Applicant Satisfaction with the Application Process

Applicant satisfaction with the application process is about more than the speed of hiring. It also depends on how cumbersome and long the application is, whether the application questions appear relevant, and how well applicants are kept aware of their status during the process. To learn more about these factors, the Chief Human Capital Officers developed a survey that asks applicants to assess their satisfaction with the application process on a 1-10 point scale, with 10 representing the highest level of satisfaction. The results of this survey are shown here by agency for those that received a minimum of 30 responses in a given quarter. The applicant satisfaction survey is now being sent to a randomly selected 50 percent sample of USAJOBS applicants who complete and submit their application. This is an increase from a randomly selected 5 percent sample size in previous quarters. As a consequence, agencies should see a significant increase in the number of applicant survey responses received.

Manager Satisfaction with Applicants

While speeding and easing the application process is critical, a well-functioning hiring process needs to find the best match for open positions in the Federal Government. To assess the quality of that match, the Chief Human Capital Officers also developed a survey to ask Federal managers how satisfied they are with the applicants referred to fill an opening. The Chief Human Capital Officers’ Managers’ Satisfaction Survey asks managers’ to rate on a 1-10 point scale (with 10 representing the highest level of satisfaction) their perception of workforce planning, interaction with and level of support from Human Resources, their involvement with reviewing applications, interviewing applicants and selecting final candidates, applicant quality, and their knowledge and use of hiring flexibilities. The chart presented here applies to agencies with a minimum of 30 responses in a given quarter and shows average manager satisfaction with referred applicants .

Time to Hire

The Administration’s priority is to speed the hiring process, and all Federal agencies are working to reduce the time it takes to hire new employees. Agencies have mapped their hiring process for all hires and tallied the average days from the time the hiring manager validates the need for the position to the time of entry on duty (EOD). The 24 CHCO agencies began reporting the average length of their hiring process (time to hire) against the 80-day model in December 2009. Their initial reported average time to hire in 2009 was approximately 131 days. As the methodology for capturing time to hire data was refined and clarified, the 2009 average was revised to 122 days. From May 2010 to November 2010, OPM assisted agencies with implementation of President Obama’s hiring reform initiative. The initial data provided in December 2010 showed that the average time to hire for 2010 was 105 days -- a reduction of almost 15 percent in less than a year. It should be noted that while all agencies are tracking time to hire for most positions, not all agencies are currently able to capture this data with an automated process and some agencies are not yet able to report times for all hires.

In FY2009 and FY2010, each CHCO agency calculated average time to hire the same way from year to year. However, between agencies there was some variation in the calculation method. A working group of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council partnered with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to develop consistent guidelines for calculating time to hire results. For 2011 and going forward, OPM and agency representatives developed a consistent approach for measuring time to hire, which will enable accurate comparisons for agency results. Agencies will begin reporting time to hire on a quarterly basis. The new guidance can be viewed here.

Hiring Reform Progress

Agencies are making progress in implementing the hiring reforms announced in May 2010. One part of hiring reform was to simplify job postings and the application process. The goal is to increase the percentage of job postings (also known as job opportunity announcements) that are concise; are written in plain language as opposed to bureaucratic jargon; require only uploading of resumes and cover letters; do not require specialized questionnaires or essays (also referred to as KSAs); and are using category rating as their primary vehicle for recruiting larger pools of highly qualified applicants from which managers can select. The chart here shows the progress over the past year for each of these improvements, compared to the baseline in 2009.

Building an Inclusive Workplace

Government agencies are continuing to recruit people of all backgrounds and create an inclusive environment. Agencies are promoting policies and practices to ensure that all segments of society, including people with disabilities and veterans, have an opportunity for employment and advancement. Of all the new hires made in FY2010, 26 percent were veterans and 7 percent have a disability.

Agency Breakdown

Agency Breakdown
Department	No. of Days to Hire for FY2010	Applicant Satisfaction (1 to 10)	Manager Satisfaction (1 to 10)	% of Employees that are Veterans in Q3 FY2011	% of New Hires that are Veterans in Q1-Q3 FY2011	% of Employees with Disabilities in Q3 FY2011	% of New Hires with Disabilities in Q1-Q3 FY2011
Department of Agriculture	131	7.8	7.8	10.5	7.6	7.5	8.2
Department of Commerce	105	7.5	7.9	11.8	12.8	5.4	7.3
Department of the Interior	125	7.8	8.1	15.2	13.1	7.6	10.6
Department of Justice	121	8.2	*	23.1	24.4	3.6	5.3
Department of Labor	92	N/A	7.8	18.4	24.6	7.1	8.4
Department of State	100	7.4	7.9	17.8	16.3	5.1	3.2
Department of The Treasury	146	8.2	8.0	11.3	8.0	8.8	10.3
Office of Personnel Management	103	8.1	*	23.9	41.5	7.1	11.8
Social Security Administration	77	8.5	8.8	10.9	18.9	8.4	13.7
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	125	7.6	*	20.4	18.5	6.9	*
Department of Veterans Affairs	90	8.1	7.4	29.3	34.6	10.9	13.5
General Services Administration	89	7.3	8.4	22.0	26.4	5.7	9.1
National Science Foundation	98	N/A	*	6.0	3.2	8.4	*
Environmental Protection Agency	161	7.6	7.8	8.1	9.7	6.7	5.0
Department of Transportation	133	7.7	7.8	35.8	32.4	6.7	8.5
Department of Homeland Security	119	8.2	7.7	26.5	19.6	4.3	6.9
U.S. Agency for International Development	77	8.3	*	7.3	8.5	4.4	5.6
Small Business Administration	97	7.5	*	15.0	19.7	6.8	12.1
Department of Health and Human Services	80	7.7	7.4	6.4	5.9	6.4	9.1
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	98	8.3	8.2	11.9	12.4	6.0	6.8
Department of Housing and Urban Development	76	7.8	*	13.5	11.6	8.0	8.0
Department of Energy	96	7.5	8.1	20.9	19.6	6.8	4.9
Department of Education	88	N/A	7.8	8.8	9.9	6.6	5.1
Department of Defense	75	8.2	7.3	44.7	48.7	7.2	5.6

These data are from the OPM EHRI-SDM. Individual Departments may have additional, updated data for their respective agencies. * Insufficient response or small number of hires

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not currently have an agency page on Performance.gov. For more information about NRC, please click here.

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Agency Breakdown