14 May 2010

Obama: Improve Federal Recruitment and Hiring

http://cryptome.org/0001/pm051110.htm

DOD Announces Release of Net Generation Guide

http://www.cio.gov/Documents/NetGen.pdf

If the US reduced the government workforce and services to 10% of their current levels, that would set a standard for ending the worldwide government-debt Ponzi. Then, convert to useful purposes the most officious, bloated and inefficient workforce and infrastructure on earth. Start with 95% cut-back on national security and especially presidential protection, an exhorbitantly expensive farce cloaking the cost of political grandstanding. Bribing local police to help this charade is despicable. Travel, accommodations and security for Obama's Democrat fundraiser in New York City last night cost far more taxpayer money than the funds raised. Way too many official idlers on the scene, glaring, joking, sipping java, hoping to be photographed protecting their jobs. Bill the Dems for the junket's full cost. In the future, Obama, stay safe at home, skip secure comms, social media outreach, get data-spied, give up secrecy, be cheap.

[Federal Register: May 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 93)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 27157-27159]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14my10-125]



                        Presidential Documents




[[Page 27157]]


                Memorandum of May 11, 2010


                Improving the Federal Recruitment and Hiring
                Process

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
                Agencies

                To deliver the quality services and results the
                American people expect and deserve, the Federal
                Government must recruit and hire highly qualified
                employees, and public service should be a career of
                choice for the most talented Americans. Yet the
                complexity and inefficiency of today's Federal hiring
                process deters many highly qualified individuals from
                seeking and obtaining jobs in the Federal Government.

                I therefore call on executive departments and agencies
                (agencies) to overhaul the way they recruit and hire
                our civilian workforce. Americans must be able to apply
                for Federal jobs through a commonsense hiring process
                and agencies must be able to select high-quality
                candidates efficiently and quickly. Moreover, agency
                managers and supervisors must assume a leadership role
                in recruiting and selecting employees from all segments
                of our society. Human resource offices must provide
                critical support for these efforts. The ability of
                agencies to perform their missions effectively and
                efficiently depends on a talented and engaged
                workforce, and we must reform our hiring system to
                further strengthen that workforce.

                By the authority vested in me as President by the
                Constitution and the laws of the United States,
                including section 3301 of title 5, United States Code,
                I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. Directions to Agencies. Agency heads shall
                take the following actions no later than November 1,
                2010:

                    (a) consistent with merit system principles and
                other requirements of title 5, United States Code, and
                subject to guidance to be issued by the Office of
                Personnel Management (OPM), adopt hiring procedures
                that:

(1) eliminate any requirement that applicants respond to essay-style
questions when submitting their initial application materials for any
Federal job;

(2) allow individuals to apply for Federal employment by submitting resumes
and cover letters or completing simple, plain language applications, and
assess applicants using valid, reliable tools; and

(3) provide for selection from among a larger number of qualified
applicants by using the ``category rating'' approach (as authorized by
section 3319 of title 5, United States Code), rather than the ``rule of 3''
approach, under which managers may only select from among the three highest
scoring applicants;

                    (b) require that managers and supervisors with
                responsibility for hiring are:

(1) more fully involved in the hiring process, including planning current
and future workforce requirements, identifying the skills required for the
job, and engaging actively in the recruitment and, when applicable, the
interviewing process; and

(2) accountable for recruiting and hiring highly qualified employees and
supporting their successful transition into Federal service, beginning with
the first performance review cycle starting after November 1, 2010;

                    (c) provide the OPM and the Office of Management
                and Budget (OMB) timelines and targets to:

[[Page 27158]]

(1) improve the quality and speed of agency hiring by:

  (i) reducing substantially the time it takes to hire mission-critical and
commonly filled positions;

  (ii) measuring the quality and speed of the hiring process; and

  (iii) analyzing the causes of agency hiring problems and actions that
will be taken to reduce them; and

(2) provide every agency hiring manager training on effective, efficient,
and timely ways to recruit and hire well-qualified individuals;

                    (d) notify individuals applying for Federal
                employment through USAJOBS, an OPM-approved Federal
                web-based employment search portal, about the status of
                their application at key stages of the application
                process; and
                    (e) identify a senior official accountable for
                leading agency implementation of this memorandum.

                Sec. 2. Directions to the OPM. The OPM shall take the
                following actions no later than 90 days after the date
                of this memorandum:

                    (a) establish a Government-wide performance review
                and improvement process for hiring reform actions
                described in section 1 of this memorandum, including:

(1) a timeline, benchmarks, and indicators of progress;

(2) a goal-focused, data-driven system for holding agencies accountable for
improving the quality and speed of agency hiring, achieving agency hiring
reform targets, and satisfying merit system principles and veterans'
preference requirements; and

                    (b) develop a plan to promote diversity in the
                Federal workforce, consistent with the merit system
                principle (codified at 5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(1)) that the
                Federal Government should endeavor to achieve a
                workforce from all segments of society;
                    (c) evaluate the Federal Career Intern Program
                established by Executive Order 13162 of July 6, 2000,
                provide recommendations concerning the future of that
                program, and propose a framework for providing
                effective pathways into the Federal Government for
                college students and recent college graduates;
                    (d) provide guidance or propose regulations, as
                appropriate, to streamline and improve the quality of
                job announcements for Federal employment to make sure
                they are easily understood by applicants;
                    (e) evaluate the effectiveness of shared registers
                used in filling positions common across multiple
                agencies and develop a strategy for improving agencies'
                use of these shared registers for commonly filled
                Government-wide positions;
                    (f) develop a plan to increase the capacity of
                USAJOBS to provide applicants, hiring managers, and
                human resource professionals with information to
                improve the recruitment and hiring processes; and
                    (g) take such further administrative action as
                appropriate to implement sections 1 and 2 of this
                memorandum.

                Sec. 3. Senior Administration Officials. Agency heads
                and other senior administration officials visiting
                university or college campuses on official business are
                encouraged to discuss career opportunities in the
                Federal Government with students.

                Sec. 4. Reporting. (a) The OPM, in coordination with
                the OMB and in consultation with other agencies, shall
                develop a public human resources website to:

(1) track key human resource data, including progress on hiring reform
implementation; and

(2) assist senior agency leaders, hiring managers, and human resource
professionals with identifying and replicating best practices within the
Federal Government for improving new employee quality and the hiring
process.

[[Page 27159]]

                    (b) Each agency shall regularly review its key
                human resource performance and work with the OPM and
                the OMB to achieve timelines and targets for correcting
                agency hiring problems.
                    (c) The OPM shall submit to the President an annual
                report on the impact of hiring initiatives set forth in
                this memorandum, including its recommendations for
                further improving the Federal Government's hiring
                process.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Except as expressly
                stated herein, nothing in this memorandum shall be
                construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(1) authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head
thereof; or

(2) functions of the Director of the OMB relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
                party against the United States, its departments,
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
                agents, or any other person.
                    (d) The Director of the OPM, in consultation with
                the OMB, may grant an exception to any of the
                requirements set forth in section 1 of this memorandum
                to an agency that demonstrates that exceptional
                circumstances prevent it from complying with that
                requirement.

                Sec. 6. Publication. The Director of the OPM is hereby
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in
                the Federal Register.
                

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, May 11, 2010

[FR Doc. 2010-11733 Filed 5-13-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 6325-01-P