The People Pronouncement

Transcription

1 The People Pronouncement Real Hiring Reform Comes to Washington by Jeff Pon pon_ Ron Sanders Eric Vazquez

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3 The People Pronouncement Real Hiring Reform Comes to Washington President Obama's memorandum titled, "Improving the Federal Recruitment and Hiring Process", issued on May 11, 2010, seeks to bring lasting reform to a federal hiring process that has a history of lengthy delays, confusing protocols, and a general lack of transparency. By November 1, 2010, each agency must report its progress on a number of fronts, including what has been done to reduce dramatically end-to-end hiring time, measure the quality and speed of the hiring process, and analyze the root causes of hiring problems and the actions taken to reduce them. To address these challenges, President Obama has put the task squarely on the shoulders of agency leaders, who will be held accountable for overseeing the planning for, recruiting, and hiring of talent. This is no small feat; but for the federal government s cadre of chief human capital officers, the president s memorandum provides an unprecedented opportunity to obtain the necessary buy-in from senior leadership to affect real and lasting change in an area that heretofore has been intractable. An Opportunity for Real Reform On its surface, the presidential memorandum issued on May 11, 2010, might have appeared as just another in a long series of attempts to reform the federal hiring and recruiting process. Over the past 30 years, chief human capital officers (CHCOs), hiring managers, and senior executives have seen many proposals introduced then run out of steam. Therein lies the challenge: proposing such reforms and making them a reality are indeed two separate matters. However, this new directive is not just another HR initiative. In fact, it has several characteristics that distinguish it from prior initiatives. For one, the president has put his imprimatur on federal hiring reform, an unprecedented development unto itself. On top of making the issue a priority for Key Actions to Take Apply the rigors of real process re-engineering and continuous improvement to your internal hiring processes to streamline them and eliminate self-inflicted bureaucracy Get out in front of future vacancies by leveraging competency modeling and workforce planning tools Establish an employment brand in the labor market that drives effective candidate outreach across traditional and emerging channels Develop innovative, state-of-the-art candidate assessment techniques, particularly for entry-level candidates in mission-critical occupations, to help manage the surge in applications that will have resulted from a streamlined hiring process Evaluate the maturity of overall hiring and selection processes to continue to meet Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards, and keep pace with best practices in public and private sectors cabinet and agency heads, President Obama made a point in the memorandum of tasking managers and supervisors to be fully involved in the hiring process. Going forward, they will be held accountable for 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. 1

4 The White House directive has no shortage of influential supporters throughout the Administration and in the halls of Congress. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry, who has been recognized for his efforts to modernize civil service practices, has since upped the ante. Not only did he commit substantial OPM resources in support of the president s mandate, but he along with Jeff Zients, the government s chief performance officer was instrumental in making hiring reform an integral part of agency budget submissions. In that regard, hiring reform is one of six strategies outlined by Zients to improve government performance. Finally, Congress has taken up the challenge, with legislation pending to codify in statute much of what the president and OPM have made a matter of policy. From Back Office to Front and Center The success or failure of hiring reform has now been placed on agency leaders. Each federal agency had until May 21, 2010 to submit the name of the senior official designated to lead its hiring reform effort. Finding the right one, someone who is committed and tenacious, is the first key to successful reform and a strategic imperative for federal agencies. Why? We know that the critical importance of human capital is not uniformly recognized. For CHCOs, the president s memorandum provides an opportunity to change that. It serves to elevate the issue to senior leadership. Making the mission case for dramatically transforming the decades-old hiring process shifts its focus from the latest human resources (HR) crisis to ensuring that the agency is better able to compete for our nation s best and brightest people. CHCOs must co-lead this effort and, in so doing, they must change the image and the mindset of the HR function. HR can no longer be viewed as a back office or second-tier administrative operation; rather, as the president has stated (and CHCOs have always known), an agency s mission depends on HR s ability to facilitate and enable the recruitment and retention of talent. While all federal agencies will be impacted by the new hiring reform requirements, each link in the chain of command faces unique challenges. Senior agency leaders, in concert with their CHCOs, will be responsible for leading and then institutionalizing the reforms, to include developing (and, where necessary, defending) enterprise hiring and selection tools and processes. Line managers working in partnership with front-line HR professionals will be in charge of making those reforms a reality, from writing plain language job descriptions and vacancy announcements to selling recruits and assessing candidates. From Vision to Reality in Short Order President Obama backed up his memorandum with a hard-and-fast, 180-day deadline for federal agencies to execute its mandates. Thus, by November 1, 2010, all agencies must, among other directives: Dramatically reduce end-to-end hiring time Measure the quality and speed of the hiring process Analyze the causes of hiring problems and take actions to reduce them Train managers on effective and efficient ways to recruit and hire Notify applicants of their status through USAJOBS Identify a senior official to lead agency implementation of hiring reform Eliminate any requirement that applicants respond to essay-style questions when submitting their initial application materials Now that the clock is ticking, CHCOs and HR organizations are grappling with how best to respond. While each organization is unique, our experience working in partnership with federal agencies has helped to highlight successful strategies for instituting meaningful improvements in the near, medium, and long-term in four key areas: HR business process re-engineering, workforce planning, recruiting and outreach, and candidate screening. 2

5 HR Business Process Re-engineering Much of the bureaucracy in federal hiring is selfinflicted: well-intentioned procedures are often added to address one internal concern or another, but in the long run they tend to impede progress. Real process improvement requires a holistic view, radical change, and discipline target chokepoints that are usually taken for granted. To succeed, an organization must clearly align its processes, policies, and organizational structure with its mission and strategy. Applying the rigors of real process re-engineering and continuous improvement to the hiring process will streamline and simplify it, without compromising quality. Web-based tools enable organizations to become more agile and responsive through immediate access to current and tested operating procedures that have been pre-engineered for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. In a matter of weeks, agencies can have those procedures up and running, with cross-organization teams in place to ensure user adoption, leadership buy-in, and familiarity with updated processes. Workforce Planning Workforce planning helps HR organizations get out in front of vacancies by equipping them with the right Booz Allen Helps to Redesign USAF HR Delivery Model In April 2008, the US Air Force selected Booz Allen to be part of its strategic partner team, which is responsible for the multi-year Personnel Services Delivery Transformation (PSDT) initiative. This Total Force initiative was designed to improve the delivery of human resource (HR) capabilities through a structured redesign of the Total Force Personnel community s people, processes, and technologies. Booz Allen applied its Transformation Life Cycle (TLC) methodology to determine the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of the PSDT initiative, and to identify and prioritize recommendations for process design, information technology, contact centers, organization and manpower, and change management. These recommendations have enabled the Air Force to shift the way personnel services are delivered by transitioning from primarily face-to-face interactions to a tiered model of services delivered through online self-service, contact centers, and limited in-person interactions. The Total Force Service Delivery Model (TFSDM) designed by Booz Allen will enable Total Force Airmen to securely access and use personnel services at any time from any location around the world. Airmen will be able to use these services by: (1) logging into the Air Force Personnel Portal, (2) calling the Total Force Service Center (TFSC), or (3) walking in to a Military Personnel Service (MPS) or Civilian Personnel Service (CPS) office. Implementing the TFSDM addresses the Air Force s historic A1 workforce reductions and sustains the A1 community s ability to provide personnel services to Airmen and their families in a resource-constrained and increasingly joint military environment. The TFSDM incorporates personnel processes that have been redesigned to significantly reduce processing times, drive manual transactions to automated activities, and shift to self-service work currently performed in face-to-face settings. For military (non-dimhrs) processes alone, these new designs can reduce processing time, increase the number of automated steps, and decrease the number of manual activities performed at MPSs, Centers, or other organizations. If fully implemented, the TFSDM could save the Air Force a significant amount. 3

6 General Services Administration Lean Hiring Reform Initiative At the General Services Administration (GSA), the chief people officer has made it a top priority to find the absolute best hire in the least amount of time. The change is driven by a team comprising 20 senior GSA officials and 9 human resources professionals, and led by the director of the office of human resources services and a senior official from a mission direct office, ensuring that the right resources and priorities are driving the team s mission. The Lean Hiring Reform Team, with the help of Booz Allen, is applying a continuous process improvement (CPI) methodology to identify impediments to the hiring process and propose short- and long-term solutions. There are currently 18 efforts underway focused on the 14-step To-Be hiring process, which engages the hiring manager at key points and improves the applicant experience while reducing the overall hiring cycle time. For example, the team proposed and implemented a process for prescreening potential candidates, enabling on-the-spot hiring at a special, invitation-only hire fair attended by more than 1,400 selected applicants. Other improvements included online and classroom training modules for managers on the new hiring process, and a Web-based repository of job analyses, which allowed managers and HR staff to rapidly develop standardized position descriptions and vacancy announcements. As projects are completed and the process changes implemented, the team will establish and track the metrics needed to validate the improvement in cycle time and quality of hire. This will ensure that the investment in time and resources has delivered the expected benefit back to the agency. tools to anticipate and proactively recruit against their needs before they actually result in an empty seat. At its best, workforce planning entails a systematic approach for forecasting an organization s staffing needs against forecasted workload demands and, in so doing, enables the organization to continually adjust the number and types of employees it seeks as its mission demands change. Workforce planning efforts are often exclusively strategic, with an agency-wide focus on staffing levels and budgets. However, organizations can derive greater benefits by connecting the dots at the tactical level by setting up individual units and managers to proactively anticipate and address hiring needs. Agencies can help build this capability by creating templates to engage hiring managers in developing a matrix that analyzes current and future unit-level workforce needs and risks and validates them against mission requirements and business needs, while defining and redefining competencies for major job categories. Recruiting and Outreach Once an agency has the right workforce planning and streamlined hiring processes in place, it needs a comprehensive recruiting strategy to attract the right candidates into the hiring pipeline. To recruit effectively across all available channels, organizations must establish an employment brand in the labor market that drives effective candidate outreach, and leverages that brand to develop and execute a recruiting outreach plan across traditional channels (e.g., employee referrals, universities, veterans, diversity, and professional associations) and emerging ones that leverage social media and Web 2.0 tools and technologies. 4

7 US Army Enlists Booz Allen to Update HR Services Delivery Booz Allen leveraged its extensive Army human resource (HR) expertise to provide extensive analytical and conceptual expertise in helping the US Army HR community meet the challenge of supporting a transformed, brigade-centric fighting force. The Personnel Services Delivery Redesign (PSDR) program defined the overall construct for how the Army personnel community planned to provide end-to-end human resources support to a redesigned fighting force across all three Army components: Active, Army Reserve, and National Guard. Booz Allen led the preparation of the PSDR business case that was presented to the Army senior leadership, and also contributed significantly to the Army preparation and organizing-for-change initiative. The firm provided technical and strategic expertise in developing the PSDR concept, testing the program during the pilot phase, and building the Army-wide implementation plan. Specifically: Booz Allen provided an accelerated plan of action for implementation worldwide, and assisted with coordinating, organizing, and integrating all implementation efforts across all components. Booz Allen provided the Army with analysis for updating its force structure to align with HR Transformation. The firm reviewed and revised more than 2,300 manning and equipment documents stored in the US Army Force Management System to ensure that units had key personnel and equipment enablers prior to implementing PSDR. This effort included an extensive analysis of the legacy force structure and alignment of business processes against that structure at the organizational level. Working with Army leadership and key stakeholders from each Army component, Booz Allen helped the Army realign capabilities, structure, and business processes among units and organizations to support brigade-centric, expeditionary, and campaign-quality operations. As part of the holistic organizational change management strategy for this transformational effort, Booz Allen developed a strategic communications plan to increase collaboration and support the transition to the new HR delivery model. Additionally, the firm provided business process re-engineering expertise to the Army National Guard as it transformed many of its legacy processes to better integrate with the PSDR construct. At the institutional level, Booz Allen was responsible for codifying PSDR in warfighting doctrine and developing interim field manuals for the Army to enable the transition. Ongoing efforts include updating lesson plans for all HR professional development courses and training programs to ensure they capture the new paradigm. Since the advent of office automation, Booz Allen has been the integrator for the most sweeping change in how HR support is delivered. Together with a committed government team, this initiative has saved resources, capitalized on technology, and now provides an unparalleled level of support to soldiers and their commanders. 5

8 Candidate Screening The elimination of essay questions based on KSA (knowledge, skills, and abilities) in the application process a requirement that dissuaded some candidates from applying in the past has resulted in a flood of resume-style applications for reviewers to sift through. Training HR professionals to evaluate traditional resumes for qualification based on competencies and accomplishments is a step in the right direction. Another beneficial move would be to train and certify hiring managers to design and conduct structured behavioral event interviews. As one of the most valued, reliable, and effective candidate assessment tools, these interviews involve asking each candidate the same set of questions to evaluate all candidates on the same set of selection criteria. Given the sheer volume of applications, HR professionals and hiring managers need innovative, state-of-the-art candidate assessment techniques to help ensure that agencies do not compromise quality for speed. This is especially important for entry-level candidates in mission-critical occupations, where highquality hiring decisions can boost retention in the short term and performance over the long haul. Candidate assessment strategies such as online, virtual assessment tools should be tailored for individual job needs to maximize hiring investments. Institutionalizing Reforms for the Long Term Once agency officials address the near-term challenge of complying with the 180-day mandate from the president, they should shift their attention to performing a deeper analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of their human capital enterprise so they can set themselves up for success beyond November. Onboarding is one area agencies will want to address to improve retention over the longer term. Employers with successful track records for holding onto their employees begin working from day one to help them acclimate and adapt to the organization. New hires need to know much more than where to sit or how to work the phones; they want to see what their career path could be, how they could move laterally or vertically within the organization, and how their role fits in the grand scheme of things. These elements can all be addressed within their initial onboarding welcome package, but that s just the beginning. Winning strategies extend well beyond the first week or two, making use of training or mentoring programs, internal networking portals, and other tools to mitigate any kind of buyer s remorse and set up employees for long, enriching careers. Booz Allen has developed a maturity assessment model a diagnostic tool that uses proprietary methods to benchmark current hiring and selection processes against these new standards. The assessment model delivers at-a-glance status reports in each of the following areas: HR business processes, workforce planning, recruiting and outreach, hiring, and onboarding. The result is a definite report card that measures the level of the agency s maturity in each area and prescribes steps to be taken to improve performance. Sustaining the Momentum While change in government can be difficult, ultimately, accepting and incorporating these types of hiring reforms will benefit agencies and the nation for years to come. In the meantime, November 1, 2010, will arrive sooner than most think. Unless OMB and OPM play a part in keeping the heat on federal agencies, the momentum created by the memorandum will be short-lived. There are several ways to go about this. For example, hiring reform was supposed to be included in fiscal 2011 budget proposals, but few agencies complied with this directive. As a result, OMB and OPM might require, or strongly encourage, agencies to include hiring reform initiatives in their budget submissions. Another way for OMB and OPM to sustain agencies focus on hiring reform would be to publicize total agency submissions on their hiring reform initiatives in a mid-course progress report issued sometime between now and November. 6

9 In addition, we recommend that OMB use the President s Management Council (PMC) to oversee the hiring reform effort by requiring PMC members to provide quarterly progress reports to their peers, including such hiring metrics as recruit quality and processing timeliness. OPM and OMB could also work with the Government Accountability Office and good government groups such as the Partnership for Public Service or the National Academy for Public Administration to examine and publicize progress made to date. Through such efforts, federal agencies will have the ability to find, implement, and sustain solutions that help them reform and reinvent their hiring processes by employing leading human capital technologies and techniques to achieve the ultimate goal: a federal hiring process that is every bit as fast and effective as the best the private sector has to offer without compromising on our core civil service values such things as merit, veterans preference, and diversity. With appropriate attention to detail along the hiring and recruiting continuum, federal agencies will position themselves not just to comply with the president s directive, but also to cultivate the kind of talent that can only lead to great things. 7

10 About the Authors Jeff Pon serves as a strategic management consultant, supporting the firm s US federal government human resources clients in the areas of strategy development, organizational design, change management, process management, strategic human capital, learning systems, strategic communications, and outsourcing. He leverages his experience in fullscale organizational change assignments to develop cost-effective and innovative solutions that meet clients missions. Ron Sanders spent nearly four decades serving the US federal government in various key human resources roles, including chief human capital officer for the intelligence community, Office of Personnel Management s first associate director for human resource policy, and the Internal Revenue Service s first chief human resource officer. As a Booz Allen advisor, he helps the firm s federal agency clients deal with human capital, learning, and organizational transformation challenges. Eric Vazquez leads Booz Allen's Strategic Recruiting Community of Practice, and his team's groundbreaking recruiting and selection streamlining innovations have being adopted across numerous defense and civilian agencies. Among his major conference presentations, he recently delivered "The Levers of Effective Recruitment," at the Advanced Learning Institute's Strategic Recruiting for Government Conference (2007), where he also served as conference chair. Contact Information: Jeff Pon Ron Sanders Eric Vasquez Principal Senior Executive Advisor Senior Associate pon_ [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 8

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