FY 2000
Budget Justification/Performance Plan

(Revolving Fund Account - continued)

• By the year 2000, become the provider of choice for direct human resources management services including examining, test administration, downsizing, career transition, organizational assessment, and occupational analysis, on a reimbursable basis.

In FY 1998, the Employment Service (ES) provided a wide array of reimbursable services to 52 executive branch departments and agencies, 4 legislative branch, 1 judicial branch, and 2 non-appropriated fund (NAFI) agencies. ES also provided services to 8 State governments and 6 municipalities. ES expects to provide services to a similar array of customers in FY 2000, with increases in the numbers of State and local governments served.

Agencies indicate that ES reimbursable services ultimately result in significant cost savings as agencies take advantage of the available expertise to supplement their reduced administrative staff resources. By outsourcing their examining work to OPM, client agencies save money and time, and ensure that their selections are made in compliance with the merit system. Many Federal agencies use ES psychometric expertise to conduct competency-based test development and validation projects; many of these projects are multi-year in length. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) utilize our test administration services through our network of trained examiners located at more than 650 points nationwide. The DOD uses our services to conduct an effective military recruitment testing program and INS uses our services to recruit and test Border Patrol Agents, Immigration Inspectors, and Detention Enforcement Officers. In addition, ES provided Workforce Restructuring services to 7 agencies/installations affecting over 15,000 Federal employees. These services included: assisting in downsizing planning, agency outplacement programs, career center design, automated RIF programs, and organizational restructuring. ES also implemented the National Security Education Program (NSEP) Internet Web site in April, 1998. This system contains resumes of NSEP scholars and fellows who have been funded byDOD, and are required to provide public service in exchange for this funding.

In FY 1998 ES undertook a major marketing effort to introduce the new subscription-based Web site or PC-based service, USACareers, to agencies. USACareers is a tool to determine training needs, develop career paths, and outplace employees affected by downsizing. ES is currently developing new selection tools to assess non-cognitive competencies; these will be introduced in FY 1999/2000.

In FY 1998, ES introduced customer standards for examining services on an interim basis, and implemented them as final standards at the beginning of FY 1999. Baseline results of timeliness and quality against these standards will be established in FY 1999, and improvements will be measured in FY 2000. Customer standards are being developed for all other reimbursable services in FY 1999; baselines will be established in FY 1999/2000 as they are introduced.

ES met its Revolving Fund operating goals for FY 1998, including targets for retained income. Targets have been established for FY 1999 that incorporate modest growth in income and matching costs, and expectations are that similar modest growth will occur in FY 2000.

ES is redesigning OPM’s automated staffing system to incorporate the newest technologies such as imaging and artificial intelligence. This redesign will be completed in FY 1999. ES also established a National Operations Workgroup which includes over 30 customers to maximize the effectiveness of the staffing system by using feedback from this group to inform the redesign effort. In FY 1998, ES began the development of an Internet-delivered, competency-based battery of selection procedures.