WASHINGTON, DC — The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today issued governmentwide guidance to departments and agencies on preparing Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Staffing Plans, advancing the Trump Administration’s efforts to modernize federal workforce planning, strengthen merit-based hiring, and ensure agencies are strategically positioned to deliver efficient, high-quality services to the American people.

The guidance implements Executive Order 14356, Ensuring Continued Accountability in Federal Hiring, and provides agencies with a framework for conducting rigorous, bottom-up workforce planning that prioritizes mission-critical positions, modern technology talent, and early career hiring while improving governmentwide visibility into staffing needs.

Annual Staffing Plans will require agencies to identify workforce needs based on mission requirements—not historical staffing levels—and reserve budget and positions for critical hiring priorities, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software engineering, and other technology roles. The guidance also directs agencies to leverage governmentwide hiring initiatives such as US Tech Force and the Early Career Talent Network to improve hiring quality, reduce duplication, and accelerate recruitment across the federal government.

“Successful organizations don’t hire by accident, they hire strategically,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said. “Annual Staffing Plans will help agencies build the workforce they need to accomplish their missions while giving OPM and OMB a governmentwide view of hiring priorities. That visibility allows us to modernize hiring, better leverage technology, strengthen early career recruitment, and ensure taxpayer resources are focused where they deliver the greatest value.”

The guidance also reinforces the administration’s Merit Hiring Plan by directing agencies to incorporate validated assessments into competitive hiring actions and establishes governmentwide hiring targets for shared certificates, early career hiring, and skills-based assessments.

In addition, agencies are directed to evaluate opportunities to improve organizational efficiency through technology adoption, process improvements, organizational restructuring, and more strategic use of contractors and full-time employees. Agencies are encouraged to align workforce planning with advances in artificial intelligence and other modern technologies to improve service delivery while maintaining strong stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Read the guidance to agencies here and Director Kupor’s blog on this here.