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News Release
Friday, September 24, 2004
Tel: 202-606-2402
OPM Trains Agencies on 45-Day Hiring Model
Holds agencies accountable for implementing hiring model through PMA scorecard
Continues hiring flexibility symposiums in effort to speed-up federal hiring process
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), partnering with Federal Executive Boards (FEB), today offered training to federal human resources managers and selecting officials in the Boston area on the 45-Day Hiring Model and the many hiring flexibilities available to them. After two successful presentations held in Washington, D.C., OPM has expanded the training symposiums nationwide through FEBs beginning with Chicago and Atlanta. Additional training symposiums will be held in Dallas, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and St. Louis.
"The training symposiums provide critical information to agencies on hiring flexibilities they can use to streamline the hiring process, particularly the 45-Day Hiring Model that appears as a new element in the President's Management Agenda," stated OPM Director Kay Coles James. "We must do everything possible to ensure agencies are aware of the options they have, and we must educate them on how to invoke their use."
James has consistently emphasized the need for effective measures to demonstrate results. The 45-Day Hiring Model focuses on a series of recommended steps from the date of vacancy announcement closing to the time an offer is made and has been used and met by OPM internally since March of this year. The model is composed of steps in the screening and selection process agencies may follow in pursuit of new talent. OPM holds agencies responsible for the implementation of the Hiring Model through the President's Management Agenda (PMA) scorecard review, an accountability mechanism created to ensure fulfillment of the initiatives outlined in President George W. Bush's Management Agenda.
"The PMA scorecard is a powerful accountability tool for agencies to use in their efforts to incorporate the 45-Day Hiring Model," stated James.
The one-day symposiums feature sessions led by OPM senior officials and other agency representatives on the various hiring flexibilities, including sessions on veterans' preference, student and excepted service employment authorities, the Pledge to Applicants, and James' memorandum on the "Top Things You Can Do To Improve Federal Hiring." The training provides agency leaders and managers with instructions on how to implement existing hiring flexibilities to make public service more attractive to jobseekers who have been discouraged by the federal hiring process. These events are supported by the local FEBs, and more than 100 federal employees, including selecting officials, attended both the Chicago and Atlanta events.
"The numbers of attendees proves the need for these training symposiums," James said. "We continue to see growing interest in federal employment, so it is our responsibility to make certain agencies use the available hiring authorities necessary to bring new talent into the federal work force quickly, particularly in occupations critical to homeland security and federal emergency planning and preparation efforts."
James initiated the training campaign during the past year to support and assist agencies in their efforts to implement human resource flexibilities to quickly hire veterans, students, and other qualified individuals.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the leader in workforce management for the federal government. Our agency builds, strengthens, and serves a federal workforce of 2.2 million employees with programs like hiring assistance, healthcare and insurance, retirement benefits, and much more. We provide agencies with policies, guidance, and best practices for supporting federal workers, so they can best serve the American people.