Fedweek

OPM has said it will “dedicate resources to promptly and thoroughly respond” to agencies seeking its permission to offer buyouts and early retirement incentives to their employees and will provide technical support to agencies in offering them.

OPM’s role in the administration’s federal workforce initiatives “will also include helping the workforce during change using transition assistance programs and work-life resources,” OPM said in a document sent to Congress in support of its budget request. “OPM will consult with agencies and provide tools and guidance on how to use employee development and performance management to maximize employee engagement and accountability . . . These activities will help agencies conduct workforce reshaping both strategically and in accordance with sound human capital management practices.”

OPM recently issued a general guide to workforce “reshaping” which it followed with two more detailed sets of guidance, one focusing on buyouts and the other on early retirements.