The Office of Personnel Management has announced that it has
hired 278 people in a nine-month period beginning Oct. 1,
2003 and ending June 30, 2004, after overhauling its internal
hiring processes, bringing its per-employee average to 36 days.
Most of the hires are employed as human resources specialists,
human capital officers, policy analysts and facility
infrastructure specialists, said OPM.
It issued a memo last May calling on federal departments and
agencies to adopt a 45-day hiring model that it developed
in-house which it says it used to shave 16 days — from 52 days
in another nine-month period – off the time it takes to close
a vacancy announcement and make an offer to an applicant.
“We have hired 278 people into a variety of important
occupations, and many of these quality hires have been assigned
to work directly with federal agencies to revive and redesign
their internal hiring practices. We are in a competition with
the private sector for talent, and OPM is doing what it can to
help agencies hire the very best job candidates,” said OPM.
It cited partnerships between managers and hiring professionals
and the “intelligent use of various hiring flexibilities,
where appropriate, particularly for mission-critical positions.”
