Vacancies at the FBI have declined but it has yet address the long-term sustainability of its strategy for addressing them, GAO has said. It said from fiscal 2005 – 2011 the FBI’s human capital division reduced the vacancy rate for all positions in the counter-terrorism division (CTD), from 26 percent to 6 percent.
The FBI developed the Headquarters Staffing Initiative (HSI) in 2005 to reduce special agent vacancies in CTD and other headquarters divisions, and primarily used workforce flexibilities, such as recruitment incentives, and targeted recruitment to reduce vacancies for intelligence analysts and professional staff, said GAO.
For example, HSI allowed special agents to come to HQ on 18-month temporary duty assignments instead of permanent transfers and provided relocation incentives to special agents to permanently transfer to HQ, according to GAO-12-533.
It said officials from all sections within CTD stated that HSI helped to build a cadre of experienced counterterrorism agents both within CTD and in field offices.
HSI has reduced vacancies, but a 2005 FBI working group report noted that while HSI may be effective in the short term, a long-term solution would require a more thorough analysis, GAO said.
It said FBI officials reported that they are planning an evaluation of HIS. The FBI also agreed to establish criteria, time frames, and other factors of the evaluation of the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of HSI to determine whether it is the most effective strategy for reducing vacancies.
