OPM, working through the Chief Human Capital Officer Council, and with stakeholders such as OMB, unions and others, should examine ways to make the GS system’s design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system, GAO has said.
Among the desired attributes it cited are transparency and flexibility. GAO said the GS system by design includes some of those attributes but that implementation is flawed.
Classifying occupations and developing position descriptions in the GS requires officials to maintain an understanding of the individual position and the nuances between similar occupations, according to GAO-14-677.
It said that without that understanding, the transparency and internal equity of the system may be inhibited, as agency officials may not be classifying positions consistently, comparable employees may not be treated equitably, and the system may seem unpredictable.
GAO also called on OPM to develop a strategy to track and prioritize occupations for review and updates (OPM said it already does this), and to develop cost-effective methods to ensure agencies are classifying correctly.