Strategic human capital and workforce planning should be an ongoing priority at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, GAO has said after reviewing department-wide human capital and resource management efforts at four of the largest HUD program offices.
HUD has faced challenges accurately determining the staff resources it needs to fulfill its mission of creating strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all, according to GAO-13-282.
It said the department’s most recent workforce plan expired in 2009 and that since then HUD has launched several planning efforts – some in response to the economic crisis.
HUD undertook initiatives such as training key program office staff on the need to determine up front the staff HUD could afford to hire, and in its latest effort a contractor is expected to complete human capital and workforce plans no later than fiscal 2014.
One problem HUD faces is that it has not created incentives or accountability for staff to report accurate workload data. Program offices selectively use the department’s resource estimation and allocation process to define workload and estimate resources and there is no widespread agreement that the process produces the quality of data needed to effectively estimate resources, said GAO.
HUD agreed with recommendations to follow through on developing and maintaining human capital and workforce plans that clearly incorporate key principles; create incentives for staff to report accurate data for managing staff resources; and consult with congressional decision makers to determine what additional information about resource decisions should be presented, and how, in its congressional budget justifications.