Federal Manager's Daily Report

By making it easier to apply for federal jobs, the government has increased the number of applicants it receives but not the quality of those applicants, according to a recent MSPB publication.

In an article on the state of federal hiring, it noted criticism of the process as excessively long at 106 days on average from when the need to fill the position is validated until the person hired starts work. “The quality of applicants remains an issue as well,” MSPB said, noting that in a 2016 survey, supervisors identified that as one of their greatest difficulties.

“Recent interviews with agency HR staffs indicate that they face an increased number of applicants (and therefore workload) because it is easier to apply for jobs. In addition, many agencies do not have access to high-quality, automated assessments that make clear distinctions among large groups of applicants. This exemplifies how decentralization has divided agencies into the “haves” and “have-nots,” causing an imbalance in their ability to assess candidates,” it said.

“Other issues that affect the quality of candidates include the increasing complexity of the hiring system because of new hiring flexibilities granted to individual agencies, HR staffs’ limited knowledge of the specialized experience needed for knowledge workers, lack of SME involvement in the process, and lack of training for HR staffs and hiring managers,” it added.