“The momentum is building to continue to reform the
policies, processes, and systems that govern federal
human capital management,” said GAO in a related
report informing Congress of how agencies have
implemented new personnel flexibilities.
It recommended new requirements for agencies show
“they have the required infrastructure and
safeguards in place before using any new human
capital authorities.”
Performance ratings rewarding executives are still
too high, according to–GAO-05-616T–and agencies
often do not deliver seemingly realistic data on
executive performance, something that as OMB has
recently warned, could jeopardize authorization for
their pay systems.
Opportunities remain for chief human capital officers
and the CHCO Council to help agencies implement
flexibilities, share best practices and drive
strategic leadership reform, GAO said.
It said agencies need policy guidance to fully take
advantage of flexibilities to help them recruit and
hire top talent, but noted that the Office of
Personnel Management has reported that it is taking
initiatives to educate agencies to use the tools.
