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By: FEDweek StaffA hiring policy change that OPM made last June broadening the circumstances in which former federal employees can be hired without competition represents only an “incremental” change and still leaves open the issue of “whether it is time for OPM to propose (and policymakers to consider) a much further-reaching reform,” the MSPB has said.
Rules issued last June allowed reinstatement without competition at any grade level, removing a prior requirement that hiring be at no higher a grade than the one the employee left; OPM said at the time that the change will allow more such hiring as those people would want to come back at a higher level to account for the experience they gained since they left.
In a recent publication, the MSPB noted that “OPM did not simply issue the regulation and declare victory” over hiring problems. But it said the change could have little impact since “reinstatements are not a major pipeline for most occupations or agencies,” accounting for only 3-4 percent of new hires annually.
It said the change also does not address larger issues including the “proliferation of hiring authorities that have specific limits on eligibility (who may apply), coverage (what positions can be filled), or organization (who can use the authority)” and the “common belief among federal employees that selections are sometimes influenced more by an applicant’s special status than by their actual qualifications.”
“Finally, what is the implication of additional flexibility for the goals of making federal hiring more efficient and transforming HR offices from enforcers of rules to management consultants? The many ways to compete for a federal job mean that a hiring manager may receive several lists of candidates . . . the complexity added by a new flexibility makes it difficult to reengineer hiring processes. That may be one reason why HR specialists often report that they are overwhelmed by transactional work and have little or no time for work that is consultative, let alone transformational,” it said.
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