President Obama has issued a memo calling on agency managers and supervisors to assume a greater leadership role in recruitment and selection, and calls on HR offices to support them in that expanded effort.
It directs agencies to provide for selection from among a larger number of qualified applicants by using the "category rating" approach rather than the "rule of 3" approach, under which managers may only select from among the three highest scoring applicants.
The memo further requires managers and supervisors with hiring responsibilities to be more involved in the process, including planning workforce requirements, identifying needed skill sets, and actively engaging in the recruitment and sometimes the interviewing process.
Agencies are to hold managers and supervisors accountable for recruiting and hiring highly qualified employees and supporting their successful transition into federal service, beginning with the first performance review cycle starting after November 1.
Agencies are also being called on to provide OPM and OMB timelines and targets to improve hiring quality and speed; train all hiring managers on effective, efficient, and timely ways to recruit and hire well-qualified individuals; better notify applicants on their status; and identify a senior official accountable for implementing the memo.
