OPM’s new REDI Roadmap stresses greater use by agency management of data and analytics in the recruitment and hiring process, based in part on input from job candidates and agency personnel who criticize current practices as inefficient and frustrating.
The Recruitment, Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion initiative, beyond being focused on those elements of federal personnel, also seeks to address problems with skills gaps and boost efforts toward hiring of veterans and people with disabilities by helping agencies identify and eliminate barriers to recruiting and hiring them.
A main focus will be on what OPM called “untying hiring knots” which long-run could include changes in hiring rules and procedures but in the short term will focus on improvements to the USAJobs site and using data from candidates’ experiences on that site and data on potential candidate pools among demographic groups and occupations to help agencies recruit. OPM also will increase its aid to agencies on use of social media in recruiting and use of flexibilities in hiring.
Also on the plate is revitalizing the little-used Pathways Program for interns, recent college graduates and Presidential Management Fellows; expanding outreach to colleges and other potential sources of talent; widened senior executive candidate development aimed at increasing diversity in the senior executive ranks; training for managers on employee engagement and inclusion; outreach to affinity groups; customized training; constructing a government-wide mentoring hub; use of social media tools to honor and recognize employees; and more.
