Report: Even with DHA, delays still caused good candidates to take jobs elsewhere. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn a report whose findings may apply at other agencies, an outside review has found that use of direct hire authority at the IRS makes the hiring process only slightly faster.
Hiring, including the length of the process, was named as one of the agencies “most serious problems” by the National Taxpayer Advocate’s annual report, citing understaffing as hampering the agency’s ability in mission areas such as audits, enforcement and customer service.
Direct hire authority, or DHA—which allows the hiring of candidates on essentially a first-come, first-served basis—commonly is cited as a tool for filling vacancies faster than standard competitive hiring processes. The IRS is among the agencies that has received the authority for certain positions, and several government-wide authorities also exist, most recently approved for certain STEM and artificial intelligence-related positions.
However, in a look at external hiring during fiscal 2023, the report said the average time-to-hire using DHA was 82 days, compared with 98 days for standard processes, and actually increased from 58 days in 2022. “Even with DHA, the delays still caused good candidates to take jobs elsewhere before the IRS was even able to offer them a job,” it said.
Said the report, “When thinking about the length of the hiring process, ask yourself: how long would you be willing to wait for a final job offer?”
In terms of internal hiring, the difference was even less, 45 days when using the authority vs. 52 days when not.
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