The Committee asked OPM to seek greater input from hiring managers. Image: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA committee report on the Senate’s version of the annual general government appropriations bill, now ready for a floor vote once Congress returns to session in three weeks, urges attention by OPM and individual agencies on several long-running issues related to hiring.
The bill “directs OPM to continue to find ways to reduce barriers to federal employment and reduce delays in the hiring process. Rigid rules and long delays in the hiring and interview process discourage top candidates from applying for or accepting federal positions,” the report says.
“Specifically, the Committee encourages OPM to seek input from hiring managers on the type of challenges they face, improvements that could be made to make the federal hiring process more efficient and effective, and which hiring authorities they find most beneficial,” it says.
The committee also expressed concern about the ongoing issue of lack of feedback to job applicants through usajobs.gov regarding where they stand. It said agencies and OPM should work to “ensure the delivery of timely communications to applicants about their application status with notifications for each applicable stage of the hiring process—including application acceptance, determination of qualifications, issuance of certificates to the hiring manager, and selection or cancellation of announcement.”
The committee also: called for an OPM report within six months on the effectiveness of federal internships including the Pathways Program as well as on the data it collects from agencies and whether that data should be broadened; and told OPM to explore ways to increase hiring of military spouses by increasing the information about the non-competitive hiring authority available for them and “giving agencies greater access to and identification of these pools of candidates.”
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