Strengthening and Empowering the Federal Workforce

November 2024

The President’s Management Agenda has significantly modernized federal hiring practices, benefiting applicants, managers, and HR personnel. These include new data-driven practices, expanded recruitment for diverse, skills-based hiring strategies, and expedited options including pooled hiring that have streamlined the hiring process for applicants, managers, and HR personnel.

For example, on National Intern Day in July, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hosted a Level-Up to Public Service event to connect interns with federal agencies, improve resumes and USAJOBS profiles, and practice interview skills. OPM also partnered with the Department of Interior (DOI) to host a hybrid Intern Experience event focused on the unique role each agency plays in tackling climate change and the important contributions early career talent can make. Nearly 450 students and interns attended one or both of the events. OPM also supported several recruitment campaigns, including the Service for America campaign, which brought together 29 agency partners to connect Americans to cyber opportunities in the Federal Government and the private sector.

Through the PMA, OPM also launched innovative technology to enhance hiring efficiency, including USAJOBS updates that automate shared certificate copying for coordinators, while the Agency Talent Portal introduced Talent Programs and Talent Pools to streamline intern and graduate hiring. USAJOBS launched the Career Explorer tool and the Early Career Page in September, which are two new resources to connect job seekers to federal job opportunities. The USAJOBS Career Explorer helps job seekers explore occupations in the Federal Government that align with their career interests. By answering career interest questions, job seekers receive personalized recommendations for federal occupational series, including job descriptions and open positions. The Early Career Page is a central hub of information and resources for students, recent graduates, and non-college degree seeking individuals who are early in their career. The page includes information on the benefits of working for the Federal Government, tips to navigate the federal application process, and resume best practices.

In August, OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a joint memorandum to provide guidance to federal agencies on how to improve the Federal Government’s ability to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse and skilled workforce to strengthen the way agencies deliver on their missions for the American people. This memorandum builds on continued efforts of the PMA and is a culmination of years of data-driven and innovative thinking about the federal hiring experience. OPM and OMB have focused on supporting agencies in fully implementing and adopting the guidance through webinars, workshops, and round table discussions for hiring managers and human resources professionals. 

OPM also released a Governmentwide Gender and Racial/Ethnic Pay Gap Analysis Summary, which found a gender pay gap of 5.6 percent among the federal civilian workforce. This indicates that on average, women are paid a little more than 94 cents for every dollar a man makes.  This is an improvement from a pay gap of about 25 percent in 1992. The national gender pay gap is 16 percent, almost triple the pay gap in the Federal Government. To advance pay equity throughout Governmentwide pay systems, OPM issued a memorandum on Advancing Pay Equity: Pay Gap Data Analysis Guidance and Request for Reports on Independent Pay Systems, which summarizes pay equity provisions in EO 14035 and the Governmentwide Strategic Plan and provides agencies with independent administrative pay authority instructions to review and revise their pay policies, as necessary, to advance pay equity. 

Capping off efforts to foster greater pay equity, OPM issued proposed regulations in October to change the regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area boundaries and make changes in certain wage areas. This regulation would provide a meaningful pay increase for approximately 14,500 blue-collar workers, including those in trade, craft, and manual labor occupations. If finalized, the proposed rule would modify the criteria used to set boundaries for the FWS system and bring it more in line with the GS system boundaries. This would lead to greater equity across federal pay systems, with FWS workers’ pay more aligned with GS workers who work in the same geographic area.  

Reflecting the administration’s commitment to families, OPM will issue this fall a revised Handbook on Leave and Workplace Flexibilities for Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care as well as a fact sheet on Paid Parental Leave that explains leave and workplace flexibility options that can be used to help federal employees balance work and family life related to childbirth, adoption, and foster care. OPM will issue a report on the Child Care Subsidy Program and supporting guidance to assist agencies in building and maintaining robust Child Care programs.

With agencies completing their transition into new hybrid work arrangements that balance remote work, telework, and in-person work to best advance organizational health and performance, OPM issued a memo outlining Guiding Factors for Designing Remote Work Policies and Programs. The memo provides additional guidance on the application of remote work policies to provide consistency for agencies considering remote work arrangements and to reflect knowledge gained from across the federal enterprise. Additionally, OPM is getting ready to release an Organizational Health and Performance Toolkit. The intended audience of the driver research report includes technical consumers of survey results as well as agency practitioners tasked with interpreting FEVS results and developing action plans to address improvements. The goal of this summary guide is to facilitate agency practitioner use of the study results in advancing their agency’s organizational health and performance initiatives.

Highlights

July 2024

On May 15, OPM issued guidance on Maximizing Access to Leave to Seek Safety and Recover from Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Related Forms of Abuse or Harassment (Safe Leave). This guidance helps federal employees who need time off for safe leave purposes to consider various leave options and other flexibilities available to them to keep themselves and their family members safe and recover from incidents of abuse and harassment.

In FY24 Q3, OPM launched a new Time to Hire (T2H) Dashboard on the public OPM Data Portal to provide additional transparency on how the Federal Government is doing in improving T2H for mission critical occupations. 

This April marked 180 days since President Biden issued his landmark AI Executive Order. In that time, OPM has taken several key actions supporting agencies as they recruit, hire, and train AI and AI-related talent into the Federal Government. These include launching an AI talent surge to accelerate hiring AI professionals, granting flexible hiring authorities, and establishing an interagency Tech to Gov working group to share best practices on hiring professionals with AI and other technical skills. Most recently, OPM issued the Skills-Based Hiring Guidance and Competency Model for Artificial Intelligence Work to assist agencies in identifying key skills and competencies needed for AI professionals and increasing access to these technical roles for individuals with nontraditional academic backgrounds. At the same time, the agency issued the Artificial Intelligence Competency Model for Civil Engineering (GS-810 series) to support agencies and ensure adequate AI expertise in these occupations in the Federal Government reflect the increased use of AI in critical infrastructure. 

In FY24 Q3, OPM released their government-wide study that resulted in a new competency model with updated key competencies for all human resources management work, as well as key competencies for select specialty areas (e.g., classification, employee benefits) within human resources.

Highlights

April 2024

On April 4, OPM announced a final rule that clarifies and reinforces long-standing protections and merit system principles for career civil servants as they relate to the involuntary movement of federal employees and positions from the competitive service to the excepted service or from one excepted service schedule to another. The final rule, Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles, is yet another way the Administration is showing its deep commitment to the federal workforce.

On April 11, OPM issued a final rule that revises the regulations governing the Pathways Programs and significantly expands opportunities for early career talent. Updates include expanding skills-based hiring through qualifying career and technical education programs, raising the ceiling for starting salaries for recent graduates, and easing the path for interns to be converted into permanent positions. This final rule strengthens the federal government’s early career talent pipeline and ensures federal agencies have even greater access to diverse talent across the country. 

On March 6, the President issued Executive Order (EO) 14119 on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums. The EO reinforces efforts under the PMA to make the Federal Government a model for the use and promotion of skills-based hiring, which reduces barriers to employment and attracts a diverse workforce. It does so by creating more Registered Apprenticeship programs in the federal workforce, encouraging agencies to give preference to recipients that hire individuals who have participated in Registered Apprenticeship programs, and increasing worker voice in federal programs and contracts.

On February 27, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the first-ever government-wide Military-Connected Strategic Plan for FY 2024-2028 to support agencies in their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain military-connected spouses, caregivers, and survivors within the Federal Government. The strategies in this plan help agencies take a comprehensive and collaborative approach to support military-connected families in the Federal Government, with the goal of increasing the number of military-connected spouses in the workforce and utilizing their talents to better serve the American people. The plan is yet another example of how the PMA is tackling barriers to recruiting, hiring, and retaining talent in the federal workforce. 

In support of EO 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, OPM released guidance on Pay Flexibility, Incentive Pay, and Leave and Workforce Flexibility Programs for Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI-enabling, and Other Key Technical Employees on February 27.

OPM launched the Level Up to Public Service Initiative in April 2023 to increase awareness of and interest in public service careers among early career talent, specifically college and high school students from underserved communities. On April 9, OPM was joined by 30 other federal agencies to deliver Level Up to Public Service at Delaware State University in Dover, DE, where the program included reviewing and supporting development of federal resumes, USAJOBS profiles and applications, participating in mock interviews, a job fair, and panel discussions.

Highlights

February 2024

Agencies are making progress in bringing the most qualified and diverse people into government through internships, pooled hiring, and an AI talent surge, as well as to ensure that well-being is at the center of workplace culture. OPM has posted the comprehensive 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) Governmentwide Management Report to OPM’s public website, showcasing an increasingly resilient and engaged federal workforce. Highlights include a one percentage point increase in the governmentwide employee engagement index, which moved to 72%, tying the five-year high set in 2020, and a two percent improvement in the governmentwide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Index to 71%. The report delivers an expanded and in-depth perspective on the government-wide results, which are also available through the new dynamic public FEVS dashboard. On January 29th, OPM released a final regulation that prohibits the use of previous non-federal salary history in setting pay for federal employment offers. The regulation further positions the federal government as a model employer that prioritizes fairness and opportunity. By helping to close gender and racial pay gaps, the rule is one more step to attract and retain a qualified, effective workforce drawn from the full diversity of America. Finally, on February 22, OPM launched the Workforce of the Future Playbook, which provides concrete actions agencies can take to build and equip the workforce of the future, incorporating both groundbreaking strategies and underutilized practices that will serve as the cornerstone for a future workforce that is more effective and more efficient. Each play in the Playbook includes promising practices from other agencies as well as tools and resources. To support agency implementation, OPM will be hosting a series of webinars in the coming months for supervisors and managers to learn from subject matter experts and hear from agencies who have successfully implemented these efforts.

Highlights

December 2023

The Workforce Priority teams have continued to advance initiatives that strengthen and empower the federal workforce. This quarter, we are able to report significant updates in building a culture of workforce data across the Federal Government, enhancing onramp experience for early career talent, and expanding cross agency hiring. The Biden Administration exceeded its goal of hiring more than 5,800 targeted positions to support implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Over the last two years, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has served as a strategic workforce partner for seven federal agencies and supported surge hiring for key positions, including engineers, scientists, project managers, Information Technology (IT) & Human Resource (HR) specialists, construction managers, and many more. OPM has deployed five interactive workforce dashboards to the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies including the OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), Attrition, Time-to-Hire, and Cyber Workforce dashboards. OPM has also launched five pooled hiring efforts to support multi-agency hiring for Human Resource Specialists, Data Analysts, IT Product Managers, IT Specialists (Data Management), and entry level IT Specialists. Looking ahead, OPM will continue to support multi-agency pooled hiring efforts for mission critical occupations, with the goal of launching eight in FY24.

OPM co-hosted the October National Tech to Gov Virtual Forum and Job Fair in coordination with its agency and private sector partners, with over 3,000 registered participants representing 49 states. At the event, there were 3,200 one-on-one agency conversations across the 1,400 people who attended. Two-thirds of attendees said that they were more interested in government after the event than before. Leading up to the event, OPM, Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) U.S. Digital Service (USDS), and Tech to Gov partners hosted a five-part training series for HR, hiring managers, and technical leaders to better recruit and hire technical talent from the private sector.

Additionally, the President issued Executive Order 14110 on Oct. 30, 2023, for the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that aims to seize the promise and manage the risks of AI, including providing the building blocks for the coming AI federal sector workforce.

Finally, on the policy front, OPM issued final regulations to prohibit federal agencies from requesting criminal history during hiring, linked below, thereby expanding opportunities for people who have been incarcerated. These regulations also establish a framework for a complaint process that job applicants may use if they believe agencies have inappropriately requested criminal history too early in the hiring process.

Highlights

August 2023

The Workforce Priority has continued to deliver on its commitments to strengthening and empowering the federal workforce. In May 2023, OPM released an Employee Wellness Program Guide for agency leaders. The discovery phase for a Job Exploration Tool was also completed, which will enable users to match their ideal careers and ways of working to federal job series. Additionally, OPM’s free hybrid work environment training has reached over 22,000 federal employees, with OPM planning to provide additional training sessions across the country and to expand via a “train the trainer” model for further adoption. In July, OPM proposed a regulation on Recruitment and Selection Through Competitive Examination, and Employment in the Excepted Service (known as the “Rule of Many”) that will provide expanded flexibility to agencies during candidate selection. OPM also issued guidance on new skills and competencies needed for positions related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Looking ahead, the Workforce Priority team will double down on efforts that improve hiring, internships, employee experience, access to data, and many more initiatives which can be explored further in the strategy pages.

Highlights

May 2023

The Workforce Priority has begun delivering several products to support agencies’ abilities to strengthen and empower their workforce. Some examples include: a training for managers on “Thriving in a Hybrid Environment,” new OMB guidance on improving Organizational Health and Organizational Performance across agencies, new OPM memo on Advancing Future of the Workforce Policies and Practices to Support Mission Delivery, new functionality on USAJOBS—called Talent Pools—to facilitate the sharing of hiring certificates across agencies, issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Advancing Pay Equity, and public data products to better understand workforce insights.

Inter-agency teams continue to work collaboratively to support outcomes related to hiring, retention, employee engagement and well-being, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), leadership and skill development, and data-driven decision making. In the coming period, the Workforce Priority team will focus its efforts on empowering agencies to take action in support of the PMA’s objectives and continue its focus on enabling data-driven workforce decision making. For example, OPM will develop a method to track pooled hiring actions and candidates hired through pooled hiring actions in future quarters.

Highlights

March 2023

The Workforce Priority has an ambitious set of goals and objectives to make progress for ederal employees and will be actively looking for ways to further engage agencies in supporting this work. PMA cross-agency Workforce Priority teams have begun implementing projects designed to further progress on the goals across each of the four strategies. Teams have launched government-wide working groups and communities of practice (CoPs), including the inter-agency Mental Health & Well-Being and Recruitment & Outreach CoPs. OPM has also released priority policy guidance to address central challenges identified by agencies to agencies, such as internship guidance designed to strengthen and diversify agencies’ pipelines for early career talent. To help promote a data-driven approach and create accountability across Government, agency guidance was delivered and agencies are making progress toward the four PMA Workforce Priority metrics, supported by guidance from the Priority Area Leaders; the metrics can be viewed on the new data page.

Highlights

November 2022

In order to meet the opportunities outlined above, cross-agency teams representing almost 20 CFO Act agencies have identified a suite of activities to address some of the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the Government workforce. Across each of the strategies described below, these teams continue to keep diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) goals front and center as they consider and test solutions. Teams are now working to identify potential pilots for testing and evaluation, and to implement near-term actions. These actions could include, for example, new guidance for agencies or the development of shared tools or data. Below is a sampling of initial milestones that are guiding cross-agency groups as implementation gets underway. The PMA team has continued to engage stakeholders. Priority Area Leaders have developed guidance for agencies to support the adoption of Priority-level metrics.

Highlights

July 2022

Cross-agency teams are advancing the PMA Workforce Priority across the identified Strategies and Goals, with cross-functional representatives from many agencies participating. These teams have been scoping the activities to support their goal statements, working to understand challenges, and exploring a broad range of solutions. Milestones included in this update represent initial foundational work to implement this Workforce Priority.

Highlights