FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2010
Contact: Sarah Howe
202-775-9111
REPORT FINDS APPLICANT ASSESSMENT IS THE WEAKEST LINK IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S PROBLEMATIC HIRING CHAIN
WASHINGTON – Ineffective assessment of job applicants is undermining the federal government’s ability to identify and hire the best possible candidates, according to a report released today by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.
The Weakest Link: How Strengthening Assessment Leads to Better Federal Hiring,sponsored by PDRI, examines the state of federal applicant assessment, identifies the obstacles faced by HR staffs and hiring managers in carrying out this crucial part of the hiring process, and offers recommendations for improvement. Good assessment of job applicants can help hiring managers select the right candidates, those who will be the most successful in the job.
“Effective assessment is the linchpin of federal hiring,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “When implementing the federal hiring reforms in November, the key challenge for agencies will be creating a balanced assessment process—one that truly puts emphasis on both speed and quality.”
According to the report, there are five key barriers that impede the federal government’s ability to identify and hire skilled, capable and dedicated employees. They include:
- Key players in the federal hiring process—hiring managers, human resources professionals, agency leaders and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)—often do not work collaboratively to assess job candidates;
- HR staffs frequently have limited resources, competencies and training needed to assist and guide hiring managers with their assessment of job applicants;
- Agencies view assessment too narrowly and miss out on good candidates;
- Flawed IT systems hinder assessment and hiring; and
- Agencies don't have reliable and useful data to indicate if their assessments are working.
One of the report’s key recommendations is to have HR specialists and hiring managers work together more effectively to assess the qualifications of job applicants. The report also notes that senior agency leaders and not just the heads of HR must elevate the importance of assessment in the hiring process. To do so, agencies must invest sufficient staff time and resources and bring on new skilled HR staff who can guide and support hiring managers through the assessment process.
The Weakest Link report comes as the Obama administration prepares to revamp the cumbersome federal hiring process. The administration has pledged to make the process more applicant-friendly, to improve the speed and quality of hiring and to more fully involve managers and supervisors in hiring decisions.
The report is based on a thorough review of assessment research practices in the federal government and a series of detailed conversations, both in focus groups and interviews, with thought leaders and practitioners involved in federal hiring, including human resources professionals, hiring managers, labor union representatives and present and past OPM officials.
The Partnership for Public Service is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
To download a copy of the report, go to ourpublicservice.org.
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The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
