The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are making significant efforts to improve the federal hiring experience, focusing on tools to recruit, hire, and retain federal employees. On August 14, they released a joint memorandum on this work, aimed at data analytics, the applicant experience, the hiring manager experience, and empowering human resource professionals. Click here to view the memo in full, as well as guidance and resources for implementation.

Officials from OMB and OPM briefed FMA and other members of the Government Managers Coalition in early September on these initiatives. They asked us to share the following information with all FMA members:

• The Administration has granted Direct Hiring Authorities for AI and AI-enabling roles + Data Science and more.
  • AI and AI-enabling roles including but not limited to: Hiring IT Specialists, Computer Scientists, Computer Engineers, or Program Analysts or Program Managers (View the AI and AI enabling DHA policy from Dec 29, 2023)
  • Data Science and Operations Research and more (View the Extended Direct Hiring Authority policy from Sept 29, 2023)
• Hiring term-limited, non-technical positions to work on implementation of EO 14110? Use Schedule A(r) Authorities!
• Not sure how to use these new authorities? OPM has presented a Myth Busters presentation.pdf (3/6/2024) that explains how these authorities can be used, and you can learn more in this two-pager. (PDF- Feb 2024)
• Flexible pay authorities OPM released a Memo on Pay Flexibility, Incentive Pay, and Leave and Workforce Flexibility Programs for Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI-enabling, and Other Key Technical Employees. (View the Pay Flexibility Policy- Feb 27, 2024)

Events and Activities

As part of this effort, OPM and OMB are kicking off a Federal Hiring Experience Learning Series for Fall 2024, which will be free, government-wide opportunities on Eventbrite for all federal hiring managers and HR practitioners. You must have a .gov or .mil email address to register.

The series will kick off with a Hiring Manager Symposium on September 18 from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern. This symposium will showcase current HX initiatives, such as Talent Teams, pooled and shared hiring, assessments, and other HX improvements. They will also demo OPM’s Hiring Assessment and Selection Outcome Dashboard and share additional resources and tools. Click on this link to register.

Other upcoming events include:

• September 23 - Agency Talent Portal: Find the Talent You Need (for the Hiring Manager): Information session for hiring managers to learn about hiring tools, such as resume mining and Talent Pools within the USAJOBS' Agency Talent Portal (ATP). [Register]

• September 24 - OPM Pre-Appointment Review Process for Political Appointees: An overview of the pre-appointment review process required when an agency selects a current or former political appointee for a permanent position in the competitive service, excepted service, or career Senior Executive Service. [Register]

• October 2 - What You Need to Know About Assessments: Information session about the assessment strategy process and what to consider during the hiring decision process. [Register]

• October 16 - Agency Talent Portal: Find the Talent You Need (for the HR Specialist): This session is for HR specialists to learn about hiring tools such as USAJOBS' Agency Talent Portal (ATP). [Register]