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National Institutes of Health’s
Hispanic Employment Program
Strategic Plan
Executive Summary
One of Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management’s
(OEODM) highest priorities has been to undertake a serious effort
to strengthen the NIH’s workforce and management capabilities
while addressing workforce diversity issues. On April 4, 2001,
the Acting Director of the NIH announced the NIH Policy on Diversity
Management and directed the NIH to build and manage a talented
and diverse workforce. Under this policy, NIH managers have an
opportunity and responsibility to address the longstanding underrepresentation
and underutilization of Hispanics within its workforce.
This Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) is tied to the overall
NIH Policy on Diversity Management. The Diversity Management
Policy and
the HEP will be institutionalized in all facets of NIH operations.
Through the HEP the NIH is seeking to build relationships with
Hispanic communities and engage them in the NIH’s vast
scientific, technical, and research operations. The HEP calls
for strengthening
the NIH’s outreach activities in a comprehensive effort
to promote partnership opportunities with the Hispanic community
in three critical areas: employment, education, and biomedical
research.
The HEP has been developed to address and assist in reversing
the underrepresentation and underutilization of Hispanics in NIH.
The HEP seeks to assist in the recruitment of talented candidates
from outside the NIH; retain, promote, and develop current employees;
and create a pipeline for addressing current and future workforce
needs.
This Strategic Plan is challenging, manageable, measurable, and
consistent with and supportive of the NIH’s Affirmative
Employment Plan (AEP) and the Hispanic Agenda for Action Plan.
The HEP needs total commitment from all managers and employees
to meet its goals and objectives.
The successful accomplishment of HEP goals is predicated on three
strategic actions:
- Educating the Hispanic and NIH communities about the opportunities
at the NIH and the value of increasing the Hispanic workforce.
- Creating effective working partnerships with both internal
and external organizations in order to correct the underrepresentation
and underutilization of Hispanic at the NIH.
- Communicating the successes and activities of the HEP across
all sectors of the NIH community to focus attention on issues
surrounding Hispanic employment at the NIH.
Background
The underrepresentation of Hispanics in the Federal workforce
first received attention in 1970, when President Nixon issued
the Federal government’s Sixteen Point Program. The program
outlined 16 steps that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and
other agencies could undertake to ensure equal opportunity in
Federal employment for Hispanics. Issued initially as a press
release, it was incorporated into regulation by the CSC (now the
Office of Personnel Management) on January 23, 1973. The Sixteen
Point Program eventually evolved into the Federal government’s
“Hispanic Employment Program.” From 1973 to the present,
Hispanic underrepresentation has remained constant throughout
the Federal government, the nation’s largest employer.
In 1994, President Clinton posed the challenge of creating a
government reflective of America’s diverse population for
the 21st Century. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) responded
to the President’s challenge, and in September 1997 issued
a memorandum to all Cabinet and sub-Cabinet members raising concerns
of Hispanic underrepresentation in the Federal government. OPM
also issued a “Nine-Point Plan” which provided direction
for addressing Hispanic underrepresentation. Addressing this issue
is a major priority of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the
National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which is comprised of over
30 national Hispanic organizations and leaders from across the
country.
On March 3, 1999, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) submitted
a report to the President’s Management Council (PMC) on
Hispanic Employment in the Federal government. According to
OPM:
While Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of our population,
it is the most underrepresented in our government. Hispanics
comprise
11.8% of the civilian labor force and 6.6% of the Federal
workforce – the only major group severely underrepresented
in the Federal civilian service.
OPM’s report provided various strategies to address Hispanic
underrepresentation throughout Federal government. These strategies
focus on specific goals and objectives Federal agencies should
implement to corporately address Hispanic underrepresentation
across government, including the areas of Senior Executive Service,
General Employment, Student Employment and Academic Relations,
Career Development, and Management Accountability.
On October 16, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order
13171, Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government, in order
to improve the representation of Hispanics in Federal employment.
As specified in the Executive Order, in addition to affirming
current policies, each agency is required to take steps to establish
and maintain a program for recruitment and career development
of Hispanics in Federal employment. These steps should include
further partnerships and cooperation among Federal, public, and
private sector employers and appropriate Hispanic organizations
to promote Federal employment of qualified individuals.
Federal agencies, including NIH, must take a proactive stance
in addressing Hispanic underrepresentation in the Federal government.
According to recent Census Bureau data, Hispanic Americans number
over 38.8 million, becoming the Nation’s largest minority
group. Furthermore, the Census Bureau reports that by the year
2050, one in four Americans will be of Hispanic descent. The
significant increase in the Hispanic population will give rise
to a large
influx of minorities into America’s workforce. NIH must
be prepared to effectively manage the recruitment, selection,
and hiring of Hispanics into the Federal workforce of the new
millennium, and should act immediately to plan to fill its workforce
needs. According to OPM, Hispanics are the most severely underrepresented
minority group in the Federal government. Hispanics comprise
6.7% of the total Federal workforce compared with 11.8% of the
civilian labor force (CLF), and 3% of Senior Executive
Service (SES) employees. Hispanics number 626, which is
3.3% of the total NIH workforce. This
is only
half the Federal average. There is a clear and compelling need
to address this underrepresentation within NIH, and to take
the
necessary steps to significantly improve representation at all
grade levels.
Recruitment and Hiring
Entry/Mid Level Employment
- Identify and assess utilization of current entry-level intern
programs to develop diverse groups of professional, administrative,
and scientific trainees.
- Promote increased recruitment at the GS-5 and GS-7 level
for positions covered by the Luevano consent decree 1 and use
the Outstanding Scholar and Bilingual/Bicultural hiring authorities
as a supplemental authority with competitive examining.
- Research NIH recruitment strategies used to target Hispanics
through professional organizations (e.g., SACNAS), publications
(e.g., Hispanic Engineer Magazine), and colleges and universities
(e.g., the University of New Mexico).
- Review the language in requirements and ranking factors in
vacancy announcements to ensure they are not restrictive or
biased
in nature and that areas of consideration are broadened, where
possible.
- Initiate dialogue to establish long-term relationships with
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Hispanic organizations
and advocacy groups, e.g., LULAC and NCLR and Hispanic professional
organizations, e.g., SACNAS and Hispanic MBAs.
- Identify and target five HSIs that graduate individuals with
degrees that meet NIH job needs. Partner with these HSIs to
identify twenty graduates who qualify for Outstanding Scholar
appointments to be interviewed for positions at NIH.
- Identify existing High School Intern/Apprentice Programs that
prepare students for jobs and careers in the NIH and create
awareness of these programs among local school systems with
large Hispanic populations.
- Develop NIH recruitment and career planning presentations/workshops
for Hispanic Serving Institutions and other Hispanic organizations.
- Host a National Institutes of Health Youth and NIH Career
Awareness Symposium.
- Develop a Minority Recruitment Calendar that lists educational
and professional organizations, dates, and target audience.
Senior-Level Employment (GS-13 and above)
- Review SES search and placement procedures and ensure effective
outreach tools are utilized to actively recruit qualified Hispanic
candidates for senior-level position. Tools may include employing
executive search firms and advertising in minority publication.
- Create awareness among NIH recruitment personnel about the
wide variety of Hispanic recruitment sources that can yield
potential SES applicants (e.g., National Association of Hispanic
Federal Executives, NOMAR, Society of Hispanic Professional
Engineers, etc.)
- Create awareness among high-potential NIH Hispanic employees
of SES opportunities.
- Create awareness among NIH Hispanic employees of existing
executive/leadership training programs.
- Identify and promote awareness of government-wide and NIH
executive development training programs among high-potential
Hispanic candidates in order to increase opportunities for inclusion
in SES selection pools.
- Inform NIH minority employee groups and other Federal government
Hispanic Employment Program Managers (HEPMs) about hiring
and
promotion opportunities and utilize their networks for identifying
qualified candidates for senior positions.
- Review the participation of EEO Officers on NIH-administered
Executive Resources Boards, Performance Review Boards, Qualification
Review Boards, and SES Selection Panels.
- Ensure that IC Affirmative Action Plans contain goals to
address Hispanic underrepresentation within the IC’s workforce.
Monitor implementation of actions designed to achieve results.
Retention
- Review IC's internal employment practices undertaken to
retain Hispanic employees (e.g., use of retention bonuses,
awards,
promotions, etc.).
- Review exit interview procedures, questionnaires, and data
for Hispanic employees and make recommendations for improvement.
Development
- Review NIH Hispanic employee participation in existing skill-building
training programs, conferences, and seminars.
- Promote awareness among NIH Hispanic employees of opportunities
to compete for managerial and executive and upward mobility
training (e.g., SES Candidate School, Federal Executive Institute,
and the Executive Potential Program).
- Review NIH nomination process among Hispanics and other employees
(GS-6 through GS-13) for participation in Leadership, and Executive
Potential Programs and other developmental programs.
- Develop and expand NIH-wide vehicles to communicate developmental
opportunities for Hispanic employees.
Accountability
The NIH’s senior-level management is primarily responsible
for ensuring and emphasizing efforts to achieve a fully diverse
workforce, inclusive of Hispanics. The Office of Equal Opportunity
and Diversity Management, through existing tracking and reporting
mechanisms will assist the NIH Director, IC Directors, managers,
and supervisors in accomplishing workforce diversity by implementing
and monitoring workforce profiles and measures. The NIH will
take the following action items to promote accountability and
results
with respect to Hispanic employment.
- Periodically update and review organizational Hispanic workforce
goals and achievements.
- Submit HEP Annual Status Report to the Director, OEODM on
the NIH’s progress towards improving the underrepresentation
of Hispanics.
- Develop and deliver a presentation to senior-level NIH groups,
executives, and managers to introduce and explain the goals
and importance of the Hispanic Employment Program, in order
to secure their support.