U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

2005 Presidential Award for Management Excellence

Department of State

Strategic Management of Human Capital

The mission of the Department of State is uniquely broad.  They operate in 265 diplomatic missions, conducting diplomatic relations with 188 countries and countless other organizations.  Their staff of over 50,000 employees is likewise unique with Civil Service employees, as well as Foreign Service personnel and foreign citizens, working in foreign embassies under a variety of personnel structures and arrangements.  This uncommon environment and the constantly changing global environmental in which they work make operating under a comprehensive human capital plan challenging and complex.    

A significant key to linking their human capital strategies with their organizational mission is the Department strategic planning system.  The Department of State uses three levels of planning – Mission, Bureau, and Department to achieve strategic alignment.  The 265 overseas missions prepare annual Mission Performance Plans (MPPs) while each Bureau uses the MPPs and other resources to develop their annual Bureau Performance Plan.  In 2004, the Department-level plan was formulated jointly with the U.S. Agency for International Development resulting in a Joint Performance Plan.  Since Human Capital goals are a required element at each level of planning, the Department of State HR Bureau provides substantial guidance to each bureau and mission. 

The numerous personnel systems under which they operate require a strong workforce planning model to ensure mission success.  The Department’s two workforce planning models (the Overseas Staffing Model and Domestic Staffing Model) are cutting-edge.  The workforce planning process is used to identify current and future human capital needs, including the size of their workforce, deployments, and mission critical competencies.  These projections are based upon measurable workload factors and Departmental strategies.  The models can also simulate the affects of attrition, promotion, time-in-service, and time-in class.  The outputs of these models provide the analytical tools the Department’s leadership need to make informed decisions about the size, structure, training, and career development of the Department’s workforce. 

Attracting high level talent with the right skills is crucial.  The Department of State has succeeded in attracting a record numbers of applicants (5,000 new Foreign and Civil Service employees in the last three years), diversifying their candidate pool, closing critical skill gaps at the entry level, building a pipeline for future leaders, and utilizing the tools of eGovernment to reduce hiring times.  They have also employed a variety of hiring flexibilities such as recruitment and relocation bonuses, retention allowances, critical position pay, and tuition assistance.  The student loan repayment program has been particularly useful in recruiting for positions at hardship or danger pay posts and for hard to fill civil service positions.  The Department has also realized success in offering bonuses to recruit and retain candidates and employees with critical information technology skills.

Under the President’s Management Agenda (PMA), the Department of State has been able to advance the management of its human capital during a time of unprecedented opportunity and challenge to the development and implementation of the foreign policy of the United States throughout the world.