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

2006 Presidential Award for Management Excellence

Department of State

Strategic Management of Human Capital
Innovative and Exemplary Practices

The Department of State is responsible for representing the American people and their interests around the globe.  In an increasingly complex and turbulent international environment, the Department’s work is vital for the nation’s security and for fulfilling the Administration’s commitment to fostering democratic systems and values around the world.  To accomplish its mission the Department of State must build, deploy and sustain an expert, dedicated and high-performing workforce.  With over 57,000 Foreign Service, Civil Service, and Foreign Service National employees posted in over 300 locations around the world, the Department’s employees are its most important resource. 

A major focus of the President’s Strategic Human Capital Management initiative stems from the talent and knowledge lost when skillful government employees retire.  For the Department of State, the expected retirement of many specialized and knowledgeable employees is an indisputable and growing concern. 

The Department of State has responded to this challenge by creating a strategic human capital reserve workforce.  Through a web-based approach, the Department has built an exhaustive talent pool based on its retired employees’ dedication and public service.  The Department’s web-based workforce reserve database provides retired employees’ contact information, skill profiles, and special assignments and training information, allowing the Department to draw upon former staff with critical skills and contacts during times of crisis and international tension.  The re-employment and positioning of former employees can occur almost immediately, adding strategic depth to the Department's rapid response capability.   

The Department uses two primary systems to build its strategic human capital reserve database, the first of which is a restricted website for retired employees.  This private website acts in many ways like a university alumni site, providing information and other services to the former workforce.  The website also provides a portal for retired employees to add their profile and interests to the growing database.  The strategic human capital reserve database uses the same software as the human capital database for active staff.  Applying the two databases together provides the Department with a sophisticated tool to match its needs against available skills.   The Department now has critical skills information on thousands of retired employees, along with its current workforce, and has deployed over 1,400 retired employees in response to critical demands around the globe.

The systems and strategies used by the Department of State to create a strategic human capital reserve is a best practice other agencies can readily simulate.