Washington, D.C.- The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in an expanding effort to assist agencies in implementing the President's Management Agenda (PMA) highlighted the Strategic Management of Human Capital at the Department of the Navy's Civilian Community Management Conference in Crystal City, Virginia.

Dr. Timothy Buckley, from the Human Capital Leadership & Merit System Accountability division, speaking on behalf of OPM Director Kay Coles James told attendees that the strategic management of human capital is the "first pillar" of President George W. Bush's blueprint to address Federal management challenges.

"OPM Director Kay Coles James is committed to the President's charge to create a government that produces measurable results by developing systems that respond better to 21st Century organizational demands and employee concerns," Buckley said. "This is a call to agencies governmentwide to strategically align their mission, goals, and organizational objectives to meet these demands."

The Executive Branch Management Scorecard uses a color-coded system to track how well the departments and major agencies are executing the five governmentwide management initiatives established by the President to make the Federal government citizen-centered, results-oriented and market-based.

Buckley emphasized Director James' commitment through collaborative efforts with the Office of Management and Budget and the General Accountability Office on adopting human capital standards to assist agencies in ‘Getting to Green'. Reiterating the results of these efforts, Buckley said, "Approximately 1.4 million Federal employees now work in agencies that score yellow or better on human capital leadership initiatives under the PMA."

Buckley also discussed the collaborative effort of OPM and the Department of Defense (DoD) to address agency-specific Human Capital challenges in the development of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), an initiative focused on the design of the new pay and personnel system at DoD.

Additionally, he explained the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Act in the Strategic Management of Human Capital, detailing its critical role in ensuring Federal agencies are held accountable through measurable objectives.

"The CHCO Act requires that OPM develops a set of systems with metrics and standards for assessing the management of human capital by Federal agencies," Buckley said. "Accordingly, OPM has put systems and resources in place so HR leaders in agencies governmentwide can address their human capital management more strategically. Agencies now recognize the need to assess the strategic value of the position and the competencies required to sustain a culture that cultivates and develops a high performing workforce.

As part of its efforts to facilitate the PMA governmentwide, OPM works closely with agencies to determine the progress scores for the Federal Government's Strategic Management of Human Capital initiative.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.