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

OPM Goals

Goal 1

Objective 2

Provide expert advice and assistance in establishing the Department of Homeland Security and ensure human capital needs for the homeland security community are met.

On June 6, 2002, President Bush submitted to Congress a proposal to create a new Cabinet-level department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The proposal envisions realigning twenty-two different agencies currently dispersed throughout Government, and bringing together more than 170,000 Federal employees whose work directly contributes to the defense of America. These employees will come from 22 different personnel systems, each with its own rules, requirements and compensation packages. Such an undertaking is formidable, but one that has as its core, strategic management of human capital. To be successful, the new Department Secretary will need substantial flexibility in managing human resources and the ability to very quickly hire, advance or dismiss an employee on the basis of demonstrated performance. The proposal contemplates an entirely new personnel system designed to meet the unique needs of this Department, but one that is based on prior best practices, such as at the FAA, the TSA and the IRS. OPM is a critical partner in this effort, and is recognized as such in the legislative proposal. OPM is already hard at work consulting with other parties to craft the best strategies for achieving a high-performing, dedicated and motivated homeland security workforce.

Strategies

• OPM applies its best and brightest human resources experts in recommending a structure for a new DHS human resources system.
• OPM works with Congress to ensure essential elements of human capital requirements are included in the enacted legislation.
• OPM assists in crafting appropriate compensation and benefits policies for DHS.
• OPM Director James advises the President on DHS human resources matters and alerts him to any potential obstacles that may deter rapid achievement of the goal in establishing the department.
• OPM’s Investigations program conducts oversight of agency security programs and evaluates the program’s effectiveness in ensuring the security and suitability of employees, and regularly provides status reports on reportable conditions to the DHS.

Performance Indicators/Measures

Ultimately, success of an endeavor as ambitious as starting a new Department of Homeland Security will be the enhanced security of the Nation. The following are interim markers OPM can achieve that will tie directly to the planned effectiveness of the new department:

• DHS personnel components enjoy overwhelming support from Congress, unions, affected employees and the public;
• The new department is established without incident resulting from human resources issues;
• DHS experiences little turnover in the workforce reassigned from other agencies;
• Retirements of those eligible are lower than predicted;
• A dramatic increase over normal in new recruits is experienced, and the quality of applicants is determined to be superior, based on rejection rates; and
• Over time, retention rates in the Department are higher than the Governmentwide average.

Goal 1    Objective 1    Objective 2    Objective 3    Objective 4

Goal 2    Objective 1    Objective 2

Goal 3    Objective 1    Objective 2    Objective 3