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

Agency Practices

"Direct hire really isn't a magic bullet, and it doesn't change things overnight. But it's been an extremely valuable recruitment tool for us." Tom Reimler, Section Chief, Minneapolis Human Resources Field Office, FSIS

This section presents a summary of the following agency practices:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS)
• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS)

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Nation's largest employer of veterinarians, was granted direct-hire authority for Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) positions (GS-701-9 through -13) in the autumn of 2003. After demonstrating that the FSIS had no available candidates for many recruitment actions even after using an aggressive recruiting campaign and available flexibilities and incentives, the agency requested and obtained direct-hire authority from OPM with very quick turnaround. Since instituting direct-hire authority, FSIS has been able to halve their number of long-standing vacancies.

Based on its experiences, FSIS suggests agencies considering direct-hiring authority:

• Prepare a complete, fact-based case for the authority.
• Thoroughly "walk through" how the authority will actually be implemented.
• Make sure that new procedures still enable considerate, individualized treatment for all candidates.
• Manage agency expectations. Direct-hire authority will increase the candidate pool and speed up hires, but it isn't an instant solution; it works slowly over time.

Select this link to learn more about FSIS' use of direct hire.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

In April 2004, HHS requested direct-hire authority for health insurance specialists, economists, and actuaries at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to assist the agency in implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. HHS knew that to implement the major provisions of the act, which had aggressive timeframes, CMS would need to fill about 500 FTEs by the end of FY '05, a 10-percent increase in CMS staffing levels. HHS requested direct-hire authority for a "critical need" to fill these positions on an aggressive schedule.

Even though direct-hire authority is very new, the Baltimore Human Resources Center, which provides human resource services to CMS, has had a "great response" from candidates. For any agency thinking about asking for direct-hire authority, the Center advises that they make the request of OPM.

Select this link to learn more about CMS's use of direct hire.

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