The Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a Department-wide effort on Hiring Reform in 2009 to coincide with the President’s focus on government-wide hiring reform goals for streamlining the hiring process.  The Hiring Reform initiative directly addresses the priorities presented in OMB, OPM, & DoD Strategic Plans and Issued Memoranda.

In June 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued memorandum M09-20 (dated 11 June 2009) specifically stating: “The current Federal hiring process is lengthy and encumbered by burdensome requirements and outdated technology systems.“

Subsequent to OMB’s Memoranda, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued follow-on guidance (dated 18 June 2009) in executing the President’s hiring reform agenda.  The 2010-2015 OPM Strategic Plan further institutionalized the urgency of hiring process improvement by “spearheading a government-wide initiative to reform recruiting and hiring policies and procedures.” Specific to this reform, it calls for “streamlining the end-to-end process to create a positive experience for applicants, managers, and HR specialists.”

These issues pose a particular challenge to the Department of Defense (DoD) due in large part to its size and the number of its Components, the complexity of its unique hiring authorities, its geographically dispersed locations, and its obsolete staffing tools.  Faced with this difficult challenge, the DoD Strategic Management Plan identifies “Enhance the Civilian Workforce” as one of the top five Business Priorities with the Performance Goal to “streamline the human resource hiring process."

Adding further urgency to the Federal wide- hiring reform initiative, on 11 May 2010, the President released a memorandum issuing the following six key directives for Agencies to execute no later than 1 November, 2010:

Subsequently, the Office Of Personnel Management (OPM) released an Agency Implementation Memorandum to provide guidance to Agencies on the execution of these directives and provide their plan for supporting the effort.  The OPM Hiring Reform website was also launched in conjunction with this memorandum, containing Hiring Reform information, news, and resources.  The Agencies, under the supervision of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Dr. Clifford Stanley, & with guidance from the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy (DUSD (CPP)), are aggressively pursuing these reforms not only to meet the November 1 suspense, but ultimately to create a hiring process which attracts the best quality candidates in the most timely manner.

To better understand the Hiring Reform Initiative & Story, we welcome you to browse the following links: 

Memoranda
	31 Dec 2010 - DoD: Strategic Management Plan (FY11) (PDF, 4.0 MB)
	11 May 2010 - The White House: Presidential Memorandum, “Improving the Federal Recruitment and Hiring Process” (link)
	11 May 2010 - OPM: “Comprehensive Recruitment and Hiring Reform, Implementation of the President’s Memorandum of 11 May, 2010” (link)
	10 Mar 2010 - 2010-2015 OPM Strategic Plan (PDF, 1.3 MB)
	18 Jun 2009 - OPM: “Office of Personnel Management Assistance in Meeting Hiring Reform, Employee Satisfaction and Wellness Requirements Contained in the President's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget and Performance Plans” (PDF, 1.8 MB)
	11 Jun 2009 - “OMB: Planning for the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget and Performance Plans” (PDF, 78 KB)
Websites
	OPM: Hiring Reform Website (link)
	DoD: Department of Defense 101 (link)

Scope

The Hiring Reform Initiative addresses the 4 key hiring elements or phases:

1. Planning
2. Attracting the Candidate
3. Making Hiring Decisions
4. Shaping Early Experiences

Finding Out More

Now that you have some background on hiring reform, join our initiative by diving deeper into the many targeted resources we have available to each of the following audiences.  
 
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