[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 93 (Friday, May 14, 2010)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27157-27159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11733]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 27157]]


                Memorandum of May 11, 2010

                
Improving the Federal Recruitment and Hiring 
                Process

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                To deliver the quality services and results the 
                American people expect and deserve, the Federal 
                Government must recruit and hire highly qualified 
                employees, and public service should be a career of 
                choice for the most talented Americans. Yet the 
                complexity and inefficiency of today's Federal hiring 
                process deters many highly qualified individuals from 
                seeking and obtaining jobs in the Federal Government.

                I therefore call on executive departments and agencies 
                (agencies) to overhaul the way they recruit and hire 
                our civilian workforce. Americans must be able to apply 
                for Federal jobs through a commonsense hiring process 
                and agencies must be able to select high-quality 
                candidates efficiently and quickly. Moreover, agency 
                managers and supervisors must assume a leadership role 
                in recruiting and selecting employees from all segments 
                of our society. Human resource offices must provide 
                critical support for these efforts. The ability of 
                agencies to perform their missions effectively and 
                efficiently depends on a talented and engaged 
                workforce, and we must reform our hiring system to 
                further strengthen that workforce.

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States, 
                including section 3301 of title 5, United States Code, 
                I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. Directions to Agencies. Agency heads shall 
                take the following actions no later than November 1, 
                2010:

                    (a) consistent with merit system principles and 
                other requirements of title 5, United States Code, and 
                subject to guidance to be issued by the Office of 
                Personnel Management (OPM), adopt hiring procedures 
                that:

(1) eliminate any requirement that applicants respond to essay-style 
questions when submitting their initial application materials for any 
Federal job;

(2) allow individuals to apply for Federal employment by submitting resumes 
and cover letters or completing simple, plain language applications, and 
assess applicants using valid, reliable tools; and

(3) provide for selection from among a larger number of qualified 
applicants by using the ``category rating'' approach (as authorized by 
section 3319 of title 5, United States Code), rather than the ``rule of 3'' 
approach, under which managers may only select from among the three highest 
scoring applicants;

                    (b) require that managers and supervisors with 
                responsibility for hiring are:

(1) more fully involved in the hiring process, including planning current 
and future workforce requirements, identifying the skills required for the 
job, and engaging actively in the recruitment and, when applicable, the 
interviewing process; and

(2) accountable for recruiting and hiring highly qualified employees and 
supporting their successful transition into Federal service, beginning with 
the first performance review cycle starting after November 1, 2010;

                    (c) provide the OPM and the Office of Management 
                and Budget (OMB) timelines and targets to:

[[Page 27158]]

(1) improve the quality and speed of agency hiring by:

  (i) reducing substantially the time it takes to hire mission-critical and 
commonly filled positions;

  (ii) measuring the quality and speed of the hiring process; and

  (iii) analyzing the causes of agency hiring problems and actions that 
will be taken to reduce them; and

(2) provide every agency hiring manager training on effective, efficient, 
and timely ways to recruit and hire well-qualified individuals;

                    (d) notify individuals applying for Federal 
                employment through USAJOBS, an OPM-approved Federal 
                web-based employment search portal, about the status of 
                their application at key stages of the application 
                process; and
                    (e) identify a senior official accountable for 
                leading agency implementation of this memorandum.

                Sec. 2. Directions to the OPM. The OPM shall take the 
                following actions no later than 90 days after the date 
                of this memorandum:

                    (a) establish a Government-wide performance review 
                and improvement process for hiring reform actions 
                described in section 1 of this memorandum, including:

(1) a timeline, benchmarks, and indicators of progress;

(2) a goal-focused, data-driven system for holding agencies accountable for 
improving the quality and speed of agency hiring, achieving agency hiring 
reform targets, and satisfying merit system principles and veterans' 
preference requirements; and

                    (b) develop a plan to promote diversity in the 
                Federal workforce, consistent with the merit system 
                principle (codified at 5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(1)) that the 
                Federal Government should endeavor to achieve a 
                workforce from all segments of society;
                    (c) evaluate the Federal Career Intern Program 
                established by Executive Order 13162 of July 6, 2000, 
                provide recommendations concerning the future of that 
                program, and propose a framework for providing 
                effective pathways into the Federal Government for 
                college students and recent college graduates;
                    (d) provide guidance or propose regulations, as 
                appropriate, to streamline and improve the quality of 
                job announcements for Federal employment to make sure 
                they are easily understood by applicants;
                    (e) evaluate the effectiveness of shared registers 
                used in filling positions common across multiple 
                agencies and develop a strategy for improving agencies' 
                use of these shared registers for commonly filled 
                Government-wide positions;
                    (f) develop a plan to increase the capacity of 
                USAJOBS to provide applicants, hiring managers, and 
                human resource professionals with information to 
                improve the recruitment and hiring processes; and
                    (g) take such further administrative action as 
                appropriate to implement sections 1 and 2 of this 
                memorandum.

                Sec. 3. Senior Administration Officials. Agency heads 
                and other senior administration officials visiting 
                university or college campuses on official business are 
                encouraged to discuss career opportunities in the 
                Federal Government with students.

                Sec. 4. Reporting. (a) The OPM, in coordination with 
                the OMB and in consultation with other agencies, shall 
                develop a public human resources website to:

(1) track key human resource data, including progress on hiring reform 
implementation; and

(2) assist senior agency leaders, hiring managers, and human resource 
professionals with identifying and replicating best practices within the 
Federal Government for improving new employee quality and the hiring 
process.

[[Page 27159]]

                    (b) Each agency shall regularly review its key 
                human resource performance and work with the OPM and 
                the OMB to achieve timelines and targets for correcting 
                agency hiring problems.
                    (c) The OPM shall submit to the President an annual 
                report on the impact of hiring initiatives set forth in 
                this memorandum, including its recommendations for 
                further improving the Federal Government's hiring 
                process.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Except as expressly 
                stated herein, nothing in this memorandum shall be 
                construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(1) authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head 
thereof; or

(2) functions of the Director of the OMB relating to budgetary, 
administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (d) The Director of the OPM, in consultation with 
                the OMB, may grant an exception to any of the 
                requirements set forth in section 1 of this memorandum 
                to an agency that demonstrates that exceptional 
                circumstances prevent it from complying with that 
                requirement.

                Sec. 6. Publication. The Director of the OPM is hereby 
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in 
                the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, May 11, 2010

[FR Doc. 2010-11733
Filed 5-13-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 6325-01-P