Human Capital: A Self-Assessment Checklist for Agency Leaders (Guidance,
09/01/2000, GAO/OCG-00-14G).

GAO published a self-assessment checklist to assist agency leaders in
designing, implementing, and maintaining an effective human capital
strategy. GAO's approach to self assessment: (1) emphasizes investment
in enhancing the value of individual employees and of the agency
workforce as a whole; and (2) asks whether the agency has established
and clearly defined and communicated a shared vision and aligned its
components and systems to support them.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  OCG-00-14G
     TITLE:  Human Capital: A Self-Assessment Checklist for Agency
	     Leaders
      DATE:  09/01/2000
   SUBJECT:  Agency missions
	     Strategic planning
	     Personnel recruiting
	     Performance measures
	     Human resources utilization
	     Federal employees
	     Personnel management
IDENTIFIER:  Dept. of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige Quality Improvement
	     Award
	     President's Quality Award Program

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GAO/OCG-00-14G

HUMAN CAPITAL A Self- Assessment Checklist for Agency Leaders

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Office of the Comptroller General

September 2000 Version 1

GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G

Preface

Page 1 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

The federal government employs a diverse and knowledge- based workforce
composed of individuals with a broad spectrum of technical and program
skills and institutional memory. They are the government's human capital,
its greatest asset.

To attain the highest level of performance and accountability, federal
agencies depend on three enablers: people, process, and technology. The most
important of these is people, because an agency's people define its
character and its capacity to perform.

Social, economic, and technological changes have become a constant in our
society and our world. Just as they have in the private sector, these
changes inevitably affect the way government agencies must approach their
work. Although the management challenges facing leaders in the public and
private sectors often differ significantly, leaders in both areas are
becoming acutely aware of how much they rely on their human capital to
achieve results. To meet the changing environment, federal agencies need to
give human capital a higher priority than ever before and modernize their
human capital policies and practices. Agencies must, for example, become
more competitive in attracting new employees with critical skills,
especially in a tight labor market; create the kinds of performance
incentives and training programs that motivate and empower employees; and
build management- labor relationships that are based on common interests and
the public trust. Modern human capital policies and practices offer the
federal government a means to improve its economy, efficiency, and
effectiveness to better serve the American people. As the nation's largest
employer, the federal government needs to take the initiative on human
capital and seize the opportunity to lead by example.

During the 1990s, Congress responded to long- standing shortcomings in the
way federal agencies were managed by creating a framework for more
businesslike and results- oriented management. The three major areas
addressed by the reforms were financial management, information technology
management, and performance- based management. The consensus needed to fill
the remaining gap in that framework- strategic human capital management- has
not yet emerged. But even in the absence of fundamental legislative change,
agency leaders can still take practical steps to improve their human capital
practices. The first step to this end is self- assessment.

Simply stated, human capital means people. There are, however, two key
principles that are central to the human capital idea. First, people are
assets whose value can be enhanced through investment. As with any What Is
Human

Capital?

Preface Page 2 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

investment, the goal is to maximize value while managing risk. As the value
of people increases, so does the performance capacity of the organization,
and therefore its value to clients and other stakeholders. Second, an
organization's human capital policies must be aligned to support the
organization's “shared vision”- that is, the mission, vision for
the future, core values, goals and objectives, and strategies by which the
organization has defined its direction and its expectations for itself and
its people. All human capital policies and practices should be designed,
implemented, and assessed by the standard of how well they help the
organization pursue its shared vision.

At most federal agencies, the lion's share of operating costs is devoted to
the workforce. For this reason, employees traditionally have been viewed
through the budgetary lens, and therefore they have often been seen as costs
to be cut rather than as assets to be valued. However, highperformance
organizations in both the private and public sectors recognize that an
organization's people largely determine its capacity to perform. These
organizations understand that the value of the organization is dependent on
the value of its people.

Enhancing the value of employees is a win- win goal for employers and
employees alike. The more an organization recognizes the intrinsic value of
each employee; the more it recognizes that this value can be enhanced with
nurturing and investment; the more it recognizes that employees vary in
their talents and motivations, and that a variety of incentive strategies
and working arrangements can be created to enhance each employee's
contributions to organizational performance, the more likely the
organization will be to appreciate the variety of employee needs and
circumstances and to act in ways that will make sense in both business and
human terms.

Self- assessment is the starting point for creating “human capital
organizations”- agencies that focus on valuing employees and aligning
their “people policies” to support organizational performance
goals. Part of the impetus for creating human capital organizations comes
from the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which requires
agencies to pursue performance- based management, including strategic
planning, results- oriented goalsetting, and performance measurement. 1 One
of the emerging challenges for agency leaders will be to add to their
traditional policy portfolios an understanding of the importance of

1 Executive Guide: Effectively Implementing the Government Performance and
Results Act (GAO/ GGD- 96- 118, June 1996). Why Should Agencies

Conduct a Human Capital SelfAssessment?

Preface Page 3 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

performance management issues- including human capital issues- to the
accomplishment of their agencies' policy and programmatic goals. 2

Although GPRA gives agencies the impetus for tailoring their human capital
systems to their specific missions, visions for the future, core values,
goals and objectives, and strategies, it is up to the agencies themselves to
follow through on the opportunity. If high performance and accountability
depend on the three enablers- people, process, and technology- then it is
useful, first and foremost, for any agency to have a clear and fact- based
understanding of its human capital situation. There is no single recipe for
successful human capital management. However, we have identified a number of
human capital elements and underlying values that are common to high-
performance organizations. 3 Federal agencies that seek to comply with the
spirit of performance- based management should scan their human capital
systems to see if these elements have been addressed.

Another advantage to doing a human capital self- assessment is that it will
help agency leaders understand the strengths and limitations of their human
capital information systems. Any self- assessment should be based- to the
extent possible- on valid and reliable data regarding such matters as
hiring, diversity, retention, promotions, succession cycles, and performance
incentives. (See app. IV for a list of useful quantitative measures.) These
data can help the agency develop a profile of its human capital, providing
useful historical and prospective views. Further, because sound human
capital information can spotlight areas of concern before they develop into
crises, gathering these data is an indispensable part of effective risk
management. Conducting a human capital selfassessment will give agency
leaders an idea of the adequacy of the data currently being gathered and of
the gaps that may need to be filled.

As will be discussed later in this document, our human capital
selfassessment checklist is intended to be a relatively simple diagnostic
tool, meant primarily to capture senior leaders' informed views of their
agencies' human capital policies and practices. As a next step, we intend to
develop a supporting methodology that, while using the same conceptual
framework, will provide a more rigorous basis for human

2 See Confirmation of Political Appointees: Eliciting Nominees' Views on
Leadership and Management Issues (GAO/ GGD- 00- 174, Aug. 11, 2000); and
Human Capital: Managing Human Capital in the 21 st Century (GAO/ T- GGD- 00-
77, Mar. 9, 2000).

3 For example, see Human Capital: Key Principles From Nine Private Sector
Organizations (GAO/ GGD00- 28, Jan. 31, 2000).

Preface Page 4 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

capital assessment. This “maturity model” will help agencies
examine their human capital efforts through three stages: analyze and plan,
implement change, and evaluate and continuously improve. We expect to
develop, test, and make the new methodology available to agencies in fiscal
year 2001.

Our approach to self- assessment is based primarily on the two principles,
mentioned earlier, that are central to the human capital idea: investing in
employees, and aligning “people policies” to fulfill the
organization's shared vision. Our approach to self- assessment (1)
emphasizes investment in enhancing the value of individual employees and of
the agency workforce as a whole; and (2) asks whether the agency has
established, clearly defined, and communicated a shared vision (i. e., a
mission, a vision for the future, core values, goals and objectives, and
strategies) and aligned its resources and systems to support it.

These and other related human capital values underlie the framework we have
constructed for self- assessment. We derived these values, first, from our
work with leading organizations in the private sector and among governments
at the state and local levels and abroad. (See “Eight Principles for
Managing People,” app. I; and “Key Human Capital Management
Principles from Nine Private Sector Organizations,” app. II). Second,
we drew from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program and the
President's Quality Award Program. Both awards feature human capital values
that are consistent with those we have identified in our work with leading
organizations. (See “Baldrige Award and Presidential Quality Award
Values,” app. III).

In developing and refining our approach to self- assessment, we referred to
other sources as well. These sources included (1) relevant parts of title 5
U. S. C., “Government Organization and Employees”; and 5 C. F.
R., “Administrative Personnel”; and (2) GPRA, along with agency
guidance contained in OMB Circular No. A- 11; and Standards for Internal
Control in the Federal Government (GAO/ AIMD- 00- 21.3.1, November 1999).

We issued a discussion draft of this self- assessment checklist for human
capital in September 1999. 4 We distributed the draft through direct
mailings and by posting it on GAO's website. In addition, GAO officials
pursued an extensive outreach program to build awareness of the product and
to gain the views of senior federal managers; human capital experts and
practitioners within and outside the federal community; and

4 Human Capital: A Self- Assessment Checklist for Agency Leaders (GAO/ GGD-
99- 179, Sept. 1999). The Bases for Our

Approach to SelfAssessment

Preface Page 5 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

government auditors at the federal, state, and local levels. We received and
accommodated informal comments from the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Merit Systems
Protection Board (MSPB), as well as from experts with organizations such as
the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM).

In addition, during the past year, our evaluators have used the draft
selfassessment checklist to help guide their inquiries into human capital
issues across the federal government and at specific federal agencies,
including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Social Security Administration.
(See “Related GAO Products,” app. V). GAO staff members have
shared the document with officials at these agencies and others, some of
whom have said they intended to make use of the checklist in their human
capital planning efforts. Evaluators pursuing future GAO assignments related
to human capital will use the newest version of the self- assessment
checklist and apply the lessons learned in using the checklist over the past
year. Finally, consistent with our policy to “lead by example,”
we applied the checklist to our own human capital policies and practices and
are using the results to help guide our current and future human capital
efforts.

Just as the government has begun adopting a more businesslike approach over
the past decade involving financial, information technology, and
performance- based management reforms, it will be necessary to consider what
human capital approaches will best position the federal government for the
21 st century. When enough agencies have assessed their human capital
systems and identified both the opportunities available to them and whatever
barriers may stand in the way of improvement, perhaps a better consensus
will emerge on the needed reforms.

Over the past year, we have been encouraged by the growing urgency with
which leaders in the executive and legislative branches have begun to
address the federal government's human capital issues. In his fiscal year
2001 budget, the President included human capital management as a Priority
Management Objective for the first time. In June 2000, he issued a
memorandum to agency heads directing- among other things- that agencies
include human capital management in their planning, budgeting, and mission
evaluation, and specifically address human capital goals in their strategic
and annual performance plans. In addition, Members of both Houses of
Congress and on both sides of the aisle have expressed a growing interest in
the way agencies are addressing the emerging human capital challenges of the
new century and have encouraged our efforts to

Preface Page 6 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

build awareness of these issues and help agencies improve the way they
manage their people.

As we all have learned, changing times demand new thinking and new
approaches to the way federal agencies do business. Designing, implementing,
and maintaining effective human capital strategies will be critical to
enhancing the goals of maximizing the performance and ensuring the
accountability of the federal government.

We hope that agency leaders will put human capital in the forefront of their
efforts to bring accountable, results- oriented management to government. If
you have comments or questions about this selfassessment checklist or would
like to explore opportunities for further contacts with GAO about planning,
implementing, and evaluating strategic human capital management, please
contact Victor S. Rezendes, Managing Director, or Carlotta C. Joyner,
Director, Strategic Issues, at (202) 512- 6806.

We are sending copies of this product to the appropriate congressional
committees; the Honorable Janice R. Lachance, Director, Office of Personnel
Management; and the Honorable Jacob J. Lew, Director, Office of Management
and Budget. We will also make copies available to others upon request.

Individuals who made key contributions to this product included Stephen
Altman, Michael Brostek, Jennifer S. Cruise, Thomas C. Fox, and Nancy
Kingsbury.

David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States

Page 7 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Page 8 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Contents 1 What Is Human Capital? 1 Why Should Agencies Conduct a Human
Capital SelfAssessment? 2

The Bases for Our Approach to Self- Assessment 4 Preface

10 Five- Part Framework 10 Cross- Cutting Considerations 10 Framework for
Human

Capital SelfThe Assessment

13 Strategic Planning: Establish the Agency's Mission, Vision

for the Future, Core Values, Goals and Objectives, and Strategies

13 Strategic Planning 15 Organizational Alignment: Integrate Human Capital

Strategies With the Agency's Core Business Practices 15 Organizational

Alignment 17 Leadership: Foster a Committed Leadership Team and

Provide Reasonable Continuity Through Succession Planning

17 Leadership 19 Talent: Recruit, Hire, Develop, and Retain Employees

with the Skills for Mission Accomplishment 19 Talent

22 Performance Culture: Empower and Motivate Employees

While Ensuring Accountability and Fairness in the Workplace

22 Performance Culture Appendix I: Eight Principles for Managing People 28
Appendix II: Key Human Capital Management Principles

From Nine Private Sector Organizations 29 Appendixes

Appendix III: Baldrige Award and Presidential Quality Award Values

32

Contents Page 9 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Appendix IV: Useful Measures/ Risk Indicators for Human Capital Management

34 Appendix V: Related GAO Products 36

Framework for Human Capital SelfAssessment

Page 10 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Our self- assessment framework has five parts. Each part contains at least
two key questions for a quick assessment of the agency's human capital
policies and practices in the respective area. The questions are followed by
suggested sources of information or indicators; not every agency will have
these sources on hand, and most of the conclusions that users arrive at can
be expected to be somewhat subjective. (See app. IV for a list of useful
quantitative measures.)

The checklist is intended to be a relatively simple diagnostic tool rather
than a methodologically rigorous evaluation. It is meant simply to capture
senior leaders' informed views of their agencies' human capital policies and
practices. Users may wish to develop a kind of “status check” of
their agencies' human capital situation, in which case they may wish to
respond to the questions with answers ranging from “not at all”
to “generally not” to “partially” to
“generally yes” to “definitely (or completely) yes.”
However, regardless of whether senior leaders choose to record their views
in these terms, the overall picture that emerges through use of the
checklist should help them begin a more systematic, indepth, and continuous
effort to evaluate and improve their agencies' human capital systems.

The five parts of the human capital self- assessment framework are as
follows:

1. Strategic Planning: Establish the agency's mission, vision for the
future, core values, goals and objectives, and strategies.

2. Organizational Alignment: Integrate human capital strategies with the
agency's core business practices.

3. Leadership: Foster a committed leadership team and provide reasonable
continuity through succession planning.

4. Talent: Recruit, hire, develop, and retain employees with the skills for
mission accomplishment.

5. Performance Culture: Empower and motivate employees while ensuring
accountability and fairness in the workplace.

Although the self- assessment framework has five parts, certain unifying
considerations should be kept in mind across all five: The Five- Part

Framework Cross- Cutting Considerations

Framework for Human Capital Self- Assessment Page 11 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human
Capital All aspects of human capital are interrelated. The principles of

effectively managing people are inseparable and must be treated as a whole.
Any sorting of human capital issues may have a sound rationale behind it,
but no sorting should imply that human capital issues can be
compartmentalized and dealt with in isolation from one another.

Trust requires transparency. To pursue its shared vision effectively, the
agency must earn the trust of its workforce by involving employees in the
strategic planning process and by ensuring that the process is transparent-
that is, consistently making it clear that the shared vision is the basis
for the agency's actions and decisions.

Merit principles and other national goals still apply. Performancebased
management does not supercede the merit principles or other national goals,
such as veterans preference. A modern merit system will achieve a reasonable
balance among taxpayer demands, employer needs, and employee interests.

Constraints and flexibilities need to be understood. The purpose of human
capital self- assessment is to help agencies target areas in which to make
changes in support of their organizational missions and other needs.
Agencies that identify areas for improvement need to learn what constraints
exist that apply to them and what flexibilities are available. 1

Fact- based human capital management requires data. Federal agencies
typically do not have the data required to effectively assess how well their
human capital approaches support results. A more fact- based approach to
human capital management will entail the development and use of data that
demonstrate the effectiveness of human capital policies and practices-
thereby improving managers' ability to maximize the value of human capital
investments while managing the related risks.

The use of best practices requires prudent decisionmaking.

Identifying best practices and benchmarking against leading organizations
are both potentially useful and important pursuits. Federal agencies must be
careful to recognize the unique characteristics and circumstances that make
organizations different from one another and to consider the applicability
of practices that have worked elsewhere. For example, the environments in
which public and private sector organizations operate differ significantly;
our work has shown that many management principles identified in the private
sector are applicable to the federal sector, but

1 For example, see HR Innovators' Tool Kit, Office of Personnel Management.

Framework for Human Capital Self- Assessment Page 12 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human
Capital

these differences need to be taken into account when agencies consider
alternatives to their current management approaches. 2

Attention to human capital must be ongoing. To be effective, strategic human
capital management requires the sustained commitment and attention of senior
leaders and managers at all levels of the agency. Managing the workforce is
not a problem for which the organization can supply an answer and then move
on. Rather, managers must continually monitor and refine their agencies'
human capital approaches to ensure their ongoing effectiveness and
continuous improvement.

2 For a discussion of these differences, see Transforming the Civil Service:
Building the Workforce of the Future- Results of a GAO- Sponsored Symposium
(GAO/ GGD- 96- 35, Dec. 20, 1995).

Part 1 Strategic Planning

Page 13 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

High- performance organizations begin by defining what they want to
accomplish and what kind of organization they want to be. They define a
“shared vision”- i. e., a mission, a vision for the future, core
values, goals and objectives, and strategies- and communicate that shared
vision clearly, constantly, and consistently. The agency's shared vision
provides the standard for assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of
everything the agency does. In the area of human capital, for example, the
agency should develop strategies to enhance the value of its employees and
focus their efforts on the agency's shared vision. The effect should be in
the best collective interests of employer and employee alike: the agency's
capacity to achieve its shared vision will increase, while its employees
will benefit from the incentives- tangible and intangible- of working for a
high- performance organization.

1. Shared vision . Does the agency have a clearly defined and
wellcommunicated “shared vision”- that is, a mission, vision for
the future, core values, goals and objectives, and strategies by which the
agency has defined its direction and its expectations for itself and its
people?

Look for: A clear and coherent portrayal of the agency's shared vision in
its strategic plan, annual performance plan, or other guiding documents.
Indications that the agency has developed this shared vision with the
involvement of clients and other stakeholders and in accord with scans of
its internal and external environments. Indications that the agency has
communicated and reinforced the relevance of its shared vision among all
employees and created, as appropriate, effective strategies for managing
change. Note: Guidance on GPRA requirements and key steps toward
implementation is available in Executive Guide: Effectively Implementing the
Government Performance and Results Act (GAO/ GGD- 96- 118, June 1996); and
in Agencies' Strategic Plans Under GPRA: Key Questions to Facilitate
Congressional Review (GAO/ GGD- 10.1.16, May 1997).

2. Human capital focus . Has the agency created a coherent human capital
strategy- that is, a framework of human capital policies, programs, and
practices specifically designed to steer the agency toward achieving its
shared vision- and integrated this strategy with the agency's overall
strategic planning?

Look for: Discussions of the agency's human capital strategies in its
strategic plan and annual performance plans or a separate strategic human
capital planning document. An understanding that programmatic goals and
strategies may create specific human capital needs that must be addressed if
desired outcomes are to be accomplished. An indication that Strategic
Planning:

Establish the Agency's Mission, Vision for the Future, Core Values, Goals
and Objectives, and Strategies

Key Questions

Part 1 Strategic Planning

Page 14 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

agency leaders are accountable for attending to human capital issues, have
given human capital management a high priority, and have involved line
managers and appropriate employees at all levels in creating a human capital
focus. Efforts taken to assess the agency's human capital management in
light of its shared vision and periodic reassessments as part of a
continuous effort to evaluate and improve its human capital systems.
Established measures that provide meaningful data on the full range of human
capital policies and practices and how these practices promote mission
accomplishment. An indication that the agency has identified best practices
or benchmarked elements of its human capital programs against high-
performance organizations with similar missions and identified the
constraints and flexibilities available to it. An evaluation of the agency's
human resource information system (HRIS) and its capacity to provide
relevant and reliable data for fact- based decisionmaking on human capital.

Part 2 Organizational Alignment

Page 15 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

High- performance organizations choose the best strategies for integrating
their organizational components, activities, core processes, and resources
to support mission accomplishment. Likewise, high- performance agencies
align their human capital management systems- from the organizational level
down to individual employees- with their strategic and program planning. As
with any comparable investment of resources, the goal is to maximize value
while managing risk. In the human capital area, this requires workforce
planning that is explicitly linked to the agency's shared vision. It also
requires that what has traditionally been called the “personnel”
or “human resources (HR)” function undergo a fundamental
reorientation, from being a strictly support function involved in managing
personnel processes and ensuring compliance with rules and regulations, to
taking a “place at the table” with the agency's top management
team. Effective human capital professionals must have the appropriate
preparation and experience not just to provide effective mission support,
but to participate as partners with line managers and staff in developing,
implementing, and assessing the agency's human capital approaches.

1. Workforce planning . Does the agency have an explicit workforce planning
strategy, linked to the agency's strategic and program planning efforts, to
identify its current and future human capital needs, including the size of
the workforce; its deployment across the organization; and the knowledge,
skills, and abilities needed for the agency to pursue its shared vision?

Look for: A discussion of workforce planning in the agency's strategic or
annual performance plans and reports, or a separate workforce planning
document linked to the agency's strategic and program planning. Data from
agency human resource information systems on such indicators as distribution
of employees by pay level, attrition rates, retirement rates and projected
eligibility by pay level, and ratios of managers to employees. Indications
that the agency has identified the roles and core competencies needed to
support its goals and service delivery strategies. An agency knowledge and
skills inventory identifying current and future skills needs and gaps and
that includes information on knowledge and skills by demographic cohort.
Industry benchmarks in such areas as skills, education levels, and
geographic and demographic trends.

2. Integrating the “HR” function . Does the agency rely on its
“personnel” or “HR” professionals- more
appropriately called human capital professionals- to (1) contribute a human
capital perspective to the agency's broader strategic planning process; (2)
provide integrated mission support, participate as partners with line
managers, and reach out to other Organizational

Alignment: Integrate Human Capital Strategies With the Agency's Core
Business Practices

Key Questions:

Part 2 Organizational Alignment

Page 16 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

organizational functions and components through facilitation, coordination,
and counseling; and (3) lead or assist in the agency's workforce planning
efforts and in developing, implementing, and assessing human capital
policies and practices that will help the agency achieve its shared vision?

Look for: Testimonial evidence that the agency's human capital professionals
were meaningfully involved in developing the agency's shared vision and in
aligning the agency's human capital strategies with its strategic and
program planning. A reflection in the agency's organizational chart of the
human capital function's “place at the table” among senior
management. Evidence that the agency's human capital function has been
defined to include a meaningful role in developing, implementing, and
assessing the agency's human capital strategies and that the function is
appropriately staffed- in numbers, qualifications, and experience- to
partner with others in the agency. Actions to ensure that human capital
professionals are indeed prepared- i. e., through academic training,
professional certification, or professional development opportunities- to
fill the consulting role and to reach out to other organizational functions
and components through facilitation, coordination, and counseling. Evidence
that the human capital function effectively leverages external sources of
human capital expertise as needed; indicators may include industry
benchmarks on the kinds and scope of resources- both in- house and
contractor- devoted to the human capital function, and the agency's own
knowledge and skills inventory.

Part 3 Leadership

Page 17 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

A committed senior leadership team is essential to fostering an agency's
shared vision (i. e., its mission, vision for the future, core values, goals
and objectives, and strategies), aligning organizational components so that
the agency can best pursue this vision, and building a commitment to the
vision at all levels of the organization. To become a high- performance
organization, an agency needs senior leaders who are drivers of continuous
improvement and whose styles and substance are in accord with the way the
agency sees its mission and its own character. To create a workforce that
shares this vision and is aware of the contribution that each employee can
and must make toward achieving it, the agency's senior leaders must work as
a team to convey a clear and consistent portrayal of this vision throughout
the organization by their words and deeds and the example they set.
Political appointees and career managers may bring differing values to the
team, but they must work at building mutual understanding and trust and at
committing themselves to a shared set of goals for their agency. These goals
can take years to achieve, so the agency must have a succession planning
strategy that ensures a sustained commitment and continuity of leadership
even as individual leaders arrive or depart.

1. Defining leadership. Has the agency defined the kind of leaders it wants
(i. e., their roles, responsibilities, attributes, and competencies) and the
broad performance expectations it has for them in light of the agency's
shared vision?

Look for: An explicit alignment of leaders' performance standards with the
agency's shared vision, as contained in SES contracts or other performance
agreements between the head of the agency and top executives. Indications
that the agency uses its leadership standards when making hiring and
executive development decisions. Also, industry benchmarks for executive-
level performance management at organizations with similar missions and
circumstances.

2. Teamwork and communications . Do senior leaders pursue an explicit
strategy to promote teamwork, communicate the agency's shared vision in
clear and consistent terms to all levels of the organization, and receive
feedback from employees?

Look for: Efforts by the agency's senior leaders to promote teamwork,
reinforce a shared vision for leading the agency, and integrate political
and career leaders into a cohesive leadership team. An agencywide
communications strategy, including opportunities for feedback from new,
Leadership: Foster a

Committed Leadership Team and Provide Reasonable Continuity Through
Succession Planning

Key Questions:

Part 3 Leadership

Page 18 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

existing, and exiting employees. Results of focus groups or employee
surveys.

3. Ensuring continuity . Does the agency take steps to ensure reasonable
continuity of leadership through executive succession planning?

Look for: A formal succession plan, or a discussion of succession planning
in other agencywide strategic or human capital planning documents, that
includes a review of its current and emerging leadership needs in light of
its strategic and program planning and identifies sources of executive
talent both within and outside the agency. Investments in an executive
development program that includes planned developmental opportunities,
learning experiences, and feedback for executive candidates. Selection
criteria for executive candidates that are specifically linked to the
agency's shared vision and the competencies and broad expectations it has
for its leaders. Information from the agency's human resource information
systems on the attrition rates, retirement eligibility, and retirement rates
of its executives. Statistics on the percentage of leaders brought in
through external recruitment or promoted internally. Evidence that the
agency has an active executive development program, supported by agency
leaders through such means as mentoring and shadowing, and making use of
opportunities such as the Presidential Management Intern (PMI) Program and
the Federal Executive Institute.

Part 4 Talent

Page 19 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

A high- performance organization demands a dynamic, results- oriented
workforce with the talents, multidisciplinary knowledge, and up- to- date
skills to enhance the agency's value to its clients and ensure that it is
equipped to achieve its mission. Because mission requirements, client
demands, technologies, and other environmental influences change rapidly, a
performance- based agency must continually monitor its talent needs. It must
be alert to the changing characteristics of the labor market. It must
identify the best strategies for filling its talent needs through recruiting
and hiring and follow up with the appropriate investments to develop and
retain the best possible workforce. Its compensation and benefits programs,
flexibilities, facilities, services, and work/ life arrangements should be
viewed from the perspective of how well they help the agency compete for and
retain the best talent available and then elicit the best mission
performance from that talent. In addition, this talent must be continuously
developed through education, training, and opportunities for continued
growth. The agency must match the right people to the right jobs and, in the
face of finite resources, be prepared to employ matrix management
principles, maintaining the flexibility to redeploy its human capital and
realigning structures and work processes to maximize economy, efficiency,
and effectiveness. Structures and work arrangements must be fashioned to
avoid stovepiping (or “siloing”) and draw upon the strengths of
the various organizational components. Crossfunctional teams, including
“just in time teams” and “virtual teams” whose
members may not work in the same physical location, can be used as a
flexible means of focusing talent on specific tasks.

1. Recruiting and hiring. Does the agency have a recruiting and hiring
strategy that is targeted to fill short- and long- term human capital needs
and, specifically, to fill gaps identified through its workforce planning
efforts?

Look for: A formal recruiting and hiring plan or discussion of recruiting
and hiring in other agencywide strategic or human capital planning
documents. An explicit link between the agency's recruiting efforts and the
skill needs it has identified. An active recruiting program, featuring the
involvement of senior leaders and line managers, and making use of
strategies such as campus visits, internships, PMIs, and outreach to
colleges and universities with significant minority populations. Indications
from managers that recruits are of high quality and are being brought on
board in a timely fashion. Statistics from agency files on the average time
taken to recruit and hire; comparable industry benchmarks. Evidence that
agency leaders are actively overseeing recruiting and hiring programs to
Talent: Recruit, Hire,

Develop, and Retain Employees with the Skills for Mission Accomplishment

Key Questions:

Part 4 Talent

Page 20 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

ensure fair and unbiased hiring; demographic statistics on the agency's
diversity profile over time.

2. Training and professional development . Does the agency make appropriate
investments in education, training, and other developmental opportunities to
help its employees build the competencies needed to achieve the agency's
shared vision?

Look for: A formal training and professional development strategy, or a
discussion of training and development in other agencywide strategic or
human capital planning documents. Individual development plans for employees
at all levels. Adequate opportunities for career advancement, an equitable
promotion system, and career ladders that take into account the agency's
technical and supervisory/ managerial needs. An explicit link between the
agency's training offerings and curricula and the competencies identified by
the agency for mission accomplishment. Indications that the agency is making
fact- based determinations of the impact of its training and development
programs and, where possible, measuring the return on its investment.
Testimonial evidence that employees are encouraged to identify and take
advantage of training and professional development activities and that the
available training is relevant and professionally rewarding. Percentage of
agency's operating budget spent on training; comparable industry benchmarks.

3. Workforce deployment. Is the deployment of the agency's workforce
appropriate to mission accomplishment and keyed to efficient, effective, and
economic operations?

Look for: A discussion of workforce deployment in the agency's workforce
plan or other strategic planning documents, with decisions based on ensuring
that the workforce is deployed appropriately- both geographically and
organizationally- to support organizational goals and strategies.
Consideration in these or similar documents of human capital management
issues relating to the use of contractors, including whether the agency has
the expertise available to manage the cost and ensure the quality of
activities that have been outsourced. Indications that the agency makes
flexible use of its workforce, putting the right employees in the right
roles according to their skills, relying on staff drawn from various
organizational components and functions, and using “just- in-
time” or “virtual” teams to focus the right talent on
specific tasks.

Part 4 Talent

Page 21 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital 4. Compensation. Does the agency's
compensation system help it

attract, motivate, retain, and reward the people it needs to pursue its
shared vision?

Look for: Indications that the agency has examined its compensation system
and considered changes in light of its human capital needs, including
skills- based compensation, and identified relevant constraints and
flexibilities. Evidence that consideration has been given to the various
opportunities for making compensation packages more competitive, such as
repayment of student loans and financing of education while on the job.
Feedback from recruits to whom hiring offers have been made. Results of
employee focus groups or surveys on compensation. Agency data on number and
amount of signing (or other) bonuses given; use of quality step increases,
number and amount of bonuses and spot awards; availability of promotions.
Industry benchmarks on compensation and information from Bureau of Labor
Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook on average salary and projected
demand for given occupations.

5. Employee- friendly workplace. Does the agency provide the flexibilities,
facilities, services, and work/ life programs to help it compete for talent
and enhance employee satisfaction and commitment to the agency and its
shared vision?

Look for: Efforts to promote a more flexible workforce, including
consideration of flexible work schedules (i. e., part- time work
arrangements, job sharing, and flex- time), flexiplace, and business- casual
dress. Safe, secure, and healthful physical facilities. Availability of
career counseling and development services. Indications that the agency has
considered and, as appropriate, arranged for other services and amenities
employees may find necessary or desirable, such as child- or elder- care,
fitness centers, parking facilities, or subsidies for using mass transit.
Benchmarking data on these practices from high- performing public and
private sector organizations with comparable missions and circumstances.

Part 5 Performance Culture

Page 22 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

High- performance organizations foster a work environment in which people
are empowered and motivated to contribute to continuous learning and
improvement and mission accomplishment and that provides both accountability
and fairness for all employees. A high- performance agency's approach to its
workforce is inclusive and draws on the strengths of employees at all levels
and of all backgrounds. It maintains a workplace in which honest two- way
communications and fairness are a hallmark, perceptions of unfairness are
minimized, and workplace disputes are resolved by fair and efficient means.
Its line managers and supervisors, who may be given greater human capital
decisionmaking authority in a performance environment, must be sufficiently
prepared and appropriately trained to be accountable for their decisions.
High- performance organizations also recognize that all employees- both
those involved directly in the mission and those involved in mission
support- help create organizational value and that job processes, tools, and
mission support arrangements must be tailored to support mission
accomplishment. A dedication to continuous learning and improvement can help
an agency not only to respond to change but also to anticipate change,
create new opportunities for itself, and pursue a shared vision that is both
ambitious and achievable. Incentives are particularly important in steering
the workforce; they must be results- oriented, client- based, realistic, and
subject to balanced measures that reveal the multiple dimensions of
performance. Incentives should be part of a performance management system
under which employees' performance expectations are aligned with the
agency's mission, and in which personal accountability for performance is
reinforced by both rewards and consequences. Because agencies are
increasingly technology- driven and knowledge- based, highperforming
agencies ensure that their employees have the right information technology
resources to do their work and to gather and share information.

1. Performance management. Is the agency's performance management system
designed to improve individual and team performance and to steer the
workforce toward embodying and effectively pursuing the agency's shared
vision?

Look for: A description in the agency's personnel policy manual or other
documents of the design and intent of its performance management system,
with explicit emphasis on performance improvement and on linking individual
and team performance to the agency's shared vision; a reflection of varied
performance considerations, such as client demands, resource limits,
technology use, and level of effort; and explicit performance- based rewards
and consequences. Descriptions of the Performance Culture:

Empower and Motivate Employees While Ensuring Accountability and Fairness in
the Workplace

Key Questions:

Part 5 Performance Culture

Page 23 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

agency's means of (1) aligning employees' performance expectations with the
competencies and performance levels needed to support the agency's mission,
goals and objectives, and strategies; (2) establishing valid, reliable,
results- oriented measures of individual and group performance; and (3)
providing ratings and feedback that meaningfully differentiate among
performers and provide the basis for effective performance incentives.
Indications that nonperformers are held accountable and that agency leaders
support managers and supervisors who give employees frank and constructive
feedback on their performance- including, to the extent appropriate, their
performance relative to that of their peer group- and take performance
actions where appropriate. Copies of evaluation forms for employees at
various levels and positions. Analyses of agency performance ratings data
(mean, mode, and standard deviation) drawn from the agency's human resource
information systems or from the Civilian Personnel Data File. Feedback from
managers and staff on the meaningfulness and effectiveness of the
performance management system and its return on investment.

2. Performance incentives. Are meaningful performance incentives in place to
support the agency's performance management system?

Look for: Performance incentives operating at the organizational, team, and
individual levels. Indications that incentives are clearly and meaningfully
linked to the performance management system and that incentives are results-
oriented, client- based, realistic, and subject to balanced measures that
reveal the multiple dimensions of performance. Feedback from managers and
employees on the equity, adequacy, and effectiveness of the agency's
performance incentives system. Data on the agency's investments in bonuses,
spot awards, and other tangible incentives over time; benchmarking against
high- performance organizations with similar missions and circumstances.

3. Continuous learning and improvement. Does the agency encourage and
motivate employees to contribute to continuous learning and improvement?

Look for: A statement in the agency's strategic plan or other documents of
the value placed on continuous learning and improvement. Training and
mentoring programs specifically aimed at promoting continuous learning and
improvement. An active knowledge management effort featuring programs and
tools for sharing information and creating institutional knowledge that can
be readily retrieved by or disseminated to staff. Ongoing opportunities,
such as employee suggestion programs, for

Part 5 Performance Culture

Page 24 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

employees to contribute their views on the agency's shared vision and
strategies for achieving it, including innovative ideas and process
improvements. Indications that agency leaders act on employees' suggestions.
Testimonial evidence that employee initiatives to build institutional
knowledge are encouraged- examples might include level of employee
participation in professional organizations or incidence of speaker programs
organized by employees to raise the staff's knowledge of key issues.
Feedback from employees on their perceptions of the organization's learning
environment. Efforts to identify best practices in continuous learning and
knowledge management among organizations with comparable missions and
service requirements.

4. Managers and supervisors. Are managers and supervisors expected,
prepared, and trained to help steer the workforce toward the pursuit of the
agency's shared vision?

Look for: Indications drawn from managerial and supervisory position
descriptions and performance evaluations that selections, promotions, and
performance evaluations are based to a significant extent on the human
capital competencies needed to support the agency's shared vision.
Availability of and requirements for training in legal responsibilities of
supervisors and “people skills,” such as employee motivation and
conflict avoidance and resolution. Feedback from employees, including 360-
degree appraisals where applicable, on the extent to which managers and
supervisors show leadership in support of the agency's shared vision and in
motivating and enabling all employees to pursue it.

5. Job processes, tools, and mission support. Are job processes, tools, and
mission support structures tailored to help employees effectively,
economically, and efficiently pursue their work?

Look for: Indications that decisions involving new core business processes,
strategies, and tools have been designed to support quality, productivity,
and accountability. Evidence that the agency has considered alternative
approaches and tools drawn from “best practice” organizations
with similar missions. Objective measures of quality and productivity and
testimonial evidence from employees that their job processes and tools
effectively support their efforts. Mission support structures and strategies
that are based on input from managers and staff both in mission and mission
support roles and that recognize the contributions of all agency employees
in building the value of the organization to its clients.

Part 5 Performance Culture

Page 25 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital 6. Information Technology. Are
employees making the best use of

information technology to perform their work and to gather and share
knowledge?

Look for: The agency's information technology plan, with emphasis on the
alignment of the agency's information technology programs with its mission,
goals, and strategies. Feedback from employees that they have the
opportunity, incentives, support, and training to make the appropriate use
of technology to do their work and to acquire and share knowledge. Data on
the agency's investments- financial and human- in information technology
over time and analysis of the return on these investments in terms of
economy, efficiency, and service delivery. Benchmarking against
organizations with similar missions and service requirements.

7. Inclusiveness. Does the agency maintain an environment characterized by
inclusiveness and a variety of styles and personal backgrounds and that is
responsive to the needs of diverse groups of employees?

Look for: A written affirmative action policy or discussion of inclusiveness
in the agency's human capital plan or other documents. Training for staff in
team building and conflict avoidance and resolution. Employee feedback on
the acceptance and encouragement of diverse styles and personal backgrounds
in the workplace, as well as on perceptions of unequal treatment. Statistics
on grievances and EEO complaints and findings over time. An alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) program that draws upon internally or externally
based ombudsmen, mediators, or other trained neutrals to help resolve
workplace conflicts and lessen the incidence of formal cases, i. e.,
grievances, discrimination complaints, and appeals to adjudicatory agencies.
Statistics on ADR usage and the effects of the agency's ADR efforts on the
incidence of new cases and the time needed to resolve them.

8. Employee and labor relations. Are relations between the agency's
workforce and its management grounded in a mutual effort to achieve the
agency's shared vision?

Look for: Feedback from employees on their commitment to the agency's shared
vision and their views of management's efforts at communication and
coordination. If the agency has collective bargaining agreements, feedback
from managers, union representatives, and other employees on the extent to
which they agree on the agency's shared vision and the

Part 5 Performance Culture

Page 26 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

means of achieving it, and the extent to which they work together to resolve
problems and conflicts fairly and effectively.

Page 27 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Appendix I Eight Principles for Managing People

Page 28 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

In April 1995, GAO sponsored a 2- day symposium of 32 leaders from leading
private sector organizations and governments at the state and local levels
and abroad to discuss their approaches toward managing people- the
principles they employed, the changes they had made, and the lessons they
had learned. 1

According to many of the symposium participants, the demand for faster,
cheaper, and better service delivery led their organizations to develop new
and more flexible ways of managing people. On the basis of the symposium
proceedings, GAO discerned eight interrelated principles common to these
organizations:

1. Value people as assets rather than as costs. 2. Emphasize mission,
vision, and organizational culture. 3. Hold managers responsible for
achieving results instead of

imposing rigid, process- oriented rules and standards. 4. Choose an
organizational structure appropriate to the

organization rather than trying to make “one size fit all.” 5.
Instead of isolating the “personnel function” organizationally,

integrate human resource management into the mission of the organization.

6. Treat continuous learning as an investment in success rather than as a
cost to be minimized.

7. Pursue an integrated rather than an ad hoc approach to information
management.

8. Provide sustained leadership that recognizes change as a permanent
condition, not a one- time event.

As GAO reported at the time, the sense of the symposium participants was
that the eight principles should be treated as a whole and that effective
human resource management and effective business practices are inseparable.

1 Transforming the Civil Service: Building the Workforce of the Future-
Results of A GAO- Sponsored Symposium (GAO/ GGD- 96- 35, Dec. 20, 1995)

Appendix II Key Human Capital Management Principles From Nine Private Sector
Organizations

Page 29 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

In 1999, GAO was asked to identify what common principles, if any, underlay
the human capital strategies and practices of private sector organizations
regularly cited as leaders in the area of human capital management. The
objectives of the assignment were to identify these principles and to offer
illustrative examples that federal managers might consider as they work to
improve their agencies' human capital approaches. 1

To gather this information, GAO interviewed representatives of nine private
sector organizations that were recognized in the current literature as being
innovative or effective in strategically managing their human capital:
Federal Express Corp.; IBM Corp.; Marriott International, Inc.; Merck and
Co., Inc.; Motorola, Inc.; Sears, Roebuck and Company; Southwest Airlines
Co.; Weyerhaeuser Co.; and Xerox Corp., Document Solutions Group. On the
basis of the information they provided, GAO identified 10 underlying and
interrelated principles of human capital management that were common to the
9 organizations:

1. Treat human capital management as being fundamental to strategic business
management. Integrate human capital considerations when identifying the
mission, strategic goals, and core values of the organization well as when
designing and implementing operational policies and practices.

2. Integrate human capital functional staff into management teams. Include
human capital leaders as full members of the top management team rather than
isolating them to provide after- the- fact support. Expand the strategic
role of human capital staff beyond that of providing traditional personnel
administration services.

3. Leverage the internal human capital function with external expertise.
Supplement internal human capital staff's knowledge and skills by seeking
outside expertise from consultants, professional associations, and other
organization, as needed.

4. Hire, develop, and sustain leaders according to leadership
characteristics identified as essential to achieving specific missions and
goals. Identify the leadership traits needed to achieve high performance of
mission and goals; and build and sustain the organization's pool of leaders
through recruiting, hiring, development,

1 See Human Capital: Key Principles From Nine Private Sector Organizations
(GAO/ GGD- 00- 28, Jan. 31, 2000).

Appendix II Key Human Capital Management Principles From Nine Private Sector
Organizations

Page 30 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

retention, and succession policies and practices targeted at producing
leaders with the identified characteristics.

5. Communicate a shared vision that all employees, working as one team, can
strive to accomplish. Promote a common understanding of the mission,
strategic goals, and core values that all employees are directed to work as
a team to achieve. Create a line- ofsight between individual contributions
and the organization's performance and results.

6. Hire, develop, and retain employees according to competencies.

Identify the competencies- knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors-
needed to achieve high performance of mission and goals, and build and
sustain the organization's talent pool through recruiting, hiring,
development, and retention policies and practices targeted at building and
sustaining those competencies.

7. Use performance management systems, including pay and other meaningful
incentives, to link performance to results. Provide incentives and hold
employees accountable for contributing to the achievement of mission and
goals. Reward those employees who meet or exceed clearly defined and
transparent standards of high performance.

8. Support and reward teams to achieve high performance. Foster a culture in
which individuals interact and support and learn from each other as a means
of contributing to the high performance of their peers, units, and the
organization as a whole. Bring together the right people with the right
competencies to achieve high performance as a result, rather than in spite,
of the organizational structure.

9. Integrate employee input into the design and implementation of human
capital policies and practices. Incorporate the first- hand knowledge and
insights of employees and employee groups to develop responsive human
capital policies and practices. Empower employees by making them
stakeholders in the development of solutions and new methods of promoting
and achieving high performance of organizational missions and goals.

10. Measure the effectiveness of human capital policies and practices.
Evaluate and make fact- based decisions on whether human capital policies
and practices support high performance of

Appendix II Key Human Capital Management Principles From Nine Private Sector
Organizations

Page 31 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

mission and goals. Identify the performance return on human capital
investments.

Appendix III Baldrige Award and Presidential Quality Award Values

Page 32 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is given annually to recognize
U. S. private sector organizations for performance excellence. The award
promotes (1) awareness of performance excellence as an increasingly
important element in competitiveness and (2) information sharing of
successful performance strategies and the benefits derived from using these
strategies. The Department of Commerce‘ s National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Baldrige National Quality Award
Program.

The President's Quality Award Program (PQA) is administered by the Office of
Personnel Management. The program was created in 1988 and includes two
awards: the Presidential Award for Quality and the Award for Quality
Improvement. It was designed to recognize federal organizations that have
documented high- performance management systems and approaches.

Annually, each award program publishes a set of criteria for applicants
based upon a set of core values. 1 The PQA, which is based on the Baldrige
Award concept, features the same criteria, with relatively minor
modifications to fit the federal sector context. The values include:

1. Visionary Leadership 2. Customer Driven 3. Organizational and Personal
Learning 4. Valuing Employees and Partners 5. Agility 6. Focus on the Future
7. Managing for Innovation 8. Management by Fact 9. Public Responsibility
and Citizenship

1 Baldrige National Quality Program, “2000 Criteria for Performance
Excellence,” National Institute of Standards and Technology and The
President's Quality Award Program, “2001 Information and
Application,” Office of Personnel Management.

Appendix III Baldrige Award and Presidential Quality Award Values

Page 33 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital 10. Focus on Results and Creating
Value

11. Systems Perspective

Appendix IV Useful Measures/ Risk Indicators for Human Capital Management

Page 34 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Agencies that want to assess and make fact- based decisions involving their
human capital may look at a variety of quantifiable data, including, but not
limited to, those listed below. Valid and reliable data are crucial, not
just for maximizing the value of human capital but for managing risk as
well. The kinds of data listed here can be used to spotlight risk factors-
such as unacceptably high turnover among employees in mission- critical
occupations or low acceptance rates among job candidates to whom positions
are offered- and alert agency leaders to the need for corrective actions.
Leaders may want to determine whether human capital data such as these are
available, how frequently they are updated, and whether they are
consistently used for planning and decisionmaking.

ï¿½ Size and shape of the workforce including, but not limited to: the
distribution of employees by pay level, attrition rates, retirement rates
and projected eligibility by employee pay level, and ratio of managers to
employees.

ï¿½ Attrition rates, retirement rates, and projected retirement eligibility of
agency leaders.

ï¿½ Skills inventory including, but not limited to: current and potential gaps
in skills, distribution of skills by demographic cohort, and level of
education of the workforce.

ï¿½ Data on numbers and deployment of temporary employees and contract
workers.

ï¿½ Data on the dispersal of performance appraisal ratings, such as the mean,
mode, and standard deviation of scores.

ï¿½ Average period required to fill vacancies, and trends over time.

ï¿½ Data on the number, size, and costs of bonuses, awards, and other
incentives, and their distribution among segments of the workforce.

ï¿½ Data from employee satisfaction surveys and focus groups.

ï¿½ Data from exit interviews.

ï¿½ Information technology expenses, such as equipment costs, contractor
support, upgrades, and training.

ï¿½ Statistics on grievances, EEO complaints, and findings over time.

ï¿½ Number and types of cases handled and/ or resolved via alternative dispute
resolution (ADR) programs.

ï¿½ The agency's total human capital cost in dollars and as a percentage of
total operating budget.

ï¿½ Percentage of operating budget spent on recruitment.

ï¿½ Acceptance rates among job candidates to whom positions are offered.

ï¿½ Costs of promotions, grade increases, and within- grade increases. Useful
Measures/ Risk

Indicators for Human Capital Management

Appendix IV Useful Measures/ Risk Indicators for Human Capital Management

Page 35 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

ï¿½ Percentage of operating budget spent on training and the amount per
employee, including information on how training resources are targeted among
segments of the workforce.

In addition to reviewing internal data, agencies may find it useful to
benchmark their human capital data against those of high- performing public
and private sector organizations with comparable missions and circumstances.

Appendix V Related GAO Products

Page 36 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

*Human Capital: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Training at
Selected Agencies (GAO/ T- GGD- 00- 131, May 18, 2000). 1

*Human Capital: Using Incentives to Motivate and Reward High Performance
(GAO/ T- GGD- 00- 118, May 2, 2000).

*Senior Executive Service: Retirement Trends Underscore the Importance of
Succession Planning (GAO/ GGD- 00- 113BR, May 12, 2000).

*United Nations: Reform Initiatives Have Strengthened Operations, but
Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved (GAO/ NSIAD- 00- 150, May 10,
2000).

*Human Capital: Observations on EPA's Efforts to Implement a Workforce
Planning Strategy (GAO/ T- RCED- 00- 129, Mar. 23, 2000).

*Space Shuttle: Human Capital and Safety Upgrade Challenges Require
Continued Attention (GAO/ NSIAD/ GGD- 00- 186, Aug. 15, 2000).

*Human Capital: Managing Human Capital in the 21 st Century (GAO/ TGGD- 00-
77, Mar. 9, 2000).

*Human Capital: Strategic Approach Should Guide DOD Civilian Workforce
Management (GAO/ T- GGD- NSIAD- 00- 120, Mar. 9, 2000).

*SSA Customer Service: Broad Service Delivery Plan Needed to Address Future
Challenges (GAO/ T- HEHS/ AIMD- 00- 75, Feb. 10, 2000).

*Human Capital: Key Principles From Nine Private Sector Organizations (GAO/
GGD- 00- 28, Jan. 31, 2000).

Management Reform: Elements of Successful Improvement Initiatives (GAO/ T-
GGD- 00- 26, Oct. 15, 1999).

Federal Workforce: Payroll and Human Capital Changes During Downsizing (GAO/
GGD- 99- 57, Aug. 13, 1999).

Managing for Results: Opportunities for Continued Improvements in Agencies'
Performance Plans (GAO/ GGD/ AIMD- 99- 215, July 20, 1999).

1 Asterisks denote GAO products in which the checklist for human capital
self- assessment was applied or discussed.

Appendix V Related GAO Products

Page 37 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

The Results Act: An Evaluator's Guide to Assessing Agency Annual Performance
Plans (GAO/ GGD- 10.1.20, Apr. 1998).

Agencies' Annual Performance Plans Under the Results Act: An Assessment
Guide to Facilitate Congressional Decisionmaking (GAO/ GGD/ AIMD- 10.1.18,
Feb. 1998).

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Employers' Experiences With ADR in the
Workplace (GAO/ GGD- 97- 157, Aug. 12, 1997).

Agencies' Strategic Plans Under GPRA: Key Questions to Facilitate
Congressional Review (GAO/ GGD- 10.1.16, May 1997)

Executive Guide: Effectively Implementing the Government Performance and
Results Act (GAO/ GGD- 96- 118, June 1996).

Transforming the Civil Service: Building the Workforce of the Future-
Results of a GAO- Sponsored Symposium (GAO/ GGD- 96- 35, Dec. 20, 1995).

Retention Allowances: Usage and Compliance Vary Among Federal Agencies (GAO/
GGD- 96- 32, Dec. 11, 1995).

Federal Employee Redress: An Opportunity for Reform (GAO/ T- GGD- 9642, Nov.
29, 1995).

Civil Service Reform: Changing Times Demand New Approaches (GAO/ TGGD- 96-
31, Oct. 12, 1995)

Federal Hiring: Reconciling Managerial Flexibility With Veterans' Preference
(GAO/ GGD- 95- 102, June 16, 1995).

Federal Quality Management: Strategies for Involving Employees (GAO/ GGD-
95- 79), Apr. 18, 1995).

Federal Employment: How Government Jobs Are Viewed on Some College Campuses
(GAO/ GGD- 94- 181, Sept. 9, 1994).

Government Contractors: Measuring Costs of Service Contractors Versus
Federal Employees (GAO/ GGD- 94- 95, Mar. 10, 1994).

Federal Personnel: Employment Policy Challenges Created by an Aging
Workforce (GAO/ GGD- 93- 138, Sept. 23, 1993).

Appendix V Related GAO Products

Page 38 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

Federal Performance Management: Agencies Need Greater Flexibility in
Designing Their Systems (GAO/ GGD- 93- 57, Feb. 24, 1993).

Federal Employment: How Federal Employees View the Government as a Place to
Work (GAO/ GGD- 92- 91, June 18, 1992).

Senior Executive Service: Opinions About the Federal Work Environment (GAO/
GGD- 92- 63, May 1, 1992).

The Changing Workforce: Comparison of Federal and Nonfederal Work/ Family
Programs and Approaches (GAO/ GGD- 92- 84, Apr. 23, 1992).

The Changing Workforce: Demographic Issues Facing the Federal Government
(GAO/ GGD- 92- 38, Mar. 24, 1992).

Performance Management: How Well Is the Government Dealing With Poor
Performers? (GAO/ GGD- 91- 95, July 16, 1991).

Federal Recruitment and Hiring: Making Government Jobs Attractive to
Prospective Employees (GAO/ GGD- 90- 105, Aug. 22, 1990).

Page 39 GAO/ OCG- 00- 14G Human Capital

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