The sluggish pace of public sector hiring isn’t exactly an advantage for government agencies as they compete for top talent.
For example, one 2023 report found corporate time-to-hire rates creeping toward “an all-time high” for the private sector, with “an already stretched recruitment process” increasing to 43 days on average.
Now, consider that the average time to hire for government roles is in the neighborhood of 80 to 100 days.
This lengthy process has been a source of consternation for job candidates, and seems to be deterring some applicants from pursuing public sector opportunities.
For instance, data from a NEOGOV survey indicated a 56% drop in applications per open public sector role between 2021 and 2022, with roughly 25% of all government openings netting seven applicants or fewer in that span of time, Route Fifty reported earlier this year.
That poll asked a series of open-ended questions, asking respondents to share their feedback on the public sector candidate experience. Several cited time-to-hire as a sticking point.
“It took forever,” one survey participant wrote. “By the time someone reached out to me about a background check, I had been offered (and started training for) a position in the private sector.”
From another respondent: “It is simply unacceptable how long the hiring process takes, especially within the medical field, [where] we can apply to civilian hospitals, interview and start working in less than a month.”
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has introduced a new feature for the USAJobs portal that’s designed to help federal employers connect with pre-vetted candidates and ultimately fill government roles faster.
OPM shared details of the new feature, Talent Pools, in a Dec. 1 memo to federal human resource directors. The new addition to the federal government’s primary job posting website acts to advertise available shared certificates of candidates across government,” according to OPM.
These certificates, issued under delegated examining procedures through the Competitive Service Act (CSA) or an OPM-run cross government hiring actions, contain candidates who have applied to an open announcement, have been assessed and are available for agencies’ consideration, the memo explained.
Enabling agencies to use this type of pooled hiring system “advances the President’s Management Agenda Workforce Priority Strategy 1,” according to the memo, “that calls for agencies to efficiently and inclusively attract and hire quality candidates and reduce any systemic barriers by improving the hiring process for all applicants, hiring managers and human resources specialists.”
Pooled hiring also reduces applicant burden, OPM noted, by allowing job seekers to apply once and subsequently be considered by multiple agencies. In turn, agencies can improve time to hire by filling vacancies from the shared certificate of candidates who have already completed thorough assessments and been determined to be qualified.
“Through pooled hiring, more candidates are hired from each certificate,” the memo added, “reducing the need for agencies to post multiple hiring actions throughout the year for the same positions.”
For this feature to be beneficial, however, employers must populate Talent Pools with available delegated examining certificates of eligibility, OPM noted, urging agencies to consider opportunities for sharing certificates to help other agencies fill their critical vacancies.
“Remember, in order to share certificates with another agency, the original agency must follow the requirements of the CSA,” the memo read, “notifying applicants in the job opportunity announcement and allowing them to opt in to have their names and application materials shared with other agencies.”
20 December 2023
Category
HR News Article