Office of Personnel Management
-
A new audit from the OPM Inspector General's office reveals shortcomings in the steps taken by Office of Personnel Management and its contractors to make sure background investigations undergo quality reviews. The audit pointed to a lack of oversight on OPM's part in making sure contractors actually review cases and said some of the companies that employ case reviewers failed to keep track of records showing the contractors had undergone proper training.
June 12, 2014 -
The Government Accountability Office tells Chief Human Capital Officers to communicate with human-capital staff and coordinate with other agencies to champion shared challenges.
June 11, 2014 -
Your deadline is coming soon to tell your boss what you think of your job. Friday is the last day to fill out your Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey from the Office of Personnel Management. The data from those surveys will shape human resources policy across government. But the Government Accountability Office says chief human capital officers have other options to build and strengthen their workforces. Robert Goldenkoff is director of strategic issues at the GAO. He tells Federal News Radio's Francis Rose on In Depth about
June 10, 2014 -
The deadline for the annual Employee Viewpoint Survey is rapidly approaching. Federal employees selected to participate in the survey &dmash; gauging employee morale and views of agency management — have until Friday to complete the survey. As of Tuesday morning, about 330,000 employees have completed the online survey, OPM officials said in a press call with reporters. Another 80,000 or so are still in the process of completing the survey.
June 10, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management now says it hopes to have regulations governing phased retirement finalized by October. That can't come soon enough for many federal employees on the cusp of retirement who are caught in the regulatory limbo.
June 09, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management cut the longstanding backlog of pending retirement claims by more than a third in the first half of 2014. By the end of May, the inventory of claims had fallen to about 14,500, according to new OPM data released Thursday. That's down 38 percent from a peak of more than 23,500 claims in February.
June 05, 2014 -
Chief human capital officers say the inability to do targeted internship announcements is frustrating and reducing effectiveness of the program. The Office of Personnel Management says it's working with agencies to address these challenges, including initiatives to target specific skillsets.
June 04, 2014 -
A new guide from the Office of Personnel Management lays out the next chapter in the government's efforts to employ veterans. Back in 2009, President Barack Obama told agencies to be model employers of vets. Veterans made up about a quarter of new hires. Today, they are at about 31 percent. Hakeem Basheerud-Deen directs veterans services at OPM. He's also an Air Force vet. He tells Tom and Emily on the Federal Drive that some agencies are doing well at hiring vets.
June 03, 2014 -
The Office of Personnel Management hopes to complete final regulations for phased retirement by October, OPM Director Katherine Archuleta said during an exclusive online chat with Federal News Radio. Archuleta also joined Your Turn with Mike Causey, where she discussed employee morale and engagement and strengthening federal diversity initiatives.
May 29, 2014 -
Debra Roth, partner at Shaw Bransford and Roth will discuss what's happening at the VA and OPM Director Katherine Archuleta will talk about the status of phased retirement, the retirement-claims backlog and other civil service issues. May 28, 2014
May 28, 2014 -
Most federal agencies have shaved weeks, even months, off of their hiring times in response to a 2010 presidential memo. Most hires are now completed within 80 days. But faster doesn't necessarily mean better. The Office of Personnel Management has revised its reporting requirements to focus on quality. Kimberly Holden is OPM's deputy associate director for Recruitment and Hiring. She spoke with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive. She says hiring time is just one measurement of how well agencies are filling positions.
May 27, 2014 -
In a memo to agency chief human capital officers, OPM Director Katherine Archuleta said eight additional agencies have signed on HRstat. The data-driven review sessions aim to help agencies better parse out HR data and trends and use them to assess their performance.
May 26, 2014 -
Matthew Baum, a former investigator in OPM's now-defunct Office of Federal Investigations, questions whether politics and privatization went too far by outsourcing background investigations.
May 20, 2014 -
June 1 marks the start of the sixth annual Feds Feed Families event where federal employees donate food items and their time to help the hungry. Last year's drive netted 9 million pounds of donated food.
May 19, 2014 -
In Part 4 of the special report, Questioning Clearances, Federal News Radio examines the government's plan to use new technology to keep better tabs on cleared personnel on a near, real-time basis. But some experts wonder whether such a plan could be implemented successfully in the swift timelines sought by the government.
May 18, 2014