OPM’s Playbook for Creating the Federal Workforce of the Future
Like a football team seeking an edge on the field through its playbook, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is seeking an edge in building a robust and digital savvy workforce for the future, by releasing its very own playbook.
The Workforce of the Future Playbook’s goal is to provide strategies or “plays” to help agencies develop a workforce that is “inclusive, agile and engaged, with the right skills to enable mission delivery.”
The publication builds on OPM’s strategies toward building a workforce for the future.
“OPM is 100% invested in strengthening the federal workforce,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. “This Playbook is just another example of OPM’s ongoing efforts to equip federal agencies with the tools and resources to hire the right talent and strategically plan for their future workforce. The federal government works best when we leverage the full talent of our nation and workforce – this playbook is full of useful strategies to do just that.”
The playbook is broken down into 12 priority sections involving human capital issues. For each issue, OPM provides the “play,” a discussion of why it matters, analysis of the current/future state of play, tools and resources to consider, examples of success, a call to action, and metrics.
Recruitment
Some of the sections deal with recruitment issues including strategic recruitment, skills-based hiring, and pooled hiring.
OPM writes that the federal government must be “more strategic about how it recruits and attracts candidates” noting that the private sector is already being more strategic in its efforts.
Among the suggestions: shifting from passive to active recruitment strategies, using plain language job titles, and maximizing the use of cross-agency scalable hiring practices such as pooled hiring or shared certificates.
For skills-based and pooled hiring, OPM recommends agencies transition away from relying on applicant questionnaires, work with HR to design an assessment that will yield qualified applicants with those specific skills, and create a process to share certificates across an agency.
Technology
On technology, OPM urges agencies to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in HR processes to become more efficient. That includes training the workforce on AI use cases, upskilling teams on AI, and ensuring that safeguards are in place to protect employees.
OPM also recommends using data to make informed decisions about the workforce. OPM envisions a future where data is readily available through dashboards, reports, and research studies, and a future where employees at all levels can use their skills to recognize patterns in data.
Employee Wellness and Retention
Other sections involve improving employee health and well-being to ensure that employees stay in the federal fold.
OPM wants agencies to offer a broad scope of wellness programs to employees to “foster an environment where everyone can thrive and deliver their best for the nation.”
Those include promoting wellness programs like Mindful FED and making sure employees are aware of wellness resources including counseling programs.
In addition, OPM wrote plays for promoting early career talent and employee development to encourage employees to grow in their federal careers.
On career development, OPM would like to see agencies reach a point where “federal employees understand and are empowered to take advantage of their opportunities for career growth.”
OPM is hosting webinars and training sessions over the coming months to help agencies put the playbook into practice.
