# Presentation: 403531

## HRM ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS

- What Are They, and Why are They Important

## What is HRM Accountability?

- Defined Broadly:  HRM Accountability is the authority and responsibility for getting the work done cost-effectively in a way that is fair and equitable.
- It covers strategic human capital management to legal compliance, and everything in between.

## What is the Legal Authority for Agency Accountability?

- Under 5 U.S.C.  OPM may delegate any function vested in the OPM Director to the heads of agencies, who in turn may delegate to “subordinate officials the authority...to take on matters pertaining to the employment direction, and general administration of personnel under his agency....” (5 U.S.C. 301).
- These authorities carry with them accountability, not only for legal compliance, but also for program effectiveness.  Each agency is responsible for preventing Prohibited Personnel Practices from occurring and complying with applicable civil service laws (5 U.S.C. 2302) as well as for reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of its human resources management programs (5 U.S.C. 305).

## Who is Accountable?

- Generally, the **manager** is directly accountable for the program impact of the HRM decision, while the **HRM staff** is directly accountable for the regulatory compliance of the action.
**“****Shared accountability"** means that both **HR staff and managers** are ultimately accountable for effective, legally compliant HRM.
-   **Top management** is accountable for committing the organization to shared accountability.

## What is the Hierarchy of  Accountability?

**What is the ****Hierarchy of  Accountability?**

## HRM Accountability System

**HRM Accountability System**

**Establish/Update**
**HRM Goals & Measures Aligned to  Agency Mission**

**Establish **
**Accountability **
**for Goals & Measures**

**Measure**
**Perform-ance**

**Evaluate and Use**
**Measurement**
**Information to**
** ****Improve HRM**

**Agency Diagnosis**

**Assess Accountability Process and Results**

## Civil Service Rule X

- By Executive order, Jan. 25, 2001:
- “The Director of the Office of Personnel Management may require an agency to establish and maintain a system of accountability for merit system principles that ...”

## Civil Service Rule X (cont.)

- “(1) sets standards for applying the merit system principles,
- (2) measures the agency’s effectiveness in meeting those standards, and
- (3) corrects any deficiencies in meeting these standards.”

## Director James’ Memorandum

- Each department and agency was asked to develop internal accountability standards.
- The standards are part of OMB’s Human Capital Standards for Success.
- The standards are fully aligned with the Human Capital Scorecard and *Human Capital Standards for Success (“*Red, Yellow, Green”) and *Human Capital Scorecard.*

- PRESIDENT’S MANAGEMENT AGENDA

- HC

- HCSS

- HRM Accountability Standards

- HC Scorecard

- EG

- CS

- FM

- B&P

## HRM Accountability Standards:  The Development Process

- Developed by Interagency Task Force
- Reviewed by Agencies and OPM
- Transmittal Signed by Director James on January 4, 2002

## Purpose of the Standards Document 

- Set standards for establishing & maintaining internal HRM accountability systems  required under civil service rule X .
- Give OPM a framework for reviewing or assessing these systems.

## Scope of the Standards

- Very broad, extending to all activities of the HR staff and line organization to manage people in accordance with the MSP’s avoiding PPP’s.
- Applies to all Executive agencies subject to the MSP’s regardless of specific authorities under which their HR systems operate.

## The 4 Accountability Standards

- Mission Support
- Problem Identification and Resolution
- Balanced Measurement of HRM
- Documentation of the System

## HRM Balanced Measures

- Strategic Alignment
- HRM Program Effectiveness
- HR Process Efficiency
- Legal/Regulatory Compliance

## Resource for Agencies

- HRM Accountability System Development Guide:
-    -basis for standards
-    -new version underway to delete obsolete   references

## Intrinsic Reasons to Have an Agency Accountability System

- Systematic, disciplined, fact-based approach to HRM -- analogous to what financial management has had for many years
- A comprehensive framework for continuous HRM improvement in support of mission accomplishment