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 21st

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 21st 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

The Five-Part Framework 10

Cross-Cutting Considerations 10

Framework for Human

Capital SelfAssessment

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

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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.

• 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.

• Attrition rates, retirement rates, and projected retirement eligibility of

agency leaders.

• 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.

• Data on numbers and deployment of temporary employees and contract

workers.

• Data on the dispersal of performance appraisal ratings, such as the mean,

mode, and standard deviation of scores.

• Average period required to fill vacancies, and trends over time.

• Data on the number, size, and costs of bonuses, awards, and other

incentives, and their distribution among segments of the workforce.

• Data from employee satisfaction surveys and focus groups.

• Data from exit interviews.

• Information technology expenses, such as equipment costs, contractor

support, upgrades, and training.

• Statistics on grievances, EEO complaints, and findings over time.

• Number and types of cases handled and/or resolved via alternative dispute

resolution (ADR) programs.

• The agency’s total human capital cost in dollars and as a percentage of

total operating budget.

• Percentage of operating budget spent on recruitment.

• Acceptance rates among job candidates to whom positions are offered.

• 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

• 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 21st 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-96-

42, 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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