OPM  h r s o l u t i o n s by government, for government

Capabilities Statement

Presented by

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

HR Solutions

HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001
Table of Contents

OPM’s HR Solutions Team 1

Benefits of Partnering with HRS 1

Project Management and Strategic Consulting 2

Capabilities That Meet Your Human Capital Challenges 2

Scope of Services: Strategize. Acquire. Engage. Transform. 2

Strategize: Human Capital Strategy 2

Acquire: Talent Acquisition 5

Engage: Talent Management 9

Transform: Separate with Respect 15

Summary 15

Contact Information 15

Appendix A — Customized Assessments for Employee Selection 16

Appendix B — Leadership Development and Training Courses 18

Appendix C — HR Technical Training Workshops 19

Appendix D — Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) 20

Appendix E — HRS Customer Service Commitment 21

Contact Us 22

HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001
1 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

OPM’s HR Solutions Team

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) HR Solutions (HRS) is pleased to provide this statement of 

capabilities, outlining our extensive capacity to support Federal agencies throughout the human capital life cycle. 

As part of its mission, OPM provides technical assistance to Federal agencies to meet their most critical human 

capital challenges. HRS is the OPM division dedicated to providing exceptional HR products and services to meet the 

dynamic human capital and training needs of the Federal Government. And because HRS is run by Federal employees 

for Federal employees, we are uniquely positioned to help agencies meet their mission goals through customerfocused, optimal HR solutions.

We deliver products and services to our customers in three ways. As Federal employees, the HRS team has extensive 

experience with Federal policy and operating environments. This cadre of HR specialists, industrial/organizational 

psychologists, educators, IT specialists, and program managers partner with Federal agencies to design and deliver 

solutions uniquely suited for government. 

Our assisted acquisition expertise gives you reach into world-class commercial partners who deliver the full range of 

human capital management and customized training solutions. These partners follow OPM’s contracting requirements 

and deliver services under the watchful eye of OPM’s HRS project managers. 

HRS also provides a blended approach that leverages our reach back to private-sector capability to complement our 

Federal workforce. HRS works with agencies to determine the strategy that best meets your needs.

OPM’s revolving fund authority allows agencies to contract with HRS directly, saving considerable time and resources. 

Providing services through our revolving fund authority, rather than the Economy Act, allows agencies more flexibility 

to finance their human capital and training needs. We know how important this flexibility is at a time when agencies are 

looking for ways to tighten budgets and still meet critical mission requirements. We look forward to further discussing 

our experience delivering customer-focused, optimal solutions “by government, for government” and sharing how we 

help agencies meet their most critical human capital challenges. 

Our team of professionals is available to meet with agency decision makers to further explore your needs, provide 

a formal proposal that outlines the estimated costs for each deliverable, and provide an off-the-shelf or customized 

solution that best meets those needs. As a strictly reimbursable Federal entity, we fully understand the importance of 

cost containment and flexible solutions that work in the Federal space. 

Benefits of Partnering with HRS

HRS provides the full range of human capital management and training services agencies need to grow, improve, 

lead, and thrive. Providing HR solutions to Federal agencies for more than 50 years, HRS comprises more than 300 

professionals nationwide, as well as a network of the finest private-sector contractors in the field of human capital 

management and training. 

HRS offers: 

• Expertise — Extensive expertise in human capital management and training.

• Agility — Speed-to-mission capability through government-to-government agreements.

• Compliance — Elegant solutions that fully comply with Federal policies and regulations.

• Value — Off-the-shelf applicant assessments to fill your commonly advertised positions.

• Knowledge — Effective classroom and distance learning solutions tailored to your workforce needs.

• Resources — Expedited access to private-sector capabilities through an assisted acquisition program.

• Experience — More than 50 years of experience providing professional development to Federal leaders.

• Technology — Cutting-edge, automated solutions providing comprehensive HR life cycle support.
2 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Project Management and Strategic Consulting

For each engagement, HRS works with you to develop a common understanding of your specific needs and help 

determine the best solution to meet them. Our customer-focused recommendations are delivered to you by our expert 

Federal staff, our fully vetted commercial partners, or a blend of both. Working with you, HRS prepares an interagency 

agreement with timelines, deliverables, and costs. Once an agreement is signed, HRS provides a single point of 

contact to coordinate the services in the agreement, making it easy for you to use HRS’ full range of expertise. 

The following sections detail our range of products and services that help agencies throughout government optimize 

performance across the human capital life cycle.

Capabilities That Meet Your Human Capital Challenges

Strategize — Ensure that human capital management 

programs focus on results and align with agency mission, 

goals, and objectives through strategic planning, human

capital planning, organizational design and business process 

re-engineering, and workforce and succession planning.

Acquire — Ensure that agencies obtain top talent in their 

organizations — consistent with Federal HR statutes and 

rules — through recruitment and outreach/branding, talent 

acquisition, candidate assessment, and onboarding new hires.

Engage — Build high-performing organizations where 

employees excel and innovation is encouraged through 

employee engagement; performance management, including 

automating the rating process; continuous learning; workforce 

and leadership development; and change management.

Transform — Reimagine and reshape organizations so that 

employees achieve maximum results through workforce 

restructuring and reduction in force consulting.

Scope of Services: Strategize. Acquire. Engage. Transform. 

HRS responds to your most challenging human capital challenges. Our products and services align with those 

challenges and the human capital life cycle, helping us strategize with agencies to implement human capital programs 

that set the stage for an effective and efficient organization to operate at peak performance. These solutions lay the 

foundation for agencies to acquire and engage a highly effective workforce and, when the time is right, transform

their organization. 

Strategize: Human Capital Strategy

HRS consultants work with you to develop strategies that determine your agency’s human capital management master 

plan. These strategies help agencies build and manage a high-performing workforce according to merit system 

principles and establish the organizational structures and processes needed to create a culture of excellence that 

drives mission success. 

HRS products and services help agencies modernize their HR capabilities to foster a work environment that attracts 

top talent and cultivates employee engagement and productivity. From developing a robust HR strategy that aligns 

organizational performance with personal performance to human capital policy and compliance support and 

organizational design, HRS guides agencies through the strategic planning process.
3 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Our capabilities include strategic planning, workforce analysis and planning, competency modeling and gap analysis, 

organization design and position classification, and program evaluation. All work together to ensure that your agency’s 

organization, leadership, and staff align with HR strategy and the organization’s strategic direction. 

Strategic Planning

HRS consultants work with agencies to align organizational and individual performance management systems with 

human capital activities. All projects are tailored to your specific needs and can range from leading an agency step 

by step to create a strategic plan, to facilitating leadership strategic planning off-sites, to developing implementation 

plans. Facilitating leadership off-sites may include validating or developing mission and vision statements; conducting 

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analyses; identifying strategic issues, goals, and objectives; 

and scenario planning. For these types of exercises HRS provides required material and documents as well as a 

summary report of the activities and outcomes that can be translated into a strategic planning document. 

Human Capital Policy and Compliance Support

Policy and compliance support helps agencies navigate human capital policy, write human capital strategies and 

reports, and identify and address deficiencies. HRS helps agencies evaluate their efforts toward meeting the 

intent of the Government Performance and Results Act-Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRA-MA) and OPM’s Human 

Capital Framework (HCF). HRS provides a pre-assessment of the agency’s human capital programs compared 

to the guidelines outlined in GPRA-MA, the HCF, and 5 CFR Part 250 and then addresses gaps and develops 

recommendation reports. 

Organizational Design

HRS aligns organization and position structures with an agency’s strategic mission and objectives. We review the 

agency’s mission, functions, strategic objectives, and workloads. HRS consultants identify and confirm business 

processes and major functions; conduct focus groups to lead SMEs through mapping the business process; and 

analyze maps, identifying inefficiencies and clarifying data and roles outlined during the focus group sessions. Based 

on this analysis, HRS develops organizational structures and staffing models, prepares streamlined workflow and 

maps for targeted business processes, and recommends work process and workflow reengineering as needed. We 

then provide a written report of the findings and recommended actions. 

Classification

HRS provides a variety of classification services to improve structure and functionality at the appropriate agency 

organizational level. We review, modify, and implement classification guidance; develop standard operating 

procedures; and create libraries of position descriptions. 

HRS reviews the types, grades, and numbers of positions in comparison with functions and workloads to develop a 

framework for effective position management. We analyze mission and functional statements, organizational charts, 

and other information to write and edit position descriptions and classify vacancies and encumbered positions. 

We develop a comprehensive evaluation statement for any position we review or write a description; compare its 

characteristics with appropriate position classification standards; and recommend a title, series, and grade. 

HRS conducts a full classification evaluation to ensure the program complies with legal and regulatory requirements. 

Our evaluation is not a compliance or accountability audit. For a typical program review, we research a representative 

sample of position descriptions and evaluation statements, assess the position classification systems and records, 

interview classification staff for input about the organizational environment in which the classification program 

operates, review and edit standard operating procedures and quality control measures, and provide a report of findings 

along with recommendations for improving the classification program. 
4 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Workforce Planning

Workforce planning is a multiyear approach to human capital management that ensures agencies are making smart 

investments to acquire, develop, and support a workforce capable of achieving their mission. To develop solutions to 

workforce concerns, HRS analyzes job functions, competencies, and demographics to provide on-point, evidencebased workforce planning and gap-closure initiatives that include developing employee programs, broadening careers, 

or maximizing recruitment and retention strategies. Our workforce planning services bring together resources from 

our network of government consultants, psychologists, and education and development specialists as well as privatesector partners. Projects result in customized deliverables that may include competency gap analysis and aligning 

competencies with training curriculum, developing communications strategies, planning career paths, developing new 

hire programs, managing knowledge, and retention initiatives. HRS prepares technical reports with recommendations 

and provides implementation support to put plans into action.

Succession Planning 

Succession planning products and services ensure the availability of well-qualified staff to fill key leadership and 

mission-critical positions. HRS helps agencies develop initiatives to address issues related to the loss of key leaders 

and personnel at any level in the organization. Along with providing best practices from other organizations and 

agency succession planning goals, HRS recommends strategies that minimize the impact of institutional knowledge 

loss as employees retire or leave and maximize current talent by closing leadership staffing and competency gaps or 

deficiencies. HRS uses such tools as the 9-Block Matrix, Depth Charts, the Succession Profile, and the Leadership 

Potential Assessment to identify your current workforce’s readiness for leadership positions. Drawing from our suite 

of assessments, HRS can work with individual managers to develop custom succession plans that address specific 

needs or use broader analyses to prepare organizational reports, recommendations, and plans. These services build 

bench strength and prepare a pipeline of employees positioned for the next role of leadership. 

Workforce Analysis

Workforce analysis provides demographics on the past and current workforce across mission-critical occupations. 

Identifying demographic trends that affect a workforce, as a whole or in part, informs workforce and succession 

planning and efforts to address employment issues that affect future mission capabilities. HRS measures and 

analyzes retirement rates, retirement eligibility, accessions, separations, pay plan or grade, and such demographic 

data as age, gender, race or national origin. Our consultants integrate the results into strategies and recommendations 

for recruitment, training, development, and retention. 

Competency Modeling

Competency modeling leverages SMEs to systematically identify and document characteristics required to 

successfully perform a particular job. A robust competency model provides a common understanding of the scope 

and requirements of a specific job and provides a solid base for such critical human resources programs as selecting 

personnel, developing careers, and managing performance. HRS provides job analysis and competency modeling 

services for single or multiple occupations within an agency that include gathering and reviewing occupational 

information, conducting focus groups and site visits, developing and administering customized surveys to collect 

occupational task and competency data, and analyzing data and documentation according to legal and professional 

guidelines. In addition to the customized competency model, HRS recommends how to use the results to optimize HR 

programs. 

Program Evaluation

Program evaluation services help agencies empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of their HR programs. HRS 

psychologists use rigorous evaluation approaches, causal evaluation models, and human resource metrics and tools, 

including surveys and focus groups, to determine whether agency programs are achieving their goals. HRS delivers 

a final technical report documenting findings and recommendations and an executive briefing summarizing the 

methodology and results.
5 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Acquire: Talent Acquisition

HRS offers services and tools to help Federal agencies acquire the talent they need to meet their missions. In 

accordance with merit system principles, we help agencies recruit, assess, select, and onboard highly engaged, 

productive employees with the right skills and competencies. We also offer training and coaching services for your HR 

specialists, hiring managers, and applicants directly related to the Federal hiring process. We help your agency build a 

powerful workforce.

Recruitment

Recruitment Strategy

Recruitment strategies help agencies set an overall recruitment vision. HRS consultants analyze an agency’s current 

recruitment processes and recommend strategies to more effectively attract a diverse and qualified candidate pool 

for its target positions. After reviewing the agency’s workforce plan, workforce trends, and other pertinent documents, 

HRS surveys or holds focus groups with key employees and stakeholders to gather data on recruitment processes 

stakeholders believe the agency needs. Based on this analysis, HRS recommends an end-to-end recruitment 

business process presented in a robust findings report. This customized product includes our research methodology, 

an analysis of the agency’s current processes, recommended changes to the recruitment processes, and strategies for 

achieving the agency’s staff acquisition goals.

USAJOBS®

HR Solutions owns the technology that connects job seekers with federal employment opportunities across the United 

States and around the world. As the Federal Government’s official employment site, we help agencies recruit, retain, 

and honor a world-class government workforce for the American people.

Federal agencies use our technology to facilitate their hiring processes and match qualified applicants to job openings. 

USAJOBS®

 serves as the central location for applicants to find job openings in hundreds of federal agencies and 

organizations.

Recruitment Outreach

HRS is experienced in recruiting for government agencies, publicizing vacancies, and working with diverse applicant 

pools to help them apply for government jobs. HRS supports Federal managers by providing the tools, strategies, 

and proven methodologies needed to attract and retain top performers. We offer a wide range of recruitment 

outreach services that include a candidate-sourcing plan, virtual career fairs, brand-identity materials, marketing and 

recruitment advertising, and website development. 

HRS recommends such outreach strategies and tactics as:

• Social media.

• An online presence — developing or enhancing websites, new landing pages, online advertising, and search

engine optimization; virtual events.

• Public relations — earned media, speaking engagements, and events; and traditional media — print, broadcast,

and out of home.

Working with your SMEs, HRS determines the best way to reach targeted applicant groups, exploring the right sources 

and strategic partnerships with schools, colleges, professional associations, other agencies, and outside groups. 

Candidate Sourcing Plan

HRS develops candidate sourcing plans that draw a high-quality, diverse applicant pool to meet your critical hiring 

needs. HRS analyzes your applicant flow data and makes recommendations as to the best candidate sources to meet 

your diversity goals. HRS has enjoyed repeated success in using nationwide recruitment sites, Internet sources, and 

publications to target the best applicants for specific occupational series. Working with your SMEs, HRS determines 

the best way to reach targeted applicant groups, exploring the right sources and strategic partnerships with schools, 

colleges, professional associations, other agencies, and outside groups. 
6 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Employment Branding and Marketing

HRS partners with our marketing communications vendors to build your agency’s employment brand. We design 

recruitment materials that differentiate your agency from other employers, highlight your unique workplace culture 

and career opportunities, and increase your name recognition in the market for talent through visual, artistic, audio, 

and photographic mass media. HRS crafts your unique brand message and marketing strategy and devises a 

communications plan for increasing internal and external brand awareness. Finally, we enhance and ensure that your 

Web presence attracts your targeted candidate population. 

HRS can create, refine, or develop your agency’s brand and branding strategies to build credibility with employees and 

potential applicants. HRS designs recruitment materials, crafts a marketing strategy and unique brand messages, and 

devises a communication plan for increasing internal and external brand awareness. 

HRS produces professional recruitment commercials and coordinates media placement and purchasing to raise your 

organization’s profile in the marketplace. We write descriptive, enticing advertisements that accurately depict the key 

goals of both the agency and position to attract the right candidates for mission-critical positions. 

Recruitment Website Design and Development

Through our vendor partners, HRS builds websites using responsive Web design, maximizing flexibility for the way 

candidates increasingly search for jobs. We build websites using a content management system (CMS) that offers 

the ability to edit, update, add, and remove content. We also design recruiting strategies that feature a recruiting 

destination website. Your branded site can be animated by multilayered features, design elements, demonstrations, 

interactive games, video, and useful information that invites visitors to linger and learn more about your organization. It 

can provide information on current, as well as future job openings, and include links to the application. On submitting 

initial application information, applicants automatically can be sent a link to complete online testing. 

Virtual Career Fairs

HRS can host and maintain state-of-the-art virtual career fairs — cost-effective and convenient settings for agency 

representatives to meet with prospective candidates. HRS consultants can provide full or part-time support as need. 

HRS offers platform management and reports, technical support, training, agency scheduling, candidate coordination, 

and assistance with the virtual platform. 

Candidate Assessment and Selection

Assessment Strategy Design

Assessment strategy design helps agencies develop valid, fair, and effective assessment strategies that meet specific 

hiring or employee development needs. There are many issues for you to consider when selecting or developing 

an overall selection strategy and assessment tools. The appropriate assessments depend on such variables as 

the number and level of vacant positions, applicant pool, and anticipated number of applicants. You should also 

consider the competencies to assess and the resources, time, and expertise needed to develop and implement the 

assessment. HRS measurement specialists work with agencies to identify the appropriate assessments to meet an 

agency’s needs. HRS psychologists also ensure that assessments used for personnel decisions are valid and legally 

defensible.

USA Staffing® Talent Acquisition System

Through our USA Staffing®

 talent acquisition system, HRS can fully automate the staff acquisition life cycle by 

positioning agencies to recruit, assess, evaluate, certify, select, and onboard quality candidates for Federal positions. 

USA Staffing®

 is the premier talent acquisition system that assists Federal agencies in developing and posting job 

opportunity announcements via USAJOBS®

, creating Web-based assessment tools, reviewing application documents 

online, ranking and rating applicants, sending applicant notifications, electronically referring candidates to hiring 

officials for review and selection, auditing certificates online, onboarding new hires, and analyzing and reporting on 

key metrics. It includes online training modules, online help functionality, help desk support for users and applicants, 

robust reporting and data interconnections, and account management support. 
7 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Hosted and maintained by OPM, USA Staffing® is informed by extensive expertise in Federal staffing and HR 

information technology management. Our software as a service (SaaS) delivery model allows agencies to reap the 

benefits of rapid deployment while working with a dedicated account manager who ensures that USA Staffing® meets 

your agency’s hiring needs. Agencies benefit from OPM CIO’s dedicated IT security specialists and fully certified 

and accredited systems that meet relevant Federal security standards. USA Staffing® also provides system and data 

redundancy at a Federal disaster recovery site, ensuring continued operations for your agency. 

Online Test Delivery — USA HireSM Proctored or Unproctored Assessments

HRS offers agencies the capability to deliver innovative and robust online assessment solutions in proctored and 

unproctored environments, whether the agency or HRS develops the assessments. With more than 900 off-the-shelf 

assessment solutions, access to some 650 test center locations, and a broad array of assessment and IT expertise, 

HRS can develop, customize, and deliver assessment solutions that effectively and efficiently meet the needs of 

Federal agencies. We built USA HireSM specifically for use in the Federal Government; fully integrates with USA 

Staffing®; meets all Federal IT standards; and maintains high levels of security, accessibility, and usability. Agencies 

can use the USA HireSM platform to administer a wide variety of online personnel assessments that from multiple-choice 

assessments to sophisticated simulations, video-based assessments, and computer-scored writing and languagetranslation assessments. USA HireSM includes computer adaptive testing technology and voice-recognition, spokenlanguage capabilities. All assessments are fully compliant with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and video-based items support Flash and HTML5 and allow for closed-captioned 

videos. Enhanced security features, such as disabling an applicant’s ability to paste copy from outside applications 

during writing assessments, are built into the system to support the integrity of unproctored online assessment —

a highly cost-effective approach for dealing with large applicant pools applying to government jobs today. 

Customized Assessment Development and Validation for Employee Selection

A variety of assessment tools can be used to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully perform a job. HRS offers 

assessment services that meet legal guidelines and professional standards for developing and using reliable, valid, 

and legally defensible personnel assessments, as well as maximizing return on investment in employee and leader 

selection, promotion, succession planning, and career development. HRS helps agencies identify the most appropriate 

assessment tools and establish an empirical link between performance on the new assessments and performance on 

the job. (Appendix A lists benefits and requirements for a range of recommended assessment types.) HRS maintains 

research and development to identify needs and develop new assessments. As we develop new assessments, HRS 

adds them to its host of offerings for selecting employees. 

Staffing Services 

Our staffing specialists meet agencies’ staffing needs by quickly filling vacancies in any Federal occupational series 

or pay plan with qualified and diverse candidates while complying with Merit Principles and Delegated Examining

rules. HRS uses the full range of existing hiring flexibilities to quickly and expertly announce vacancies, determine 

qualifications, apply veterans’ preference, evaluate and refer highly qualified candidates on competitive, excepted, and 

merit promotion certificates from Pathways positions through the Senior Executive Service (SES) under Title 5, Title 

38, and other hiring regulations and laws. Using our USA Staffing® talent acquisition system, HRS updates or develops 

current job analysis information to create online assessment questionnaires for screening and rating candidates in 

conjunction with additional assessments offered through USA HireSM, structured interviews, or other assessment 

types. HRS also provides written notification to all applicants at key touchpoints in the application process — when an 

application is received or assessed for qualifications and when an applicant is referred or not referred — and answers 

inquiries the applicant may have about application procedures. 

Standing Applicant Registers. Our HR specialists are experienced in establishing standing registers of highly 

qualified candidates. Standing registers are useful when agencies need to fill multiple vacancies over time and refer a 

ready pool of candidates at a moment’s notice to facilitate large-scale hiring efforts. In compliance with all appropriate 

laws and regulations, HR specialists use streamlined job announcements to expertly publicize vacancies, establish 

candidate registers through occupational assessment questionnaires or other assessment types, and provide referral 

lists of highly qualified candidates. We also provide written notification to all applicants at key points in the process and 

answer applicant and stakeholder inquiries. 
8 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Senior Executive Service (SES) Staffing. HRS consultants are uniquely positioned to support executive recruitment. 

As experts in identifying effective and valid assessment tools, HRS provides the necessary consultative services to meet

SES-level recruiting needs. HRS consultants work with hiring officials and SMEs to develop an announcement, publicize 

the position, and provide referral lists of qualified SES candidates using the resume only, accomplishment record, or 

executive core qualifications assessment method. (We describe additional assessment options in Appendix A.)

Pathways Program Support. To assist with student recruiting efforts, HRS works with your HR staff and program 

officer to manage your Pathways Program, which creates a pathway to recruit and hire students and recent graduates. 

From creating and giving you access to online assessments to producing a referral list based on excepted appointment 

ranking rules, HRS manages and performs the entire program action quickly and seamlessly. We can customize our 

Pathways Program offerings to fit your needs. 

Presidential Talent Programs. HRS recruits and identifies individuals with unique qualifications to fulfill specific 

agency project requirements and works with the agencies to facilitate a seamless onboarding process for the Fellows. 

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) and the Presidential Executive Fellows Program, partner with agencies 

to recruit and develop exceptional talent to work in federal agencies on a wide variety of missions that significantly 

impact our nation and the rest of the world. As the demand and complexity of agency missions have increased, so too 

has the need for more types of experience and knowledge across multiple industry sectors.

Metrics and Reporting. HRS provides a series of reports that meet the metrics and reporting requirements for a 

delegated examining unit or merit promotion program. Through USA Staffing®

, HRS provides reports that include 

data related to the examining activities performed by HRS for the agency. These reports assist with meeting the 80-

day hiring model and provide the statistics needed to analyze delegated examining workloads. HRS includes data 

based on the requirements of the agency and may include such items as the number of requests received, number of 

announcements opened and time to complete, number of certificates or referral lists issued and time to complete, and 

number of selections or number of veteran selections. 

Onboarding

Automated Onboarding

HRS partners with agencies to provide automated onboarding services that streamline form completion, improve the 

user experience for selectees, and reduce duplication in data entry. We offer seamless integration with USA Staffing®

as well as the flexibility to accommodate an agency’s unique onboarding processes. Our services comply with the 

Human Resources Line of Business (HRLOB) Entrance-On-Duty Concept of Operations, interconnect with the 

Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) eOPF system, capture forms and data before and after entrance-onduty, and provide reporting capability for specific onboarding metrics. 

Agency onboarding specialists can assign agency-specific and government-wide forms to the selectee; guide the 

selectee through a simple questionnaire that automatically populates forms; monitor a selectee’s progress; allow 

selectees and HR users to electronically sign eligible forms; and export data to personnel, payroll, and eOPF systems 

when forms are completed. 

These tasks may be performed by HRS HR specialists on behalf of an agency as part of a shared examining 

partnership. HRS consultants can work with your new hires to make tentative offers, set pay and negotiate salaries, 

and establish entrance-on-duty (EOD) dates. 

New Employee Survey

The New Employee Survey (NES) provides a comprehensive, end-to-end assessment of the onboarding process — 

from hiring, which lasts from recruitment through EOD; to formal orientation, which occurs in the first few days to few 

weeks after EOD; to the socialization phase, which begins at EOD and can last more than a year. The NES comprises 

core, standardized items and custom items that provide insight into agencies’ unique programs, processes, and 

areas of interest. HRS uses the NES to assess the effectiveness of the hiring process, the effectiveness with which 

employees are brought up to speed, and the extent to which employees adapt to the agency’s culture during the critical 

first six to 12 months on the job. 
9 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

New Hire Program Development and Implementation 

Investing in effective onboarding helps new employees get up to speed quickly, equips them with necessary 

information to excel at their jobs, and creates a commitment to the organization. HRS helps agencies with effective 

onboarding by reviewing current new-hire recruitment, hiring, and onboarding procedures across locations. Our 

psychologists hold focus groups to determine viable ways to standardize new-hire procedures and develop standard 

operating procedures. We develop onboarding materials and resources and hold communication and training meetings 

with supervisors, managers, trainers, HR, and other stakeholders. These activities lead to practices that encourage 

new employees to grow and stay with the organization. 

New Leader Onboarding Assessment

Although most executive onboarding programs focus on the first 90 days, research shows that it can take up to six 

months to be fully productive in a new role. HRS developed the New Leader Onboarding Assessment (NLOA) to help 

leaders transition into their new roles. The NLOA is a package of assessments that provide new leaders with a highlevel overview of their new organization’s climate, leadership capabilities, and workforce capabilities. It also furnishes 

the leadership’s view of mission-critical leadership competencies and the workforce’s view of training needs. 

Engage: Talent Management

To sustain a highly capable and engaged workforce, agencies must invest in such critical human capital functions 

as performance management and HR development. HRS offers a full spectrum of solutions to optimize individual 

and organizational performance for the long term, build agency expertise, grow leadership potential, and measure 

success. We support the success of agencies in building high-performing organizations — from tracking customer 

satisfaction and employee engagement to leadership development and automated performance management. 

Organizational Assessment and Performance

Customer Satisfaction Survey

The Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) helps organizations measure key aspects of customer satisfaction and 

drive service performance. Measuring satisfaction with an organization’s products, services, and customer support, 

the CSS is broadly applicable to all service sectors and customer groups and can be customized to assess specific 

services. It can also be used to meet the requirements of customer service–related Federal regulations. HRS provides 

printed and online reports and an executive briefing, and custom reports and analyses are available. 

Organizational Assessment Survey

Based on decades of research, the Organizational Assessment Survey (OAS) measures an agency’s culture and 

employee perceptions of 12 key dimensions and 35 facets that drive high-performing organizations as well as critical 

employee attitudes and behaviors necessary to sustain a culture of excellence. We customize the OAS for each 

agency, emphasizing various facets of an agency’s culture and creating items that assess issues, challenges, and 

questions unique to the agency. HRS psychologists use the OAS to identify drivers of employee engagement and the 

intent to turn over. We provide comprehensive analysis and reporting tools that include flexible online reports, printed 

reports, analyses of open-ended comments, and complex statistical modeling to provide the greatest insight. 

Our survey professionals also support survey follow-up activities to translate results into action. HRS provides a broad 

range of post-survey follow-up support services to help an agency take meaningful action on the results, including 

analyzing themes in open-ended comments; developing focus groups to further explore critical areas; and guiding the 

agency through the improvement process — communicating results and priorities, capturing best practices, preparing 

and implementing action plans, and communicating outcomes. 

Employee Viewpoint Survey Support Services

OPM administers the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (EVS) to assess human capital and management practices 

across the government. HRS enhances the value of the EVS by administering a customized version with the agency 

as the central focus or a supplemental version to employees not included in the official government-wide survey. 
10 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Performance Management 

HRS Performance Management Solutions addresses individual and organizational performance issues to create 

or sustain a healthy, effective results-oriented culture. We help agencies establish links between performance and 

organizational missions. Our consultants map out comprehensive performance management strategies, reviewing 

existing performance management systems for compliance with the Human Capital Framework and Performance 

Appraisal Assessment Tool; developing behavior-based competencies, benchmarks, and critical measures of results; 

designing reward systems; training employees and managers; delivering workshops for supervisors in performance 

management competencies; providing executive coaching in plan development; and facilitating strategy content and 

goal development for senior leadership. 

Performance Appraisal System Reviews and Development

Effective performance appraisal systems require regular refreshing to ensure they appropriately support the 

performance requirements and mission of an agency. Our consultants evaluate existing performance appraisal 

systems and programs and guide the agency through developing and implementing new ones that align with Human 

Capital Framework and Performance Appraisal Assessment Tool requirements. When evaluating or developing a 

performance appraisal system, our consultants ensure it includes appraisal system features, procedures, forms, and 

cycles that comply with law and OPM regulations; performance-based elements aligned with the agency’s strategic 

plan; and a valid, weighted derivation formula to calculate summary ratings for performance. Through briefings and 

trainings to agency officials and personnel, our consultants support change management and transitioning to the new 

system or program. 

USA Performance®

USA Performance® is OPM’s performance management system that enables Federal agencies to automate 

government-wide Senior Executive Service and other Title 5 performance appraisal processes. USA Performance®

is designed to meet the specific performance management challenges agencies face — developing performance 

plans, tracking and monitoring employee performance, providing feedback and ratings, and electronically signing 

performance plans — all online. By streamlining the process with USA Performance®, agencies can focus on real-time 

performance management and results. Web-based and user-friendly, we configure USA Performance® to meet any 

agency’s performance appraisal requirements. USA Performance® complies with Federal performance management 

regulations and Federal IT security requirements. 

Telework Management

Public Law 106-346 requires Federal agencies to develop a telework program. Agencies must consider several 

telework mandates and regulations when developing and maintaining such a program. The Telework Enhancement 

Act of 2010 provides a framework for agencies to better leverage technology and maximize the use of flexible work 

arrangements. To help agencies meet these mandates and establish effective telework programs, HRS consultants 

audit and recommend improvements to telework policies, review performance standards to ensure they are resultsoriented, conduct task analyses to identify duties and functions amenable to working virtually, provide interactive 

trainings and workshops that help supervisors and employees operate effectively in a virtual environment, and survey 

the workforce to evaluate satisfaction with the program. These services help Federal managers supervise employees 

in a virtual environment, and help employees make the most of flexible working arrangements. 

Leadership and Employee Assessment 

HRS offers a variety of assessments that target leadership capability and workforce development. Your agency can 

use these assessments to select new leaders or participants for leadership development programs as well as assess 

leadership strengths and developmental needs. We also offer assessments that evaluate leadership potential for 

succession planning and help new leaders acclimate to their new organizations. 
11 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Leadership Assessments Suite

Our suite of tools help leaders increase self-awareness by measuring leadership effectiveness from multiple 

perspectives. Based on years of industry research and OPM experience, our tools offer a unique focus on leadership 

in the Federal Government. Individually, these assessments are powerful developmental tools that help leaders 

understand how behaviors and preferences affect effectiveness; used together they provide a comprehensive 

picture of leadership and detailed, integrated feedback on a range of strengths and opportunities. Our leadership 

assessments are built around the competencies that make up the OPM Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). Each 

assessment provides leaders with insight on a different perspective or aspect of leadership: 

• The OPM Leadership Potential Assessment (LPA) measures an aspiring leader’s ability and motivation to lead.

The LPA collects information from multiple rating sources on two key areas relevant to leadership success:

the ability and motivation for success in a leadership position or at a higher level of leadership. It compares

responses to government-wide benchmarks from more than 1,600 leaders, providing powerful comparison data.

• The OPM Leadership 360TM gathers input on the effectiveness of leader behaviors across 28 leadership

competencies from a variety of perspectives. The OPM Leadership 360TM helps leaders identify strengths and

developmental needs to promote self-awareness and drive behavioral change. Scores are benchmarked against

our government-wide database of more than 168,000 ratings.

• The OPM Leadership Profiler measures how personality traits and preferences affect leader effectiveness.

We developed the Profiler specifically for Federal leaders to better recognize strengths and areas for growth

and enhance individual and organizational performance and outcomes. The Profiler is grounded in the “Big

Five” theory of personality, a widely accepted framework of personality based on research. OPM psychologists

tailored the framework to focus on work-related aspects of personality and the Federal Government by

linking personality traits to behaviors captured by the ECQs. Responses are compared to government-wide

benchmarks from more than 1,500 Federal leaders.

• The OPM Leadership Assessment Center captures leaders’ real-time behaviors in a “day in the life” simulation.

During the assessment, participants address several problems facing a fictional agency, interact with other

participants and a trained role-player, and produce written products. A key characteristic of the OPM Leadership

Assessment Center focuses on demonstrating and observing actual behaviors, making it well suited for use in

leader selection or placement into leadership development programs.

Participants receive personalized, confidential reports of results and benchmarks; agencies receive an aggregate 

report with summary results for all participants. Orientation and group feedback sessions guide participants through 

the process, and HRS offers agencies the option to add one-on-one participant feedback sessions. 

Competency Gap Assessment

Competency gap assessment and analysis is a systematic approach for identifying key competencies and assessing 

current and desired workforce proficiency. Working with an agency, HRS identifies current proficiency gaps in 

incumbents’ ability to apply select targeted competencies on the job. Once we select targeted competencies, 

we determine the best assessment approach to assess any gaps. This may involve surveys to job incumbents 

and supervisors to rate current and required proficiency levels or developing and administering job knowledge 

assessments. Analysis results provide information about competency gaps in the workforce and inform initiatives to 

analyze workforce planning and training needs. 

Education, Training, and Development

HRS provides education, training, and development services to help Federal agencies meet their missions. Our 

services span HR technical training, mission-related training, and leadership development programs, serving all 

levels from line employees to senior leaders. Agencies can choose from our standardized curriculum or highly 

customized programs to meet unique needs. We offer our educational opportunities, consultations, and coaching 

through residential courses, distance learning, and on-site options delivered by government employees, private-sector 

contractors, or a combination of both. 
12 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Training Needs Assessment

Our Training Needs Assessment is highly customized with an approach that depends on the organization’s size 

and questions of interest. The HRS Training Needs Assessment Framework evaluates a training’s needs and plans, 

content and quality, amount and frequency, providers and instruction, delivery method and location, cost and funding, 

barriers and gaps, and tracking mechanisms. We focus on the current state of training and employees’ needs and 

preferences for the future. Deliverables include written summative reports, comment analyses, an online reporting site 

for quantitative data, PDF reports and subreports, and executive briefings on results. 

Leadership Development

Our education, training, and development services provide the best in leadership education and development to 

achieve and sustain employee growth, development, and high performance throughout a Federal leadership journey, 

including at the highest levels of the Federal Government. As the government-designated provider of leadership 

development, our courses, certificate programs, and customized solutions develop visionary leaders to transform 

government. Our services are based on the principle that a government-to-government solution is the strongest 

foundation for developing the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for exceptional service to the 

American people and deepening our collective commitment to public service and governance. The OPM Executive 

Core Qualifications and associated competency model underpin all of our courses and services to meet governmentwide and mission-related development and leadership education at all levels, from emerging leaders to senior 

executives. 

Our services include interagency and single-agency courses, customized programs to meet agencies’ unique needs, 

coaching services, and organizational development support. We deliver all HRS education and training courses 

nationwide as interagency open enrollment or single-agency and cohort programs in classrooms and residentially, 

onsite at a location of your choice, and through distance learning formats. HRS also offers programs at three 

Management Centers at the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), the Eastern Management Development Center (EMDC), 

the Western Management Development Center (WMDC), and locations across the United States and in distance 

learning formats. (See Appendix B for a full list of our Leadership Development and Training courses.) 

Executive Leadership Programs

Residing at the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), our education programs help executives perform effectively as 

the top leaders of the American civil service and excel in a 21st century world while remaining connected to the 

constitutional principles forged in the 18th century. Our flagship Leadership for a Democratic Society is designed 

for Senior Executive Service and GS-15 executives to learn the highest level of service to United States citizens 

according to the Constitution, build networks with other senior executives across government, gain insights to improve 

leadership performance, and establish a leadership legacy that supports the organization’s mission for years to come. 

Leaders can also acquire executive coaching as part of their developmental opportunity. 

Leadership and Management Programs

HRS offers one of the most successful core leadership curriculums ever conceived for Federal leaders and managers. 

Our participants engage in a career-long process of leadership development through courses for all levels of 

leadership — from the emerging leader, the professional non-supervisory SME, and the team leader to the supervisor, 

manager, and executive — in support of public governance responsibilities. Our curriculum includes popular 

assessments of current leadership effectiveness and potential, overviews of key competencies critical to success at 

each level of leadership, essential government-wide policy knowledge, and intensive skills relevant to the workplace. 

The curriculum supports the development of leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities through instructor-led content, 

experiential activities, developmental relationships, assessments and feedback, and self-development. Our courses 

can be taken individually to address a particular challenge or competency or as part of the Leadership Education and 

Development (LEAD) Certificate program, a self-paced path to completing five courses for a given leadership level 

and a capstone paper. The LEAD Certificate is one of the first leadership and management programs approved by the 

Veteran’s Administration as a non-college degree program. Veterans are now able to use their benefits to attend our 

courses.
13 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Custom Leadership Programs

Many agencies partner with HRS to build leadership capacity and meet specific organizational needs by designing 

and delivering customized training solutions for all levels of leadership. Our solutions are extensive, ranging from 

programs that meet one-time needs to those that provide strategic, long-term program solutions and address ongoing 

challenges. Drawing from decades of experience helping government agencies to resolve human capital challenges 

and using a framework of recognized leadership competencies and adult learning principles, HRS works with agency 

leaders to navigate 10 steps for successful partnerships:

Step 1 — Identify Agency Needs

Step 2 — Identify Leadership-Learner Needs

Step 3 — Select Competencies to Develop the Basis of Design

Step 4 — Identify Desired Levels of Mastery

Step 5 — Identify and Acquire High-Leverage Resources

Step 6 — Develop the Leadership Solution

Step 7 — Develop the Program within Budget

Step 8 — Deliver the Solutions

Step 9 — Evaluate Satisfaction and Effectiveness

Step 10 — Refine and Expand Future Solutions

Human Centered Design

As part of the Federal Executive Institute within HRS, The Lab is both a practice and a space that fosters innovation 

through human-centered design. The Lab’s goal is to teach human-centered design across the Federal Government 

and to help deliver innovative solutions that address complex public and cross-sector challenges. The Lab brings 

together a unique combination of private sector fellows, public servants, and students who work collaboratively on 

complex cross-sector challenges to design based on the needs of those served. The Lab serves as leaders, doers, 

and teachers of human-centered design in order to build an innovative Federal workforce ready to solve public sector 

challenges.

Building HR Staff Capacity 

Comprehensive Federal HR Coursework

HRS has developed a government-wide initiative to grow the federal HR workforce’s capability through a planned set 

of coursework. Human resources is one of a handful of designated government-wide mission-critical occupations. The 

curriculum establishes a single, standardized framework that is the only comprehensive federal development program 

of its kind for federal HR practitioners. Our training can lead to higher employee performance, which will improve 

agency human capital management services and increase mission success.

Staffing Program Review

HRS provides an onsite or virtual review of agency staffing actions that includes procedural requirements set forth 

in the Oversight Review Guide of OPM’s Delegated Examining Operations Handbook. It focuses on recruitment, 

application processing, certification, and selection of candidates. HRS identifies agency procedures or actions that 

are contrary to law, rule, regulation, or any OPM-established standard and recommends appropriate actions for 

making corrections. HRS provides a written report for internal use only detailing necessary corrective actions and 

recommendations, if any, for maintaining compliance. 
14 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

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Onsite and Virtual Staffing Program Coaching

HRS provides a series of onsite and virtual coaching that provides as-needed guidance on various staffing-related 

topics. HRS coaches work either one-on-one or with groups of HR staff for brief training sessions. 

Onsite Coaching. Onsite coaches proactively engage your staff to assess needs and provide targeted consulting and 

training support. Sessions must be scheduled in advance for onsite visits. 

Virtual Coaching. A coach is available to remotely answer questions or provide immediate assistance to your users 

any time during the virtual coaching timeframes. Scheduled or held as needed, virtual coaching sessions may include 

telephone conversations or live demonstrations using Web conferencing technology. 

HR Technical Training Services

As Federal employees, the HRS team has extensive experience with Federal policy and operating environments. Our 

cadre of HR specialists and industrial/organizational psychologists work with agencies to identify the training needs 

of HR staff and recommend appropriate technical HR training courses. We customize workshop content, presentation 

style, and length based on consultation with senior leadership on objectives to meet, organizational dynamics 

to consider, participant profiles, and other important factors. (See Appendix C for our full range of HR technical 

workshops.)

Private-Sector Contractor Support

Through our assisted acquisition services, agencies gain access to pre-competed, world-class consulting expertise 

from private-sector companies. Our partners are the primary source for mission-related training, as well as human 

capital strategy and organizational performance improvement. Our project managers ensure that the right privatesector company delivers the solution. The project managers take on all project and contract administration activities 

so that you can focus on project oversight and direction that best serve your mission. Once we have identified your 

requirements, the team then works with you to develop a statement of objectives, helps you select a contractor, holds 

a kickoff meeting, and monitors the project through to completion. Drawing on our access to OPM policymakers and 

HRS’ vast human capital and training expertise, agencies get expedited services and the assurance their human 

capital solution is designed properly and delivered by our private-sector partners on time and on budget. Further, 

our private-sector partners work with us to ensure each project meets OPM policies and Federal regulations and 

standards. 

The Human Capital and Training Solutions Contracts (HCaTS

The Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) contracts help Federal agencies procure customized, world-class 

consulting services for human capital management and training. The two HCaTS contracts are the first Human Capital 

Category Management solutions for government, as well as the first in the category to be designated best-in-class by 

OMB and the Category Management Leadership Council. (See Appendix D for how to access HCaTS.)

When an agency chooses the HCaTS contracts, our team provides end-to-end acquisition assistance in partnership 

with GSA. We offer a full range of assisted acquisition services, as well as scope reviews at no cost to agencies that 

use the HCaTS direct service.

USALearning®

HRS provides agencies with adult learning and instructional design training through USALearning®. Offering 

customized online learning solutions, USALearning®

 is the Federal Government’s source for distance learning and 

online collaboration solutions built to satisfy agencies’ specific requirements. USALearning®

 connects learning 

practitioners with opportunities across the span of e-learning systems, content, and performance support tools 

available in the Federal Government. Users can easily navigate the e-learning resource site to share ideas and build 

innovative learning strategies to achieve agency missions. Federal users can readily search for learning opportunities 

outlined in the Federal Catalog. 
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HRS has developed hundreds of hours of instructor-based courses using sound instructional design principles to 

actively engage the learner and include job-related tasks, group exercises, principles of adult learning, and hands-on 

activities across multiple skill or competency levels. HRS consultants specialize in instructor-based and online training 

development for Federal employees, managers, and executives. Through online scheduling systems, game engines, 

blended and hybrid course expertise, and online and mobile applications, USALearning® enables participants to 

download key instructional content to carry with them after training. This on-the-go content greatly expands the utility 

of the curriculum and training investment. 

Transform: Separate with Respect

HRS separation solutions help agencies manage turnover, whether due to involuntary restructuring of the workforce 

or voluntary employee attrition. Our services can help agencies ensure that the workforce aligns with mission 

requirements or determine why employees who are critical to delivering on mission leave the agency. We help your 

agency track why employees separate and provide strategies for retaining top performers critical to accomplishing 

your agency’s mission, turning leaving into learning. We also offer consulting services to facilitate reductions in force 

and workforce restructuring.

Restructuring Solutions 

HRS consultants work with agencies to develop the framework, implementation plans, and policy and communication 

documents necessary to reshape and restructure the workforce through reduction in force (RIF) procedures. With 

agency staff, HRS conducts an assessment of the current RIF processes and develops a detailed action plan 

with process-improvement recommendations and milestones. HRS prepares and conducts training to educate the 

agency’s HR community on the best strategies to plan and implement an RIF. Restructuring services include a preRIF assessment and quality review of Official Personnel File RIF essential data, coding and writing definitions for 

competitive level code, and processing RIF.

Exit Survey 

Our Exit Survey provides agencies with valid and reliable feedback on the key drivers of turnover, information on who 

chooses to leave, and suggestions for retaining critical personnel. The Exit Survey categorizes separations by type, 

captures the primary motivations for separating, diagnoses the organization’s strengths and challenges, and solicits 

suggestions from exiting employees for changes the organization should make to keep top talent. HRS administers the 

Exit Survey on a rolling basis and provides agencies with periodic reports so they can keep tabs on the reasons why 

employees choose to leave the organization, and make corrections as quickly as possible. 

Summary

OPM’s HR Solutions provides technical expertise to help your Federal agency solve its toughest human capital 

challenges. Connected to HR policymakers, our knowledgeable consultants are skilled in customizing solutions that 

comply with OPM and Federal standards and reflect best practices. Our streamlined contracting process allows you 

to reach your solution faster for both one-time purchases and multiyear projects. We are confident that the exceptional 

quality of our products and services and our customer-focused approach will satisfy the dynamic needs of your 

organization. 

Contact Information

For more information and demonstrations, please email Tim.Letzkus@opm.gov or call 202-418-0353. To learn more 

about OPM’s HR Solutions and our specific capabilities, visit www.opm.gov/HRS. 
16 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Appendix A — Customized Assessments for Employee Selection

Prescreen or First-Hurdle Assessments

An agency can use the following assessments individually or as an initial screening assessment in a multiple-hurdle 

evaluation of candidates. 

Assessment Questionnaire

Assessment questionnaires that measure expertise in job-related tasks are an efficient and effective way to screen 

and evaluate applicants. This assessment type is firmly grounded in the duties of the position and lets candidates 

identify their relevant experience. We carefully develop self-report questions to identify specific behaviors, education, 

and experience that separate good candidates from great ones. This includes questions about minimum qualifications 

and basic eligibility, closed-ended questions for rating or ranking, and open-ended questions for collecting information 

to verify other responses. HRS creates the assessment using USA Staffing®

, develops an assessment questionnaire 

that the agency can plug directly into their current automated system, and trains the agency’s HR staff to develop 

these effective assessments. 

Biographical Data Questionnaire

Biographical data (or “biodata”) questionnaires include items about past events and behaviors that reflect personality 

attributes, attitudes, experiences, interests, skills, and abilities that serve as predictors of overall performance. Often, 

biodata test items are developed through behavioral examples provided by SMEs. These items specify situations 

the employee likely has experienced and ask about that employee’s typical behavior in the situation. In addition, 

biodata items reflect external actions that are objective in the sense that there is a factual response to each item. HRS 

developed biodata item banks to measure a wide range of general competencies and can easily develop additional 

targeted biodata items to cover positions specific to an agency. We also conduct a validation study with job incumbents 

to ensure that assessments effectively predict future job performance. 

Accomplishment Record

Accomplishment records assess candidates’ past accomplishments related to key competencies. Accomplishments 

are evaluated by trained raters against competency-based benchmarks for the target occupation. HRS develops 

scoring benchmarks for particular occupations as part of the rating process. The number of applicants and 

competencies assessed determines the length of the rating process, generally between two and six weeks. 

Evaluate Candidates for Selection — Second or Final Hurdles

HRS more commonly recommends the following list of assessment options as the second hurdle in a multiple-hurdle 

assessment model. They can be used alone, but in either case are often administered in a secured setting to ensure 

the security of the applicant’s identity and assessment. In some cases, agencies can administer the assessments 

below in an unproctored setting. In these cases additional steps must be taken to significantly increase the bank 

of items as the items are exposed over time or alternatively to rely more heavily on verifying the competencies in 

subsequent steps such as a structured interview. 

Situational Judgment Test

Situational judgment items ask applicants how they would respond in realistic work-related scenarios. When used 

correctly, these responses can effectively predict future behaviors. HRS has unparalleled experience in developing 

situational judgment items based on SME input. HRS can develop robust assessments tailored to virtually any position. 
17 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

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Writing Assessment

HRS can develop writing assessments to cover a variety of competencies. These assessments ask applicants to 

produce writing samples that are similar to those required to perform the job. Typically, teams of two raters score the 

writing assessment using benchmarks derived by HRS psychologists with SME assistance. The development process 

results in at least two forms of a writing assessment, including instructions, administrator guidelines, and a scoring 

protocol. In addition, HRS provides evaluation instruction to all assessors. 

Structured Interview

In a structured interview, interviewers ask candidates a set of standardized job-related questions and rate the 

candidates’ responses based on predetermined, job-related criteria. Each interview question is accompanied by a 

rating scale complete with benchmarks and real-world examples of responses that define low, medium, and high levels 

of competency. HRS works with the agency’s SMEs to develop questions and benchmarks and provides structured 

interview training and an assessor guide. 

Job Knowledge Test

Job knowledge tests use occupation-specific questions to determine how much an individual really knows about a 

job’s critical tasks and responsibilities. Job knowledge tests assess what a person knows at the time of taking the 

test; therefore, they are most useful for jobs that require specialized or technical knowledge that takes a long time to 

acquire. To facilitate scoring, job knowledge tests generally use a multiple-choice question format; written essays and 

fill-in-the-blank questions are also possible. 

Work Sample Assessment

Work samples require applicants to perform tasks or activities that are identical or highly similar to tasks or activities 

performed on the job. We take great care in mimicking the work environment to the greatest extent possible. Trained 

raters typically assign applicant scores by observing the applicant’s behavior or measuring task or activity outcomes (for 

example, the degree of interpersonal skills demonstrated or the number of errors made in transcribing an internal memo).
18 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

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Appendix B — Leadership Development and Training Courses

• Coaching and Mentoring for Excellence • Leadership Assessment Program —

Level I for Team Leaders and Emerging Supervisors • Collaborative Leadership

• Leadership Assessment Program — • Communicating Face-to-Face Level II for Supervisors and Managers

• Conflict Resolutions Skills • Leadership Competencies: Preparing for

the Next Step • Creating and Sustaining Organizational Excellence

• Leadership for a Democratic Society • Conflict and Negotiation for Federal Executives

• Leadership Skills for Non-Supervisors PMF • Crisis Leadership

• Management Development: Leading from the Middle • Developing Customer Focused Organizations

• Management Development: Leading Organizations • Dynamics of Public Policy

• Managing the Flexible Workplace • Effective Writing in the Federal Government:

Leading with the Written Word • National Security Policy

• Emotional Competence: • Organizational Resiliency Working with Others for Results

• Project Management Principles • Engaging and Encouraging Employees

• Resiliency 2. 0 • Executive Communication Skills:

Leading the Process of Change • Senior Executive Assessment Program

• Executive Development: Leading Change • Strategic Planning for Executives

• Executive Development: Leading Change — • Supervisory Development I: Fundamentals

Blended Format • Supervisory Development II: Learning to Lead

• Extraordinary Leadership • Supervisory Development II: Learning to Lead —

• Facilitation Skills for Leaders Online Format

• Federal Budgetary Policies and Processes • Team Development: Team Building and Team

Leadership-Blended Format • Innovation - Tools and Techniques: A Human Centered

Approach to Problem Solving • Women’s Leadership: Succeeding in the Workplace

• Inter-Organizational Collaboration • Working for Congress for Federal Executives
19 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Appendix C — HR Technical Training Workshops

HRS offers technical training for HR professionals and hiring managers and supervisors that includes: 

• HR SMEs who know OPM’s policies and procedures and consult with numerous Federal agencies.

• Lectures and hands-on exercises to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform target

HR activities.

• Personalized attention, constructive feedback, and a shared learning experience.

• Training materials and job aids to take back to your workplace.

To learn more about HR Training on Demand, email HRTrainingOnDemand@opm.gov. 

Assessment Development 

Best Practices in Assessment Questionnaire 

Development 

Occupational Questionnaires 

Structured Interviews

Designing an Assessment Strategy 

Performance Management 

Communicate Like a Pro: Performance and 

Developmental Feedback 

From Counseling to Taking Action: Dealing with Poor 

Performance 

How to Succeed in the Virtual Environment 

How to Manage a Virtual Team 

Foster a Results-Oriented Culture: How to Write Plans 

and Standards 

Workforce Development

& Succession Planning 

Overview of Succession Planning 

Succession Planning 

Overview of Workforce Planning 

Workforce Planning

HR Course Offerings by Topic Area 

General HR

Job Analysis

Classification

Classification Refresher 

Staffing

Basic Staffing 

Category Rating 

Creating an Effective Streamlined Job Opportunity 

Announcement

Delegated Examining Certification Sessions 

Hiring Flexibilities 

How Hiring Managers Are Improving the Federal Hiring 

Process 

Merit System Principles and Prohibited Personnel 

Practices 

Qualifications Analysis 

Recruiting and Hiring a Diverse Workforce 

Recruitment, Assessment and Selection for Managers 

Recruiting and Hiring Individuals with Disabilities 

Veterans’ Preference Adjudication

Wage Grade Examining
20 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Appendix D — Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS)

The Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) contracts are the first Human Capital Category Management 

solutions for government, as well as the first in the category to be designated best-in-class by OMB and the Category 

Management Leadership Council. HCaTS helps Federal agencies procure customized, superior human capital 

solutions for management and mission-related training. 

Accessing HCaTS

HCaTS Direct: After your Contracting Officer attends mandatory training, GSA issues a Delegation of Procurement 

Authority to the Ordering Contracting Officer, who can then award a task order through the contracts. OPM is available 

to provide complementary scope reviews for customer agencies, and ensure your project meets all Human Capital 

Framework requirements. 

HCaTS Assisted Services: This is a seamless, full-service, assisted acquisition services process. We work with 

you to develop the entire acquisition package, including the requirements document (SOO, SOW, or PWS), IGCE, 

market research, and request for proposal. Once the package is complete, GSA releases the task order solicitation to 

HCaTS providers. Our Project Managers and GSA Ordering Contracting Officers guide you through every step of the 

acquisition life cycle, resulting in premier customized solutions and products that fulfill your human capital and training 

needs.

HCaTS Unrestricted: Awarded under full and open procurement to a cadre of large and small businesses. The 

unrestricted contract includes significant small business participation.

HCaTS Small Business: This was awarded as a total small business set-aside contract.

Commercial Strategic Partners

HCaTS commercial partners were selected through a full and open competition in compliance with all Federal 

Acquisition Regulations (FAR). The firms were selected by OPM and GSA through a competitive acquisition process 

based on their expertise in researching and developing training and human capital solutions.

Go to www.gsa.gov/portal/content/124018 for a complete list of preapproved, prequalified HCaTS commercial strategic 

partners.
21

HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 • www.opm.gov/HRS • 202-606-8001

Appendix E — HRS Customer Service Commitment

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 

a New Day for Federal Service 

HR SOLUTIONS 

CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMITMENT 

As a provider of Government-to-Government solutions, 

we commit to: 

Respect and value every customer during every interaction. 

We actively listen to our customers and promote two-way communication. 

We treat customers with respect and proactively address service delivery challenges. 

Exemplify innovation and excellence in human capital management. 

We leverage advances in technology to provide exceptional human capital solutions. 

Our customers can depend on our forward-thinking teams and innovative solutions. 

Deliver solutions that align with Federal policies and promote best practices. 

Our products, services, and business processes comply with Federal requirements. 

We are experts in Federal policies, standards, and best practices. 

Provide timely, responsive, and reliable customer service. 

We deliver our services on time; we promptly respond to customer inquiries and issues. 

We have a nationwide network of experts available to support our customers where they need us. 

Work in partnership with our customers. 

Our relationships are built on integrity, trust, and open communication. 

We have shared accountability with customers in building a world-class Federal workforce. 

Deliver on our commitments. 

We deliver products and services within the timeframe, cost, and quality level we promised. 

We follow through on our commitments and are accountable to the American people. 
22 HR Solutions • U.S. Office of Personnel Management

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Contact Us

Tim Letzkus

Senior Business Advisor

tim.letzkus@opm.gov

(202) 418-0353

On the web at:

www.opm.gov/HRS

Or email at:

AskHRS@opm.gov