Human Capital: Sustained Attention to Strategic Human Capital Management Needed
Published: 2009-04-22T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: In 2001, GAO identified human capital management as a governmentwide high-risk area because federal agencies lacked a strategic approach to human capital management that integrated human capital efforts with their missions and program goals. Progress has been made. However, the area remains high-risk because of a continuing need for a governmentwide framework to advance human capital reform. The importance of a top-notch federal workforce cannot be overstated. The federal government is facing new and growing challenges coupled with a retirement wave and the loss of leadership and institutional knowledge at all levels. The issues facing agencies are complex and require a broad range of technical skills that are also highly sought after by the private sector. This testimony, based on a large body of completed work issued from January 2001 through March 2009, focuses on executive branch agencies' and the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) progress in addressing strategic human capital management challenges in four key areas: (1) leadership; (2) strategic human capital planning; (3) acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; and (4) results-oriented organizational culture. In prior reports, GAO has made a range of recommendations to OPM and agencies in the four areas. GAO is reporting on progress in addressing these recommendations and is making no new recommendations.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Congress, executive branch agencies, and OPM have taken action to reform federal human capital management, but federal agencies are facing new challenges. The recent need to quickly hire staff to carry out and oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program and expanded agency responsibilities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 point to the need for sustained attention to help ensure that agencies have the right people with the right skills to meet new challenges. Top leadership in agencies across the federal government must provide committed and inspired attention needed to address human capital and related organizational transformation issues. OPM has made strides in transforming itself as a strategic partner to help lead human capital reform efforts. For example, at the agency level, OPM works with the Chief Human Capital Officers council to develop and disseminate human capital guidance and relies upon the council members to communicate OPM policy and other human capital information throughout their agencies. Integrating succession planning and management efforts that focus on strengthening both current and future organizational capacity to obtain or develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities agencies need to meet their missions continues to be important. For example, GAO has reported on a challenge in the acquisition workforce where the workload and complexity of responsibilities have been increasing without adequate attention to the workforce's size, skills and knowledge, and succession planning. Faced with a workforce that is becoming more retirement eligible and the need for a different mix of knowledge, skills, and competencies, it is important that agencies strengthen their efforts and use available flexibilities. Agencies have developed strategies to recruit needed talent, including turning to older experienced workers to fill knowledge and skills gaps. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has used a combination of techniques to recruit workers with critical skills, including targeted recruitment activities, educational outreach programs, improved compensation and benefits packages, and streamlined hiring authorities. In addition to promoting high performance and accountability to foster results-oriented cultures, it is important for agencies to develop and maintain inclusive and diverse workforces that reflect all segments of society. Agencies can benefit from strategies that offer a diverse pool of talent for selecting the agencies' future leaders and recruiting new employees so that agencies can get a wider variety of perspectives and approaches.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the state of the  federal workforce and challenges in managing today’s workforce and  planning for tomorrow’s. The importance of a top-notch federal workforce  cannot be overstated. The issues facing agencies are complex and require  a broad range of technical skills that are also highly sought after by the  private sector. The nation is facing new and more complex challenges in  the 21st century, including a large and growing long-term fiscal imbalance,  evolving national and homeland security threats, increasing global  interdependence, and the need to rethink relevant regulatory oversight  structures in light of the turmoil in worldwide financial markets. The  recent need to quickly hire staff to carry out and oversee the Troubled  Asset Relief Program and expanded agency responsibilities under the  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) point to  the need for sustained attention to help ensure that agencies have the right  people with the right skills to meet new challenges. Specifically, the  Department of the Treasury has the monumental task of managing and  overseeing the government’s efforts to stabilize the nation’s financial  system and restore the functioning of the nation’s credit markets, which  involves expediting the hiring of critical staff needed to carry out and  oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program. At the same time, the federal  government faces the challenges of developing guidance and overseeing  the implementation of the $787 billion Recovery Act, in partnership with  the states, localities, and territories.
To address these challenges, it will be important for federal agencies to  change their cultures and create the institutional capacity to become high- performing organizations. This includes recruiting and retaining  employees able to create, sustain, and thrive in organizations that are  flatter, results-oriented, and externally focused and that collaborate with  other governmental entities as well as with the private and nonprofit  sectors to achieve desired outcomes. It will also be important for federal  agencies to focus attention on management practices that increase the  level of employee engagement as they seek to improve their operations  within budget constraints and to compete for talent with the private  sector.
In 2001, we identified human capital management as a governmentwide  high-risk area because federal agencies lacked a strategic approach to  human capital management that integrated human capital efforts with  their missions and program goals. Progress has been made. However, the  area remains high-risk because of a continuing need for a governmentwide  framework to advance human capital reform. This framework is vital to  avoid further fragmentation within the civil service, ensure management  flexibility as appropriate, allow a reasonable degree of consistency,  provide adequate safeguards, and maintain a level playing field among  agencies competing for talent.
Today and in the near term, the federal workforce is facing a variety of a  capacity challenges that could affect the ability of agencies to cost- effectively carry out their missions. For example, the federal government  is facing a retirement wave and with it the loss of leadership and  institutional knowledge at all levels. Governmentwide, about one-third of  federal employees on board at the end of fiscal year 2007 will become  eligible to retire by 2012. Proportions of workers eligible to retire are  projected to be especially high in certain occupations—some are mission  critical, such as customs and border protection agents—as well as in key  leadership positions. About 64 percent of career executives may be eligible  to retire by 2012. In the current economic situation, projections of how  many federal workers will actually retire upon becoming eligible remain  unclear; however, these workers will eventually retire and the federal  government needs to have the right people in the right jobs at the right  time to meet the challenges it faces.
Congress and the executive branch have taken steps to address the federal  government’s human capital shortfalls. For example, Congress provided  agencies across the executive branch with additional human capital  flexibilities, such as specific hiring authorities. While much progress has  been made in the last few years to address human capital challenges,  ample opportunities continue to exist for agencies to improve their  strategic human capital management and for the Office of Personnel  Management’s (OPM) continued leadership in fostering and guiding  improvements in these areas.
My remarks today will focus on executive branch agencies’ and OPM’s  progress in addressing strategic human capital management challenges in  four key areas: (1) leadership; (2) strategic human capital planning;          (3) acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; and (4) results-oriented  organizational culture. This testimony is based on a large body of our  completed work issued from January 2001 through March 2009. We  conducted our work in accordance with all sections of GAO’s Quality  Assurance Framework that were relevant to the objectives of each  engagement.
subsections: section_title: Sustained Leadership Is Essential to Successful Human Capital Management
paragraphs: Top leadership in agencies across the federal government must provide  committed and inspired attention needed to address human capital and  related organizational transformation issues. Leaders must not only  embrace reform, they must integrate the human capital function into their  agencies’ core planning and business activities. Senior executive  leadership is especially key today as the federal government faces  significant efforts to transform to address key challenges. OPM’s 2008  Federal Human Capital Survey results showed that the government  needs to establish a more effective leadership corps. Specifically, of the  employees responding to the survey, a little over half reported a high level  of respect for their senior leaders and a little less than half are satisfied  with the information they receive from management on what is going on in  the organization. The percentage of positive results for these questions has  increased slightly since the last survey was conducted in 2006.
OPM plays a key role in fostering and guiding improvements in all areas of  strategic human capital management in the executive branch. As part of its  key leadership role, OPM can assist in—and, as appropriate, require—the  building of infrastructures within agencies needed to successfully  implement and sustain human capital reforms and related initiatives. OPM  can do this in part by encouraging continuous improvement and providing  appropriate assistance to support agencies’ efforts in areas such as  acquiring, developing, and retaining talent. We have reported that OPM has  made commendable efforts in transforming itself from less of a rule  maker, enforcer, and independent agent to more of a consultant,  toolmaker, and strategic partner in leading and supporting executive  agencies’ human capital management systems. However, OPM has faced  challenges in its internal capacity to assist and guide agencies’ readiness to  implement change, such as the certification process for the senior  executive performance-based pay system, and will need to address these  challenges. Specifically, in October 2007, we reported that OPM has  strategies in place, such as workforce and succession management plans,  that are aligned with selected leading practices relevant to the agency’s  capacity to fulfill its strategic goals. However, at the time, OPM lacked a  well-documented agencywide evaluation process of some of its workforce  planning efforts. In response to our recommendation, OPM recently  developed an automated tracking system to monitor training so that  agency officials could target it on priority areas.
OPM also faces challenges in modernizing the paper-intensive processes  and antiquated information systems it uses to support the retirement of  civilian federal employees through the retirement modernization program.  This modernization program is important because OPM estimates a  growing volume of retirement processing over the next several years given  projected retirement trends. In January 2008, we reported that the  agency’s management of this initiative in areas that are important to  successful deployment of new systems had not ensured that components  would perform as intended. For example, at that point in time, OPM had  not addressed weaknesses in its approaches to testing system components  and managing system defects to ensure that the new system components  will perform as intended. In addition, OPM had yet to develop a reliable  program cost estimate and the measurement baseline against which  program progress can be determined. To date, the agency continues to  have retirement modernization planning and management shortcomings  that need to be addressed. The results of our most recent review of the  modernization program are expected to be released by the end of April  2009.
To help support federal agencies with expanded responsibilities under the  Recovery Act, OPM has provided information, tools, and training to federal  agencies to help address these new human capital challenges and ensure  that agencies acquire the talent they need. For example, in March 2009,  OPM held an interagency forum on approaches to meet the Recovery Act’s  human capital management support requirements. At that event, OPM  provided information on the various human capital flexibilities available to  agencies for hiring the necessary employees, such as 30-day emergency  appointments, and on how OPM can provide assistance. In addition, OPM  has begun facilitating coordination with the Federal Executive Boards  across the nation to share agency plans and activities for the Recovery Act  implementation. Areas of coordination include shared approaches to  filling human capital needs and ensuring coordination of agency programs  to avoid duplication.
Congress also recognized that increased attention to strategic human  capital management was needed in federal agencies. In 2002, Congress  created the chief human capital officer (CHCO) position in 24 agencies to  advise and assist the head of the agency and other agency officials in their  strategic human capital management efforts. The CHCO Council— chaired by the OPM Director—advises and coordinates the activities of  members’ agencies, OPM, and the Office of Management and Budget  (OMB) on such matters as the modernization of human resources systems,  improved quality of human resources information, and legislation affecting  human resources operations and organizations. The council, which has  been in operation for nearly 6 years, has organized itself to address key  current and emerging human capital issues. For example, in its fiscal year  2008 annual report to Congress, the council identified three emerging  issues: (1) managing the public expectations of the federal response to  highly complex issues, (2) building and sustaining federal employee  leadership, and (3) transforming the human resources profession to meet  challenges. Its subcommittee structure is intended to align with the  overarching strategic human capital initiatives affecting the federal  government and includes subcommittees on hiring and succession  planning, the human capital workforce, and human resources line of  business.
OPM works with the CHCO Council to develop and disseminate human  capital guidance and relies upon the council members to communicate  OPM policy and other human capital information throughout their  agencies. For example, we recently reported that inquiries from the  council about how to request a waiver to rehire annuitants without  reducing their salaries led OPM officials to develop a template for agencies  to use in submitting these requests. OPM officials see their relationship  with the council and the agencies it represents as a partnership and shared  responsibility to ensure that the latest guidance and practices are  disseminated throughout the agencies. In addition to the council meetings,  the CHCO Council Training Academy is a forum for CHCOs and other  agency officials to discuss human capital issues and share best practices.  OPM has invited all levels of agency officials—not just CHCOs—to attend  the academy sessions when relevant topics were featured. For example,  over the last 2 years, the council has held several academy sessions related  to Senior Executive Service (SES) performance management and pay  systems and lessons learned from the governmentwide SES survey results.
section_title: Strategic Human Capital Planning Is Critical to Addressing Workforce Challenges
paragraphs: Strategic human capital planning that is integrated with broader  organizational strategic planning is critical to ensuring that agencies have  the talent and skill mix they need to address their current and emerging  human capital challenges, especially as the federal government faces a  retirement wave. Agencies must determine the critical skills and  competencies necessary to achieve programmatic goals and develop  strategies that are tailored to address any identified gaps. Further,  agencies are to develop strategic human capital plans with goals,  objectives, and measures and report their progress toward these goals and  objectives in annual reports to OPM as required by OPM’s Human Capital  Assessment and Accountability Framework.
We have found that leading organizations go beyond a succession planning  approach that focuses on simply replacing individuals and instead engage  in broad, integrated succession planning and management efforts that  focus on strengthening both current and future organizational capacity to  obtain or develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to carry  out their missions. For example, we recently reported on the Social  Security Administration’s (SSA) use of information technology in  projecting future retirements and identifying the necessary steps to fill  these gaps. Specifically, SSA developed a complex statistical model that  uses historical data to project who is likely to retire, and SSA uses these  projections to estimate gaps in mission-critical positions and to identify  what components of the agency could be most affected by the upcoming  retirements. With these estimates, the agency develops action plans  focused on hiring, retention, and staff development. As a result of using  these models, SSA has developed targeted recruitment efforts that extend  to a broad pool of candidates. To create this pool, SSA is also beginning to  reach out to older workers in order to achieve one of its diversity goals— attracting a multigenerational workforce—by developing recruiting  material featuring images of older and younger workers and offering a  phased retirement program, among other things.
An example of the federal government’s strategic human capital planning  challenges involves its acquisition workforce. In 2007, we testified that  much of the acquisition workforce’s workload and complexity of  responsibilities have been increasing without adequate attention to the  workforce’s size, skills and knowledge, and succession planning. Over  the years, a strategic approach had not been taken across government or  within agencies to focus on workforce challenges, such as creating a  positive image essential to successfully recruit and retain a new generation  of talented acquisition professionals. In addition, we recently reported  that the Department of Defense (DOD) lacks critical departmentwide  information to ensure its acquisition workforce is sufficient to meet its  national security mission. As a result, we made several recommendations  to DOD aimed at improving DOD’s management and oversight of its  acquisition workforce, including the collection of data on contractor  personnel. The challenges agencies are facing with managing acquisitions,  including sustaining a capable and accountable acquisition workforce,  contributed to GAO’s designation of the management and use of  interagency contracting as a governmentwide high-risk area in 2005.  Further, in our most recent high-risk update, acquisition and contract  management remains a high-risk area at three agencies—DOD, the  Department of Energy, and the National Aeronautics and Space  Administration (NASA)—as does DOD’s weapon system acquisition.  Addressing these challenges will require sustained management attention  and leadership at both the agency level and from organizations such as  OMB and its Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
In May 2008, we reported that the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention (CDC) had made improvements in its strategic human capital  planning, but the agency should take a more strategic view of its  contractor workforce—more than one-third of its workforce. For  example, CDC conducted a preliminary workforce analysis to determine  the skills and competencies needed to achieve the agency’s mission and  goals, including identifying skill and competency gaps. While the agency  had not completed its analyses of skill and competency gaps for the  occupations it deemed most critical when the strategic human capital  management plan was developed, at the time of our report, the agency was  completing these analyses. CDC’s strategic human capital management  plan did not address the challenge of managing a blended workforce with  a large percentage of contractors working with federal staff. We reported  that without addressing this challenge CDC’s plan would not give the  agency a strategic view of its governmental and contractor workforce and  thus might not be as useful as it could be in assisting the agency with  strategic human capital planning for its entire workforce. In response to  our recommendation to address this challenge in its plan, CDC’s most  recent update to its strategic human capital management plan includes an  effort to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to address  management of contractors as part of a blended workforce.
section_title: Acquiring, Developing, and Retaining Talent Remains a Federal Workforce Challenge
paragraphs: Faced with a workforce that is becoming more retirement eligible and the  need for a different mix of knowledge, skills, and competencies, it is  important that agencies strengthen their efforts and use of available  flexibilities from Congress and OPM to acquire, develop, motivate, and  retain talent. For years it has been widely recognized that the federal  hiring process all too often does not meet the needs of (1) agencies in  achieving their missions; (2) managers in filling positions with the right  talent; and (3) applicants for a timely, efficient, transparent, and merit- based process. In short, the federal hiring process is often an impediment  to the very customers it is designed to serve in that it makes it difficult for  agencies and managers to obtain the right people with the right skills, and  applicants can be dissuaded from public service because of the complex  and lengthy procedures.
In recent years, Congress and OPM have taken a series of important  actions to improve recruiting and hiring in the federal sector. For example,  Congress has provided agencies with enhanced authority to pay  recruitment bonuses and with the authority to credit relevant private  sector experience when computing annual leave amounts. In addition,  Congress has provided agencies with hiring flexibilities that (1) permit  agencies to appoint individuals to positions through a streamlined hiring  process where there is a severe shortage of qualified candidates or a  critical hiring need, and (2) allow agency managers more latitude in  selecting among qualified candidates through category rating.
As the federal government’s central personnel management agency, OPM  has a key role in helping agencies acquire, develop, retain, and manage  their human capital. In the areas of recruiting and hiring, OPM has, for  example, done the following.
Authorized governmentwide direct-hire authority for veterinarian medical  officer positions given the severe shortage of candidates for these  positions. Recently, we reported that despite a growing shortage of  veterinarians, the federal government does not have a comprehensive  understanding of the sufficiency of its veterinarian workforce for routine  program activities. In response to our findings, OPM granted direct-hire  authority for these positions governmentwide.
Launched an 80-day hiring model to help speed up the hiring process,  issued guidance on the use of hiring authorities and flexibilities, and  developed a Hiring Tool Kit to assist agency officials in determining the  appropriate hiring flexibilities to use given their specific situations.
Established standardized vacancy announcement templates for common  occupations, such as secretarial, accounting, and accounting technician  positions, in which agencies can insert summary information concerning  their specific jobs prior to posting for public announcement.
Developed a guide called Career Patterns that is intended to help agencies  recruit a diverse, multigenerational workforce. This guide presents career  pattern scenarios that characterize segments of the general labor market  according to career-related factors, such as commitment to a mission and  experience, and lists characteristics of the work environment that some  cohorts may find particularly attractive and related human capital policies  that agencies could use to recruit and retain potential employees.
Updated and expanded its report Human Resources Flexibilities and  Authorities in the Federal Government, which serves as a handbook for  agencies in identifying current flexibilities and authorities and how they  can be used to address human capital challenges.
Individual federal agencies have also taken actions to meet their specific  needs for acquiring the necessary talent, while other agencies have faced  difficulties. For example, NASA has used a combination of techniques to  recruit workers with critical skills, including targeted recruitment  activities, educational outreach programs, improved compensation and  benefits packages, professional development programs, and streamlined  hiring authorities. Many of NASA’s external hires have been for entry- level positions through the Cooperative Education Program, which  provides NASA centers with the opportunity to develop and train future  employees and assess the abilities of potential employees before making  them permanent job offers.
Further, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has endeavored to  align its human capital planning framework with its strategic goals and  identified the activities needed to achieve a diverse, skilled workforce and  an infrastructure that supports the agency’s mission and goals. NRC has  used various flexibilities in recruiting and hiring new employees, and it has  tracked the frequency and cost associated with the use of some  flexibilities. While there was room for further improvement, NRC has been  effective in recruiting, developing, and retaining a critically skilled  workforce.
We have reported in recent years on a number of human capital issues that  have hampered the Department of State’s (State) ability to carry out U.S.  foreign policy priorities and objectives, particularly at posts central to the  war on terror. In August 2007, we testified that State has made progress  in addressing staffing shortages over the last few years, but it remains a  problem. To help address the shortages, State has implemented various  incentives particularly at critical hardship posts, including offering extra  pay to officers who serve an additional year at these posts and allowing  employees to negotiate shorter tours of duty. Further, State has made  progress in increasing its foreign language capabilities, but significant  language gaps remain. In response to our recommendations to enhance  the language proficiency of State’s staff, officials told us that the  department has placed an increased focus on language training in critical  areas. State has also implemented a new initiative that would provide  additional pay incentives for staff if they chose to be reassigned to use  existing Arabic language skills.
The Partnership for Public Service (Partnership) recently reported that  governmentwide, agencies were not using the student intern hiring  flexibility to the full extent possible. Governmentwide, agencies have the  authority to hire student interns through the Student Career Experience  Program with the option of a noncompetitive conversion to the  competitive service upon a student’s satisfactory completion of diploma,  degree, or certificate of program requirements and work experience. In  its recent interagency forum on human capital management under the  Recovery Act, OPM highlighted this hiring flexibility as a useful tool for  bringing potential employees on board. The Partnership found that about 7  percent of student interns employed by federal agencies in 2007 were  hired into permanent jobs. The Partnership suggested that the federal  government should, among other things, prioritize student internships as  key talent sources for entry-level jobs and then recruit accordingly and  provide adequate resource to these programs; and collect data enabling a  clear evaluation of all intern programs and ensure that agencies are  making the best use of their authority to build their critical workforce  pipelines.
Further, agencies have a variety of options to tap older, experienced  workers to fill workforce needs, including retaining workers past initial  retirement eligibility, hiring new older workers, and bringing back retired  federal annuitants. Recently, we reported on selected federal agencies’  approaches to using older workers to address future critical gaps in  leadership, skills, and institutional knowledge. For example, the United  States Agency for International Development tends to bring back its  retirees, many of whom have specialized knowledge and skills, as  contractors to fill short-term job assignments and to help train and  develop the agency’s growing number of newly hired staff.
As for retention, in many ways, the federal government is well positioned  to retain the people it needs to carry out its diverse roles and  responsibilities. Importantly, federal employment offers rewards, such as  interesting work and opportunities to make a difference in the lives of  others, as well as a variety of tangible benefits and work-life flexibilities  that make an organization an employer of choice. We have stated that  agencies need to reexamine the flexibilities provided to them under  current authorities—such as monetary recruitment and retention  incentives; special hiring authorities, including student employment  programs; and work-life programs, including alternative work schedules,  child care assistance, telework opportunities, and transit subsidies—and  identify those that could be used more extensively or more effectively to  meet their workforce needs. In using telework and other flexibilities, it is  important for agencies to have clear goals so that they can assess their  programs and develop and implement changes necessary to improve their  success.
We have found instances where agency officials cited their telework  programs as yielding positive work-life and other benefits. For example,  according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) management  officials, one of the three most effective retention incentives and  flexibilities is the opportunity to work from remote locations. In fiscal  year 2006, approximately 20 percent of patent examiners participated in  the agency’s telework program, which allows patent examiners to conduct  some or all of their work away from their official duty station 1 or more  days per week. In addition, USPTO reported in June 2007 that  approximately 910 patent examiners relinquished their office space to  work from home 4 days per week. The agency believes its decision to  incorporate telework as a corporate business strategy and for human  capital flexibility will help recruitment and retention of its workforce,  reduce traffic congestion in the national capital region, and, in a very  competitive job market, enable USPTO to hire approximately 6,000 new  patent examiners over the next 5 years.
section_title: Results-Oriented Organizational Culture Is Key to Successful Transformations
paragraphs: Leading organizations have found that to successfully transform  themselves they must often fundamentally change their cultures so that  they are more results-oriented, customer-focused, and collaborative in  nature. An effective performance management system is critical to  achieving this cultural transformation. Having a performance management  system that creates a “line of sight” showing how unit and individual  performance can contribute to overall organizational goals helps  individuals understand the connection between their daily activities and  the organization’s success. Similarly, in its September 2008 report on  employee engagement, the Merit Systems Protection Board recommended  that managers establish a clear line of employee-to-agency sight as a  means to increase employee engagement, recognizing that employees are  more engaged if they find more meaning in their work.
The federal government’s senior executives need to lead the way in  transforming their agencies’ cultures. Credible performance management  systems that align individual, team, and unit performance with  organizational results can help manage and direct this process. The  performance-based pay system for members of the SES, which seeks to  provide a clear and direct linkage between individual performance and  organizational results as well as pay, is an important step in  governmentwide transformation. In November 2008, we reported that  selected agencies had designed their SES performance appraisal systems  to address OPM’s and OMB’s certification requirements of aligning  individual performance expectations with organizational goals and  factoring organizational performance into senior executive performance  appraisal decisions. For example, in setting expectations for individual  performance plans, the Department of Energy requires senior executives  and supervisors to identify key performance requirements with metrics  that the executive must accomplish in order for the agency to achieve its  strategic goals. Weighted at 60 percent of the summary rating, the  performance requirements are to be specific to the executive’s position  and described in terms of specific results with clear, credible measures  (e.g., quality, quantity, timeliness, cost-effectiveness) of performance,  rather than activities. For each performance requirement, the executive is  to identify the applicable strategic goal in the performance plan. While  many agencies across the government are doing a good job overall of  aligning executive performance plans with agency mission and goals,  according to OPM, some of the plans do not fully identify the measures  used to determine whether the executive is achieving the necessary  results, which can affect the executive’s overall performance appraisal.  This challenge of explicitly linking senior executive expectations to  results-oriented organizational goals is consistent with findings from our  past work on performance management.
In addition to promoting high performance and accountability to foster  results-oriented cultures, leading organizations develop and maintain  inclusive and diverse workforces that reflect all segments of society. Such  organizations typically foster a work environment in which people are  enabled and motivated to contribute to continuous learning and  improvement as well as mission accomplishment and provide both  accountability and fairness for all employees. As with any organizational  change effort, having a diverse top leadership corps is an organizational  strength that can bring a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to  bear on policy development and implementation, strategic planning,  problem solving, and decision making. We recently reported on the  diversity of the SES and the SES developmental pool, from which most  SES candidates are selected, noting that the representation of women and  minorities in the SES increased governmentwide from October 2000  through September 2007, but increases did not occur in all major  executive branch agencies.
In helping to ensure diversity in the pipeline for appointments to the SES  as well as recruitment at all levels, it is important that agencies have  strategies to identify and develop a diverse pool of talent for selecting the  agencies’ potential future leaders and to reach out to a diverse pool of  talent when recruiting. For example, to recruit diverse applicants,  agencies will need to consider active recruitment strategies such as  widening the selection of schools from which to recruit, building formal  relationships with targeted schools to ensure the cultivation of talent for  future applicant pools, and partnering with multicultural organizations to  communicate their commitment to diversity and to build, strengthen, and  maintain relationships. We reported, for example, that NASA developed a  strategy for recruiting Hispanics that focuses on increasing educational  attainment, beginning in kindergarten and continuing into college and  graduate school, with the goal of attracting students into the NASA  workforce and aerospace community. NASA said it must compete with the  private sector for the pool of Hispanics qualified for aerospace engineering  positions, which is often attracted to more lucrative employment  opportunities in the private sector in more preferable locations. NASA  centers sponsored, and its employees participated in, mentoring, tutoring,  and other programs to encourage Hispanic and other students to pursue  careers in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, this completes my  prepared statement. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you or  others may have at this time.
section_title: Contacts and Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For further information regarding this statement, please contact Yvonne D.  Jones, Director, Strategic Issues, at (202) 512-6806 or jonesy@gao.gov.  Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public  Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals making  key contributions to this testimony include Belva Martin, Assistant  Director; Karin Fangman; Janice Latimer; and Jessica Thomsen.
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