Report: Federal HR IT systems substandard

Federal human resources information technology systems are decidedly substandard and underused, says a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton.

The report is based on interviews with 68 chief human capital officers and other human resources leaders, political appointees and civil servants alike, conducted from November 2009 through May 2010. The report finds that human resources, within the federal government, is generally encumbered by a number of difficulties, including a cumbersome hiring process, an HR workforce lacking in competencies and a prevalence of manual processes.

Several of the chief human capital officers interviewed for the report advocated for a standard, governmentwide system for HR operations. HR departments often have disparate systems for handling various facets of the HR function and in some cases pay vendors high fees for an local IT solution that is only a slight modification of a standard system, the report states.

One chief human capital officer who said the Office of Personnel Management should have a minimal role in agency HR operations said IT systems would likely be an exception.

CHCOs feel ambivalent toward OPM, the report states. A number of them told report authors that OPM cultivates an antagonistic relationship with the federal HR community and that some of the policies made by OPM leaders aren't always embraced by permanent staff.

"My sense is that the [the OPM director] is way ahead of his people," one CHCO told report authors.

CHCOs also complained about a lack of resources for implementing new OPM mandates. "The overarching theme is that we don't have the resources. It becomes a question of, 'what do you NOT want us to do?'" said one.

For more:
- download the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton report, "Closing the Gap: Seven Obstacles to a First-Class Federal Workforce" (.pdf)

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