Accountability. SEC Has Made Progress on Strategic Human Capital Initiatives and Is Developing a Strategic Human Capital Plan

SEC has shown progress on a number of strategic human capital  management initiatives that could help strengthen SEC’s efforts in  workforce planning and is developing its strategic human capital plan. These initiatives include splitting its Office of Administrative and Personnel  Management into the Office of Administrative Services and OHR in order to  improve efficiency and effectiveness in both and creating a more  structured and institutionalized human capital council by expanding the  role of the ERB, now called the HCRB. Furthermore, SEC is in the process  of creating its first strategic human capital plan. According to SEC, this  plan is to be based on OPM’s HCAAF. One outcome of the 2003 review was the decision to split  SEC’s Office of Administrative and Personnel Management into two  offices—the Office of Administrative Services and OHR. In addition, the split created  an opportunity for SEC to hire an Associate Executive Director for OHR,  who is tasked with assessing, developing, and implementing human  resources programs. OHR also stated that it plans to conduct an annual  review to ensure that the human capital plan remains linked to the agency’s  strategic plan and to correct any gaps between the plan’s human capital  initiatives and the ability to meet the agency’s strategic goals. Components of SEC Workforce Planning Efforts Are Consistent with Established Principles, but Some Efforts Could Be Improved

We found that many of SEC’s efforts related to workforce planning were  consistent with our five key principles for effective strategic workforce  planning; however, some of these efforts are still being developed or could  be improved. As  discussed previously, biweekly HCRB meetings are chaired by the  Executive Director. Although OHR has communicated with SEC staff on some human capital  matters, it has not sought feedback from all employees in the development  of SEC’s strategic human capital plan. Principle 2: SEC Has Been Taking Steps to Track and Identify Critical Skills and Competencies; However, It Currently Lacks a Formal Process for Identifying and Linking These Skills to Strategic Goals

SEC has been developing tools to measure needed skills and training for its  employees, but currently relies on management’s informal knowledge of  the skills and competencies possessed and needed within agency divisions. This is particularly important to SEC as it responds to changes  in legislation affecting its responsibilities and substantial growth in the size  of its workforce. However, because many of the human capital  strategies have only recently been implemented, it is too soon to assess the  effectiveness of these strategies. Principle 4: SEC Is Addressing Administrative, Educational, and Other Requirements Important to Supporting Workforce Strategies

Overall, SEC has been addressing many of the administrative, educational,  and other requirements to support human capital programs and workforce  strategies, including (1) educating managers and employees on the use of  flexibilities, (2) streamlining and improving administrative processes, and  (3) building transparency and accountability into its human capital system. Principle 5: SEC Is Developing Additional Human Capital Measures and a Formal Process by Which to Link the Achievement of Its Human Capital and Strategic Goals

Our prior agencywide work found that agencies should develop  appropriate performance measures to link human capital measures with  strategic goals.
Why GAO Did This Study

Corporate failures and accounting scandals led to changes in legislation governing U.S. securities markets, which resulted in increased workload demands on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, Congress provided SEC with substantial budgetary increases to obtain more resources to help fulfill the agency's mission. GAO was asked to review SEC's strategic workforce planning efforts to efficiently and effectively utilize its resources. This report discusses (1) the progress SEC has made toward developing a strategic human capital plan and (2) whether SEC uses effective strategic workforce planning principles for acquiring, developing, and retaining staff.

What GAO Found

SEC has taken steps to implement a number of strategic human capital management initiatives, including developing its strategic human capital plan. In 2004, SEC split its Office of Administrative and Personnel Management into the Office of Administrative Services and the Office of Human Resources (OHR), allowing the agency to separate its administrative and personnel functions and hire an associate executive director to focus on assessing, developing, and implementing human capital programs. In April 2005, SEC created a more structured human capital council by expanding the role of the Executive Resources Board (ERB), now called the Human Capital Review Board (HCRB). The HCRB includes senior management from all major divisions and offices, the Chairman's office, the Executive Director, and OHR and follows a more formalized and regular process for reviewing and approving human capital decisions. According to SEC, as of November 2005, the agency was in the process of creating its first strategic human capital plan, which will be based on the Office of Personnel Management's Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework, but it has not set a completion date. GAO also found that many of SEC's efforts related to workforce planning to date have been consistent with five key principles for effective strategic workforce planning; however, some of these efforts were still being developed or could be improved. Specifically: SEC has involved top management and a variety of stakeholders during the development of its strategic human capital plan, but only some employees will have the opportunity to provide feedback before the plan is finalized; SEC has been taking steps to identify needed critical skills and competencies, but it lacks a formal process for identifying existing skills among staff and linking them to SEC's strategic goals; SEC has been using human capital strategies to address workforce needs and skill gaps, but some of these strategies have not been in place long enough to assess results; SEC is developing or changing many of the administrative, educational, and other requirements to support workforce strategies, particularly pertaining to the use of human capital flexibilities; and SEC is developing additional human capital indicators and a more formal process by which to measure the achievement of its human capital goals. However, SEC currently does not formally evaluate the effectiveness of its human capital strategies in fulfilling SEC's strategic goals.