Our discussions with agency officials and union representatives revealed  numerous human capital flexibilities that they deemed effective in  managing their workforces. These flexibilities include  work-life programs, such as alternative work schedules, child care  assistance, and transit subsidies;  monetary recruitment and retention incentives, including retention and  relocation bonuses and retention allowances;  special hiring authorities, such as student employment and outstanding   incentive awards, which range from performance-based cash awards to  time-off awards to symbolic items of nominal value, such as plaques and  T-shirts. Recruitment bonuses. Outstanding scholar program. Specifically, these categories include  more flexible pay approaches,  greater flexibility to streamline and improve the federal hiring process,  increased flexibility in addressing employees’ poor job performance,  additional workforce restructuring options, and   expanded flexibility in acquiring and retaining temporary employees. The  managers and supervisors and human resources officials we interviewed  generally believed that additional human capital flexibilities could be  authorized and implemented in their agencies while also ensuring  protection of employees’ rights. Some union representatives responded  positively when asked if agencies could give managers additional  flexibilities while protecting employees’ rights. Key Practices Can Assist Agencies in Effectively Using Flexibilities

Based on our interviews with human resources directors across the federal  government and our related human capital work, we identified six key  practices that agencies can implement for effectively using human capital  flexibilities. Educate agency managers and supervisors on existence and use  of flexibilities. According to the human resources  manager, the perceived burdens of the previous administrative process  led to very few awards being granted. This delegation of  authority is equally important when implementing human capital  flexibilities. Conclusions

The insufficient and ineffective use of flexibilities can significantly hinder  the ability of federal agencies to recruit, hire, retain, and manage their  human capital. If  such additional flexibilities are desired, agencies should develop business  cases to justify the need for the authority to implement these additional  flexibilities. To ensure the most effective use of human capital flexibilities, it  is important that agencies (1) plan strategically and make targeted  investments, (2) ensure stakeholder input in developing policies and  procedures, (3) educate managers and employees on the availability and  use of flexibilities, (4) streamline and improve administrative processes,  (5) build transparency and accountability into their systems, and (6)  change their organizational cultures. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives for this study were to provide information on   agency officials’ and union representatives’ views on (1) the most  effective flexibilities for managing their workforces, (2) additional  flexibilities that would be the most helpful in managing their  workforces, and (3) whether employee rights could be protected if  additional flexibilities were authorized and implemented within  agencies and  key practices that agencies should implement for effective use of human  capital flexibilities, along with specific examples of such practices from  selected agencies. Our interviews with these agency and union officials  focused on their views about the most effective flexibilities, additional  flexibilities needed, and protection of employee rights.
Why GAO Did This Study

An essential element to acquiring, developing, and retaining high-quality federal employees is agencies' effective use of human capital flexibilities. These flexibilities represent the policies and practices that an agency has the authority to implement in managing its workforce. Congressional requesters asked GAO to provide information on agency and union officials' views about the most effective human capital flexibilities, additional flexibilities needed, and whether additional flexibilities could be implemented while also protecting employees' rights. GAO was also asked to identify key practices for effective use of flexibilities. GAO interviewed the human resources directors of the federal government's 24 largest departments and agencies, and representatives of 4 national organizations representing federal employees and managers. GAO further focused its efforts on 7 federal agencies--Department of Air Force, General Services Administration, Internal Revenue Service, International Trade Administration, U.S. Mint, State Department, and Veterans Benefits Administration--interviewing more than 200 managers, supervisors, human resources officials, and union representatives in headquarters and field locations.

What GAO Found

Agency and union officials' views on human capital flexibilities. Most effective flexibilities. Existing flexibilities that are most effective in managing the workforce are work-life programs, such as alternative work schedules, child care assistance, and transit subsidies; monetary recruitment and retention incentives, such as recruitment bonuses and retention allowances; special hiring authorities, such as student employment and outstanding scholar programs; and incentive awards for notable job performance and contributions, such as cash and time-off awards. Additional flexibilities needed. Additional flexibilities that would be helpful in managing the workforce include more flexible pay approaches to compensate federal employees, greater flexibility to streamline and improve the federal hiring process, increased flexibility in addressing employees' poor job performance, additional workforce restructuring options, and expanded flexibility in acquiring and retaining temporary employees. Protection of employee rights. Managers, supervisors, and human resources officials generally believed that additional human capital flexibilities could be implemented in their agencies while also protecting employees' rights. Union representatives, however, gave mixed views ranging from the opinion that additional flexibilities could be implemented while still protecting employee rights to concerns that managers would abuse their authority. Key practices for effective use of human capital flexibilities. GAO identified six key practices for the effective use of human capital flexibilities. These practices are (1) planning strategically and making targeted investments, (2) ensuring stakeholder input in developing policies and procedures, (3) educating managers and employees on the availability and use of flexibilities, (4) streamlining administrative processes, (5) building transparency and accountability into the system, and (6) changing the organizational culture. The insufficient and ineffective use of flexibilities can significantly hinder the ability of federal agencies to recruit, hire, retain, and manage their human capital. Congress is currently debating the extent of personnel flexibilities that should be granted to the new Department of Homeland Security. While this decision is important to how the department will operate, how personnel flexibilities are implemented is equally important.