The Defense Laboratories Have Used Direct Hire Authorities and Other Incentives to Help Hiring Efforts, but Officials Reported Challenges in Hiring Highly Qualified Candidates

The labs have used the defense laboratory-specific direct hire authorities  more than any other category of agency-specific or government-wide  hiring authority. One laboratory official explained that  the increased use of the direct hire authorities could be a result of the  NDAA for Fiscal Year 2016, which increased the laboratories’ allowable  use of the direct hire authority for candidates with bachelor’s degrees from 3 percent to 6 percent, and use of the direct hire authority for  veterans from 1 percent to 3 percent, of the total number of scientific and  engineering positions at each laboratory at the end of the preceding fiscal  year. Hiring officials and supervisors we interviewed stated that their  lab had lost candidates due to the length of the hiring process. DOD and the Defense Labs Track Hiring Data, but the Defense Laboratories Office Has Not Obtained and Monitored These Data or Evaluated the Effectiveness of Hiring at the Laboratories

The department and the defense laboratories track hiring data that can be  used to evaluate some aspects of the individual labs’ hiring efforts, but  the Defense Laboratories Office has not routinely obtained or monitored  these data or evaluated the effectiveness of hiring, including the use of  hiring authorities, across the defense laboratories as a whole. Further, time-to-hire data, as reflected by the milestone dates that are  currently tracked across the defense laboratories, may not reflect a  candidate’s perception of the length of the hiring process. In addition, the Defense Laboratories Office has not developed  performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of hiring across the  defense laboratories or the labs’ use of hiring authorities. Specifically, without  performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the defense  laboratories’ hiring, and more specifically the use of hiring authorities, the  department lacks reasonable assurance that these authorities—in  particular, those granted by Congress to the defense laboratories—are  resulting in improved hiring outcomes. DOD Does Not Have Clear Time Frames for Approving and Implementing New Hiring Authorities for the Defense Laboratories

DOD does not have clear time frames for its process for approving and  implementing new hiring authorities for the defense laboratories. DOD  officials identified coordination issues that occurred during the approval  process of the federal register notice across the relevant offices as the  cause of the delay associated with this federal register notice. Although Defense Laboratories Office  officials provided a flowchart of the office’s updated federal register  approval process for coordination, this process did not include time  frames for specific stages of the coordination. Without establishing and documenting clear time frames for its process  for departmental coordination efforts related to the approval and  implementation of new hiring authorities, the department cannot be  certain that it is acting in the most efficient or effective manner possible. However,  without obtaining and monitoring hiring data and developing performance  measures, the Defense Laboratories Office may not be in a position to  provide effective oversight of the defense laboratories’ hiring, including  the use of hiring authorities, or to evaluate the effectiveness of specific  hiring authorities. Appendix II: Copy of GAO Questionnaire Administered to the Defense Laboratory Officials

Appendix III: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines (1) the defense laboratories use of existing hiring  authorities and what officials view as the benefits of authorities and  incentives and the challenges in hiring; (2) the extent to which the  Department of Defense (DOD) evaluates the effectiveness of hiring,  including hiring authorities, at the defense laboratories; and (3) the extent  to which DOD has time frames for approving and implementing new hiring  authorities. As a result, we included a total of 16 laboratory officials in our  survey. Appendix V: Defense Laboratory Time to Hire Data by Hiring Authority Category for Fiscal Years 2015, 2016, and 2017

We analyzed three years of the DOD hiring data to identify time to hire  using various types of hiring authorities when hiring for Science,  Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) occupations at the defense  laboratories.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD's defense labs help sustain, among other things, U.S. technological superiority and the delivery of technical capabilities to the warfighter. Over time Congress has granted unique flexibilities—such as the ability to hire qualified candidates who meet certain criteria using direct hire authorities—to the defense labs to expedite the hiring process and facilitate efforts to compete with the private sector.
Senate Report 114-255 included a provision for GAO to examine the labs' hiring structures and effective use of hiring authorities. This report examines (1) the defense labs use of existing hiring authorities and officials' views on the benefits of authorities and challenges of hiring; (2) the extent to which DOD evaluates the effectiveness of hiring, including hiring authorities at the defense labs; and (3) the extent to which DOD has time frames for approving and implementing new hiring authorities. GAO analyzed DOD hiring policies and data; conducted a survey of 16 defense lab officials involved in policy-making; interviewed DOD and service officials; and conducted nongeneralizable interviews with groups of officials, supervisors, and new hires from 6 labs—2 from each of the 3 military services, selected based on the labs' mission.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense's (DOD) laboratories (defense labs) have used the laboratory-specific direct hire authorities more than any other category of agency-specific or government-wide hiring authority for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics personnel. As shown below, in fiscal years 2015—2017 the labs hired 5,303 personnel out of 11,562 total hires, or 46 percent using these direct hire authorities. Lab officials, however, identified challenges to hiring highly qualified candidates, such as delays in processing security clearances, despite the use of hiring authorities such as direct hire.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Defense data. | GAO-18-417 .
a Other includes all other defense laboratory-specific direct hiring authorities used.
b All other includes remaining five categories of hiring authorities.
c Percentages may not sum to total due to rounding.
DOD and the defense labs track hiring data, but the Defense Laboratories Office (DLO) has not obtained or monitored these data or evaluated the effectiveness of the labs' hiring, including the use of hiring authorities. While existing lab data can be used to show the length of time of the hiring process, effectiveness is not currently evaluated. According to lab officials, timeliness data do not sufficiently inform about the effectiveness of the authorities and may not reflect a candidate's perception of the length of the hiring process. Further, the DLO has not developed performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of hiring across the defense laboratories. Without routinely obtaining and monitoring hiring data and developing performance measures, DOD lacks reasonable assurance that the labs' hiring and use of hiring authorities—in particular, those granted by Congress to the labs—result in improved hiring outcomes.
DOD does not have clear time frames for approving and implementing new hiring authorities. The defense labs were unable to use a direct hire authority granted by Congress in fiscal year 2015 because it took DOD 2½ years to publish a federal register notice—the process used to implement new hiring authorities for the labs—for that authority. DOD officials identified coordination issues associated with the process as the cause of the delay and stated that DOD is taking steps to improve coordination—including meeting to formalize roles and responsibilities for the offices and developing a new approval process—between offices responsible for oversight of the labs and personnel policy. However, DLO's new federal register approval process does not include time frames for specific stages of coordination. Without clear time frames for its departmental coordination efforts related to the approval and implementation of new hiring authorities, officials cannot be certain they are taking action in a timely manner.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD (1) routinely obtain and monitor defense lab hiring data to improve oversight; (2) develop performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of hiring; and (3) establish time frames to guide hiring authority approval and implementation. DOD concurred with the recommendations.