Setting the Stage for a Positive Employee Experience
Federal hiring ebbs and flows with changes in administrations, legislative mandates, attrition, hiring freezes, and talent surges. The lessons and practices in this blog post series explore the earlier stages of the hiring process. Though anchored in our permitting talent research, the lessons are universal in their application, regardless of the hiring environment. They can be used to accelerate and improve hiring for a single or multiple open positions, and they can be kept in reserve during hiring downturns.
Assessing, Selecting, and Onboarding the Successful Candidate
Previously we described the end-to-end hiring process, the importance of getting hiring right from the start, and how sharing resources speeds hiring. This post focuses on the last two phases of the process: Assessment and Offer. While these phases include eight steps, we’ve narrowed down our discussion to five key steps:
- Close Job Opportunity Announcement and Evaluate Applicants
- Review Certificate of Eligibles, Conduct Interviews, and Make Selection
- Make Tentative Job Offer and Receive Acceptance
- Initiate Investigation at the Appropriate Level (Security Check)
- Make Official Offer and Enter on Duty (Onboard New Hire)
Our insights shared in this post are based on extensive interviews with hiring managers, program leaders, staffing specialists, workforce planners, and budget professionals as well as on-the-job experience. These recommendations for improvement focus on process and do not require policy or regulatory changes. They do require adoption of these practices more broadly throughout HR, program, and permitting managers, and staff. These recommendations are not unique to permitting; they apply broadly to federal government hiring. These insights should be considered both for streamlining efforts related to environmental permitting, as well as improving federal hiring.
Breaking Down the Steps
For each step, we provide a description, explain what can go wrong, share what can go right, and provide some examples from our research, where applicable.
Close Job Opportunity Announcement and Evaluate Applicants
Once the announcement period has ended, job announcements close, and HR begins reviewing the applications in the competitive hiring process. HR reviews the applications, materials provided by the applicants, and the completed assessments, which vary depending on the assessment strategy. This selection process is governed by policies in competitive examination and will be determined by whether the agency is following category rating, rule of many, or other acceptable evaluation methods.
If the agency is using a different hiring authority or flexibility, this step will change. For example, if the agency has Direct Hire Authority (DHA), they may not need to provide a rigorous assessment and may be able to proceed to selection after a review of resumes. Most agencies will still engage in some assessment process for these types of positions. After the applicants are evaluated, HR issues a Certificate of Eligibles (or “cert list”) with the ranking of the applicants from which the hiring manager can select, including the implementation of Veterans preference.
What Can Go Wrong
- Most applicant assessments rely on the resume review and candidate self-assessment. Applicants who understand the process rate themselves as highly qualified on all aspects of the job, resulting in a certificate list with unqualified applicants at the top. Agencies are now required by law to use skills-based assessments in the Chance to Compete Act and previous Executive Order guidance to prevent this, but the adoption process will be slow.
- HR staffing resources are frequently strained to immediately review applications and resumes causing delays. This causes applicant and hiring manager dissatisfaction and possibly a loss of attractive, qualified applicants. Within permitting, hiring managers have been struggling to find talent with the required expertise, especially specialized or niche expertise, and this loss is a critical setback.
- Frequently HR specialists do not consult with the program managers to gain a deep understanding of what they’re looking for in a resume or application and rely solely on their interpretation of the qualifications listed in the position description. This can result in poor quality applicants referred to the hiring manager.
What Can Go Right
- If the recruiters and hiring manager have engaged in effective recruiting, applicant quality is likely to be quite high. This eases the HR’s job of finding strong applicants.
- With a strong applicant pool, HR specialist can limit the number of applicants they consider and/or limit how long the job announcement is open. This will expedite the process, as the assessment will be faster. Rigorous assessments reduce the likelihood of unqualified applicants making it to the certificate list. A hiring manager who insists on a skills-based assessment will likely move forward with a successful hire. Using subject-matter experts in a Subject Matter Expert Qualifications Assessment (SME-QA) or similar assessment process can result in a strong list of applicants, and it has the added benefit of building familiarity by engaging the employee’s future peers in the process.
Review Certificate of Eligibles, Conduct Interviews, and Make Selection
HR sends a Certificate of Eligibles (certificate list) to the hiring manager that ranks the applicants who passed the assessment(s). Under competitive hiring rules (as opposed to some of the other hiring authorities), hiring managers are obligated to select from the top of the Certificate of Eligibles list, or those considered to be most qualified.
The Veterans preference rules also require that qualified Veterans move to the top of the list and must be considered first. Outside of competitive hiring and under other hiring authorities, the hiring manager may have more flexibility in the selection of candidates. For example, direct hire authority allows the hiring manager to make a selection decision based on their own review of resumes and applications.
If determined as part of the assessment process beforehand, the hiring manager may choose to conduct final interviews with the top candidates. In this case, the manager then informs HR of their selection decision.
What Can Go Wrong
- If the hiring manager cannot find an applicant they deem qualified on the certificate list, they inform HR, restart the hiring action, and/or re-post the position, further delaying the process. This happens frequently when the assessment tools default to a self-evaluation, or self-assessment. One Hiring Manager we met needed to request a second certificate list, and this extended the hiring process to nine months.
- Lack of resources in HR or the hiring manager’s program often results in evaluation and selection delays. Top applicants in high demand may take other jobs if the process takes longer than anticipated. This was a concern voiced by hiring managers during our interviews.
- In rare circumstances, agency funding could be uncertain and the budget function could rescind the approval to hire at this stage, frustrating hiring managers, applicants, and HR specialists.
What Can Go Right
- Strong recruiting early and throughout the process results in a strong certificate list with excellent candidates. One permitting agency, following best practice, kept a pipeline of potential candidates, including prior applicants to boost the quality of the applicant pool.
- An effective assessment process weeds out unqualified or unsuitable candidates and culls the list of applicants to only those who can do the job.
- A deep partnership between the HR staffing specialist and the hiring manager in which they discuss the skills and “fit” of the top candidates increases the hiring manager’s confidence in the selection.
Make Tentative Job Offer and Receive Acceptance
HR reaches out to the applicant to make a tentative job offer (i.e., tentative based on the applicant’s suitability determination, outlined below) and asks for a decision from the applicant within an acceptable time frame, which is normally a couple of days to a week. The HR staffing specialist will keep in close contact with the hiring manager and HR officials regarding the status of the candidate accepting the position.
What Can Go Wrong
- The applicant rejects the offer due to a misunderstanding of the job. This could be the location, remote work, or telework availability. In our interviews, we learned that some applicants declined offers because they believed the position was full time or a temporary position that could convert to a full time role, but that was not the case.
- The applicant rejects the offer due to a competing offer at a higher salary or as a result of other financial factors (e.g., relocation expenses). Some participants shared that financial factors had been the reason for some of their declinations.
- The applicant rejects the offer because of how they have been treated throughout the process or delays, which have led them to remain in their current role or accept another position.
What Can Go Right
- The HR specialist and others involved in the hiring process maintain regular communications with the candidate regarding their offer, listens to any concerns they may have about accepting their offer, and works with the hiring manager to correct any misperceptions about the job requirements.
- The HR specialist and the hiring manager understand the financial incentives they can use to negotiate salary, relocation expenses, signing bonuses, and other benefits to negotiate with the candidate. These options are usually agency-, function-, or job-specific.
Initiate Investigation at the Appropriate Level (Security Check)
Different federal occupations require different levels of suitability determinations or security clearances – from simple background checks to make sure the information an applicant provided on their application is accurate to a Top Secret clearance that enables the employee to access sensitive information. Each type of suitability determination has a different time frame needed for a security officer to evaluate the candidate. (Some positions require the security officer to not only interview the candidate, but also interview their friends, relatives, and neighbors.) This takes time during a part of the hiring process when both the candidate with the tentative offer and the hiring manager are anxious to move forward.
Once the candidate selection is made, the HR specialist works with the agency suitability professionals to initiate the background check and clearance process. Agency suitability experts work with the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency (DCSA) to conduct the determination of the applicant.
What Can Go Wrong
- Applicants who have never applied for a federal job may be unfamiliar with their responsibilities during the suitability determination. If they do not fill out the forms properly, this causes delays, especially when the applicant is slow to respond.
- If the candidate does not know how long the suitability determination will take or what is involved in the process, the lack of transparency may create uncertainty and/or frustration among the applicant. Furthermore, if the candidate is not kept informed on where they are in the process or what to expect next, they may get discouraged and decline the tentative offer.
- Delays in scheduling fingerprinting appointments or access to fingerprinting facilities can also lengthen the time for the suitability determination.
What Can Go Right
- The hiring manager, HR specialist, and suitability experts work together to ensure the candidate knows where they are in the process and what is expected of them through frequent check-ins and progress tracking.
- Offering applicants a range of options for fingerprinting, including the opportunity to go to a third party vendor for prints. This can enable fast digital uploads within 24 hours (applicant may have to pay for third-party services).
- Hiring managers and HR specialists leverage the DCSA resources and tools, including the PDT Tool to determine the level of background check needed for their role.
- The Suitability manager uses a case management system to track and maintain all suitability requests. This will help ensure nothing is lost, and system notifications can help keep the process on track by requesting applicants, hiring managers, and HR specialists complete their tasks in a timely manner. One interview participant highlighted this as critical to the timeliness of the suitability process.
Make Official Offer and Enter on Duty (Onboard New Hire)
The last step in the hiring process is administering the final offer of employment, identifying and Entry on Duty date, and onboarding the new employee. HR staff usually shepherd the new employee through this step. The hiring manager, administrator, or a peer mentor frequently assists the new employee in making sure the employee understands what they need to do to begin contributing to the agency.
What Can Go Wrong
- The candidate declines the final offer of employment due to delays or dissatisfaction with their experience during the hiring process.
- Frequently, onboarding consists of filling out online forms, paperwork to register the new employee in the various agency systems, and required compliance training. Minimal attention is spent on their work and how it connects to the agency mission.
- All too often, the new employee does not receive their computer equipment, phone, or other resources necessary for them to do their jobs in a timely manner. These delays degrade the initial employee experience.
What Can Go Right
- HR and hiring manager program staff stay in constant connection with the candidate as they accept the job and start the onboarding process, ensuring that the early employee experience is positive. This includes not only the administrative activities but also introductions to the agency and the work they will be doing.
- Program managers and administrative staff can work with IT functions and other departments to make sure the new employee has the equipment and resources needed to start their job successfully.
- The hiring manager establishes their relationship with the new employee during onboarding, creating a positive atmosphere for the employee by clearly articulating expectations.
Conclusion
Hiring success depends heavily on the broader hiring ecosystem. There are many stakeholders (e.g., leadership, budget, program, HR, suitability, applicant) who play a crucial role; collaboration and communication is important for both a timely and successful hire. Adoption of best practices across the ecosystem will help to improve hiring outcomes, reduce process delays, and enhance the overall hiring experience for all parties involved. The best practices outlined in our blog post series provide a guide to better navigate the hiring process.
The overall intent of hiring is to improve the performance of the federal program or function. New employees expand the organization’s workforce capacity and bring capabilities needed to achieve the mission. A skilled, prepared, and engaged federal employee can have an outsized impact on a program’s success.
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