HR – Resource Library

Human Resource departments have it rough. There are many who believe that HR departments are only extensions of corporate power largely created to protect companies from lawsuits, scandals, and to quash employee grievances. These same companies often regard HR as somewhat of a nuisance: a department that, with all its administrative policies and demands for compliance, can interfere with day-to-day operations and increase the cost of doing business.

As an organization that focuses on unleashing the potential of individuals, teams, and organizations, Management Concepts is continually striving to help students and client organizations get the most out its training courses, coaching engagements, leadership development programs, and other workforce initiatives. In past blogs, we’ve shared information about how to evaluate training, dispelling myths, and how to make training stick.

Kimberly Steide serves as Human Capital Planning and HR Stat Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Here is our Federal Spotlight interview:

We can’t say this enough: People are an organization’s greatest asset. Period. Full stop.

Always and evermore relevant, this axiom is frequently emphasized in the HR realm as a guiding principle of talent acquisition and management. Research shows that focusing on employee engagement has many tangible benefits, including lower rates of turnover, increased productivity, and improved customer ratings. With uncertainty about budgets and staffing in the Federal government – as well as the churn of ongoing leadership changes – effectively managing talent is an urgent need.

It is a busy time to be a Federal HR professional. Budgets and staffs are shaking up—it’s an uncertain feeling throughout the workforce, but not one without opportunities.

On April 12, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum requiring agencies to submit, by the end of June, high-level Agency Reform Plans and identify ways to maximize employee performance.

Despite the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with it, the Federal hiring freeze may be a forcing mechanism to invest in what the GAO has been asking the Federal government to do for almost two decades now—get better at human capital planning.

For Federal HR professionals and managers planning their staffing, there is good news to help you ensure that highly-qualified employees fill key government positions. As of this month, the 2011 spending cap that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) placed on the 3Rs—recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives—has been lifted. Previously, agencies were required to ensure that any 3R spending did not exceed calendar year 2010 levels. This guidance expired at the end of 2015.

Although Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are used throughout the Federal government, their usefulness varies greatly based not only on how they are used in the agency but also on the quality of the IDP itself. HR can help managers to change IDPs from an administrative process to an opportunity to improve both individual performance and engagement.

Tag: HR