Thread by @revolvingdoorDC

Today is Day 20 of #OMG Omnibus Awareness Month, where we show how #OmnibusMakestheGovernment. Up today: the federal government’s HR department, the Office of Personnel Management. 💼

Over and over again this Omnibus Awareness Month, we’ve reiterated the need for exec branch agencies to staff up – and @USOPM is the key to quick hirings of talented, would-be civil servants, as the agency oversees federal hiring and workforce policy.

Since the beginning of the Biden Administration, @USOPM has taken important steps to build up the federal workforce with new & qualified staff, but capacity shortfalls at the agency prevent OPM from going even further.

The @USOPM implemented a $15 minimum wage across the federal government, issued new hiring authorities to attract college graduates with tech skills, and increased the number of paid internship programs.
opm.gov/news/releases/…

The agency is also taking an “all hands on deck” approach to the hiring brought on by bipartisan infrastructure funding, framing it as an opportunity to build up the federal workforce. But there’s plenty more for @USOPM on the horizon…
federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retenti…

The federal government is still facing a cliff of coming resignations. A 2017 calculation found that one-third of the federal workforce was eligible to retire by this year, 2022. That number includes nearly half of the employees of @HUDgov and @EPA
washingtonmonthly.com/2020/10/22/unc…

So what is standing in the way of @USOPM from addressing a coming personnel shortage that threatens to undermine the work of the federal government at large?

First off, the agency is still recovering from an unsuccessful Trump admin attempt to eliminate OPM and divide its functions. The move was designed to consolidate personnel policy power within the White House, a power grab by the Trump admin.
washingtonmonthly.com/2020/10/22/unc…

In the wake of the proposal, rattled senior officials left @USOPM taking their expertise with them. The remaining staff were left demoralized.
federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2019…

Although that plan was put on hold, from FYE 2019 to 2020, OPM lost a whopping 2,597 full-time equivalent employees – almost HALF of its entire workforce!
opm.gov/about-us/budge…

And despite onboarding 340 new employees in 2021, the agency’s ranks have dwindled further down. They currently employ around 2,500 staff, a huge drop from the workforce of 5,500 @USOPM had in 2017, per Fedscope.
fedscope.opm.gov

With more staff, @USOPM could take on projects like fixing the outdated GS job classification system, which is “not meeting the needs of the modern federal workforce or supporting agency missions[.]”
gao.gov/assets/gao-14-…

The @USOPM could also work to increase pay and extend health and retirement benefits to more federal employees, giving more reason for new hires to stick with the civil service.
washingtonmonthly.com/2020/10/22/unc…

The @USOPM could more nimbly aid understaffed agencies by identifying hiring authorities and developing job listings that agencies can use to hire quickly.
washingtonmonthly.com/2020/10/22/unc…

To staff up the executive branch with new, qualified workers who can carry out the Biden Administration’s key missions, first we must staff up @USOPM.