Personnel director talks civilian recruiting, hiring Published July 5, 2011 By Debbie Gildea Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The Air Force is competing with Fortune 500 companies to attract the best and brightest people, so Air Force personnel practices must be fast, efficient and technology smart or those talented people will go elsewhere. That was the Office of Personnel Management director's message to Air Force personnelists during at a town hall meeting here. John Berry is the federal government's chief people person; responsible for recruiting, hiring and setting benefits policies for 1.9 million federal civilian employees, about 200,000 of whom are Department of the Air Force civilians. Personnel services for those employees, from hiring to retiring, are provided primarily by civilian personnel experts at the Air Force Personnel Center. "You should be thanked every day for the job you do for your country," Berry told them during his visit. "As important as technology is, the most important ingredient is people," he added, lauding AFPC efforts to streamline the Air Force hiring process and improve online tools and processes to more quickly, efficiently fill civilian vacancies. The federal 80-day hiring model is getting closer to reality for most agencies, partly because of recent process changes, the director explained. "We can't afford to take a hundred days to fill a vacancy. Our goal is to hire the best people for the job, but those talented people are not going to wait forever; they'll accept a position somewhere else and we will have lost the opportunity," Berry said. One way we have improved the hiring process, the director said, is by involving and empowering hiring officials. "We need to ensure hiring officials - subject matter experts - are involved in the process up front. They need to work side-by-side with personnelists to develop accurate, honest position descriptions that will help us attract and hire the right people. We're already seeing that collaboration in many agencies and the results are evident," Berry said, adding that federal agencies must communicate more clearly with potential applicants. "I read a job announcement once that was 72 pages. Folks, the president of the United States doesn't even have a 72-page job description. What a barrier, especially to someone unfamiliar with federal employment." "Among the best things to happen to federal hiring have been eliminating burdensome KSA essay requirements as an initial screening tool, using USAJOBS to host announcements, and hiring based on résumés. We are competing with Fortune 500 companies for talented employees, and we have made great strides in eliminating a lot of barriers." But, according to Berry, there is still much to do and federal agencies can capitalize on the skills and experience veterans and Americans with disabilities bring to the table. "We need to take advantage of our experienced veterans," he said. "They come with extensive knowledge and background in the very areas where we have needs, but may lack degrees or certifications. We have to think creatively about how to use their experience while enabling them to get certified or finish a degree program." And, according to the director, it is not enough to attract quality applicants. "We have the finest, most talented people in the world working for us, and we have to find ways to keep those experienced teammates." Implementing quality of life improvement opportunities like teleworking, and setting employees up for success with a strong performance management system are two ways to improve civilian employee retention, Berry said. "Fortune 500 companies have been 'teleworking' for a decade and the results are positive," he said. "Teleworking is one way that we can help our employees balance their personal and professional lives while enabling us to achieve our critical mission, but telework is more than an employee quality of life program. "We must be ready to serve our nation's needs 24/7/365, regardless of weather or time or day," he explained. "Most of us won't be able to respond to national needs or do our work from home during inclement weather without implementing a standard teleworking program now. When you're snowed in is not the time to wish you had teleworking capabilities." According to the director, since implementing telework procedures, several federal agencies have increased productivity and lowered costs. Additionally, clearly established and communicated performance expectations help boost productivity, he said. "People want to succeed. So, it's our job as leaders to provide our people with all the knowledge and tools they need to be able to succeed," Berry said. One of the most critical tools we have to be able to do that is the performance management system, and we are working intensely to develop that tool so that supervisors and employees can use it to improve processes and performance, and ultimately to achieve our national security mission." Sharing and implementing best practices is critical for federal agencies to as budget and manning issues continue to have an impact. "OPM will continue to partner with the Air Force to ensure the AF is getting the best people for the job, from every background and every American community," the director said. For more information about personnel issues, visit the Air Force personnel services website at https://gum-crm.csd.disa.mil.