A strategic proposal to reform the federal hiring process and promotion system.

1. FEDERAL STAFFING PLAN 2020
A Strategic Proposal to Reform the Federal
Hiring Process and Promotion System
by Patrick Garbart

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE..........................................................................................................1
SKILLS SETS MANAGEMENT ............................................................................3
Overview .....................................................................................................3
Challenges of Not Using a Skill Sets Management Program ..............................3
How to Create a Skill Sets Management Program.............................................6
Long-Term Benefits ......................................................................................7
RELATIVE VALUE UNIT MANAGEMENT...........................................................8
EVALUATION BOARDS ......................................................................................9
Overview .....................................................................................................9
Composition and Management of Boards ......................................................11
PROMOTIONS AND REASSIGNMENTS...........................................................12
Outline of Process.......................................................................................12
Step 1 – Certification of Career Points...........................................................13
Exceptions..................................................................................................14
Step 2 – Establishing a Tier Level of Consideration........................................15
Time-In-Grade Requirement for Grade Levels ...............................................15
Exceptions to TIG requirement for Tier Levels of Consideration......................16
Step 3 – Competing for Job Vacancies ..........................................................17
HIRING NEW EMPLOYEES...............................................................................18
Requirements of New Employees .................................................................18
Credit of Military Service ............................................................................19
Opportunities to Get Experience ...................................................................20
CHANGE IN ROLES OF HR SPECIALISTS ......................................................20
PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL .............................................................................21
Performance Evaluations .............................................................................22
Establishing and Measuring Milestones.........................................................22
Survey Development and Measurement.........................................................22
Focus Groups .............................................................................................22
Training .....................................................................................................22
Strategic Planning .......................................................................................23
ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED PLAN.....................................................23
DISADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED PLAN ...............................................25
SUMMARY..........................................................................................................26
Employee Careers .......................................................................................26
Leadership Development .............................................................................26
Preparation for the Future ............................................................................26
EPILOGUE..........................................................................................................28
APPENDIX A – Examples of Skill Sets ............................................................29
APPENDIX B – Procedure for Performance Evaluations that have Fail Rating
Recommendations .........................................................................................30
APPENDIX C – New Federal Civilian Applicant Process ...............................31

3. 1
PROLOGUE
The federal government has struggled with its federal hiring process and promotions system for
several years. This includes problems with filling job vacancies in a timely manner, and reducing
the amount of paperwork involved with the recruitment process. New staffing plans are needed
to help make significant positive changes in recruitment and career-enhancing opportunities.
This plan is just one way to make those changes. In my 23 years of federal experience, I’ve
served as a Human Resources (HR) liaison, analyzing both military and civilian HR systems in
several organizations. I’ve developed this proposal based on frequent observations. This proposal
is an introductory federal staffing plan, but something more. It’s a way to reach out to both the
public and private sectors, to strive for better management in the federal government, to help get
past status quo boundaries and decades-old management systems and beliefs. This proposal is
one way to have a more effective and strategic staffing plan, hiring process, and promotion
system.
Human capital is the most important asset in any organization. This point has been made by
various influential leaders across the world, and in some business schools. Great care and routine
maintenance is needed to keep any asset in good condition. The same can be said about human
capital. Investing more time with the people who make the federal government work will only
lead to positive change and improved performance. The largest employer in the United States is
the federal government. It makes sense to spend extra time with federal employees. By investing
more time in strategic human capital planning, we can improve our federal programs and
initiatives.
Inadequate preparation for staffing long-term needs is just one important reason why the current
federal hiring process must change. In some federal organizations, a large portion of the
workforce are baby boomers. The federal government is not adequately prepared for a mass
exodus of these retirement-eligible personnel. Even if these employees give their agencies a six
month warning before retiring it is still not enough time to adequately prepare and find the best
people to replace lost personnel. Selecting individuals close to the organization should not be
used as a basis for filling positions, especially for senior management positions. A new
generation is about to enter the workforce. Using the same staffing plans will only make the
federal government more vulnerable to complex problems, and will not adequately prepare the
new generation for modern challenges and managing the federal government. If we use the same
process for several years we’ll likely end up with the same result.
In the years that I’ve been a federal employee, I’ve come across many complaints about the
federal hiring process, as an employee who prepared recruitment packages for senior managers,
and while serving as an HR liaison. I’ve witnessed these complaints in four different federal
agencies. So an argument can be made that some of the challenges cited in this proposal are
universal to many federal organizations.
For years, we have been under the impression that the only federal hiring process that is legal,
and that works, is the system we are currently using. There is no public law that prohibits
changing regulations, guidance, or even a law. If a more effective federal hiring process can be
created then we have an obligation to taxpayers to plan and initiate the change. If implemented,

4. 2
this proposed plan can introduce major positive changes in federal organizations, such as
increasing diversity; eliminating glass ceilings; providing valuable analytics through data
mining; filling job vacancies faster; and eliminating nepotism. This proposal is just one possible
plan that can be adopted to change the federal hiring process. Other plans exist. Other plans can
be created.
Before you read this proposal, I ask you to consider the following:
1. Have an open mind. I ask the reader to be objective, not to look for items to penalize this
plan, but to look at the material carefully and ponder if the information discussed
represents what goes on in federal organizations.
2. To realize that many of the situations that are mentioned have been witnessed first-hand
from several federal employees.
3. The federal government is, and probably will still be, the largest employer in the United
States. Because of this, effective human capital management and planning are critical.
4. To consider putting the fear of change aside, and imagine how the ideas mentioned in the
proposal could change your current work environment.
5. The issues cited in this plan can be corrected, especially if leaders have the will to correct
them.
6. Parts of this plan might work for private companies.
7. Better government begins with improving the federal hiring process and promotions
system!

5. 3
SKILL SETS MANAGEMENT
Overview
Some might say that a lack of skill sets
doesn’t matter if you have the right attitude.
This is true, in a matter of speaking. This
philosophy should be used in moderation.
Here’s why. Some positions require
immediate technical competencies. Waiting
for good people to develop these
competencies can be challenging. Another
reason is that there is a temptation to hire or
promote those that are seen as approachable,
politically correct, and involved with
powerful social networks.
Skills are different than experience. The
federal hiring process, specifically the step-
by-step procedures that are followed by
Human Resources (HR) specialists, tend to
focus on experience because there is no true
(verified) knowledge of employee skill sets.
If there was, then experience would have a
more limited role in the hiring process. Let’s
say the federal government is reviewing
resumes for an Information Technology (IT)
specialist position. One applicant has seven
years of experience. Another applicant has
two years of experience. Assuming both
applicants are equally articulate with their
resume-writing, which applicant is more
likely to be hired? There are of course many
other factors that come into play when
hiring an individual for a position. But one
could argue that federal hiring processes put
significant weight on experiences, and the
qualifications for those experiences, not
specifically skill sets that have been verified.
Implementing a skills sets management
program can be an effective way to identify
personnel who will be the best fit for
positions. It’s also a way to use a written and
standardized system to develop employees.
The beginning of this section will outline the
need of a skill sets management program.
It’s followed by more specific details, to
include problems; possible solutions; how a
skill sets management program can be used;
and what can be done in the future.
Challenges of Not Using a Skill
Sets Management Program
Experience is overrated because it can be
argued that nobody truly has enough of it. If
experience is used as a dominant factor in
getting a position, especially in the front end
of the application process, we may be
weeding out too many candidates that would
provide the best fit for the organization (not
necessarily the best fit for the manager).
Let’s consider an example. A Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), who leads a
leading computer company, has spent her
entire career in the IT industry. She is being
considered for a CEO position at a major
pharmaceutical company. If we use our
current federal hiring procedures to rate the
qualifications of the individual, the CEO
candidate would have a difficult time getting
the position because the CEO does not have
any experience with managing individuals,
or clinicians, in the pharmaceutical industry.
Further, the CEO candidate might be
penalized for not having experience working
at the pharmaceutical company. This is
where the federal government, specifically
HR specialists, make erroneous
determinations on an applicant’s abilities (an
overwhelming focus on experience). But the
current federal civilian HR system has no
choice but to place great emphasis on
experience-because the federal civilian
sector does not have a skill sets management
program.
Skills sets are not discussed, nor measured,
in the recruitment process. But yet an

6. 4
objective assessment of skill sets are
fundamental to the requirements of the
position. It defines the quality and potential
of an applicant. Why? Let’s consider a
scenario. Let’s pretend we are managing a
research & development laboratory. Our
mission is to produce the most effective
medicine for curing a number of ailments.
The laboratory is staffed predominantly with
scientists who specialize in scientific
research. In the past, medicines from the
laboratory have been identified, measured,
studied, tested, certified, and modified to
enhance results, to include rigorous
documentation protocols. This process
ensures the very best medicines are
forwarded to the Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) for approval.
Currently, the lab is in the beginning stages
of developing five new medicines that may
help with a medical condition. The
medicines have been identified, but not
measured, studied, tested, certified, and
enhanced, to include using the laboratory
documentation protocols. The lab
administrator notifies the scientists that one
of the medicines has been selected to be
forwarded to the FDA for approval. The
administrator bases his decision on positive
feedback from a colleague. He determines
that his colleague’s approval is good enough
to support the decision. The scientists are
outraged because none of the medicines
have been measured, studied, tested,
certified, and enhanced, to include using
documentation protocols. The scientists
argue the administrator does not know
which medicine will be the best at treating
the medical condition, based on a lack of
scientific testing and evidence. In this
scenario, a medicine is being considered, not
a person. However, the concept of the
example can be applied to a skill sets
management program. Specifically, there is
a need to identify, measure, study, test,
certify, and enhance skill sets, using
documentation protocols.
HR specialists have been qualifying
applicants based on candidates’ ability to
articulate their qualifications. It’s assumed
that applicants are writing down all the
qualifications that relate directly to the job
and the applicants have the Knowledge,
Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) they are
claiming to have. The same can be said with
the selecting official making a hiring
decision. Great emphasis is placed on the
applicants’ ability to present qualifications
through the interview process. If the federal
civilian sector does not identify, measure,
study, test, certify, and enhance skill sets,
using specific documentation protocols, then
how is it we know that the best person has
been selected for a job? Notice I used the
word civilian. The military system is
different, which will be explained later.
Having a skill sets management program
will allow the federal government to
determine the extent of employee skill sets
in an objective and fair manner. This will
result in the selection of personnel who are
best-suited to fill job vacancies.
Using the current federal hiring process, it’s
hard to make a logical or scientific decision
to hire someone, based on a lack of certified
skill sets. In many cases, selecting officials
search for the best emotional decision. Do I
like the candidate? Will the candidate make
me feel comfortable? Will I have
interpersonal problems with the candidate?
Does the candidate understand political
correctness within the organization? These
are some questions that selecting officials
ask themselves when making hiring
decisions. Although these questions are
legitimate, they should all take a backseat to
certified candidate skills sets, performance,
proven experience, and potential. In
addition, one person (a colleague of a

7. 5
selecting official) can NOT summarize an
individual’s skill sets if those skill sets have
not be identified, measured, studied, tested,
and certified using specific documentation
protocols. If we can’t ask a scientist to
recommend a medicine without evaluation
and testing then we can’t do the same with
respect to recommending candidates to fill
positions.
Let’s consider a real-world scenario in the
private sector of when subjective reasoning
takes a backseat to making a hiring decision.
A nephew of a professional football team
owner wants to be the quarterback on his
uncle’s team. He makes an argument that he
knows the players and have interacted with
them well. He also played as a quarterback
in high school, and a few years at a small
college. The nephew is known to be a
likeable person. The owner can only make
one selection for the quarterback position,
due to budget restrictions. Millions of
franchising dollars are at stake so the
company must make a sound business
decision to hire the most qualified
quarterback. The head coach and his staff
IDENTIFY the candidates for the
quarterback position. There are several
quarterbacks with sound experience and
demonstrated skill sets who are available.
The staff then MEASURE the success of the
quarterbacks by analyzing the documented
statistics of how well they perform (e.g.,
interceptions, touchdowns, yards passed,
etc.). The staff then STUDY each of the
quarterbacks’ performance by watching
videos of them in action. A group of top
quarterbacks are invited to a training session
to TEST their capabilities through the
team’s various strategic plays. The coaching
staff then meet again to CERTIFY the
results and recommend the top candidates to
the owner. The nephew does not get selected
because there are several quarterbacks with
much more skill sets, depth of knowledge,
and outstanding performance, as proven by
the team’s skill sets certification process. A
top quarterback gets selected and starts
working with the team. The coaching staff
then move on to ENHANCE the existing
skill sets of the selected quarterback.
This real-world scenario is an example of
why some hiring decisions for federal job
vacancies are questionable. The lack of a
skill sets management program makes it
difficult to select the right person for a job
vacancy. If we want more value from our
hiring processes then we need to recognize
the importance of developing a skill sets
management program, a program designed
to identify, measure, study, test, certify, and
enhance employee skill sets, using
documentation protocols.
It’s ironic that both military service
members and federal civilians are
considered federal employees, but yet are
managed differently with reference to skill
sets. The federal civilian system clarifies
skills through position description
management. It’s assumed that the occupant
of the position, via the position description,
will have a certain number of skills. That’s
the extent of a formal recognition of skill
sets for federal civilian employees.
Enhancing skill sets is often a neglected area
in the federal civilian sector. There are two
arguments that support this claim.
1. Completion of training has been used
as a basis to assume that an employee has
improved a skill set. Common training
(mostly through online modules) fall short
of testing and certifying that an employee
has a required body of knowledge. One could
argue there is a test at the end of each
module. But there are limits to this method.
Demonstrating skill sets are difficult with an

8. 6
online module training system. As the age of
telework evolves, and more federal
employees are out of the office, it’s more
challenging to send them to resident
training. Online modules are used a lot
more, especially for mandatory training.
This is very useful, but should be used as a
supplement, not as the primary means of
getting organizational knowledge, and
certainly not to correct any deficiencies with
skill sets.
2. Correcting performance problems that
are related to deficiencies in skill sets are
often ignored. It’s been acknowledged that
some organizations have a careful approach
to correcting performance problems. It may
be related to an evolution of federal
employee rights, increased power of unions,
decreased budgets that are used for law
suits, and other challenges. Some
organizations have elected to let
performance problems go unresolved for
fear of reprisal or losing an administrative
battle. In many cases, the result is that poor
performers are shunned and forgotten about.
Very little effort is made to correct these
problems in a professional manner, and to
give the employee a second chance to
correct deficiencies, especially as it relates
to skill sets.
Part of developing employees includes
challenge. Testing the limits of employees is
a common understanding found in many
supervisory training courses, specifically
testing employee limits and potential. This
is done through counseling, and more
importantly, teaching employees good
examples of how they can improve. This
certainly involves periodic collaboration.
Here are some uncommon ways to develop
this potential (enhancing skill sets):
• one-on-one training with the
supervisor and seasoned employees
• mentorship where a manager outside
the supervisory channel is teaching
the employee how to overcome
weaknesses
• group study where ideas are shared,
discussed, and agreed on. This can
take place through a book club.
• sending an employee on a temporary
detail to get an appreciation about a
work team or part of a business
process
How to Create a Skill Sets
Management Program
So how do we create a skill sets
management program for federal civilians?
The first thing we must do is realize that we
can have a skill sets management program.
The United States Army has managed skill
sets for several decades. Did you know that
some skill sets are synonymous with certain
grade levels in the military? You don’t have
to create a resume to prove to an HR
specialist that you have the skills. This is
because Army service members are tested
on their assumed skill sets. The Army has
yearly testing to ensure skill sets are
measured continuously. Examples include
yearly physical fitness tests, common skills
testing, weapons qualifications, and
demonstration of leadership roles at resident
courses. The military has a much more
robust understanding and expectation of
skill sets. We see this with various military
regulations, such as Army Regulation 611-1
(30 September 1997), Military Occupational
Classification Structure Development and
Implementation, specifically pages 4, 8, 9,
and 11. One can also see various references
made to skill sets management in Air Force
Instruction 36-2201, Air Force Training
Program.

9. 7
Developing a skills sets management
program is not so difficult. Managing skill
sets can be as simple as having employees
take a Foreign Language Proficiency test to
get a certification for a foreign language. Or
it can be elaborate, such as performing
leadership activities (leading a focus group,
to include getting a grade and specific
feedback for the leadership role). Another
way to test a skill set is to have an employee
correct a complex problem. Senior personnel
can grade how the employee corrected the
problem, giving the employee specific
feedback on the skills used in the following
areas:
• leadership
• organizational skills
• presentation of data
• quality of writing
• interaction with senior managers,
specifically how to critique projects
and interactions in a positive,
professional manner
Participating in details or special
assignments can also be a good way to allow
employees to demonstrate skill sets, which
can be graded by the supervisor. This means
having the supervisor complete a
performance evaluation, but also to have
that supervisor, and peers, meet with the
employee a few times to discuss specific
actions that were taken, and to provide both
positive and negative feedback. Appendix A
lists specific examples of skill sets that can
be adopted with a skills sets management
program.
A skill sets management program can be
created within a year. There are various
ways that can be used to set up this program,
such as forming focus groups, developing a
charter, and creating business process maps
that define the program. The biggest
challenge of creating a skill sets
management program is that a demand for it
must be recognized and managers must be
amenable to change.
Long-Term Benefits
When skill sets are spelled out in written
guidelines, it’s easy for individuals to get an
understanding of requirements, or
preferences, for higher level positions.
When this information is advertised,
employees can develop their own long-term
plans to gain skill sets. If skill sets are not
spelled out, and shared with employees,
many can be confused on how to approach
personal development and achieve long-term
career goals.
A skills sets management program,
combined with a career points management
system (page 13), eliminates the need for an
HR specialist to review qualifications of
applicants, or having a selecting official
make a hiring decision. The introduction of
these new processes makes the resume
obsolete. In addition, subjectivity that was
used previously to qualify and select
candidates is eliminated. The only subjective
review for the new staffing plan involves
certifying performance appraisals (explained
later). The existence of certified skill sets
will help qualify individuals for positions.
Organizations should not make assumptions
about employee skill sets. Employees may
have been doing routine tasks for several
years. They may have failed to complete a
project on the first attempt. Until we
identify, measure, study, test, certify, and
enhance the skill sets of employees, we do
not understand the potential of employees,
and should never make an unscientific
determination about the employees’ ability
to fill positions. Nor should an HR specialist
be allowed to judge a person’s KSAs with

10. 8
resume-writing skills, especially if the HR
specialist is rating the qualifications of
someone in another field (occupation).
RELATIVE VALUE UNIT
MANAGEMENT
Relative Value Units (RVUs) are a way to
measure the value of services provided when
revenue is solely received from federal
institutions, or when the value of employee
services cannot be directly tied to revenues.
The use of RVU management can help a
federal organization refine its performance
objectives, define levels of performance, and
supplement justifications to hire more staff.
In the private sector, it’s easy to calculate
RVUs for employees. Private hospitals
generate revenue from patients and
insurance companies. Each clinician’s time
is worth a specific amount of money, per
individual unit (a visit). Let’s say an initial
visit to see a physician has a charge of $200
for a 45 minute consultation. If the physician
sees seven patients for the day, the physician
will earn a revenue stream of $1,400 for the
hospital. Using this example, let’s say the
physician will get paid $700 for these
appointments. The hospital would generate a
gross profit (or RVU value) of $700 ($1,400
in revenue minus $700 in labor costs). The
hospital would also have to account for
expenses, such as operations costs, supplies,
and medicine.
In the federal government, revenue is not
generated from operations, as in the case of
a physician working for a Veterans Affairs
(VA) hospital, or an engineer who performs
evaluations for construction projects. In
these situations, RVUs can be used as a way
to measure the value of goods and services
provided, in monetary value. It is here where
assigned values for specific services can be
created based on data from industry
standards, which can then be used as a tool
to evaluate performance.
RVU management provides a good way to
measure the efficiency of services. RVU
measurement has both a cost and a value. A
secretary might cost a company $200 in
labor each day. But what does the secretary
do during the day that would be equivalent
to $200? This can be a difficult question to
answer. So how can we make this process
fair? We can take the known variables of an
Independent Government Estimate (IGE),
mainly from private industry standards, and
use that information to piece together an
individual’s value of work. For example,
let’s say we are conducting an IGE and
studying a consulting firm, which typically
generates revenue from audits. A regular
audit involves an average number of four
employees. The chart below is used by the
company as a basis to measure the cost of
labor.
POSITION
AVERAGE NUMBER OF
HOURS PER PROJECT
LABOR COST
PER HOUR
TOTAL LABOR
COST
MANAGER 2 $45.67 $91.34
ACCOUNTANT 3 $36.05 $108.15
REGULATORY SPECIALIST 2 $33.65 $67.30
LEGAL ASSISTANT 1 $24.03 $24.03
TOTAL 8 $290.82

11. 9
The company conducted studies to
determine that these figures represent the
average amount of time spent on regular
audits. We find out the company charges
customers $5,000 for this type of audit
(project). It’s been determined that the
accountant’s value added to the project is
$1,300 (gross RVU value). The accountant
makes $36.05/hour. The individual spends
three hours on the audit. The labor cost of
the accountant is $108.15 ($36.05/hour x 3
hours). The operations cost per employee
(cost of electricity and facilities
management) is $10 per hour, or $30 for the
accountant during the project ($10 x 3
hours). If we take the gross RVU value of
$1,300 and subtract the labor cost ($108.15),
and operations cost ($30), we get a net RVU
value of $1,161.85, meaning the
accountant’s role was productive towards
the creation of the audit. This can be useful
information for analyzing the performance
of the accountant for other projects.
Using the chart, let’s evaluate the regulatory
specialist who works on the same audit.
During the current audit, he takes 40 hours
to complete his portion. As the chart depicts,
the company has determined, on average,
the regulatory specialist should only spend
two hours on the audit. It’s obvious that the
regulatory specialist has taken too long to
work on the current audit. His average gross
RVU value has been determined to be
$1,200 (average value provided before all
costs are calculated). He makes $33.65/hour
and spends 40 hours on the audit, which
gives us a total labor cost of $1,346. The
operations cost is $400 ($10 per hour x 40
hours). For the current audit, the regulatory
specialist has a net RVU value of negative
$546. In this case, the company must decide
if this was an unusual or complex audit, or if
there is a performance issue, comparing time
spent on the audit to the average time spent
by other regulatory specialists working on
similar audits. Or in this case, there may be
a need to have an exception to policy. Using
the proposed staffing plan, the evaluation
board (covered in the next section below)
will review the facts, interview other staff,
and determine if a change in RVU
measurement is warranted, at which time the
RVU values can be recalculated.
Creating robust RVU values and
measurement processes can make
supervisors more comfortable about having
employees work from home. Employees will
have to manage their time adequately to
ensure they meet the RVU target. So there
will be less pressure and less time spent
supervising. Call centers have used similar
management techniques for several years
(e.g., counting calls serviced, length of time,
etc.). Other industries have been able to
modernize their labor force with telework,
with the condition that so many widgets be
produced in a certain amount of time
(transactions in a computer or calls
completed).
Many private sector organizations have
found ways to adopt this type of
management technique on a permanent
basis. The federal government has the ability
to implement an RVU management
program.
EVALUATION BOARDS
Overview
Oversight of human capital initiatives tends
to be subjective, rather than objective, when
there is only one individual rating an
employee’s performance, considering an
applicant for a position, or evaluating an
individual’s skill sets. When a board (senior
independent party of five members) is used

12. 10
to evaluate these areas the result is more
objective, which helps level the playing field
for everyone. Also, when boards are used in
the workplace, employees tend to feel more
confident about impartiality and oversight of
programs. This concept is not new. The
military has used evaluation boards for
many decades. The military uses boards to
promote service members. Military boards
are used for medical separations. They are
sometimes used as a way to review
disciplinary measures. In the proposed plan,
evaluation boards will have four key
functions.
1. Certify performance evaluations. The
board will verify the recommended ratings
of all employees and “certify,” or “amend,”
original recommendations made by
supervisors. Each evaluation will be
delivered electronically to a board member.
Names or position titles will not be shown,
as to protect the anonymity of employees
and integrity of the process. Using a
computer program, the board member will
analyze each section of the evaluation, while
also reviewing comments made by the
supervisor. The board member will certify
each critical and non-critical element (e.g.,
customer service and teamwork) in the
performance evaluation, before proceeding
to the next one. After all evaluation elements
have been reviewed, the computer program
will record a final score. Other board
members will analyze the information and
record their scores. A total score will be
determined, then compared to the
supervisor’s original recommendation. The
board can then determine if the supervisor’s
recommended rating should be modified.
Each performance evaluation will be rated
with a score of Fail, Success, or
Exceptional. Any Fail or Exceptional rating
will have to be justified with a specific, and
in most cases, measurable explanation. For
example, “good job” will not be justification
for an Exceptional rating. If the justification
is inadequate then the board will notify the
supervisor, and ask to provide additional
comments and documentation to justify the
original rating. The addition of a board
review will increase objectivity. It should
decrease the amount of Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) complaints related to the
performance evaluation process. This new
process can also be used to identify
anomalies, which will prompt certain
actions, like disciplinary actions for
prolonged poor performance.
2. RVU Evaluation. RVU counts can be
used as one way to analyze the performance
of employees. Once an RVU measurement
process has been finalized for an
occupational specialty, it can be used by the
board to help qualify ratings on performance
evaluations. Average RVU benchmarks will
be based on the largest variances and longest
history of employee performance in specific
areas. As time goes on, RVU measurement
and management can be more precise,
adding value in the reviews of performance
evaluations.
3. Administer disciplinary actions. The
board will also function as a Disciplinary
Review Board. The board will consider
processing employees for disciplinary
action, based on “certified” Fail ratings for
performance evaluations, or during an event
(or history of bad conduct) that occurs
between rating periods. Please reference
Appendix B for specific information. For
example, an employee may have received
several warnings about being late to work.
The supervisor has written proof of several
occurrences. The supervisor had also given
the employee a corrective counseling
statement. Upon the next event of tardiness,
the supervisor submits the information to the
board for further review. The board will then

13. 11
meet individually with the supervisor and
the employee (with his or her Union rep).
The board will then determine the action, if
any, that will be implemented.
When the board determines that disciplinary
action is warranted a simple process will be
followed. A message will be sent to the
supervisor and employee. The employee will
be notified of the possible recommendations
for disciplinary action and allowed to
consult with the Union. The employee will
be given 14 days to respond. If the employee
does not respond, that individual forfeits the
right to appeal. The board will then convene
together, weighing all the arguments; from
the supervisor, from the employee, and from
individual board member responses. The
board will then make a final decision. For
severe infractions (e.g., government credit
card fraud, misuse of computer, etc.), the
board will have the authority to terminate
the employee immediately. This includes
problems related to patient safety or national
security.
Removing employees from promotable
status will be one type of disciplinary action.
If employees receive a Fail rating (certified
by the board) they will not be placed in a
promotable status and will have to wait for
the next rating cycle to be considered for a
promotion (with the condition that
performance and/or behavior improves).
This is of course after the board determines
that the employee will not be terminated.
4. Periodic career interviews with
employees. Every five years, employees
will meet with the board. Topics of
discussions will include a summary of recent
professional development, career goals,
obstacles, and guidance from senior board
members. This review will be a chance for
employees to ask questions related to their
career record, and to make sure they have
paths to get to their goals. It gives the board,
as representatives of the organization and
specific occupational series, a chance to
officially recognize the career goals of
employees. This new process also acts as a
proactive way to reach employees with
questionable performance histories, before
their performance weakens.
Composition and Management
of Boards
Boards will be composed of five senior
members in their respective occupational
specialty. Using the proposed plan,
restrictions will be created to ensure a
diverse, and objective board. At least two
members of each board must be female. No
more than one Caucasian male may be on
the board. When this ratio cannot be
achieved, a seasoned employee, from
another, but similar occupational series, will
be placed on the board. For example, an
engineer board may only have one female
because no more are available from the
engineering field. The board will have the
option of getting a female from a scientific
occupation. This particular situation will
definitely prompt an inquiry of why there
are a lack of females in senior engineering
positions. An independent audit group will
be used to conduct periodic inspections to
ensure each board is diverse.
Board members will serve on a detail, to
ensure enough time is available to review
performance evaluations; assess job
selections; evaluate disciplinary actions;
interview employees (every five years); and
participate in Quality Assurance reviews.
Each member will serve in three month
terms. Terms can be extended due to
availability. Applicants will be given the
option of serving in two different details.
Option A will be designated for those

14. 12
personnel serving as a full-time board
member. Option B will be best suited for
those personnel who can spend only 20% of
their time serving as a board member. Since
the board is a program, candidates will apply
to the program to serve as a board member.
Supervisory approval will not be used as a
deciding factor to participate in the program,
unless the candidate has a history of
questionable performance. Senior executives
will be used to encourage personnel to serve
as board members.
New board members will attend a week-long
training course on standardized protocols.
The completion of this training course, and
detail, will be regarded as a career
enhancing opportunity, and will be
supported, and marketed, by the Senior
Executive Service (SES).
A special SES board will be used to evaluate
and recommend candidates for SES
positions. The same restrictions will be
followed with these types of boards.
PROMOTIONS AND
REASSIGNMENTS
Outline of Process
The proposed system for managing
promotions and reassignments is a drastic
change from the current system. It involves
a three step process. Step 1 involves
assigning career points, based on awards,
education, Time-In-Service (TIS), and other
categories. In Step 2, an employee’s Time-
In-Grade (time served at current grade
level), and performance evaluations are
reviewed. In this step, a Tier Level of
Consideration is established (1, 2, 3, or 4) to
prioritize candidate opportunities for
promotions and reassignments. In Step 3,
eligible individuals will receive a listing of
job vacancies (and promotions) open for
competition. Applicants will choose which
vacancies to compete for, then wait for
official offers. Specific information about
these steps are covered later, beginning on
the next page.
Once a Tier Level of Consideration is
determined, the eligible individual will be
given a listing of job vacancies for various
agencies and locations. It will be up to the
individual to choose which promotion and
reassignment to compete for. If the
individual declines to compete for all job
openings he or she must wait until Tier 1,
Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 personnel have
been offered positions before the individual
gets a revised list of opportunities. This will
happen during the next offering cycle (next
month). Tier Levels of Consideration are
described in detail in Step 2 on page 15.
Tier status alone will not determine an
employee’s chances of getting a promotion.
A Tier 3 employee may be eligible for a
promotion. However, the career points
system (discussed on the next page) will
determine the chances of getting selected.
This is a check-and-balance system for those
personnel receiving a Pass rating on their
performance evaluations. There are times
when employees are going through
challenging personal issues. There are
occasions when the work involved will not
change. In these situations, an Exceptional
rating will be hard to get. For these reasons,
there should be a check-and-balance system,
to allow employees opportunities to compete
for job vacancies on a level playing field.
The new system also allows employees to
get reassignments faster in order to improve
their career standing.
The Tier 1 Level of Consideration status is a
chance for employees serving in highly
competitive occupations to move up after

15. 13
serving several years at their grade level.
This Tier 1 status is designed to prevent
good employees from being passed over for
promotion, or other career opportunities, for
multiple years. Average employees who do
not demonstrate enhanced professional
development are not likely to be approved
for Tier 1 status. The Tier 1 Level of
Consideration status process will be
competitive. The board will determine if the
employee had made enough effort for
1) professional development and 2) applying
to a wide variety of positions. It’s expected
that the board will deny the first application
unless both 1 and 2 above have been
demonstrated by the employee. If the
employee is denied Tier 1 status, the
employee will be allowed to apply again the
following year, but must continue competing
for job vacancies every cycle. On the second
application for Tier 1 status, the promotion
board will look to see if the individual has
been developing KSAs from the last time of
application. Once approved, an employee
will keep the Tier 1 status until the
individual accepts (and fills) another
position.
Step 1 – Certification of Career
Points
This proposal introduces a career points
system which will help prioritize candidate
selections for job vacancies. Education
counselors, working from various locations
across the country, will aide employees to
review, manage, and certify career points.
The more points that are accumulated, the
better the chance individuals have in
securing the positions they want. The
education counselor will meet with
employees and new applicants and review
the following categories:
Degrees (10 points each)
10 points will be awarded for each
bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degree from
an accredited university or college. An
individual with one bachelor’s degree will
have 10 points awarded. An individual with
two bachelor’s degrees and one master’s
degree will have 30 points awarded.
Foreign Language Proficiency (5 points for
each foreign language)
Individuals will be awarded 5 points if they
have certification from a proctored test to
establish official foreign language
proficiency.
Organizational Education
1 point will be awarded for each 40 hour
resident training course. 3 points will be
awarded for a completed, and recognized,
certification program, from either the public
or private sector. Examples include
Contracting Officers Representative (COR)
certification and Microsoft certification.
Performance and Special Accomplishment
Awards (1 point each)
A performance or special accomplishment
award must be a “medal” from any federal
organization, or a superior act award that is
officially awarded by a senior executive, or
a military officer (O6 and above). Awards
from the private sector, or nonprofit
organizations, will be reviewed on a case-
by-case basis to determine the level and
impact of the award.
Skill Sets (0 points)
There will be no points awarded for certified
skill sets. However, there will be skill sets
requirements to hold positions. As time goes
on, it may be necessary to award career
points for specific skill sets, especially those
in high demand.

16. 14
Time-In-Service
1 point will be awarded for every 5 years of
federal service (either military or federal
civilian).
Military Spouse Preference Points
20 points will be awarded to military
spouses.
Veterans Preference Points
10 points will be awarded for an honorable
discharge from a military branch of service.
Disability Points
3 points will be awarded for every increment
rating of 10 percent of disability. For
example, a veteran with a service-connected
disability of 30% will be awarded 9 points.
These points are extended to non-veterans
who have a disability.
*Special note: Individuals who have
disabilities will still be eligible for non-
competitive appointments.
Here’s an example of how the proposed
career points system works for two
employees, who are in the same Tier Level
of Consideration, and also competing for the
same position.
Employee #1 POINTS
master's degree (bachelor's
and master's) 20
5 years of federal service 1
TOTAL POINTS 21
Employee #2 POINTS
3 awards (medals) 3
bachelor's degree 10
1 certification 3
8 x 40 hour resident courses 8
20 years of federal service 4
TOTAL POINTS 28
In this example, we can see employee #2
should be selected for the position.
Employee #2 has a broader depth of
organizational education, experience, and
awards. This helps demonstrate how an
accumulation of more career points will lead
to selections for job vacancies (promotions
and reassignments). It’s important to note
that performance evaluations and soft skill
sets (interpersonal relations) will be
reviewed and pre-determined before the
selection process. A database will be used to
keep track of the career points. At any time,
an individual can make an appointment to
see an education counselor to certify more
achievements, which will update the
employee’s career points total. This can be
used for the next round (following month) of
job vacancies.
Exceptions
There are two exceptions to the career points
system.
1. Each position (and grade level) will have
required skill sets. This will ensure a certain
level of job competency is achieved before
the candidate moves into the position. In the
beginning stages of the plan, position
descriptions will contain only basic skill sets
associated with the occupational specialty.
As time goes on, a more robust listing of
required skill sets can be added to position
descriptions. Examples of skill sets can be
found in Appendix A.
2. Employees will have to complete a
mandatory supervisory course (resident
training) before competing for supervisory
positions at a higher grade level. This is an
effort to summarize proficiency with prior
grade levels, and to prepare the employee
for the next level of leadership, level of
responsibility, and technical proficiency.

17. 15
Step 2 – Establishing a Tier
Level of Consideration
This step involves placing each employee in
a Tier Level of Consideration for
promotions and reassignments. At the end of
the performance rating cycle, the evaluation
board will certify the ratings of all
employees. Those employees receiving Fail
ratings will be placed on probation and not
be eligible for promotions. However, they
will be placed in the Tier 4 Level of
Consideration, on the condition that the
factors leading to the Fail rating do not
warrant termination. This enables an
employee the opportunity of a reassignment,
to get a fresh start. Those with Success or
Exceptional ratings will be placed in Tiers
using the guidelines in figure 1 below.
Tier 1 - Tier 1 status requires special approval from the board. Employee must
have been in the Tier 2 Level of Consideration for at least one year. The employee
must also have applied to at least 25 opportunities for promotions and/or
reassignments within a year, but was not selected. The employee must
demonstrate a history of continuous professional development.
Tier 2 - Employee has met the Time-In-Grade (TIG) requirement for the current
grade level and has a current Exceptional performance rating.
Tier 3 - Employee has met the TIG requirement for the current grade level and has
a current Success rating.
Tier 4 - This Tier will be designated for those employees on probation (after a Fail
rating), but have not been terminated. These employees will be allowed to
compete for reassignments only. Tier 4 will also be designated for applicants who
have not held federal civilian service, or those who are eligible for a grade level
based solely on completion of various types of college degrees.
Figure 1
There will be pressure on supervisors to give
Exceptional ratings to employees for Tier 2
status. It’s important to emphasize that the
board will review the performance
evaluations and expect specific and
measurable justification that helps support
an Exceptional rating. So it will be an
Exceptional rating only when the board
approves. This helps ensure a fair process
for awarding Tier 2 status.
Time-In-Grade Requirement for
Grade Levels
These restrictions are meant to ensure
applicants have enough experience,
especially at the senior management levels.
GS-5 THROUGH GS-9
1 year at previous grade level
*An employee who is a GS-5 will be placed
in the Tier 2 Level of Consideration for a
GS-7 slot if he or she has at least 1 year of
experience as a GS-5, and has an
Exceptional rating.

18. 16
GS-11 THROUGH GS-13
2 years at previous grade level
GS-14 THROUGH GS-15
3 years at previous grade level
Senior Executive Service (SES)
Must have been a GS-15 for at least 3 years
*In the proposed plan, the fastest anyone can
enter the SES is 11 years of federal service
(starting out as a GS-11 with a PhD). The
exception is a political appointment.
Exceptions to Time-In-Grade
Requirement for Tier Levels of
Consideration
1. College Degrees
College graduates with little or no
experience will be placed in the Tier 4 Level
of Consideration for the following grade
levels:
GS-5
completion of bachelor’s degree
GS-7
completion of bachelor’s degree with at least
a 3.5 GPA
GS-9
completion of master’s degree
GS-11
completion of PhD
It is possible for an employee to skip a grade
level in these circumstances. For example,
let’s assume Jane Doe, a federal employee,
is a GS-7. The previous year, she was in the
Tier 2 Level of Consideration for GS-9
promotions, but declined to compete for any
job vacancies. Jane just completed a PhD
degree and has requested to be placed in the
Tier 4 Level of Consideration for the GS-11
grade level, based on the completion of a
PhD (with no experience as a GS-9). This
example demonstrates an increased value of
college degrees in the proposed staffing
plan.
2. Overseas Assignments
Employees may be placed in a Tier 2 Level
of Consideration with only one year TIG (at
all grade levels) if they volunteer to proceed
to an overseas assignment. Upon
acceptance, the employee must commit to a
service agreement commensurate with the
area. For example, there will be a one year
requirement of serving in Korea. There will
be a three year requirement serving in
Germany. Those already serving in overseas
areas will get first rights to stay in the area
for additional tours. This will be an effort to
decrease labor and moving costs. The
purpose of the TIG exception is to reward
employees for having less amenities in
overseas areas. It gives ambitious employees
an opportunity to advance quickly.
3. Occupations in Critical Shortage
Those who have occupations in critical
shortage (e.g., physicians and nurses) do not
have to follow the standard TIG
requirements for Tier Levels of
Consideration. The purpose of this is to
attract and retain those who have technical
skills in high demand. For example, a nurse
may be able to get promoted to GS-13 with
a master’s degree and only 3 years of federal
experience. Regular restrictions may be
lifted based on the demand of the
occupation, grade level, and other factors.
These decisions will be made by a special
management board.

19. 17
Step 3 – Competing for Job
Vacancies
The career manager will review and approve
employee records (career points and Tier
Levels of Consideration). Employees will
then be able to logon to a database that will
show a map and a list of all available job
vacancies, for specific occupational
specialties. Employees will select job
vacancies they want to compete for. They
will then prioritize choices with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
etc. The computer system will then tally the
requests from all employees (Tier 1 first),
for the specific occupational specialty and
grade level.
In order for this system to work, there must
be an offering period for all Tier 1
employees (for a specific occupation) at the
same time. New job vacancies will be posted
the 1st
day of every month. During the 1st
week, only Tier 1 Level of Consideration
applicants will compete for those job
vacancies. Left over job vacancies will be
available to Tier 2 applicants in the 2nd
week. The process will continue with Tier 3
applicants in the 3rd
week, and Tier 4
applicants in the 4th
week.
When employees are outside their offering
period they will be able to logon to the
database and access analytics for job
vacancies (titles and duty locations), in order
to plan a career, to help determine whether
or not to hold off making selections for a
more coveted location, position, or agency.
When employees receive a listing of
available vacancies they will see their career
points score, and a ranking to other scores,
in the same occupational specialty and grade
level. This information will be useful in
understanding the number of employees
who have more career points, what the
chances are for getting selected, and what
areas of professional development should be
prioritized to increase the chances of getting
other positions. An example is listed in
figure 2 below. In this figure, 147 other
employees have more career points for
foreign language proficiency. The employee
would benefit by learning another foreign
language.
Your points: 99
Available positions:
PROMOTION – Headquarters, Health and Human Services, Washington D.C.
PROMOTION – Army Material Command, San Antonio, Texas
PROMOTION – Air Force Logistics Command, Yong San, Korea
PROMOTION – Department of Interior, Butte, Montana
REASSIGNMENT – Logistics Directorate, Department of Treasury, New York, NY
REASSIGNMENT – Enterprise Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, Erie, PA
REASSIGNMENT – Regional Office, Forest Service, Denver, Colorado
Where you stack up against others:
Time-In-Grade – 34th
Time-In-Service – 75th
College Education – 23rd
Foreign Language Proficiency – 148th
Organizational Education – 32nd
Figure 2

20. 18
Some occupations may be very competitive,
in which case several employees may have
accumulated a large number of career
points. In this situation, an employee can see
an education counselor, to get help in
conducting an analysis of other employee
career points, and trends in the occupation.
The education counselor will help the
employee understand strengths and
weaknesses, to help plan a career. For
example, an IT occupation may have a
heavy concentration of certifications. The
education counselor may suggest the
employee get more certifications to increase
the chances of getting other positions.
Career managers will also serve to assist
employees with their career planning efforts.
HIRING NEW FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES
Requirements of New
Employees
The proposed plan introduces a revised
process for hiring new federal civilian
employees. After applicants complete an
initial background investigation, education
counselors will be used to certify documents
that help support qualifications for jobs and
entry into federal civilian organizations. In
the proposed plan, the resume is abolished.
HR specialists and selecting officials are
removed from the process as well.
The hiring process begins with an initial
background investigation, and will be
completed prior to the applicant meeting
with an education counselor. It helps speed
up the hiring process if the initial
background investigation is completed on
the front end. Non-federal applicants will be
required to pay the cost of an initial
investigation. This ensures the government
is not covering the cost of those with
questionable histories. If applicants fail the
initial background investigation, they can
formally challenge the result. Otherwise,
applicants will have a mandatory five year
waiting period before requesting a new
background investigation. Military veterans
will not have to pay the cost of a
background investigation. To help speed up
the hiring process for veterans, education
counselors at military installations can be
used to initiate background investigations
before military service members separate
from the military.
Applicants can choose to apply for higher
security clearances, at their own expense.
This may involve a requirement of having
more experience, skill level, etc. Some
security organizations might require several
years of experience as a federal employee
before being granted special access, such as
Top Secret clearances.
Upon certification that a favorable
background investigation has been
completed, the education counselor will
meet with the applicant to complete an
initial review of supporting documents listed
below:
• proof of employment history
• performance evaluations from
private sector or military
• awards
• organizational education (e.g.,
Privacy Act Laws 101)
• civilian education (degrees,
certification)
• proof of volunteer hours
This information will be reviewed by the
education counselor (eventually verified by
the board) and awarded a career points total.
Individuals will be given credit for basic
skills for an occupational specialty by

21. 19
having a college degree. For example, the
ability to demonstrate basic engineering
concepts will be met with an engineering
degree. The applicant will not have to prove
this with resume writing skills.
A second appointment with the education
counselor will be used to turn in any missing
documents and answer questions before the
career points collection process is certified.
If applicants do not have experience they
will be classified as “interns” and be
allowed to compete for intern positions,
whether or not they have a college degree.
The proposed plan calls for offering more of
these entry level positions in order to test
individuals in various roles and functions.
The intern program will be monitored
carefully with an effort to give the
government valuable metadata (analytics
used for statistics and trends). This will help
identify, measure, study, test, certify, and
enhance skill sets in order to assess skill sets
gaps. Please refer to Appendix C for a
listing of specific steps in the new federal
civilian applicant process.
Credit of Military Service
In the proposed plan, there will be no need
to have veterans prove qualifications that are
centric to their Military Occupational
Specialty (MOS). A military police officer
will automatically qualify for a federal
civilian police officer position. HR
specialists will not review qualifications
based on content of a resume. However, a
critiqued assessment will be conducted by
the education counselor, board members,
and a career manager to accurately place the
candidate in an eligible grade level.
All military service members who officially
retire or have an honorable discharge will
be given credit for their service and awarded
experience automatically. For example, let’s
say a military police officer served 20 years
and then retired. The DD Form 214 (official
separation document) will serve to certify 20
years of experience as a police officer.
Graduation certificates of training and other
documents will be used to certify the
specific occupational series the individual is
qualified for. The Army/American Council
on Education Registry Transcript System
(AARTS) transcripts, as an example, will be
used to evaluate qualifications for other
series and skill sets. Each military branch of
service has a comparable system. The
individual can also submit official
documents for degrees, awards, and other
items. This is another example of where an
HR specialist’s role (rating eligibility and
qualifications) will be obsolete.
After the information has been entered into a
database by the education counselor, and a
career points total awarded, the board and
career manager will review the record for
quality control and establish a Tier Level of
Consideration for applicants (for both lateral
and promotional opportunities).
*Special note: In the new plan, there will be
no more “buy-back” of military time. An
education counselor will certify military
time from a review of DD Form 214s. This
review will provide credit of federal service,
without having the veteran apply for a “buy-
back.”
The intake process for new employees is
used not only for the purpose of getting jobs,
but to also study metadata. This includes
analyzing the following categories:
• number of employees in each
occupational specialty
• average education level
• number of certifications held

22. 20
This data analysis can lead to modifying
human capital planning policies. It can help
planning efforts with recruitment,
promotions, succession planning, training
programs, and other areas.
Opportunities to Get Experience
Policies will be revised to support a robust
program for volunteers. The new plan calls
to have a nationwide program of designated
volunteer positions in various occupational
specialties. This will allow volunteers to
accumulate government experience, and will
prove as an effective tool to try out
individuals who may be good candidates for
permanent positions. This has already taken
place to some extent across various
agencies. However, the new plan encourages
the use of a tracking system, used, and
shared, by all federal agencies. Under the
new system, applicants will continue to
receive credit for volunteer hours earned.
Every certified volunteer hour will count as
an hour of experience. Certifying volunteer
hours will allow applicants to be more
competitive in the job vacancy application
process.
CHANGE IN ROLES OF HR
SPECIALISTS
The current qualifications rating process is
highly subjective, since there is no official
system in place for identifying, measuring,
studying, testing, and certifying skill sets.
Another reason is that there is no shared,
universal system for grading qualifications
of applicants. In the current system, strong
resume writing skills are needed of
applicants. The applicant is placed in an
uncomfortable position by elaborating
qualifications. Also, technical positions
require technical expertise in rating
qualifications. Many HR specialists do not
possess knowledge or experience of the
occupation they are rating.
The proposed plan removes HR specialists
from the qualifications review process. They
are replaced by a universal career points
system. In the beginning stages of the
proposed plan, HR specialists will be given
an option to train as career managers. For
those volunteering for career management
positions, the HR specialists will have the
following expectations:
• periodic training requirements
• certified completion of training and
testing
• “grandfathered” clause for a college
degree requirement. The requirement
for new employees will be a
bachelor’s degree, specific to the
occupational specialty that will be
managed. For example, an IT degree
will be a requirement to be an IT
career manager.
• annual board review requirement.
The board will be used to evaluate
the effectiveness and knowledge of
career managers. The board will
review compliments and complaints
from federal employees.
• career managers must have
experience and technical training in
the occupational series that are being
managed. This includes having a
variety of positions related to the
occupational series.
Career managers will not manage other
occupations unless they have experience
working in those occupations. Career
managers will be expected to have a
required body of knowledge that must be
demonstrated in the job. This will include:

23. 21
• demonstrated responsibilities at
various grade levels
• understanding the importance of
completing skill sets, and how to
attain them
• familiarity of types of positions
available in different locations
• knowledge of agency-specific
positions (e.g., munition disposal
inspectors)
• knowledge of special requirements
for locations (e.g., employees
needing vaccines)
For those declining the career management
slots, the roles will shift toward assistance
with policy development, preparing board
packages, or to fill administrative officer
positions. These personnel will not serve in
an advisory capacity, unless a senior
manager (GS-14 and above) and will no
longer rate eligibility requirements of
employees. After the transition period, the
resume will be obsolete. There will be no
need to prove, through a resume, that an
applicant is qualified for an occupation and
grade level. That function will be managed
by the career points system, education
counselors, career managers, and the board.
PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL
A Presidential Directive will be needed for
federal agencies to make structural changes
to the current federal hiring process. The
project proposal includes a new universal
system, shared and followed by all federal
agencies. Various federal organizations may
be unwilling to implement such a change on
their own. Some may even resist the change.
The Presidential Directive should spell out a
specific list of expectations of new policies
that will be developed for all agencies.
Candidates (federal employees and other
applicants) will be considered for
opportunities in all agencies on a monthly
basis using a new career points selection
system. For this reason, it is necessary that
all agencies use the same step-by-step
procedures, and policies.
Each agency administrator will be held
personally responsible for implementing and
managing the new system. The management
of the new system will exist as a critical
element on performance evaluations,
meaning if agency administrators do not
comply with requirements, and timelines,
they will be removed from their position for
failing to execute a Presidential Directive.
A special oversight committee will be used
to ensure all agencies are following the new
guidance. The oversight committee can
recommend, and administer, removal of an
agency administrator for not following the
new policies. The Vice President of the
United States will act as the chair of the
committee. The oversight committee will be
composed of senior leaders who are
nominated through a process. They will be
of a diverse and exceptional pool of federal
leaders, who have demonstrated track
records of innovating private companies or
federal organizations. One of the committee
members will serve as general counsel, to
ensure all legal challenges are addressed,
and planned for.
To help make this program a success, an
ability to embrace and implement change
will be needed from all senior managers.
The sections below are some critical areas
that the Office of the President must
consider, and use, to evaluate the heads of
each agency.

24. 22
Performance Evaluations
Each senior manager will have a critical
element listed on their performance
evaluation, tied directly to initiatives of the
new federal hiring process. Generic
language (e.g., assisted or supported
programs) will not be allowed to indicate the
level of performance. Evaluations will
articulate specific accomplishments, which
help demonstrate compliance of the
implementation phases of the new staffing
plan. Here are some written examples of
acceptable achievements:
• created focus groups to work on
Root Cause Analyses for the
Strategic HR Partnership Program,
which resulted in a 30% decrease in
processing time for implementation
phases
• led process improvement projects for
the 2nd
phase of implementation for
the new federal hiring process
• analyzed 500 responses in a
customer service survey, then
implemented a faster sub-process in
two implementation categories
To help ensure transparency, SES
performance evaluations will be posted in a
few public places. Also, these evaluations
will be audited by a third party review team,
to ensure requirements are being met, and to
justify claims made by senior executives.
Establishing and Measuring
Milestones
Milestones will be created and managed, to
ensure each agency makes progress toward
the goal of effective implementation of the
new plan. Without planning, specifically
strategic planning, goals will not be met. An
absence of planning processes and work
products in an agency will be grounds for
dismissing an agency administrator.
Survey Development and
Measurement
The implementation phases will include
developing surveys, measuring the results,
creating action plans to resolve weaknesses,
and periodic monitoring of those action
plans. The surveys will include both closed
and open questions, and will address
specific problems and goals. Surveys will
not be generic and will highlight meaningful
data. This data will be analyzed by a third
party consisting of federal employees, and a
private accounting firm. The results of the
survey will be used to craft action plans to
help improve the implementation phases.
Focus Groups
Focus groups will be used to clarify
processes, ideas, and help reduce risks.
Improving the initial phases of planning for
the new federal hiring process will be a key
goal of focus groups. These groups will not
be used to convince others that change is not
possible. Instead, the groups will be used to
find ways to achieve goals with a can-do
attitude in the implementation phases.
Training
Training will be conducted for senior
managers to educate them on the proposed
changes. This will include a signed
statement of understanding, and
acknowledgement, of all expectations.

25. 23
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning conferences are a
necessity and will be used to clarify ideas
and develop success strategies. This is one
important component of change. Strategic
Planning conferences must include not just
senior managers, but employees from all
levels as well. This approach will help
ensure that all areas are being considered,
not just the goals of senior managers.
A conference should include at least two full
days of developing a one year, three year,
and five year plan, as it applies to the
implementation phases of the new federal
hiring process and promotion system.
ADVANTAGES OF THE
PROPOSED PLAN
If implemented, the new federal hiring
process and promotion system can provide
major positive change in the areas below.
1. Diversity. The new staffing plan
introduces a significant reduction of gender
and minority gaps. The plan manages and
monitors career points, professional
development efforts, training, performance
evaluations, TIG, and TIS, from individuals
of all walks of life. The creation of diverse
boards will ensure diversity is a key issue
with human capital initiatives, and that it
gets attention when problems arise. In the
proposed plan, diversity is implemented
from the top, through the new federal hiring
process, and centralized, instead of it
existing as an issue to look into, to research,
or to delegate.
2. Removal of glass ceilings. A career
points system will be managed, and
weighted equally, across all federal
organizations. Powerful social networks will
have zero influence over hiring and
promotions decisions. This includes
selecting officials’ natural tendency to hire
people that they know.
3. Elimination of resumes. The new plan
eliminates the resume and replaces it with a
career points system. As such, there will be
a significant decrease in time and cost
associated with the following:
a. There will be no need for an applicant
to create and modify lengthy
resumes. This includes the need to
modify resumes according to position
requirements. Veterans don’t have to
learn the craft of creating resumes
and learning about the complicated
hiring processes (and to adjust to
different agencies who practice their
own recruitment procedures).
b. HR specialists will not spend time
reviewing dozens of resumes for each
job vacancy, trying to responsibly
manage their own subjectivity to
judge which applicants meet the
requirements and qualification
standards. This includes placement of
applicants on the List of Best
Qualified Candidates.
c. Individuals who were designated as
selecting officials won’t have to
spend time reviewing resumes or
conducting interviews, and can spend
more time focusing on their job.
d. Applicants don’t have to learn the
skill of writing resumes and the art of
selling themselves (through
interviews).
4. Fairness. Selections for promotions and
reassignments will be based on Tier Levels
of Consideration (performance evaluation

26. 24
ratings and TIG) and a universal career
points system, used by all federal agencies.
The higher the performance evaluation
rating, and the higher the career points total,
the better the chance employees have of
securing positions and career paths they
want. Top performers won’t have to rely on
networking (face time with senior managers)
to get good jobs. Here are some additional
features of the proposed plan that will
increase fairness:
a. College graduates from all
universities will be eligible to
compete for top federal programs,
such as presidential fellowships and
intern programs, not just graduates
from popular schools.
b. The addition of a career points
system, evaluation boards, education
counselors, and career managers will
standardize the decision-making
process for job selections, for all
federal agencies.
c. Political correctness is less of an
issue throughout one’s career
because there will be no need to
impress powerful social networks.
However, there will still be
requirements of critical elements,
such as good customer service skills
and teamwork, both of which will
affect the scoring of performance
evaluations.
d. The new plan removes subjective
processes such as resume and
qualifications reviews from one HR
specialist, and hiring decisions by
one selecting official.
e. Nepotism will be eliminated!
f. When a skill sets and career
management program is
implemented everything else will fall
in place. Top performers will have
opportunities to run organizations,
while the laggards will have
difficulty in getting ahead.
5. Reduction of Law Suits. The proposal
decreases the risk of lawsuits over hiring
decisions, to include Unfair Labor Practices
(ULPs). This will allow agencies to devote
more of budgeted funds towards programs.
6. Increased performance and
professional development. Senior
managers will have to demonstrate a
thorough understanding of institutional
knowledge, and accumulation of specialized
achievements and career points. This will
help businesses and customers by ensuring
the most seasoned, top performers manage
the government, to allow taxpayers to get
what they need from government faster.
Here are some specific examples of how the
new system enhances performance and
professional development:
a. The new system rewards employees
for accomplishments (by
accumulating more career points).
This creates motivation to complete
college degrees, resident training
courses, certification, foreign
language proficiency, and other
professional development
opportunities.
b. Those who are just doing an average
job will still have opportunities. This
is important for those who need a
second chance. These individuals
can start over in another position
(reassignment) with the hope of
changing their reputation and
performance.

27. 25
c. Those who perform poorly will be
evaluated objectively, not by one
individual, but by several senior
personnel in the respective
occupational specialty. This will
increase pressure on supervisors to
justify performance ratings, and it
will also put pressure on federal
civilians to do their job and not fall
behind.
7. Push towards more robust paperless
systems for hiring and promotions. The
new system introduces more electronic
processes and initiatives. The new plan can
be managed from any location, even by an
employee on telework. An initial, face-to-
face review will be made between the
applicant and education counselor.
However, once documents are certified they
can be managed electronically. The board
and its functions can also be managed
electronically from various parts of the
world. Career managers will have access to
electronic systems and be able to review
documents, board findings, and other
information, all from a database.
8. Benefits from analytics. This area is a
big weakness with the current system
because some organizations do not
communicate well with each other. The
proposed plan encourages robust data
mining for various areas in human capital
planning. Here are some examples of what
types of data should be tracked, through data
mining processes:
• who gets promoted faster (IT
professionals or engineers)
• average TIS and TIG for specific
occupations
• number of retirements per year, per
occupation
9. Job vacancies are filled faster. It
normally takes 3-6 months, or more, to fill a
vacant position in the federal government.
Using the proposed plan will decrease the
time it takes to fill a vacant position by
removing subjective processes, such as
resume reviews and lengthy interview
coordination and scoring. When a job
vacancy occurs in February it can be
advertised to applicants in March. An
applicant can compete and be selected for
the position in March, and be ready to
occupy the position in April (a two month
turnaround).
DISADVANTAGES OF THE
PROPOSED PLAN
1. Change! The entire federal workforce
will have to change, and more importantly,
to overcome their fear of change.
2. Like any other major change, there will
be significant resistance from those with a
can’t-do attitude, and from senior
management who will want to continue
following their own HR policies and
processes.
3. The President of the United States will
have to issue a directive to all agencies to
implement the change. This will require a
significant level of lobbying and bargaining
within the political ranks. The President will
need a leader, specifically a political
appointed senior executive who will hold
supervisory authority to monitor and
manage the implementation phases. This
will be one of the most significant
challenges to the new plan.

28. 26
SUMMARY
It’s important to summarize three important
key concepts associated with the proposed
plan. They should be monitored closely
throughout any change process.
Employee Careers
Based on several observations, and feedback
from dozens of federal employees, the
federal government should improve its
analysis of barriers to entry for federal
employment and promotions. How many
times have employees been passed over for
promotion? How much training do
employees have? What types of assignments
have employees completed, to include level
of difficulty? If the federal government does
not analyze this type of information, and
other areas of human capital planning, it
cannot have accurate assessments of
employee career challenges. Currently, HR
specialists are used to weed out job
applicants. Selecting officials are used to
make hiring decisions. The absence of
teams, or boards, can make the hiring
process and promotions system subjective.
This can certainly cause a level of distrust
within organizations.
Leadership Development
It takes courage for individuals to step out of
their comfort zone and work on major
changes that will have a significant impact
on the lives and careers of thousands of
federal employees. Leadership development
is not easy but is a requirement for any
major change, especially as we move
towards changing federal hiring processes.
When leaders reflect back on their previous
performance can they claim success for
major changes to the federal hiring process?
For example, did they implement significant
improvements for processing HR actions?
Did they create and implement a new
tracking system for skill sets? Or will
individuals summarize their contributions
such as “assisted agency with new federal
hiring initiatives,” or “promoted good hiring
practices,” performance evaluation bullets
that are ambiguous and have the potential to
be used for multiple performance
evaluations. A sound demonstration of
leadership is to recognize that the federal
hiring process does not work well and that
leaders are needed to come forward and
push for major structural changes.
Leadership is not, and should not be,
associated with positions. In addition, the
following items are mistakenly associated
with leadership qualities:
• political correctness
• conflict averse management (taking
the path of least resistance)
• talking to employees (saying hello)
• offering a training course, or a
modified mentorship program
The United States Army summarizes
leadership in FM 6-22, Leader
Development, June 2015. This document
highlights leader attributes and
competencies and also provides a
framework in which to develop leaders. This
information is not just applicable to military
operations. It can be applied to managing
federal civilians, or private organizations.
Preparation for the Future
Not much has changed with the federal
hiring process in the last several years.
USAJOBS is an innovative tool for
recruitment. But the concepts and processes
of the federal hiring process are still the

29. 27
same. Many new initiatives have been
created to hire veterans and those with
special needs. But there is significant room
for improvement. The federal government
has failed to create a shared and proactive
monitoring process to keep track of how
many employees retire, what type of
positions are filled, turnover, and other key
information that could be used in human
capital planning.
Organizations operate on their own and do
not usually share information, or work with
other agencies to discover and implement
best practices.
A significant amount of our federal
workforce are baby boomers and are eligible
to retire, leaving the federal government
vulnerable to turnover in key positions, and
also a loss of institutional knowledge. No
official succession plans (scenarios) exist to
cope with this problem, other than
conversations between leaders.
If managers complain about not being able
to hire the best, not having enough time to
review resumes, or conduct interviews, then
they are simply using a system that does not
work well for them.

30. 28
EPILOGUE
Over the course of several decades, senior leadership, federal employees, applicants, and the
public have recognized problems related to various inefficiencies in the federal government. We
can make an argument that major structural changes have been made, such as new payroll and
telework policies. But can we say this about the federal hiring process and promotions system?
USAJOBS was a major accomplishment and is an effective tool. But it can only resolve a limited
number of problems with the federal hiring process.
The proposed plan is one way for the federal hiring process and promotions system to change.
The entire plan, or parts of it, can be implemented. It can be modified. It can be expanded. Other
plans can be created. It’s important to note that if we do nothing (excepting the current federal
hiring process for many years and generations to come) then we change nothing.
Mahatma Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Abraham Lincoln, and other great leaders all have a very
important characteristic they share. They all strived to do the right thing. Several people
persecuted them, threatened their lives, and created obstacles to prevent these leaders from
reaching their goals. But all of these leaders kept pursuing major positive changes, changes that
affected the lives of millions of individuals. As federal employees, we have an obligation to
taxpayers to make positive changes whenever and wherever possible, even in the presence of
complexity and controversy. It is up to us to strive for and lead major positive change.
There are various ways the world shares information. We have a United Nations council. There
are partnerships between universities and the private and public sectors. Many opportunities exist
to create more partnerships, even with other countries, to discuss staffing problems and solutions.
We only have one life to live. What will you tell your children and grandchildren when you’re
retired from the federal government? That you did your job? That you built meaningful
relationships? Will you have any regrets and feel like you should have done more, or fought
harder for change? There is no time like the present.
Thank you for your time and consideration in reading this staffing plan proposal. Please contact
me if you have any questions regarding this plan, or if you need assistance with staffing plan
development for your organization. May your endeavors and efforts lead to positive change.
-Patrick Garbart

31. 29
APPENDIX A – EXAMPLES OF SKILL SETS
The new staffing plan proposes two ways to demonstrate skill sets. Some skill sets can be
acquired, and certified, strictly from a review of documentation. Here are a few examples.
1. Skill set E5.0 stands for Engineering 5.0. E5.0 will be the basic eligibility requirement
for a GS-5 engineer. Applicants will satisfy the E5.0 requirement when they present a
bachelor’s degree in engineering from an accredited university. An applicant with an
engineering degree and a 3.5 GPA will be certified to hold an E7.0 skill set (GS-7).
2. Skill set FL.07 will be demonstrated when an individual has passed a proctored
language proficiency test for the French language.
Certification of other skill sets will require a robust demonstration of complex tasks. Here are a
few examples.
3. IT (Information Technology) 5.3 requires an IT professional to run anti-virus software.
This can be accomplished by a team of senior IT specialists supervising a test in a
resident training atmosphere.
4. L.17 (leading a focus group) will be recognized by a demonstration of team-building
skills to lead a focus group for a project. Members of the focus group will be
interviewed with a proctored evaluation, to promote anonymous and objective
feedback. A few senior federal civilians will observe the team-building exercise and
turn in their own assessments. A total score will then be calculated to measure the
effectiveness of the employee’s leadership and collaboration abilities, to help justify
awarding skill set L.17.
5. CS.03 requires a series of scenario-based tests on how well an employee reacts to a
problem in a customer service environment. Before the tests are administered, the
individuals will receive specialized training on customer service (not an online
module). The test can be conducted in person, or through Video Teleconference (VTC).

32. 30
APPENDIX B – PROCEDURE FOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS THAT HAVE
FAIL RATING RECOMMENDATIONS
STEP 1
The supervisor submits the recommended Fail rating to the board. Each board member
independently reviews all sections of the evaluation. A final rating will be confirmed.
STEP 2
If the final score indicates a Pass rating, the employee’s performance evaluation will be adjusted.
No further action will be required from the employee. The board will meet with the supervisor to
explain the results and discuss any anomalies. No further steps will be followed.
STEP 3
If the final score confirms a Fail rating, the supervisor will be interviewed by the board to verify
all factors leading up to the rating.
STEP 4
The board will then meet with the employee and a Union representative. The employee will be
given the opportunity to respond to substandard performance allegations. The board will meet in
private to decide what types of disciplinary action will be administered.
STEP 5
The board will issue a final determination, to include one, or a combination, of the following:
• demotion
• placing employee on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status
• mandatory training
• mandatory reassignment
• termination
*Special Note: If the employee is issued a certified Fail rating, but is still employed, that
employee will be placed in the Tier 4 Level of Consideration, only eligible for reassignments,
not promotions, until at least the next certified annual rating is Pass or better. The board will
follow up with the supervisor and employee to ensure progress is being made.

33. 31
APPENDIX C – NEW FEDERAL CIVILIAN APPLICANT PROCESS
This process pertains to applicants who have not held federal civilian positions.
STEP 1
The applicant will undergo a thorough background investigation. If there are positive
(unfavorable) findings, the applicant will be prohibited from federal employment until either the
discrepancy has been corrected (and certified), or a mandatory waiting period has passed, if any.
The applicant can schedule an appointment with investigators to see what options there are to get
any anomalies corrected. If the background investigation is favorable, then the applicant will be
given instructions to contact the local education counselor. Step 2 will then be followed.
STEP 2
The applicant makes an initial appointment with the education counselor to discuss the new
applicant process, career opportunities, the individual’s goals, and to set up a second
appointment for official certification of all experiences and career points. The applicant will also
be given a checklist to take home with specific examples of documents to bring back to the
second appointment. The applicant can also schedule proctored tests (e.g., Foreign Language
Proficiency) in order to add career points to the initial application.
STEP 3
During the second appointment with the education counselor, all education, achievements, and
other information will be summarized to establish an initial Tier Level of Consideration and a
career points total. All documents will be certified and scanned into a database for future review.
At the end of the appointment, the applicant will receive a computer printout showing the
pending Tier Level of Consideration, initial grade level eligibility, and career points total.
STEP 4
The career manager will review and certify the Tier Level of Consideration and career points
total. The applicant will be given instructions on how to use the job vacancy database. The
applicant will then follow the same time line as federal employees in a Tier Level of
Consideration, and will have one week to compete for job vacancies. If no choices have been
made within a week, the applicant will have to wait one month for the next cycle of job
vacancies.
STEP 5
Each new federal civilian employee will receive a formal multi-day orientation, which will be
available in several parts of the country. New employees may elect to receive the orientation via
VTC if it can be scheduled in a remote site. Insurance designations, other forms, and the
organizational culture will be reviewed during the orientation.
Note 1:
The board will conduct periodic audits of education counselors and career managers, to ensure
compliance with the new federal civilian applicant process.

34. 32
Note 2:
Every 10 years, federal employees will undergo a thorough background investigation for the
previous 10 year period. If the results are unfavorable, the employee can be terminated, put on
administrative leave, or other type of disciplinary action, as determined by the board. The time
period may be adjusted, based on the clearance required for the job, or critical elements in the
position description.
Note 3:
The lack of new employee orientations is a material weakness of federal organizations. The
proposed staffing plan promotes having all new federal civilian employees receive a thorough
orientation of pay, benefits, organizational cultures, and requirements.