Pay, Hiring Process Named as Top Barriers to Filling Agency Tech Jobs

Top federal HR officers have named “noncompetitive government compensation packages and length of time for personnel vetting processes” as major barriers to filling tech positions in federal agencies, along with “insufficient resources that impact HR’s ability to support workforce demands.”

The Chief Human Capital Officers Council included those observations in its latest annual report, reflecting responses to a survey of member agencies it took under a requirement in a budget law to assess barriers and potential solutions in attracting “digital talent.”

“All respondents agreed that alleviating these barriers would support their agency’s ability to meet its mission, with over three quarters agreeing it would support their agency to a very large or large extent,” it said. “Most commonly, respondents reaffirmed a need to focus on compensation packages to be more aligned to and competitive with the private sector, as well as to have consistent compensation across agencies . . . solutions included reforming job classification standards and pay scales, additional schedule and location workplace flexibilities, and additional resourcing and training for HR departments.”

It added: “Some respondents referenced the importance of leaning into workplace flexibilities – including remote work opportunities specifically for digital talent – and discussed needing to decrease hiring time overall. Specifically, a respondent noted one way to speed up the personnel vetting process would be explaining the hiring timeline to the candidate up front as well as limiting the number of time-intensive interviews.”

It said that most agencies reported at least some progress in those areas over the last two years, citing actions such as “work to update the Pathways regulations and 10-year term appointments for STEM positions, as well as agency-level actions such as a greater focus on data-driven decision-making, opportunities for telework and remote work, and the implementation of hiring assessments.”