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Do uses of human resource information technology (HRInT) tools in federal organizations improve their human resource management productivity?

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Do uses of human resource information technology (HRInT) tools in federal organizations improve their human resource management productivity?

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Content INFORMATION TO USERS Th is manuscript h a s b e en reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fil m s th e text directly fro m th e original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis a n d d is s erta tio n copies are i n typewriter face, while others may be from any ty pe of c o m p u te r printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. B r o k e n or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations a n d photo graphs, p rin t bleedthrough, substandard margins, and im p ro p e r alig n m en t can adversely affect reproduction. I n th e unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete m an u scrip t a n d there are m is s in g pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthori zed c o p y rig h t material h a d to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. O versize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced b y s e c ti o n in g the original, b e g in n in g at the upper left-hand comer and c o n tin u in g f r o m left to right in equal s ec ti o n s with small overlaps. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Roa d. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DO USES OF HUMAN RESOURCES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HRInT) TOOLS IN FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS IMPROVE THEIR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY? by Roy James Combs, Jr. A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF POLICY, PLANNING, AND DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Reqoireaents for the Degree DOCTOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION December 2001 Copyright 2001 Roy James Combs, Jr. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3065774 Copyright 2001 by Combs, Roy James, Jr. All rights reserved. UMI’ UMI Microform 3065774 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCH O O L OF POLICY. PLANNING. A N D DEVELOPM ENT UNIVERSITY PA RK L O S ANGELES. CALIFORNIA 900*9 This dissertation, written by Ray J a me s Co mb s , ju n io r under the direction o f his Dissertation committee and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty o f the School o f Policy, Planning, and Development, in partial fulfillment o f requirements fo r the degree o f DOCTOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION f \ Dean Date. 7 o DISSERTATION COMMITTEE X f Cs t u a tj i n / A , vrperson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TA B LE S ........................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIG URES...................................................................................... v ii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................... v iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........ I Introduction ............................................................................ 1 Current Driving Themes fo r Change in Human Resources Management..................................................................... 2 Increasing Reliance on Technology ................................... 3 Downsizing o f the Federal W orkforce............................... 5 Reduce Bureaucratic Barriers or Red Tape......................... 9 Statement o f the Problem ......................................................... 1 5 D efinition o f Human Resources Information Technology (H R In T )......................................................................... 1 6 Research Hypothesis......................................................... 2 1 U nit o f Measure................................................................. 27 Research Question............................................................. 28 Research Question Basis ......................................................... 29 n. THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS.............................................. 30 Do Public Administration and Economic Theories Support The Use o f HRInT Tools?.................................................. 30 Theories in Support o f the Use o f HRInT Tools ....................... 34 Dwight Waldo's Theory o f Democracy............................... 35 Max Weber's Views on Bureaucracy and Efficiency .......... 42 Herbert Simon's Theory o f Bounded Rationality ............... 56 Ronald Coase's Theory o f Transaction C o sts..................... 6 1 Summary o f Theoretical Research Findings ............................. 66 ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ffl. THE CHANGING HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM) EN VIR O N M EN T............................................................................. 68 Research Propositions: Four Interdependent Views o f the Changes in Human Resources Management.......................... 74 Research Proposition One: Changing Opportunities and Effects on Applicants ..................................................................... 74 Innovations in Attracting Applicants ................................... 78 Implementation o f HRInT Tools in Hiring W orkers 80 Remedial S teps................................................................... 88 Changing Public Perceptions ............................................... 9 1 Research Proposition Two: Evolving HRM Practices.................. 96 Objective Decision-Making .............................................. 10 3 Research Proposition Three: Challenges Facing Federal Organizations ................................................................... 109 Related Changes............................................................... 11 6 Research Proposition Four: Questions about Fairness................ 120 Examples o f Current Periodicals .............................................. 126 Potential Significance to Public Adm inistration ....................... 130 IV . RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING PRODUCTIVITY CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH USING HRInT TOOLS .............................................................................. 137 Design and M ethodology......................................................... 139 Justification for Research T opic................................................ 142 Data Collection Methodology .................................................. 147 Data Sampling ........................................................................ 150 Data A n a lysis.......................................................................... 150 Review o f Previous Surveys...................................................... 1 5 1 Results o f In te rvie w s............................................................... 152 QuickHire Software ......................................................... 154 Department o f Interior's Geological S urvey....................... 157 Results o f Case Studies ........................................................... 163 Department o f Commerce.................................................. 165 Defense Information Systems Agency .............................. 1 7 1 Congressional Budget Office ............................................ 174 HRInT Survey ........................................................................ 179 Background on HRInT Tools S u rve y................................ 179 Instrument Improvements Resulting from the Revision Process ........................................................... 180 Survey Audience............................................................... 1 8 1 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Expected R esults............................................................... 183 Email Introduction and Request for Assistance ................. 186 Survey Responses............................................................. 187 Electronic Delivery o f Questionnaires ............................... 187 Survey Results................................................................... 188 Representativeness o f the S urvey...................................... 190 Survey Analysis................................................................. 192 Number and Popularity o f HRInT Tools in U s e ................. 193 Reasons for Using HRInT Tools........................................ 197 Vacancies Filled ............................................................... 200 Size Comparison o f C ivilian W orkforce............................. 201 Changes to HRM Staffing Levels...................................... 203 Most and Least Productive T o o ls...................................... 203 Applicant Preferences....................................................... 205 Effects on P ro d u ctivity..................................................... 207 Lessons Learned from Survey E ffo rt........................................ 209 Summary and Analysis o f F indings.......................................... 212 Impact on Applicants ....................................................... 212 Impacts on HRM W orkforces............................................ 213 Changes to Federal Organizations...................................... 214 Perceived Fairness o f the Hiring Process........................... 215 Does the Use o f HRInT Tools Increase P roductivity?............... 217 V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE STUDIES ............................... 220 Review o f Research Conclusions.............................................. 220 Overall Results are Positive, but HRInT Tool Implementation is Varied .............................................. 221 One Productivity Measure.................................................. 223 Findings by HRInT Tool E n try .......................................... 227 Recommendations for Practical Improvements......................... 232 T raining............................................................................ 233 Consistent Implementation Could Improve Performance . . . 234 Do We Need to Reengineer Hiring Practices? ................... 235 The New Paradigm in F illin g Federal Positions: How Hiring is Changing......................................................... 237 Are HRInT Tools Reserved for Short-Term F o c i? ............. 240 Can HRInT Tools Support Strategic Workforce Planning E ffo rts? ........................................................... 240 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Competing for Skilled Workers: Should H iring Approaches Be Changed?..................................................................... 242 Proactive Recruiting Practices .......................................... 243 Should Federal Organizations Use Proactive Recruiting? .. 247 Recommendations for Future Studies ...................................... 247 Summary ................................................................................ 252 SELECTED BIBLIOG RAPHY..................................................................... 256 APPENDICES A. HRInT Tools Survey and Numeric Responses.......................... 269 B. List o f Federal Organizations Responding to the HRInT Tools Survey..................................................................... 278 C. Interview Questions................................................................ 28 1 D. Twelve Recommendations from National Academy o f Public Administration’s Study o f Entry-Level H iring and Development for the 21st Century: Professional and Administrative Positions.................................................... 284 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES 1. Comparison o f Employees Hired by Year Under the PMI Program as a Percentage o f Overall New H ire s.............................................. 7 3 2. Total Federal Personnel Excluding the U.S. Postal Service by Fiscal Year from 1960 to 1999 ................................................................... 87 3. Cost Comparison o f Various HRInT Tools Program s.............................. 1 0 1 4. Listing o f Topics Reviewed in Support o f this Research P roject............... 12 7 5. Screen Capture o f A ctivity Metrics for November 20,2000, for the Department o f Commerce’s COOL A pplication............................... 1 7 1 6. Comparison o f Popularity, HRM Productivity, and Applicant U se 225 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES 1 . Phi Beta Kappa Federal Job A ffin ity Scale........................................... 83 2. The Steps Taken To Complete the Data Collection Portion o f this Research Project ........................................................................... 138 3. Comparison o f HRInT Tools Used in the H iring Process...................... 194 4. W hich HRInT Tool Adds the Most to Your O peration?........................ 198 5. Why Did Your Organization Start Using HRInT Tools? ...................... 199 6. Positions Filled Using HRInT Tools as Reported by Survey Respondents.................................................................................. 202 7. Comparison o f the Most Productive HRM T o o ls ................................. 206 8. Survey Responses Indicating 96 Percent o f Respondents Believe HRInT Tools Add to HRM P roductivity........................................ 208 9. Comparison o f Popularity, Productivity, and Use (Derived Results) . . . 226 10. Traditional Approach........................................................................... 238 11. Automated Approach........................................................................... 239 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Increasing reliance on automated information technologies in the federal workplace is leading to changes in how tasks are completed, skills needed to perform the tasks, and results generated from using automated practices. This study examines whether the organization-dependent implementation o f computer-based automated practices obtained or developed to support federal hiring processes increases productivity. The time frame studied is the Clinton administration, the years 1 9 9 3 to 2001. One subject o f interest to organizational developers and re engineering practitioners is human resources management (HRM ) w ithin federal departments and agencies. Human resources management was a separate study in the Clinton administration’s National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) and one o f the subjects identified fo r substantial improvements. The increasing use o f inform ation technology tools and the decreasing size o f the federal HRM workforce have lead to changes in how HRM tasks are completed. Automated practices, known as Human Resources Information Technology (HRInT) tools, are defined a s computer-based software applications designed to assist HRM specialists in recruiting, rating, ranking, interviewing, and hiring new employees. Use o f automated tools in HRM organizations is examined in terms o f viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. established public administration theory. Theories reviewed and discussed include: Max Weber’s tenets o f bureaucracy, Dwight Waldo’s theory o f democracy, Herbert Simon’s bounded rationality, and Ronald Coase’s theory o f transaction costs. The theory review concludes that m ultiple established theories support uses o f HRInT tools. The research fo r this study includes: literature reviews, interviews w ith practitioners, analyses o f recent related surveys, and the completion o f a survey focused on the use o f HRInT tools in federal HRM organizations. This research supports the hypothesis, that using HRInT tools in federal hiring practices increases the federal HRM organization’s productivity. Using four interdependent lenses from which to evaluate the findings, this research illuminates practical suggestions fo r improving current and future uses o f HRInT tools. In addition, this study provides recommendations for related research that, if completed, would benefit public administration practitioners in preparing for future responsibilities. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Introduction Increasing reliance on automated information technology in the federal workplace is leading to changes in how tasks are completed, in the skills needed to perform the tasks, and in the results generated from new and frequently automated practices. One area that has been o f long-term interest to organizational developers and re-engineering practitioners is the human resources management (HRM) function within each federal department or agency. Human resources management, for example, was a separate study in President W illiam Jefferson Clinton's National Partnership for Reinventing Government (a.k.a. National Performance Review) (NPR) and one o f the areas identified for substantial changes. These changes included reductions in personnel and increases in the use o f technology. The increasing use o f information technology tools and the decreasing size o f the federal HRM workforce have lead to substantial changes in how HRM tasks are completed. O f particular interest for this research are the changes to federal organizations' processes fo r hiring individuals into the c iv il service. Specifically, the effects o f the increasing use o f inform ation technology tools in federal hiring processes are the focus o f the research. W hile the HRM fie ld I Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. overall has undergone and continues to undergo substantial changes, a study o f the overall HRM process is beyond the lim its o f this single research project The hiring process was chosen due to the importance o f selecting people to conduct the public’s business. H iring is viewed a s the most critical HRM process due to the need for every organization to staff its ranks w ith qualified individuals. In short without people, there are no products or services to deliver. Throughout the federal government the use o f information technology tools in hiring practices continues to expand, although acceptance and use remains uneven. According to Ray Sumser, HRM Project Director at the National Academy o f Public Administration (NAPA) in Washington, DC, several federal organizations are using information technology tools today with mixed results and are being watched by other organizations. The implementing organizations are identifying and addressing the problems and p itfa lls associated w ith relying on technology, while other organizations remain anxious to benefit from efficiency gains without being the first to implement a new process (Sumser, 1999). Current Driving Themes for Change in Human Resources Management Three themes or trends that form the supporting framework fo r the increasing use o f information technology in the HRM process have been identified. During the Clinton administration, these themes were supported by efforts led by the administration and Congress to improve the overall efficiency o f the federal government. As President Clinton stated in the Report o f the National Performance 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Review (September 1993): “ First, we must cut waste and make government operations more responsive to the American people. It is tim e to sh ift from top-down bureaucracy to entrepreneurial government that generates change from the bottom up” (p. 15). Vice President A1 Gore added that this systemic change could succeed w ith increased reliance on technology. Gore (1993) said that the “ marriage between computers and telephones has changed just about everything we do, how we work, where we work, the design o f the workplace, and the skills we need to continue working” (p. 32). For the purposes o f this study, efficiency is defined in the broad sense as producing the desired result with the minimum o f effort, expense, or waste. The sequence o f events o r original factors that led to the identification o f these themes as the driving force for change is not clear. For example, the NPR, technological advances, o r improvements in the private sector due to increased global competition may have caused or together heightened attention to the need for change. The widely read book by Osborne and Gaebler is one example o f 1990's trends to reduce the size o f government and to make it more entrepreneurial at a ll levels. Increasing Reliance on Technology The first theme is increasing reliance on technology. Due to the continuing emphasis o f the Clinton W hite House, federal agencies and, by extension, state, local and quasi-government organizations, increased their reliance on technology to address growing demands to deliver more services without commensurate increases in their workforces or budgets. In recent reports from the federal M erit Systems 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Protection Board (MSPB) and the General Accounting O ffice (GAO), human resources management is identified as an area fo r continued automation (MSPB, 1998; GAO, 1999). MSPB and GAO reports note that the use o f automation in HRM practices is underway in several organizations, and they add that the use o f automation in the hiring process is growing. The MSPB article (1998) points out that, in order to improve the efficiency o f the federal hiring process and to increase the government’ s competitiveness in the labor market, human resource departments must increasingly turn to automated information management tools (pp. 14,31). The 1998 MSPB conclusion has been implemented in many organizations. In a recent discussion w ith Kathy Troutman, president o f The Resume Place, a consulting firm that assists applicants in finding senior federal positions, it was noted that federal organizations are accepting soft-copy resumes via Email and through the Internet in addition to paper or hard copy resumes. I f the organization is employing automated resume-scanning software (and a growing number o f federal organizations are), the electronically submitted applications are processed against keyword lists to determine how completely the applicant’s qualifications match the advertised positions. In those departments or agencies accepting soft copy, paper resumes are received through the public mail system, scanned into an optical character reader to be digitally represented in soft copy or electronic form and then processed against keyword lists. According to Troutman, based on discussions w ith m ultiple federal HRM officers, when compared to those applications received electronically, the hard-copy (paper) resumes experienced delays ranging from minutes to hours. It was 4 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. noted that, if a resume is not easily scannable, the delay could range from days to weeks (Troutman, December 18,1999). Downsizing of the Federal Workforce The second theme is the downsizing o f the federal workforce. This theme was used in both Clinton-Gore re-election campaigns and was cited often in local newspapers and federal government-focused periodicals. (See, for example, articles in Government Executive magazine for May 1999, January 1999, September 1996 and August 1996.) As M ike Causey reported data from the Bureau o f Labor Statistics in a March 1,1999, Washington Post column: “ Downsizing has reduced total federal employment from 3,038,041 in 1993 to 2,823,285 late last [1998] year” (p. B4). Causey added that the position reductions were focused on adm inistrative, support, and middle management positions. Causey’s comments and those o f the 1998 MSPB report are brought into practical focus by a GAO report on the effects o f the Department o f Defense’s efforts to implement an automated personnel system. The report, GAO/AIMD-99-20, dated January 27,1999, pointed out: “ As o f June 30, 1998, Defense reported that it had cut 1,700 personnelists and had achieved a ratio o f one personnelist to [every] 77 employees” (pp. 5-6). The GAO authors added that the DOD stated a goal o f 1 human resources officer (personnelist) to every 100 civilia n employees. The report noted that, before downsizing, the ratio was 1 human resources officer to each 67 civilian employees. The anticipated increase from 67 to 100 employees for each HRM officer represents an increase o f 50 percent and 5 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. provides a foreshadowing o f increased workloads on and heightened expectations o f HRM officers. These undertakings indicate that in DOD, as in other federal organizations, human resource officers are being eliminated, w hile workloads for those remaining officers continue to escalate. A 1999 GAO report supports this view by reporting that, w ith fewer human resources officers, the DOD and other federal organiza tions are turning to information technology tools to expand the capacity o f the remaining human resources management offices (p. 1). As evidenced by increasing federal spending on technology (Behb, 1999, p. 6) the Clinton administration's successful efforts to reduce the size o f the federal government caused remaining workers to seek assistance w ith increasing workloads by using information technology—a strategy consistent with that former administration's NPR goals. The number o f federal workers in support-related positions, including those in HRM, has declined and is likely to continue to decline. The rate o f decline is different for specific support functions, although HRM has been reduced more than other support areas. According to a 1997 GAO report, the number o f people employed in federal HR-related occupations between 1992 and 1996 declined by 1 8 percent For comparison, during the same period, the number o f workers in the procurement area declined by 1 2 percent, and those in the resource management area fe ll by 6 percent (p. 2). These large reductions in the number o f support-related workers during a concentrated period o f tim e contributed to what H. Brinton Milward labels the hollowing out o f government (M ilward, 1994). M ilward defines 6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the hollowing out o f government as the degree o f separation o f government from the services it provides. This is also labeled “the hollow state” —where the dimensions o f hollowness become variables that can b e used to determine the degree to which government is separated from the output it funds (p. 73). The hollowness o f government refers to the decreasing direct role o f government in delivering services and the increasing presence o f non-governmental organizations (NGOs), contractors performing government functions, and the devolution o f functions to private companies. In the context o f this research, the hollowness or hollowing out o f government is used to describe the rapid loss o f experienced middle managers and support and administrative officers, while their functions are automated, contracted out, devolved, outsourced, or eliminated. Overall, personnel reductions are not applied uniform ly across a ll agencies. Some agencies have reduced less and others more, although middle level managers have been targeted for the m ajority o f the reductions. The downsizing o f support staffs combined w ith the continuing need to hire technically-skilled workers in other areas o f the organization resulted in the use o f inform ation technology tools to augment the hiring process. The emerging trend o f using information technology tools in the hiring process has the potential for longstanding but little-understood impacts on organizations. The reductions in HRM positions raise several questions concerning the future size, scope, and importance o f the federal government workforce. Evidence to support these concerns can be found in Paul Light's 1999 article, “ Who Wants a Federal Career?” As Light (1999) writes: Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Forced to prove President C linton’s claim that the era o f big government is over by holding down full-tim e employment, the federal government has been more interested in pushing jobs out to private contractors and nonprofit agencies than in imagining a new public service in which expertise moves more freely across the sectors, (p. A15)1 Light argues that, instead o f trying to identify and implement policies and practices that provide more services faster and cheaper to a wider collection o f people, the Clinton administration focused on reducing the number o f human resources in the executive branch. The stated goal was to reduce the size o f government to increase the efficiency and effectiveness o f the remaining workforce by reducing the management and administrative overhead. I f the form er Clinton administration’ s downsizing actions are viewed a s focused on efficiency and delivering products to the customers (Gore, 1993) and less on hiring people to ensure the future success or effectiveness o f the government, the implied burden on a smaller workforce becomes substantial. I f federal organizations continue to reduce their workforces, alternatives to address remaining workloads must increasingly be considered. These options include: increased reliance on information technology tools, devolution o f the work to state and non-governmental organizations (NGO), hiring contractors to perform the tasks, outsourcing functions to private industry or eliminating the provided service—a s was the case in the now 'it appears that the Dumber of federal workers is the metric of choice to determine the size and effectiveness o f the federal government For examples, see multiple articles by George Frederickson and Joseph Wholey and a 1998 PAR article by Alasdair Roberts, titled Performance- Based Organizations: Assessing the Gore Plan. While scholars have taken exception to this metric and it invites further research, this debate is outside o f the scope of this research project The topic is raised as an area for continuing analysis. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. abolished O ffice o f Technical Assessments. This goal o f making government smaller, supported by a practice o f using technology to replace downsized workers, was one o f the underlying tenets o f C linton’s National Partnership fo r Reinventing Government. Vice President Gore wrote in 1993: Organizations don’t need as many people collecting inform ation, because computers can do much o f it automatically. They don’t need as many people processing that information, because clever software programs can give managers what they need at the press o f a button, (p. 32) Gore’s comments reflected the optim istic view that information technology tools can readily replace human labor a s a means to perform the government’s business. Points that were not addressed include: the inputting and m anaging o f m illions o f records, the technical experts to operate and maintain the computers and associated peripherals, and the funds to repair and replace hardware and software. O f equal or greater importance is the training and tim e needed to redirect HRM workers—who, by inclination, are often people-oriented individuals who enjoy helping other people—to add technological skills and tasks to their daily duties. In addition, Gore did not offer methods to communicate o r implement these varying changes to current and potential federal workers. Reduce Bureaucratic Barriers or Red Tape In addition to increasing reliance on technology and reducing the size o f the federal workforce, a third theme forcing change on human resource officers is the effort to reduce bureaucratic barriers or red tape. The NPR report, Creating a 9 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Government that Works Better and Costs Less (1993), staled that the over 10,000 pages o f the Federal Personnel Manual (FPM), were to be abolished and replaced w ith “ common sense decisions” made by individual federal department or agency leaders. Gore wrote in the 1993 NPR report that the FPM was supported by over 850 pages o f federal personnel law and more than 1,300 pages o f OPM regulation (p. 13). Gore (1993) added that, in 1991, “ the Navy’s Human Resources Office processed enough forms to create a monument 3,100 feet tall—six times the height o f the Washington monument” (p. 13). Under OPM Director James King, copies o f the FPM were symbolically carried out o f the Office o f Personnel Management (OPM) building in Washington, DC, and thrown into waiting trash receptacles in fu ll view o f the gathered news media. W hile some federal workers cheered this approach as an elim ination o f red tape, others, including HRM officers—who are often called upon to administer equitable treatment across organizations and resolve unique personnel issues—expressed a different view. These officers now are faced w ith advising managers and workers on fair and equitable treatment fo r a ll employees in a changing environment without the benefit o f an approved (and legally-based) rule book. HRM officers are implementing new and untested technologies in a highly competitive labor market with fewer available resources. These officers are using their best judgment without the benefit o f fam iliar practices. The result is either a continuing, but not professed, use o f the now out-of-favor and possibly out-of-date FPM or an attempt to reconcile line managers’ decisions w ith employee expectations and the opinions o f the organization’s general counsel. 10 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. An additional external driving force was the strong economy w ith low unemployment and robust competition from the private sector to hire qualified applicants. Private sector firm s have hired full-tim e human resource officers to scan continuously a growing number o f on-line resume listings in search o f technically- skilled and available employees. When potential candidates are located, these companies send electronic versions o f their employment applications and conduct in itia l interviews via Email. Face-to-face interviews are scheduled as quickly a s possible. I f the applicant interviews w ell and has the requisite skills, an offer o f employment is made at the conclusion o f the interview. From firs t contact to interview to offer o f employment, the tim e is measured in hours or days, depending mostly on the applicant's schedule. In contrast to the private sector, the extended time it takes to hire a federal employee has been cited in m ultiple studies and interviews (Sumser, 1999; McGrath, 1999) as a factor that leads qualified applicants to accept positions w ith private industry instead o f the public sector. In NAPA published reports (1991,1993, and 1999) and interviews with individuals from NAPA and HRM offices in federal organizations, the reduction o f cycle time—the time it takes to hire applicants—was cited as a continuing problem. This problem could be ameliorated by an increased use o f technology and associated changes in hiring practices. The above views can be compared to ongoing changes that affect the practice o f public administration. Robert J. O 'N e ill, president o f NAPA, wrote in the July 2000 edition o f PA Times that four “ concurrent phenomena” have the potential to 1 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. affect public service in the new century. These four phenomena are: (1) the blurring o f geographic boundaries at a ll levels (international, national, state, county, and local); (2) the increasing permeability o f organizational boundaries—where specific jobs and skills are replaced w ith workers who effectively perform multiple functions; (3) the “ explosion o f the Internet and the capabilities o f information technology” (p. 1); and (4) the redefinition o f the concept o f citizenship (p. 1). O’N eill argued that boundaries at all levels are becoming mote porous and contended that the increasing reliance on distributed interconnected technologies is leading this change. He added that, as a result o f these changes, the concept o f citizenship is changing shape from a localized view to a more global approach. I f O’N e ill is correct, the implications fo r public servants are that increasing and expanding changes w ill demand new skills, that, in turn, w ill increase competition between public and private sectors, leading to more emphasis on hiring. Today’s applicants, w ith education and experience in computer systems, networks, communications, programming or systems analysis, can and are being offered positions in private sector organizations faster than the government can react This outcome applies to applicants w ith technical skills and experience or education in public administration. Some applicants in the public administration field acknowledge that the private sector does a better job o f recruiting and hiring applicants. As a John F. Kennedy School o f Government graduate stated: “ The private sector just did a better jo b o f making us aware o f what they’re offering and making us feel like we’re welcome. W ith the government, it doesn’t see m there is 12 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that same level o f interest” (Barr, May 7,2000, p. A l). The tim e to hire an applicant, or the cycle tim e from interview to employment, is longer fo r public sector organizations than private sector employers and was acknowledged as an area for improvement by HRM process action teams (PATs) and the National Partnership for Reinventing Government This criticism is not new and most recently returned to the public’s attention in the mid-1990s when the Clinton administration reached and surpassed its downsizing goals and began hiring workers into federal service. Federal organizations recognize and are taking steps to improve lag times in hiring. Several examples are cited in this and the follow ing chapters that highlight the public sector’s reactions. For example, forced to compete fo r highly-skilled and highly-compedtive individuals educated in computer and networks sciences, Sandia National Laboratories changed its entire HRM process by designing and implementing an on-line personnel inform ation system (OPIS). The goal o f reducing cycle time was one o f the major factors facing Sandia Labs. This effort, reported at a January 1998 quality and productivity conference, reduced cycle times for hiring workers by 50 to 75 percent and reduced costs (including salaries for individuals in the HRM office) by over 40 percent (G illings & Saucier, 1998).3 Reduced hiring and aggressive downsizing efforts characterized the Clinton administration’s efforts and led to a lower number o f federal workers. The resulting curtailed and aging federal workforce led to publicly-expressed concerns about its future. A May 7,2000, front 2 While the presentation stated that costs were reduced by 40 percent, the definition of costs was not provided nor was longitudinal data provided to support this claim for multiple years. 1 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. page Washington Post article by Stephen Barr read: “ Retirement Wave Creates Vacuum.” Barr reported: By the year 2004, about 30 percent o f the government’s 1.6 m illion full-tim e employees w ill be eligible to retire and that, in the Senior Executive Service (SES), the government’s most senior managers, 65 percent would be eligible to retire in the same period, (p. A l) Janice Lachance, C linton’s Director o f the O ffice o f Personnel Management (OPM), stated that, while the potential for a future mass exodus did exist, there may not be a s many workers leaving federal service as predicted. Government statistics show that, in 1999, including early-out incentives, only 17 percent o f those workers eligible to retire did so (Barr, 2000, p. A14). While the possibility exists for a mass exodus by 2004, the trends even in 2000’s overheated job market did not support such a claim. Barr wrote about the possibility o f a future loss o f experience and skills but ignored the reasons senior talented federal workers remain in their jobs. Some retirement- eligible public-sector workers choose to remain public servants for a variety o f financial and job satisfaction reasons. It must be noted that the m ajority o f federal workers do not complain about their duties or contributions to the people o f this country; the complaints in recent years have come from elected officials. In summary, w ith aggressive private-sector practices o f hiring HRM individuals to constantly scan growing numbers o f on-line employment databases and make job offers in hours or days, the public sector is faced w ith considerable competition and little choice but to respond. The public sector must change how it hires workers or find its e lf le ft w ith fewer candidates from whom to choose. 1 4 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Competition with private industry for talented people is not new, but public-sector practices must evolve in order to address this imbalance. The number o f people who are employed as public servants in today’s federal organizations is not increasing or even remaining constant The downsizing o f the 1990s, the looming retirement o f baby boomers, and the lucrative private sector are factors facing public service. This downsizing trend w ill force future public administrators to continue to find ways to decrease the time required to complete personnel actions. These may include reduced reliance on human e ffo rt and increased use o f inform ation technology to support remaining functions. The growing use o f inform ation technology in the workplace, the downsizing o f human resource organizations, the decreasing use and acceptance o f fam iliar policies and procedures, and growing competition w ith private industry have forced changes on federal human resource organizations. Reacting to these rapid changes may bring unknown, unexpected, or unwanted consequences. Statement of the Problem In this section, a definition o f human resources inform ation technology tools is provided, a research hypothesis is offered, and prelim inary propositions are defined and discussed. A form al statement o f the problem is summarized and serves as a framework for introducing and discussing the research question, propositions, and theoretical underpinnings. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Definition of Human Resources Information Technology (HRInT) Inform ation technology is known by m ultiple labels, including automation, automated tools, inform ation resources, and information systems. These terms are used interchangeably by both the public and private sectors, although their use and definitions are not always consistent The term Human Resources Information Technology, o r HRInT, is coined and used throughout this research as a consistent acronym to represent the application to human resources management processes o f information technology products, services, and tools.3 Inform ation technology supporting human resources management is not new and has been in use for several decades. From recording and retrieving employee locator records to calculating and completing annual W-2 forms, the benefits o f fast, repetitive, and accurate processing o f routine tasks has been widely accepted and is now commonplace. Yet, perceptions o f the benefits o f automated technology are changing from their accepted role in support o r infrastructure to their developing use for analytical and strategic functions. As Nancy Ferris (1999) asks in her article, “ High-Tech Hurdles,” is information technology a support function or a strategic resource? Ferris promotes the developing application o f IT for strategic planning and the budgeting o f IT resources. She argues that IT is both a support function and a strategic resource. Ferris contends that IT increasingly has and w ill become a critica l component o f 3 HRInT products and services have been labeled “tools”; since, in a generic sense, Webster’ s Dictionary defines a tool as an instrument serving a means. HRInT products and services serve the applicant hiring process. 1 6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. strategic planning and an organization’ s future success. Ferris notes that “the bar has been raised for expectations about speed and quality o f service” (p. 21), and adds that the only way these more stringent expectations can be met is to rely on IT capabilities. What has changed in today’s environment is that HRInT is enlarging the role o f technology from repetitive processes or support-type functions into areas form erly reserved fo r human judgment o r analytical-type functions. Concern over the impact o f technology tools in areas formerly under human purview is not new. The use o f technology in human resources support-type functions was the topic o f discussion in a 1968 Public Administration Review article lamenting threats to human labor caused by the increasing use o f mainframe computers. These threats inexplicably included the rapid and accurate completion o f repetitive administrative functions. Today, the analytical-type function o f HRInT tools can serve as the firs t line “arbitrator” fo r deciding the competitiveness o f an applicant This arbitration occurs by a comparison o f keywords included on an applicant’ s resume w ith those on a published position vacancy, a count o f the number o f correct responses to an interactive voice response system’s (IVRS) questions, or a comparison o f a candidate’s responses to questions and answers stored in a shopping m all kiosk. These examples o f analytical-type or decision-making functions th a t in the past were reserved fo r human judgment demonstrate a change in the use o f automated technology and how people are hired. Using an economics perspective, this change could be labeled a shift in ownership rights. That is, by transferring the first-lin e decision space from HRM professionals to HRInT tools and by allowing the 17 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tools to use programmed standardized keyword searches and the results o f test scores, the in itia l screening process is now completed by technology instead o f an individual. This change in decision space is designed to increase objectivity and reduce subjectivity in interviewing and hiring applicants. For the purposes o f this study, human resources inform ation technology tools are defined to include advances in technology that support hiring actions. These tools include resume-scanning software, interactive voice response systems, hiring functions using Email, Internet home pages and W orld Wide Web (www) sites (organization and government-wide), and external kiosks. For reference, each tool is briefly summarized below. • Resume-Scanning Software. Several companies offer resume-scanning software that reads an applicant’s resume, searches for and stores keywords, and matches the contents o f the resume w ith stored keywords from current organizational vacancies. The matches are then rated based on keywords in the vacancy notice leading to a ranking for each o f the applicants. The two most popular are Resumix and Restrac, although the Department o f Defense has contracted w ith Resumix to create a hybrid resume-scanning product tailored for its specific occupations. • Interactive Voice Response System. Both public-and private-sector organizations employ interactive voice response software using commercial telephones to allow applicants to apply for jobs. O riginally used by companies to allow employees to change existing benefits and 18 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. payroll deduction inform ation by using a unique identifier—typically a Social Security or employee number—individuals can now review vacant positions, apply for positions, seek and receive status reports on the vacancy o f interest, and update contact inform ation. • Email. One o f the most w idely used and mature tools included in this study, electronic m ail, or Em ail, allows an individual to apply for positions virtually anytime from anywhere. Resumes submitted via Em ail are read by automated resume-scanning products to determine whether a match is found. An in itia l response can be sent to the applicant via return Email in considerably less time than w ith previous labor- intensive processes. Using Email and a current resume, in a matter of minutes, an applicant can apply for multiple positions in public and private organizations from his or her home, office, public library, or shopping center kiosk. This near real-time method provides the applicant w ith a ready metric to compare response times o f different organizations, encourages organizations to reduce the time an organization takes to reply to a received resume, and increases the sense o f urgency and competition for hiring workers. • Internet Home Pages and World Wide Web Sites. Federal organizations are taking advantage o f the growing popularity o f the Internet to advertise vacant positions. Every federal department or agency now has an Internet home page. Using the Internet home page to 19 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. explain the organization’s mission and to provide background information on recent accomplishments and upcoming events, the home page offers interested applicants an opportunity to learn about the organization, to review current vacancies, and to submit on-line resumes. Prospective applicants can send inquiries to the human resources office or complete an on-line application and forward a current resume for immediate employment consideration. The federal human resources officer is alerted that he or she has new mail and, within minutes, can acknowledge receipt o f the application. • External Kiosks. Examples o f public sector organizations using external kiosks include the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Veteran’s Adm inistration (VA). Organizations are using external kiosks located in public gathering places to attract potential workers. The kiosks provide ready access to current job vacancies, automatically updated via a telephone connection with the organization’s central database. This configuration offers an applicant the opportunity to apply for one or more o f the vacant positions. The applicant’ s data is then sent to the HRM department fo r review and follow-up. Kiosks are being employed by private as w ell as public sector organizations. Placement agencies or career service companies, for example, are using kiosks to reach potential employees w hile they shop. Amy Joyce reported in the Washington Post that Adecco, a career service company, has installed kiosks in Fairfax 20 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. County, Virginia, at the Fair Oaks Shopping M all and in Frederick, Maryland, at the Francis Scott Key M all. Joyce (1999) writes that “ Placing the Job Shops [kiosks] in public areas such as shopping malls and universities introduces companies to potential employees who normally would have missed jo b listings or may not have even applied fo r a new job” (p. H8).4 Other information management and communication tools, including databases, machine readable forms, facsim ile machines, and telephones, are in use and are widely accepted a s part o f the normal work environment. Due to their widespread acceptance and time-proven use in a support vice an analytical role, these tools are not included a s part o f this study.3 Research Hypothesis The research hypothesis for this study is that the use o f human resources information technology tools increases the organization’s productivity and a b ility to hire employees. The null hypothesis is that the us e o f human resources information technology tools does not expand the productivity o f federal HRM organizations. A collateral benefit is the reduction o f human bias in the hiring process. The use o f 4 Additional examples of increasing use o f kiosks are discussed in Chapter 3. sThe numerous World Wide Web placement firms and headhunter sites for private industry are not included here. Sites, including HeadHunter.com, HoUobs.com, and CareerBuilders.com, were investigated; but, due to their strictly private-sector focus, were not included in this study. The public sector versions o f these sites, those managed by OPM and those managed jointly by federal and state governments, are included. 21 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRInT tools has the potential to add objectivity to m ultiple aspects o f hiring processes. The rapid expansion in the use o f HRInT tools, coupled w ith reductions in the workforce and the elimination o f fam iliar procedures or negatively-referred-to red tape, collectively create uncertainties in the HRM environment The effects o f growing uses o f HRInT tools and the rapid pace o f changing practices remain unknown among many HRM professionals and candidates. Information gained from literature review, from interviews w ith federal HR officers, and from interviews with NAPA officials supports this claim and identifies the following four prelim inary research propositions. The follow ing propositions focus on applicants for federal jobs, the federal HRM workforce, the impacts o f changes on the federal organizations, and the perceived fairness o f using HRInT tools in the process o f hiring individuals for federal positions. These propositions are supported by themes identified in m ultiple interviews w ith HRM officers and confirmed by MSPB (1998) and GAO (1999) reports. * The Applicant. The use o f HRInT tools allows applicants w ith personal computers and access to the Internet to apply anytime and from any location. Such locations instantly become modern-day employment offices. Once received, applications fo r employment are entered into an organization’ s HR database and continue to receive active consideration until the individual is hired or the application expires, usually six months after in itia l entry. Once an application is on file or stored in a database in 22 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a department or agency, a single application can be used to apply fo r m ultiple federal positions. Research thus far has discovered discemable success factors. W hile some o f these factors are also relevant to the non automated method o f hiring workers, several federal HR professionals pointed out that they are critical to an applicant using the automated process. These success factors include: the emphasis and completeness o f the resume and application in comparison to the vacancy announcement, the level o f detail included in the vacancy announcement, the number o f keyword matches, and, finally, competition and experience levels. It was noted, however, that an applicant could apply up u n til the last minute o f the closing date—an im possibility in the pre-automated tools era. • The Federal O rganization’ s HRM W orkforce. The use o f HRInT tools expands the productivity o f downsized HRM offices and supports the remaining HRM and line officers in completing their mission. In a decision support-type function or the repetitive processing o f tasks, the tools automate formerly manual tasks and reduce time delays due to hand-offs o f paper files from one person to another. I f this recognized and accepted function o f supporting decision-makers and processes is contrasted with the emerging decision-making o r analytical-type Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. function6 o f HRInT tools, the differences become apparent and point to a rapidly changing paradigm. For example, in support-type functions, automated tools can capture, store, and retrieve data on individuals. In analytical-type functions, HRInT tools accept applications, screen, rate, and rank applicants based on resumes and applications. These tools also notify applicants o f their competitiveness before HRM officers even review the lis t o f applicants. An example o f this function can be found at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in its use o f a new automated HRM application (titled Survey City), discussed in Chapter 2 o f this study. • The Federal O rganization. The use o f HRInT tools increases the competitiveness o f the organization to hire applicants. In a tig h t labor market, the use o f the Internet, Email, kiosks, and other tools provide additional approaches to reach applicants and to compete w ith private industry. Private industry is using these tools to attract applicants with technical skills o r critical experiences and has assigned HRM officers to monitor on-line employment Web sites. In a hot labor market, kin this context, “analytical-function” is used to describe the practice of making a recommendation by detailed examination. 24 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. government organizations must be competitive in their hiring practices in order to attract qualified candidates.7 • Perceived Fairness of the Process. The use o f HRInT tools in the hiring process reduces subjectivity and increases objectivity by providing standardized data in a sim ilar format on each applicant to the fin a l hiring authority, including test results and keyword matches.* As more HRM officers and others use the tools and become proficient and experienced, subjective human biases based on resume format, style, font, ink, paper color, and length become less visible in the hiring process.9 Continued use o f this bias-blind process could lead to a workforce hired on more objective and merit-based written descriptions o f technical skills. This emerging process addresses what noted social scientist Herbert Simon labels the “ is’s ” and the “ ought’s.” Simon (1997) states that, in order to 7 For the purposes of this research, hiring is separate from employee retention. Automated tools are changing the ways applicants apply for positions. Research suggests that downsized workplaces, growing requirements, the increasing use of automation, and the placement of more on site contractors are causing a re-evaluation o f retentioa issues for newly-hired workers. *The focus of published articles has been on reducing negative human bias and promoting more skills-based hiring. This view has been cited as a method of increasing the diversity o f the federal workforce. No reference has been found that questions the loss o f positive human bias or the practices that have led to today’ s federal workforce demographics. One explanation may be the politically popular “government bashing” that started with the Carter administration and continued through the Clinton administration. For more information, see Barr (1998, 2000), Causey (1999), and Light (1999). 9 One HRM officer explained that, although the practice is discouraged, human curiosity can cause attempts to identify personal attributes of an applicant, including level of career success by looking at graduation dates and work experiences. Consultants point out that applicants should only list relevant information on their applications; and, unless required for a specific position, age or high school graduation are not usually included (Troutman, 1999). 25 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “ reach an ought in the conclusions, at least some ought must be lurking in the in itia l premises” (p. 69). W hile blind to obvious human biases, the use o f HRInT tools in the hiring process raises several questions on how to ensure competitiveness, while supporting affirmative action fo r non white males and individuals w ith disabilities. The color-blind and routinized processes o f the HRInT tools provide a ready forum fo r decision-making based on a comparison to stored results but may not easily support affirm ative action programs. Each o f the four propositions has a potentially positive a s well as a potentially negative effect For example, one commercially available tool currently in use in several federal organizations is automated resume-scanning software. I f an applicant knows the keywords that trigger a successful match w ith an advertised vacancy, the applicant increases his or her chances o f making it through the first control gate with a favorable rating and a top ranking. It is not yet known i f knowledge o f a “ keyword- focused” w riting style is w idely available to applicants or is an emerging fact reserved fo r experienced HRM officers and others associated with the hiring process. This topic is further developed in interview results presented in Chapter 4. During the course o f interviews w ith senior HRM officers and National Academy o f Public Adm inistration (NAPA) officia ls, a theme that repeatedly emerged was that HRM professionals no longer have as much time to focus on human beings. While this statement is theatrical and raises images o f doing less w ith less, the intent is to highlight the changing roles o f HRM professionals from 26 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. administrative support tasks to consultants for department or agency seniors. Reportedly, HRM officers are providing more URL addresses and supporting Hpta collection fo r downsizing or outsourcing decisions and doing less personnel counseling and career planning. Downsizing, competition from the private sector and other public-sector organizations, and shortening time lines are causing senior leaders to include HRM professionals in senior-level decisions. This new mission is in sharp contrast to the traditional people-centric workloads o f the past In implementing or in planning to implement HRInT tools for hiring workers, the answer to the research question and findings related to the four propositions w ill be o f assistance to federal organizations, their public administrators, prospective applicants, and the general public. The results gathered through literature review and completed surveys, interviews w ith federal officers and private sector suppliers to the federal government, and a cross-section survey o f federal organizations focused on HRInT tools can be used to further document the effects o f HRInT tools in the hiring process. In addition, those organizations contemplating increased reliance on information technology in the hiring process can us e the data contained herein as a ready reference and collection o f pertinent information from those already using the tools. Unit of Measure The unit o f measure fo r this study is the human resources management (HRM) office w ithin federal government departments or agencies. Specifically, this 27 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. study focuses on the changes in productivity in HRM offices as a result o f using HRInT tools as part o f the hiring strategy. Research Question The increasing use o f technology in analytical-type functions to influence decisions in the applicant hiring process is gaining in popularity and, if successful, has the potential to substantially change how workers are hired and, by extension, the future federal workforce. This conclusion leads to the follow ing research question: Do uses o f Human Resources Information Technology (HRInT) tools in federal organizations improve their human resources management productivity? To answer this question and to address the four propositions described earlier in this chapter, several factors must be researched, analyzed, and understood. These factors include: • How prominent is the use o f HRInT tools in federal organizations? • Which are the most popular HRInT tools in use and why? • How are the tools being used, by whom, and for how long? • What factors contribute to their successful or failed implementation? • Is organizational size a factor in the use o f tools? • What structural, performance, productivity, and other changes have been brought about by or are emerging due to the use o f the tools? • Have any artifacts o f the practices been discovered? 28 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This research study focuses on responding to the above questions w ithin the framework o f the four research propositions. The findings support a conclusion in response to the central research question. This research draws on literature reviews, interviews, and an analysis o f survey results and responses from an HRInT-tools- focused questionnaire. Research Question Basis This study assesses whether the introduction o f HRInT tools into the hiring process increases an HRM unit’s productivity. For the purposes o f this study, production is defined as successfully hiring qualified candidates in the shortest amount o f time possible. A more elegant working definition o f successful hiring, a s assessed by the Director o f Human Resources at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adm inistration (NOAA), is to quickly hire the most qualified applicants to fill critical positions at affordable salaries who contribute to the organization’s mission (M illa rd , 1999). To date, there has been little research into the use o f HRInT tools; although, in practice, organizations are employing tools to select, process, and communicate w ith potential employees. This research attempts to identify and define actions that address the four propositions and answer the research question. In addition, this study identified related topics fo r additional research that may influence the pace and success o f further automation o f HRM hiring processes. Only those sources readily available to the public have been used in the preparation o f this document 29 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER II THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS Do Public Administration and Economic Theories Support the Use of HRInT Tools? This chapter introduces the theoretical underpinnings that serve as a basis for understanding the implementation o f HRInT tools in federal hiring processes. The proposition that the use o f HRInT tools supports a democratic and representative government, as defined by Dwight W aldo's theory o f democracy leading to equality and freedom, is the underlying premise o f this analysis. In addition, summaries o f Max Weber’s views on bureaucracy and efficiency and o f Herbert Simon’s conclusions on bounded rationality and decision-making are used to explain how automated inform ation and HRInT tools support and could further develop these theories. Max Weber’s views on bureaucratic efficiency, as they relate or could relate to the use o f HRInT tools in the workplace, are discussed. Several o f Weber’s tenets o f bureaucracy are included as a means o f providing a foundation in empirical terms. In his 1997 edition o f Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon updated his original views o f bounded rationality and focused on organizational decision-making processes to include discussions o f inform ation technology and its impacts on the 30 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. workplace. This revised edition o f Simon's work serves a s a ready reference for the use o f HRInT tools in public administration The origins o f public administration, or at least the published accounts o f public administration recorded in professional literature, sometimes are traced to the early writings o f Weber and Woodrow W ilson. Paul P. Van Riper (1997) writes that “ Max Weber and Woodrow Wilson are often listed or implied as founders” o f the field o f public administration (p. 219). Van Riper adds that, unfortunately, Weber's work was not translated into English u n til the mid-1940s and that W ilson’s essay was first quoted in Leonard White’s public administration textbook published in 1926 (p. 219). The use o f technology, or specific to this research, HRInT tools, is viewed a s another step in the evolution o f public administration. As Stephen Barley (1994) writes: History tells us that technology, organization, and work co ercive. Although cause and effect are d iffic u lt to untangle, sweeping innovations in organizing seem to accompany fundamental changes in technology as w ell as broad shifts in what people do for a living, (p. 404) This co-evolution includes the acceptance and use o f technology to complement human labor and perform repetitive tasks fester. Not present at the creation, but evinced early in the process by Herman H ollerith’s desire to create a counting machine to tally the 1890 census, technology plays, has played, and w ill continue to play many critical roles in the conduct o f the people’s business o f government at all levels. 3 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ronald Coase’s theory o f transaction costs is used as another frame through which to view the effects o f using information technology tools. Coase’s 1937 work on transaction costs is a separate entry into economic theory supporting the use o f HRInT tools. The use o f an economic lens is a particularly valuable tool for analysis in lig h t o f the Clinton administration’s efforts to make government more business like and the NPR’s applications o f business models in order to determine most efficient organizations.1 0 Coase’ s underlying premise is that, in an economically- based model, the most efficient economic transfers w ill occur when transaction costs are at o r near zero. The benefits o f developing and the practical usefulness o f implementing theory in public administration continue to be topics o f intense debate. Supporting and detracting views on public administration theory cover the conceivable spectrum. A t one end is the view that practitioners only need to know how to m an age successfully in the context o f their specific jobs in the current time and place— broader public service aims do not matter (Timney, 1999, p. 3). The opposing perspective is exemplified by those who believe that “ teaching a student to theorize” helps the individual “ through a lifetim e o f impasses” (M iller, 1999, p. 6). A PA Times article by Mel Dubnick (1999) on public administration theory concludes that both Dwight Waldo and Herbert Simon won the fifty-year-old debate l0For additional information, see the April 1998 Government Executive magazine for coverage ofNASA selling its assets to private vendors and the February 1999 edition for an article on CIA using a working capital fund to cover internal administrative costs. 32 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. over the one best way to create public administration theory (p. 4). Dubnick reasons that, throughout their careers, both Waldo and Simon exercised considerable theoretical influence—Waldo specifically on public administration and Simon on the social sciences w rit large. Dubnick supports the view that understanding theory is important to the advancement o f public administration. What was not manifest in available literature was a definitive conclusion on the benefits o f theory in the day-to- day practice o f public administration. From an academic perspective, theory is developed from the analysis o f practices and the search for patterns or cause and effect situations (K irlin , 1998). From a practitioner’s perspective, the fast-paced, resource-constrained, constantly changing public-sector environments lead public administrators to embrace Theodore Roosevelt’ s loosely translated quote as the battle cry o f the day: try something; if it fails, admit it, and try something else; but, above a ll else, do something. The battle lines o f theory versus practice are not drawn clearly, nor are they defined completely. Harding (2000) writes: “ Practitioners recognize the need and role o f theory in public administration. The challenge for theoreticians is to devise a mode o f theorizing that enhances, rather than destroys, meaning in practice’’ (p. 5). Harding asserts that practitioners understand the usefulness o f having an applicable theory that provides a foundation fo r decision-making and action. The task fo r academicians is to create and communicate theory that is tim ely, relevant, and free o f the “ flavor o f the month” commercialized atmosphere that has doomed many o f the more recent reform approaches. It is the intent o f this researcher to ground the findings in accepted public 33 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. administration theory and not to jo in the ongoing debate on the usefulness o f theory in conducting the people’s business. Theories in Support of the Use of HRInT Tools Practical reasons for using inform ation technology tools in the workplace include time savings and improved consistency, reduced human error, expanded capacity, and changed individual responsibilities (Sumser, 1999; McGrath, 1999). To date, little exists in the way o f theory that directly discusses the uses and productivity consequences o f HRInT tools in the HRM process. Volumes have been written on the Industrial Revolution and the outcome o f machines and automation replacing human labor in support-type functions. Yet, little has been produced on specific HRM applications. This lack o f available research could be due to several factors. One possibility is that the particular application o f information technology tools to the hiring process performing analytical-type functions is a relatively new topic and, as such, is not specifically included in the foundation theories o f public administration. Using the above views as a foundation, one can begin to identify specific theories that expand to include current technology-centric practices. I f one returns to the four research propositions o f this study—the effects o f technology on: how applicants apply fo r a position, the HRM workforce o f federal organizations, changes in federal organizations, and the perceived fairness o f hiring practices— specific accepted theories can be found to support each o f these propositions. For example, efficiency, improved public service, the reduction o f undesirable red tape, 34 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and enhanced representativeness o f the federal workforce are all topics that correlate to the above four propositions and at different times have been offered as theoretical possibilities.1 1 The theoretical framework fo r this project begins w ith Waldo’ s view o f democracy. Dwight Waldo’s Theory of Democracy Dwight Waldo’s views are conveyed in his many writings, most notably in three o f his books (1953,1956, and 1992). In The Enterprise o f Public Administration (1992), Waldo explains public administration: Central to a ll that follows is the point o f view that civilization and administration always have been and s till are intricately and intimately joined. This view is not set forth as a value judgment with respect either to civilization or administration, but simply as an important fact about the human condition, one too often ignored or brushed aside as inconsequential, (p. 1) Waldo (1992) contends that civilization and administration are interdependent and that one cannot exist without the other. He claims that one brought about the other, namely that “ administration helps to create civilization and civiliza tio n in turn helps administration increase its power and versatility” (p. 18). Waldo reinforces his views by adding that the above statement can be misleading, if the reader views administration and civilization separately instead o f as two aspects 1 lThe fourth category, changing individual responsibilities that are caused by elim inating established policies or red tape, is the proposition least grounded in theory. Using the popular and arguably politically-motivated N P R , we can find references to the benefits of abolishing established procedures and cutting to-be-defined red tape. In the broader sense, several researchers (Janies Q. Wilson, E. Ostrom, Kirlin, Etzioni and others) have advocated individual responsibility and accountability, while only the N P R has tied individual responsibility to eliminating established policies. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. o f the same subject He advocates the role o f bureaucracy in organizations, adding that the practice o f bureaucracy is the same, more or less, regardless o f where it is implemented. Waldo also echoes the arguments o f Max Weber that bureaucracy is the most useful means o f structuring individuals to complete a task. One o f Waldo’s most often-cited statements is: “ Bureaucracy does reasonably well what it was above else a ll developed and adapted to do, namely perform the core functions o f government and, beyond these, those functions identified with the creation and operation o f an infrastructure” (p. 35). This statement is appropriate to include as a starting point to discuss the role o f bureaucracy in an efficient government Waldo’s (1992) theory forms the foundation for this research. Waldo argues that democracy is defined as striving towards equality and freedom and “ a respect for and guarantee o f rights” (p. 85) and adds that democracy and bureaucracy are interconnected and inseparable forces shaping the twentieth century (p. 82). He is concerned with achieving “ the optimal m ix o f democracy and bureaucracy” (p. 90) in order to maintain a representative government where every human being has equal opportunities. The reliance on HRInT tools to provide consistent inform ation instead o f person-to-person subjective communication leads to less negative human bias and more perceived objectivity in the overall selection process. Stated differently, the use o f automated processes provides more bureaucracy or objectivity and less democracy or subjectivity in the hiring process. Increasing objective decision-making based on sim ilar facts about each candidate appears to be the intended direction and one o f the driving forces for the use o f HRInT tools. Increasing objectivity addresses the 36 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. bureaucratic view o f democracy offered by Waldo as w ell as the economic-centric view o f organizations put forth by Simon.1 2 Stated another way, the reduction o f subjectivity and decision-making based on personal experiences related to the format or style o f a w ritten resume or a personal “ gut feel” is gaining favor in today’s hiring process. Several federal organizations are moving toward standardized methods o f hiring that, in principle, remove the inconsistency associated w ith individual human judgment in the hiring process. The ultimate hiring decision remains w ith the hiring authority o r line manager, but the lis t o f rated and ranked candidates from which to select the most qualified applicant can be and increasingly is generated by automated tools. An example o f one federal organization’s objectivity-centric implementation o f a new HRM approach is underway at the United States Geological Survey. A t the United States Geological Survey (USGS) human resources office, HRM is being redefined by the use o f an E-commerce approach. According to HRM officers, USGS has undertaken a m ajor effort to deliver to desktop computers a ll the tools and inform ation needed to make HRM decisions. Examples o f systems provided in the USGS approach are: an on-line automated recruitment system (OARS), a system that streamlines the position classification process (Fast Class), a training management system, and a student recruitment system. A summary o f the OARS functions include: • Applicants can apply fo r positions on-line through Email or the Internet > 2 For further discussion on the conflict between democracy and bureaucracy, see Lawrence's translation (1966) o f Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (1850), pages 87 to 98. 37 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Applicants are notified automatically when their applications are received. • Applications are stored on-line for future use. • Inform ation is Emailed to potential applicants matching the criteria for a vacancy. • Qualifications o f applicants are determined based on responses to job- specific questions. • Applicants are notified whether or not they are competitive for a particular vacancy. I f not qualified, an applicant's deficiencies are noted. • A fte r the closing date o f a vacancy announcement, OARS rates and ranks applications, generates a lis t o f eligible candidates, and sends the list via Email to the selecting o fficia l. • A fter a selection ha s been made, the system sends Emails to a ll applicants stating that a selection has been made (Troutman, 1999).1 3 The objective approach to hiring or not hiring applicants based on their resumes and concise, often-binary, responses to position-related questions appears to be more efficient and economical than competing alternatives. Although growing in use, the emerging analytical-type role o f HRInT tools ha s its share o f critics. One federal HR analyst stated that the old way o f creating and advertising announcements Robert Hosenfeld noted that, traditionally, 75 percent of all positions are filled from current USGS employees. USGS uses their Internet home page and other traditional recruiting methods to attract the remaining applicants. 38 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. w ith interested employees submitting their applications fo r review by human beings was more equitable than the emerging approach. The analyst that, currently, thane is no way for applicants to know whether they fille d out resumes correctly for given jobs or how close they are to being qualified. Other issues cited include the lack o f training for applicants in writing a competitive and responsive resume, a lack o f tim ely feedback on the applicant’s competitiveness for a position, and the lack o f consistency and clarity in position descriptions. According to a former Department o f Defense (DOD) HRM officer, these issues are cited often as hurdles to implementing new automated processes. Federal organizations implementing HRInT tools are addressing these hurdles at varying rates. Americans have become accustomed to viewing themselves as “ owners o f government” and, to some extent, may have a Jacksonian view that people deserve government jobs sim ply because they apply and are citizens. This outcome was not the original intent o f those who framed the Constitution. Waldo (1992) explains that, in the United States, since the penning o f the Constitution, citizens “ became, by analogy, stockholders and, in theory at least, even potential members o f the board o f directors” (p. 37). He adds that, in less than ISO years, Americans have turned the United States from a democracy into a representative democracy (p. 36). Waldo argues that, under the constitutional system, citizens, who are owners or stockholders and, thus, de facto decision-makers, propagate the government As such, Waldo supports the position that the population o f c iv il servants should represent and reflect the population o f individuals governed and demonstrate equality in representation. 39 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Implementation o f this viewpoint would require the federal government to hire qualified individuals w ith diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds from throughout the nation to ensure the democratic delivery o f services to a ll groups. It is not clear how or whether the evolving use o f HRInT tools, over tim e, w ill further this practice. Waldo’s statement that democracy strives toward equality and freedom can serve as a basis from which to conduct a review o f the current federal hiring practices. The goal o f a representative c iv il service can be se en as an attempt to create an administrative class that reflects demographically the citizenry o f the country and provides equal opportunities to a ll qualified applicants. In the previous century, white land-owning males had the right to vote and, not surprisingly, dominated c iv il servant positions. In the more recent past, due to executive, legislative, and legal mandates creating opportunities or goals for m inority populations within the federal government workforce, individuals w ell beyond the lim ited bracket o f white male landowners have made substantial gains. M ike Causey wrote in the January 14,2000, column o f the Washington Post that: As the federal jobs are vacated, w ill they be fille d with White House backed targeted recruiting programs that don’t require regular c iv il service procedures? The Clinton administration has used such outreach programs to increase the percentage o f m inorities (especially Hispanics) in government (p. B9) F illin g jobs based on national representativeness remains a controversial issue. The controversy is centered on the perception that hiring managers focus first on m inority hiring goals and second on selecting the most qualified candidate. The controversy over using or not using targeted hiring programs remains in the forefront 40 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. o f political agendas and public administrators’ lists o f important and delicate issues. A 2000 M erit Systems Protection Board report, for example, concluded that federal government gains in hiring African Americans and Hispanics had succeeded in matching the population o f the country; and, thus, court-ordered special hiring methods were no longer needed to ensure ethnic equity (p. 4). According to a Washington Post article by Stephen Barr (2000), immediately upon release, Clinton’s Director o f the O ffice o f Personnel Management (OPM) rejected the report’s recommendation and bluntly called the findings “wrong” (p. A 17). The competing views o f the MSPB and Clinton’s chief personnel adm inistrator could be an example o f the differences between administrators and politicians. Politicians want to sway m inority voters in the next upcoming election, while administrators work to follow policy and to fill vacant positions w ith the most qualified individuals from the pool o f available applicants. M erit Systems Protection Board Chairman Ben Erdreich added: “ It is now tim e to return to merit-based hiring.*’ Erdreich contended that the federal government was not using merit-based hiring for a ll positions and that the time had come to elim inate special hiring programs and to focus more attention on skills (Causey, 2000, p. B9). Waldo’s views on the effectiveness o f bureaucracy are tied firm ly to Max Weber’s doctrine on bureaucratic efficiency. Both Waldo and Weber pre-dated today’s analytical-type role o f HRInT tools in the hiring process, but the effects or outcome o f using these tools to improve a department’s or agency’s efficiency can b e identified in the conclusions o f these scholars. Weber, for example, provided 4 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. fourteen tenets in support o f the efficient use o f bureaucracy in organizations. O f these tenets, approximately one-half can be used to address the use o f HRInT tools in today's hiring process without altering Weber’s original meaning as cited in Gerth and M ills's 1946 book, From Idea Weber: Essays in Sociology. M ax Weber's Views on Bureaucracy and Efficiency I f the introduction o f HRInT tools is an evolutionary stage in the search fo r improved efficiency, one can extend several o f Max Weber’s classic fourteen tenets o f bureaucracy to include this practice.1 4 Today’s practices support Weber’s century- old theory o f bureaucratic efficiency. W hile information technology was not considered specifically in Weber's writings, his original tenets o f bureaucracy1 3 were designed to improve organizational efficiency and lend themselves to discussion in the context o f today’s information technology-focused environment Even w ith the many changes affecting today’s organizations, Weber’s work continues to serve as the foundation fo r bureaucratic modeling. (See Gerth & M ills, 1 Replacing human labor with machines is not a new approach. The practice of using machines to supplant human labor and support human judgment started with the Industrial Revolution. Today’s advances often support human judgment and, with the use of interactive voice response systems, kiosks, and resume-scanning applications, are moving into the analysis-based functions previously reserved for human judgment In his book, Technology, the Surrender o f Culture to Technology, Neil Postman (1992) wrote that the changes facing organizations during this century were grounded fust in rapid industrialization and today, in advancing uses o f information processing technologies to replace workers (p. 48). 1 5 In recent times, the word “bureaucracy” has been used by political office-seekers to point out the deficiencies in government Writers, including Parkinson (1957) and Lawremce (1966), have reinforced these claims by arguing, respectively, that the amount o f staff work and the number of workers in a bureaucracy expand to fill all available time and space (Parkinson) and that workers within a bureaucracy rise to their level o f incompetence (Peter). While Parkinson and Peter write about observations for entertainment value, Weber’s position is that bureaucracy is a necessary structure in the public and private sectors o f modem societies and promotes transaction efficiency. 42 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1946; Cohen, 1968; Runciman, 1978; Luthans, 1995). U nlike M arx, who viewed bureaucracy as a tool for the elite to exploit the labor o f the working class, Weber claimed that bureaucracy is necessary in advanced societies in order to promote efficiency (Gerth A M ills, 1946, p. 196). Bradley Reiger (1995) wrote in Training ami Development that “ Weber based his bureaucratic models on the perceptions o f the formal aspects o f organizational life : precision, speed, continuity, unity o f command, and strict subordination” (p. 57). Numerous changes have taken place since Weber created his framework; but most, if not all, o f Weber’s original fourteen tenets are s till applicable to explain today’s organizations. O f Weber’s fourteen tenets, eight provide theoretical support fo r the use o f information management tools. The other tenets are relevant to organizations and indirectly are impacted by technology but do not add to the framework o f using HRInT tools. It must be noted that, while the remaining six tenets do not address directly HRInT tools, neither do they contradict their use. One o f Weber’s themes that is s till in the forefront o f today’ s organizations is the need fo r specialization. Weber reasoned that: “ The modem development o f fe ll bureaucratization brings the system o f rational, specialized, and expert examinations irresistibly to the fore” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 241). One can deduce that Weber’s focus was on then- existing professions, including, as examples, economics and accounting, the m ilitary, and education. The introduction o f and growing dependence on inform ation technology coupled w ith a renewed focus on economic efficiency or “ making the government more business-like” supports and expands Weber’ s view o f Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. specialization. Today, this specialization would include the popular professions o f systems engineers, network engineers and technicians, and personal computer experts. Clinton-era examples could be found in the actions o f the NPR movement The NPR set out to increase the efficiency o f the federal government by eliminating administrative and human resource officers, secretaries, and middle-level managers—positions believed to be occupied by generalists who were adding layers o f additional coordination and redundancy. The functions o f these former workers would be, according to publications o f the NPR, completed by the remaining workforce relying on information technology and associated specialists necessary to operate and maintain these new tools (Gore, 1993). A summary o f Weber’s work conveys a theoretical grounding to support the modem use o f HRInT tools and to connect the efficiency and democracy views o f Waldo and the decision-making views o f Simon. O f the original fourteen tenets or categories o f bureaucracy, the relevant ones are summarized below and are expanded to include the effects o f technology and growing technical specialization. Weber’s firs t tenet is labeled the Characteristics of Bureaucracy. Weber argues that “ there is the principle o f fixed and o fficia l jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules, that is, by laws o r administrative regulations’’ (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 196). Technology, overall, and HRInT tools, specifically, have expanded substantially the accessibility or reach o f an organization’s jurisdictional area and influenced people in it and others seeking entrance into it. From a HRInT tools perspective, an organization provides its mission, vision, values, and vacant 44 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. positions to anyone who logs onto the W orld Wide Web. Individuals can review these entries and apply for positions anytime day or night from any location that has a computer and a telephone connection. From a legislative view o f information technology jurisdictions or functions, the use o f technology created a need for several specific pieces o f legislation. This need culminated in the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the 19% Information Technology Management and Results Act (TTMRA), and the 1994 Government Management and Results A ct (GMRA). The new legislative mandates, in turn, brought about m ultiple changes in bureaucratic structures. These include the creation o f Chief Information O fficer (C IO ) positions, the requirement that federal organizations demonstrate savings associated with the use o f information technology tools, and the forced creation o f organizational strategic plans. An example o f changes brought about by the goal o f elim inating red tape and supported by the growing use o f technology is the elim ination o f the Federal Personnel Manual (FPM). The removal o f the central regulations or rules that governed manager and worker expectations within the federal public sector has led to individual organizations determining workforce practices instead o f government-wide processes. One quote from Weber’s first tenet is worthy o f repeating here. It captures the continuing quest to hire qualified persons to conduct the public’s business. Weber wrote that, in a bureaucracy, “ only persons who have the generally regulated qualifications to serve are employed” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 1%). Weber’s firs t tenet discussed o fficia l jurisdiction defined by rules and laws. The introduction o f technology has altered several practices, rules, 45 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and laws and has made information easily available yet has not dim inished the validity o f Weber’ s original intent Based on legislative, economic, and empirical changes brought about by the introduction o f technology, it can be argued that the importance o f understanding and adhering to this tenet is increasing. The second tenet o f Weber’s theory is Quantitative Development of Administrative Tasks. Weber claims that administrative needs o f the nation-state led to the creation o f bureaucracies as a means o f providing specialized services. Specifically, he argues that the “proper soil fo r the bureaucratization o f an administration has always been the specific developments o f administrative tasks” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 209). Today’s uses o f HRInT tools, and the support structure required to maintain those tools, provide ready examples o f specific development o f administrative tasks. Beginning w ith the legislatively-mandated C hief Information O fficer position down through the bureaucracy to the teams o f network, network server, workstation, and software engineers, the care and feeding o f today’s HRInT tools represents a modem example o f bureaucracy driven by the development o f tasks. Just as administrative needs led to the creation o f bureaucracies, administrative and growing technical needs have led to the creation o f technical mini-bureaucracies specializing in support fo r the information management tools in today’s organizations. The best example o f a necessary technical bureaucracy can be found in the structure required to create and maintain the Internet The Internet began in 1969 a s an experimental network by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) o f the 46 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. U.S. Department o f Defense (DARPA). The network (originally called ARPANET) was designed to facilitate rapid communications between scientists, universities, and government agencies. Stephen Segaller (1998) writes in Nerds, A Brief History o f the Internet that: A Pentagon program prompted by the Cold War rivalry has evolved into a communications medium that helps overthrow, or at least publicize the activities of, tyrants. Today’s tyrants are attempting to restrict or dominate computer networks, almost certainly in vain. (p. 22) Today, every federal organization has a home page on the Internet In 2000, the national government’s own 27 m illion Web pages became linked for navigation through a central Internet site: www.firstgov.gov. Government organizations, when operating in an unclassified environment, use this service to communicate w ith field units, order supplies from vendors, receive tasking from citizens and other organizations, and connect their workforces to internal and external resources. To keep these systems functioning, organizations have C hief Information O fficers, various managers responsible fo r local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (W AN s), Server Administration Teams, and individual workstation support personnel. Collectively, these groups represent a substantial and increasingly im portant self-contained specialized bureaucracy and a modern-day example o f Weber’ s quantitative bureaucratic development o f tasks. The Internet or W orld Wide Web is one representation o f the interdependence o f technology and bureaucracies. Teich (1997) writes that the Web “ is an apt metaphor fo r the pervasiveness and interconnectedness o f technology and human life ” and adds: “ We exist in a web o f 47 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. technology—a set o f tools, machines, and human infrastructure based to a large extent on the products o f scientific research” (p. v). Teich highlights the growing interdependencies o f organizations, individuals, and technology and reinforces Weber’s original concept that bureaucracy was developed as a tool to be used to discharge the needs o f citizens. The third o f Weber’s tenets is titled Qualitative Changes in Administrative Tasks. Weber observes that bureaucracies are influenced by the administrative tasks undertaken w ithin the organization. He claims that the practices and repetitive routines required to administer the state’s business influence the structure o f bureaucracies and that this bureaucratic bias extends or spills over in society. In practice, technology—including personal computers, the Internet, databases, kiosks, and interactive software—has brought about qualitative or defining changes in organizations and in society. The Clinton White House and Congress reacted to society’s growing us e o f computers and networks by creating White House and Congressional home pages, creating legislation that added technology-focused positions to organizations, and by supporting electronic commerce. In addition, federal downsizing, advances in technology, and the creation o f legislation, coupled with the need to compete w ith the private sector fo r specialized skills in a robust economy, caused federal workers to alter how they performed work. One example is the proliferation o f Internet-based employment sites containing listings o f vacant positions. In the past, employment agencies were specialized, expensive, selective, and not available to the m ajority o f workers. In 48 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. recent years, the explosive growth o f private- and public-sector Web sites and automated position listings has changed how organizations look fo r workers and how people look fo r jobs. In addition, policymakers are using technical advances a s justification fo r further labor reductions in the federal workforce. This trend may be the beginning o f a lengthy change process. In a fa l 1 2000 speech at the Washington Center o f the University o f Southern C alifornia, Paul Light stated that he expected the size o f the federal government to continue to decrease and become more specialized as additional tasks were contracted to private industry (Light, 2000). Technical Advantages of Bureaucratic Organizations is Weber’s fourth tenet He argues that “ the decisive reason fo r the advance o f bureaucratic organization has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form o f organization” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 214). Weber added that the consistency o f administration tasks combined w ith the regimentation o f routines provided the most efficient means o f conducting the public’s business and that “ the fo lly developed bureaucratic mechanism compares w ith other organizations exactly as does the machine w ith the non-mechanical modes o f production” (p. 214). In this tenet, Weber conveyed his views on the efficiencies o f organizations brought about by consistency o f tasks. He addressed both the work o f the individual and the collective work o f all individuals involved w ith completing transactions. I f one concludes that Weber has addressed the individual in previous tenets, then this tenet is focused prim arily on the interactions or transactions between bureaucracies. W ith this backdrop, it can be deduced that Weber described what today’s economists label 49 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. transaction costs or the cost o f transacting the public’s requests. Evidence can be found in several economic textbooks to support this position. For example, in discussing Coase’s theorem o f minimizing transaction costs, North (1990) writes that the “ efficient solution that produced the highest aggregate income would prevail” (p. 93).1 6 Weber’s tenet o f consistent tasks and regimented routines or repeatable procedures reinforces N orth’s view o f the most efficient solution and describes an environment that is well-suited for the implementation o f information technology. Computers and networks are designed to perform repetitive tasks, including: creating and completing forms, storing and retrieving inform ation, producing consistent results, and providing a high degree o f repeatability in completing tasks and moving work between individuals. Completing these repetitive functions quickly became the domain o f the original computers us ed in support-type functions. The NPR goal o f making government more efficient by the use o f more technology (Gore, 1993) could be interpreted as the C linton administration’s desire to m inimize transaction costs (North), perform the core functions o f government (W aldo), create repeatable processes (Weber), and extend the u s e o f computers into analytic-type functions previously reserved fo r human decision-makers. In this respect, North, Waldo, Weber and Herbert Simon share Gore’s world view . Simon (1997) claims that organizations have used the computer to automate outdated processes—arguing that 1 6 Additional information on Ronald Coase’s theory o f transaction costs is presented later in this section, following die summary o f Herbert Simon’s views relevant to the use of information technology. Not all economists agree with Coase’s original intent concerning the ownership of property rights; however, there is agreement on the view that economic models of efficiency strive to reduce or eliminate transaction costs. 50 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. people have done little more than make the typewriter and the adding machine function faster—but Simon contends that computers can do more to support administrative functions. He points out that a computer is a “ giant brain capable o f thinking, problem solving, and, yes, making decisions” (p. 22). Weber’s fifth tenet advocates the Concentration of the Means of Administration. Weber advocates bureaucracy as the solution o f choice for organizational hierarchy. He adds that armies conducting warfare are models o f highly-refined and practiced bureaucracies. Weber reports that “ the bureaucratization o f administration goes hand in hand w ith the concentration o f the means o f organization” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 223). Less than 1 0 0 years later, automated inform ation technology tools have changed how the information needed w ithin an organization is stored, retrieved, and analyzed. Central databases, data warehouses, on-line vacancy notice systems, and a m ultitude o f other applications, which use technology to record and catalog information, provide examples o f how HRInT tools concentrate the means o f organizing data in support o f the hiring process. Once an applicant submits her or his resume to an organization, the resume is stored fo r several months in a central database. When a position vacancy occurs, the database is searched to determine whether any o f the stored applicants have the necessary skills to f ill the position. This ready source o f potential candidates reduces the tim e necessary to hire new workers and offers a lis t o f interested or formerly interested candidates. New terms have entered the daily business vocabulary, including OLAP (on-line analysis program) and HOLAP (hybrid on-line analysis 51 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. program). These terms are now a part o f everyday professional vocabulary a s tools used to search and quantify information or, fo r example, to rank the relative competitiveness o f applicants. From the applicant’s perspective, the use o f kiosks, interactive voice response systems (IVRS), Internet, and Email a ll are examples o f m ultiple entry points that lead to a single decision point—the hiring process within an organization. In the Leveling o f Social Differences tenet, Weber explains that bureaucracy plays a critical part in providing consistent services, regardless o f location or social status, and offers equal rights and opportunities to people. Weber writes: The political concept o f democracy, deduced from the equal rights o f the governed, includes these postulates: (1) prevention o f the development o f a closed status group o f officials in the interest o f a universal accessibility o f office, and (2) m inimization o f the authority o f officialdom in the interest o f expanding the sphere o f influence o f public opinion as far as practicable. (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 226) In this aspect, HRInT tools offer equal employment opportunities to those who have the prerequisite skills and access to the appropriate tools. The use o f technology may discriminate against those individuals who are not technically competent or who do not have ready access to the appropriate tools, although this group o f individuals is declining in size. The goal o f universal accessibility is underway w ith public libraries, universities, grocery stores, and some coffee shops offering free or nearly free acce ss to the Internet There are competing views on the impacts o f HRInT tools on technically incompetent or untrained individuals. One view is that the federal government 52 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. should hire individuals who possess the necessary technical skills and access to take advantage o f available technology. The competing view argues that the government should be representative o f the governed and, as such, the government must help non-technical individuals and others with lim ited access compete for and f ill government positions. In light o f Weber's advocacy o f social leveling, the lack o f universal and free or affordable-by-everyone connectivity is a relevant problem. The Clinton administration's focus on removing people from the roles o f welfare recipients by moving them into the ranks o f the employed arguably was an attempt at encouraging widespread connectedness through training. In addition, community colleges, YMCAs, public libraries, and other providers offer classes on how to use and provide access to tire Internet The tenet Economic and Social Consequences of Bureaucracy, affects social and economic actions. Weber observes that bureaucracies have far-reaching effects on social and economic developments w ithin societies (Gerth & M ills , 1946, p. 230). However, he is not convinced that a direct correlation exists between bureaucracy and economic and social benefits. Weber claims: The mere fact o f bureaucratic organization does not unambiguously te ll us about the concrete direction o f its economic effects, which are always in some manner present A t least it does not te ll us as much as can be told about its relatively leveling effect socially. In this respect one has to remember that bureaucracy as such is a precision instrument which can put its e lf at the disposal o f quite varied—purely p o litica l as well as purely economic, or any other sort—interests in domination. (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 231) 5 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The economic and social consequences o f the introduction and use o f information technology tools in bureaucracies as w ell as in society overall is substantial. Technology has played a leading role by enabling bureaucracies to tackle increasing workloads without commensurate resources. It has lead to the creation o f new professions and social hierarchies where computer scientists and network technicians replace the mechanical engineers and lab technicians o f the past The United States is regaining its economic dominance on the w orld stage by exporting software and network solutions to other countries. HRInT tools are providing increased amounts o f consistent inform ation to more individuals in less time. In practice, in an analytic-type function, the tools are screening applicants and creating a prioritized listin g o f all qualified applications. The use o f automated technology, low unemployment, improved hiring methods, and the re-emerging economic dominance in the global economy suggest that American society is capitalizing on the benefits o f implementing bureaucracy. In the denotative sense o f Weber, American society is capitalizing more efficiently than the other economic actors w hile escaping the connotative aspects o f bureaucracy. The next tenet is Stages in the Development of Bureaucracy. In this category, Weber describes the specialized knowledge o f bureaucrats as the basis for developing and increasing the efficiency o f organizations. He writes: “ An early concern o f the ruler was how to exploit the special knowledge o f experts” (Gerth & M ills, 1946, p. 235). In today’s administration o f the federal government, political acumen is expert knowledge sought in selecting department- o r agency-level senior 54 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. officials. From the director to the under-secretary levels o f a department or agency, expert knowledge includes political loyalties. Below the under secretary level, advances in technology are causing larger amounts o f data to become available to more individuals in less time at more levels o f the hierarchy. More inform ation to a greater number o f people expands the number o f informed individuals in the organization. The advent o f instant inform ation or a ready source fo r answers may eventually replace expert knowledge gained over time as the preferred basis for decisions and hiring criteria. This view supports earlier statements o f today’s decision-makers attempting to move towards more objective and less subjective conclusions. The use o f HRInT tools, fo r example, is replacing downsized HRM workers and providing data to assist HR managers, support strategic workforce planning, and serve as management consultants providing human resources-centric advice and counsel rather than in their traditional role o f administrative support officer. In summary, Weber’s theory o f bureaucracy, as grounded in and described by the above eight tenets, was designed to ensure consistency and efficiency through clearly structured approaches. Technology facilitates faster communications o f new ideas and solutions to more people, while supporting repeatability in routine functions. The benefits o f technology and the associated specialists required to support and to maintain the systems lead to instant information and rule-based decision-making. In addition to rule-based decision support, researchers, including Leblebici, Salancik, Copay, and King, argue that technology is often the source o f 55 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. innovation, provides the means fo r variation, and can provide “new possibilities fo r solving problems” (1991, pp. 334-336). In contrast to the effects o f technology, these researchers note that, in the past, institutional managers affected organizations through regulation instead o f innovation. Leblebici, Salancik, Copay, and King support Warren Bennis’ view that technology is one o f the driving forces in advancing bureaucracies (Bennis, 1992, p. 5). The use o f technology focuses on providing consistency o f repetitive tasks, while allowing workers to focus on other functions. After extending eight o f Weber’s original fourteen tenets o f bureaucracy to include examples o f today’s effects o f information technology, one can conclude that the practice o f using technology in a support-type role, and more recently in an analytic-type role, can be supported by Weber’s original theory o f bureaucratic efficiency. Herbert Simon’s Theory of Bounded Rationality Waldo’s premise that democracy requires representation and Weber’s quest fo r efficiency w ithin bureaucratic structures provide two views on government and its organizations. Herbert Simon, fo r more than fifty years, offered a model o f decision-making that proffers another view into organizations. I f one uses Simon’s conclusions on decision-making, Waldo’s views o f democracy, and Weber’s views on efficiency, one can bound the central research question—do u s e s o f HRInT tools in federal organizations improve their HRM productivity—and subsequent research findings from these three distinct lenses. In the fourth edition o f his 1947 book, 56 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon provides several references to the use o f computers and the effects o f technology on the workers, the workplace, and the work itself. Describing how an organization works and how it looks is the basic axiom behind Simon’s view that organizations are behaviorally-based. Simon argues that, since organizations are made up o f people, organizational actions are lim ited by the collective lim itations o f human beings. He adds that any decision reached w ithin an organization is the result o f several compromises; and, while a decision may not be the best possible, it probably is the best available at the given point in time (Simon, 1997, p. 5). Simon cautions against jum ping to conclusions on theories o f public administration and adds: “ Before we can establish any immutable principles o f administration, we must be able to describe, in words, exactly how an administrative organization looks and exactly how it works” (p. xi). He advocates an organization- centric view o f existing practices and discounts the premise that people can create an overarching theory o f administration that, once implemented, w ill work for all organizations in a ll situations. I f Simon’s view is accepted— that principles are behavioral and organization-dependent—then, by extension, one may expect to find organizations using unique approaches to hiring their workforces. Research, to date, has discovered several instances o f customization o f standard commercial products to fit unique organizational hiring needs. Product vendors proffer a homogenized or one-size-fits-all approach to solve federal hiring issues, to represent organizations to applicants, and to make first order determinations on qualifications. In practice, 57 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. however, it is not reasonable to conclude that every federal organization has the same need at the same point in tim e. The overall trend can be summarized as the use o f technology to replace human labor and to render the final decision-maker w ith coalescent information on a pre-qualified lis t o f applicants to save time and to improve the chances o f hiring the best available candidates. Simon’s work in understanding how organizations function and, particularly, on a rtificia l intelligence is much broader than the implementation o f HRInT tools; however, his views on the growing use o f technology to make decisions can serve as another perspective from which to understand the use o f HRInT tools in org an izations. I f one accepts Simon’ s view, that principles are organization-dependent, then it is necessary to investigate factors that may lead to a one-size-fits-all approach rather than differentiated practices. Although prelim inary, the three factors o f increasing reliance on technology, reducing the number o f government employees, and elim inating established policies or red tape appear to be driving forces fo r federal organizations to us e standardized methods that may not provide optimal processes for effectiveness in productivity. In itia lly, according to Ray Sumser from NAPA, organizations use HRInT tools recommended by colleagues in the hopes that the tools w ill work in their particular situations and quickly resolve their unique issues. One reason for the one-size-fits-all approach is that nearly a ll HRM offices have been or are being downsized and, thus, are forced to rely more on commercially available technology. HRM officers endeavor to imitate the successes o f other organizations to gain some re lie f from growing workloads. The ongoing information explosion 58 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. may be another factor leading to the drive to homogenize or standardize organizational practices. Simon (1997) notes that the “ information revolution has m ultiplied the amount o f inform ation that a single person can scatter around an organization, or around the w orld” (p. 23). He then adds that, unfortunately, the time available to understand this expanded amount o f inform ation has not increased but has decreased as individuals are expected to take on additional tasks (p. 23). In addition to focusing on the organization and how it functions, Simon believes that human beings are lim ited in their cognitive abilities or that they can only process a lim ited amount o f the available inform ation that could influence any decision. Simon’s bounded rationality concept is another reference point that supports the use o f technology in support-type functions as well as analytical-type functions. I f human beings cannot comprehend a ll the possible influences on any decision, then, logically, they should be able to make better decisions by lim itin g the influences to be considered in making decisions or, in this case, hiring decisions. In itia l research on how organizations are using these tools has shown some indication that the tools are used to lim it o r bound decision possibilities when selecting future employees. As reported by industry consultant Kathryn Troutman in an Email on February 18,2000, one example o f the customized implementation o f HRInT tools is a recent change in the hiring process fo r one o f the U.S. Navy’ s regions. In early 2000, the naval civilian employment office entered every position into a central database, and every position was listed as available w ith no closing date. Under this 59 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. system, candidates and current employees are instructed to submit resumes; and, whenever a position becomes vacant, the software compares resumes to locate the most qualified individuals. A lis t is generated and forwarded to the hiring manager for review. The underlying reason fo r this approach is the need to reduce the time required to f ill vacant positions. From the organization’s perspective, the time lag between advertising a vacancy and fillin g the position has been substantially reduced or even eliminated. From the line manager’s position, a current employee may, fo r example, be the best qualified for a position. This current employee can be selected to fill the open position w ith little input from the employee’s existing supervisor or regard for the possible void caused i f the employee leaves his or her current position. From the current workers’ or applicants’ perspective, career development and career planning w ill become more d ifficu lt and further outside their control. Yet, one can envision additional opportunities for trained or experienced workers and applicants under this new approach. In short, workers and applicants alike w ill need to increase their efforts to keep their skills current and remain cognizant o f open positions. An HRM officer involved with the Navy’ s change noted that several issues remain to be resolved with this implementation but acknowledged that the approach is designed to address the tim e delay in fillin g positions in support o f the mission. This is another illustration o f the implementation o f HRInT tools in the hiring process tailored for specific needs and, along with the Navy’s implementation strategy, serves as an additional instance o f an organization relying on customized automation to lessen staffing problems. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Navy’s HRM case is an example o f an effort to cope w ith bounded rationality and supports Simon’s view that computers can be used to do more than automate typewriters and adding machines. Given the possibilities that could be considered when fillin g positions, the Navy’ s HRM office decided to focus on reducing cycle tim e in fillin g positions and address other variables as they arise. This decision is not focused on individual career management or, where available qualified applicants do not exist, potential impacts on other line organizations that lose existing employees to f ill higher priority vacancies. This is an example o f an organ ization coping w ith bounded rationality in practice. While designed to f ill vacant positions quickly and to support a core mission, this approach focuses more on mission and less on individual career planning. Ronald Coase’ s Theory of Transaction Costs Another lens from which to view practices o f hiring workers is to describe hiring actions as transactions and investigate the costs o f the transactions from an economic perspective. In this regard, Ronald Coase’ s theory on transaction costs provides a basis for further exploration. Coase (1988) argues that private markets w ill seek improved efficiency by decreasing transaction costs. He adds that transaction efficiency is reached when zero or near-zero transaction costs are achieved in an economic transaction (p. 15). Coase’s theory was first published in an economic journal in 1937 and gained popularity in 1960 when it was published a second time in a University o f Chicago research journal. More recently, Thomas Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Petzinger wrote about the Coase theorem and its continued relevancy to E-commerce in the Wall Street Journal. The article titled, “ Industry & Economics—Talking About Tomorrow; Ronald Coase: The Nobel Prize winner was a pioneer in the study o f how firm s do business; E-commerce has brought him back in vogue,” contained excerpts from an interview Petzinger had conducted Coase. The conversation focused on changes to transactions brought about by improved communications and associated technologies and bureaucracies. The issue o f property rights or who owns the right to the goods or services in the transaction was not addressed in this interview, although it ha s been addressed in Coase’s other w ritings. In this interview, Coase claims that both transaction costs and the costs o f organizing bureaucracies are decreasing. Relevant exerts o f the interview follow . [Petzinger o f the Wall Street Journal] In the corporate world, the biggest are certainly getting bigger. But, at the same time, outsourcing and small business are proliferating. How can both trends be occurring at once? Ronald Coase: They are actually consistent w ith one another. A t the moment, with the development o f new means o f communication, it is possible for people to get inform ation much more easily. It is much easier, therefore, for people to contract out and obtain supplies from other firms, which suggests that firm s are going to get smaller. On the other hand, one o f the things that lim ited a firm 's growth in the past was doing many things fo r which it was ill-equipped. Now, by contracting out, it can expand its core business without taking on additional tasks related to the expansion. So, the ea s e o f contracting out tends to make it possible to have many small businesses. And the existence o f the many small businesses enables some firm s to get bigger. Petzinger So, as individual companies become less diverse w ithin, the overall economy becomes more diverse throughout? Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Coase: That is rig h t The existence o f many firm s makes for greater specialization, but also fo r greater size in the specialists. Petzinger You once wrote: “ In the absence o f transaction costs, there is no economic basis fo r the existence o f the firm .” That would suggest that, with the reduction in transaction costs, we are going to become an economy o f individual entrepreneurs. Coase: I f transaction costs were the only factor, then we would. But the fact o f the matter is the cost o f organizing is decreasing, too. The question is whether the costs o f transacting decreases a s fast as the costs o f organizing. M y guess is that sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't (Thomas Petzinger, Jr., December 31, 1999, p. R36) Coase im plies that transaction costs are only a part o f the equation surrounding organizational efficiency. The Clinton administration’s efforts to improve government by making it more business-like can be described a s a focus on reducing transaction costs to increase efficiency. As stated earlier, reducing the time it takes to hire an applicant without dim inishing the acceptable level o f combined skills, education, and experiences was one o f the NPR goals. W hile the focus on the use o f HRInT tools is on increased efficiency (i.e., reducing cycle tim e to hire new applicants), the outcome can be viewed as the reduction o f transaction costs by increased efficiency and the elimination o f red tape. One topic not addressed is decision-making authority. In the HRM arena, decision space can be described as 63 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. authority to hire an applicant1 7 In today? s organisation.^ this authority continues to rest w ith the hiring official, but the lis t o f candidates from which to chose may be the result o f standardized routines contained in automated tools. This is indicative o f the growing use o f HRInT tools to perform analytical-type functions form erly performed by human beings. I f trends in other industries are any indication o f trends in HRM, the use o f HRInT tools w ill continue to increase as more uses are discovered. Robert W right (1997) states that “computers, rather than out-and-out stealing their victim ’s job, just nibble around the ed ge s” (p. 68) until they replace the human being performing the task. W right and other researchers refer to technology replacing people in completing repetitive tasks. He adds that, while directory-assistance operators have not been replaced yet, they now are supported by automated tools to quickly locate the requested listing. Bank tellers are losing their jobs to the 24-hour-a-day convenience o f automated teller machines (ATM ) (p. 68). Wright concludes that, in l7The Coase theorem does not have universal acceptance with economists due to a disagreement over the ownership o f property rights involved in a transaction. In a recent article, Deirdre McCloskey writes: One cannot in general efficiently internalize an externality by taxing/ subsidizing whoever is generating the negative/positive externalities, because (in light of transactions costs) this would generally not result in the right to the resource affected going to the person who values it the most. To illustrate McCIoskey’ s argument, we can use an example o f corporations that pollute the air and people with respiratory illness. If the government levies fines and other penalties on corporations that pollute the air, the outcome is that corporations pay to pollute the air or, stated differently, that corporations pay for the right to pollute. Those individuals who value clean air the most— human beings, especially those with respiratory illnesses— do not directly receive the benefits of the government’s actions but suffer the consequences of the polluted air. Coase argues property rights ownership matters, while a number o f other economists do not include the ownership issue in discussions o f the Coase theorem. For more information, see two o f Deidre McCIoskey’s writings: (1985). The applied theory o f price (2nd ed.). New York: MacMillan, and Co.; and (1993, spring). The lawyerly rhetoric of Coase's the nature of the firm. Journal o f Corporate Law. 64 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the race w ith technology, human beings either acquire more skills (and usually income) by mastering additional technical tools, or they move further down the scale to more menial jobs (and less income). W right supports the view that technology does increase efficiency in repetitive tasks and that this trend w ill continue. He adds that, w ithout continued emphasis on specialization as noted by Max Weber, workers w ill lose more jobs to automation. Under the Clinton administration’s National Partnership for Reinventing Government, administrative transactions were viewed in the context o f the private sector. Making government more business-like was defined as using an economics- based model to determine the efficiency o f government operations. In addition, the rapid evolutionary growth o f automation was to replace workers doing repetitive tasks. Reductions in the number o f HRM officers, arguably, has decreased transaction costs by elim inating salaries and the need for associated support, but the effects on productivity remain to be determined. What is not advertised or completely known is the actual long-term effects on the remaining federal workers. This is an area for future longitudinal studies to capture the results o f the rapid downsizing efforts. The costs o f procuring, operating, maintaining, and replacing automated tools have not been included in the perception o f saving money, only the reduction in compensation to downsized former federal workers. W hile each worker requires a desk space or office, personal computer, telephone, supervision, administrative support and compensation, the costs o f new automated tools are not inexpensive. An 65 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. investigation into the analysis o f these costs is outside the scope o f this project, although total costs are included in the annual reporting requirements for the Government Performance and Results A ct (GPRA) and can be found in federal government outsourcing studies as defined in OMB circular A-76. Summary of Theoretical Research Findings To understand an issue, it is necessary first to understand frames o f references for thinking about the issue, deciding what is to be included, and which comparisons are relevant (K irlin , 1998). One may begin w ith Waldo’s views o f democracy— equality and representation—which provide theory behind the practice and policies o f striving to create a c iv il service that equitably represents different groups in society. The goal o f Waldo’s world view is fo r the government to be perceived by the governed as having no barriers to entry, as opposed to a negative view o f exclusivity reserved fo r individuals selected without m erit N ext Weber’s conclusions on the efficiency o f bureaucratic organizations, repetitive processes, and objectivity lend credibility to the use o f automated information processing tools in conducting the people’s business. Automation performs repetitive tasks well and is beginning to be used in decision support or analytic-type roles. Herbert Simon’s inferences on the psychology o f organization and the cognitive lim itations o f human decision-making processes add to the rationale and justification fo r using technology to assist human labor and judgment Ronald Coase’s work on seeking efficiency by reducing or elim inating transaction costs provides another view to the benefits o f 66 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. using HRInT tools in the hiring process. These theoretical views are used in this research as the foundation fo r investigating the driving themes and supporting or challenging the four propositions o f this study. M oving from the public policy arena to the economic arena, Coase’s theory on transaction costs appears to support the practice o f reducing the number o f people employed in the HRM profession i f such staff cuts lower the transaction costs without a resulting dim inution in the overall efficiency in workforce staffing. The assumption inherent in this reasoning is that the w ork now must be completed by automated tools, or the results o f the work h a s been diminished by the loss o f the workers. Using the Coase analogy, in the example o f using automated tools, first- order decisions are being transferred from human beings to computers. It is not clear at this time i f this outcome is collateral to the goal o f decreasing cycle time and increasing efficiency or i f this outcome is part o f increasing efficiency. Initial data collection indicates that the use o f automated inform ation tools in the hiring process provides additional avenues for applicants, assists hiring authorities by providing consistent data on candidates, and supports the HRM process by automating manual tasks. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER in THE CHANGING HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM) ENVIRONMENT To understand the effects o f HRInT tools on federal HRM processes a s discussed in this research, one must begin by describing the four research propositions identified in Chapter 1 . These propositions address how applicants apply for federal jobs, effects o f changes in departments' and agencies' HRM staffing levels, how organizations hire applicants, and perceptions o f the fairness o f the new approaches. For completeness, the baseline understanding must include expectations o f applicants in today’s job market, evolving functions o f HRM professionals to consultant roles and reduced administrative roles, and the legislated mandate to measure and improve performance. As noted earlier, leaders o f federal organizations are turning to HRM specialists to create and implement hiring plans, perform cost/benefit analysis to support outsourcing or downsizing decisions, and to create strategic workforce plans. Published inform ation describes the com petitive market fo r skilled workers, the growing awareness o f shortcomings in federal hiring practices, the impending, potentially large, exodus o f retirement age baby-boom workers, and how automation is replacing workers. Data that addresses the four research propositions in a systemic 68 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. manner has not been found and appears unlikely to be forthcoming in the near future. For example, federal organizations are focusing on automation and the Internet to shorten the time to hire and to increase objectivity, while searching fo r specific skills to solve today’s workforce problems.1 * In the results-oriented Clinton-era, organizations were focused on improving their annual Congressional report card and customer satisfaction scores. These near-term fo ci would lead one to conclude that long-term goals were secondary to short-term results. The near-term focus on current staffing to address short-term problems instead o f staffing for long-term success puts the federal government in a position o f concentrating on today at the expense o f preparing for tomorrow. This trend can be compared to the private sector’s quarterly p ro fita b ility focus and is beginning to enter public discourse. Derek Bok, President Emeritus o f Harvard University and Chairman o f Common Cause, recently claimed that the growing trend o f focusing on current issues at the expense o f long-term planning is becoming more commonplace. Bok (2000) argues that the emerging preoccupation w ith short-term trends results in a neglect o f such fundamental needs as civics understanding. Bok cited “ a recent government survey on young peoples’ levels o f civic understanding and awareness that showed civic education, which once was the central purpose o f education, has been totally eclipsed” (p. 7). Bok’s remarks suggest that, as a society, America is ‘*Research for this study indicated that increased objectivity was one of the goals o f using HRInT tools. This goal could be misplaced. A discussion o f objectivity and consistent subjectivity or repetition is presented in Chapter S. 69 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. shifting away from a community-centered foundation to a focus on resolving specific technical problems. The underlying reasons were not given, hut one can conclude that several factors are converging to foster this tread. These factors include: • Accelerating pace o f change and pressure from stakeholders (either elected officials or corporate boards o f directors) to achieve today’s expected level o f results, leaving less time and possibly less interest in and rewards for preparing for an uncertain future. • Growing manufacturing and use o f sim ilar technologies in global competition is de-emphasizing individual countries or nations and minim izing the importance o f individual differences in the job m arket The manufacturing o f computer components is an example o f global suppliers working in networked production and o f an increase in collaboration between m ulti-national corporations in the United States and other countries. This globalization leads to intermixing o f cultures and condenses individual corporate foci. Computer scientists and electrical engineers from India, Russia, China, and the U.S. can be hired to design the next generation o f hand-held computers, with each learning from the work o f the others and adding their education and experience to the final product without regard to nationality. • W orkforce downsizing reduces or eliminates previous surge capabilities that could complete tasks in support o f unscheduled critical workload requirements. W ith workforces downsized to critical proportions, fo r Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. example, it is d ifficu lt for government agencies to support prolonged U.S. m ilitary deployments in regional conflicts or for private sector firm s to complete proposals during working hours instead o f working nights and weekends. Downsizing, rightsizing, outsourcing, adjustment-in-force and other terms are people-friendly euphemisms for workers being disconnected from current employers. The reductions leave enough or nearly enough workers to complete planned tasks w ith little time to think about less immediate concerns. One could conclude that reductions in the numbers o f workers leave less time to focus on the future as demands to complete today’s work are spread over fewer workers. • M obility o f the global workforce is leading to mixed allegiances and cultures. The proliferation o f the Internet allows workers in India, Malaysia, Russia, and the United States to write software and electronically send the results to the next worker in the same 24-hour day. Corporations are taking advantage o f differing time zones, practices, customs, and work ethics to maximize the work that can be accomplished in any 24-hour period. One could add the declining number o f American-born workers to follow the baby boomers as an important factor. Sim ilar factors—albeit on a more localized Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. scale—can be seen in the hiring actions o f today’s federal organizations a s conveyed in the follow ing example.1 9 A September 9,2000, review o f the vacant positions advertised from m ultiple federal organizations on the OPM Web site (USAjobs.opm.gov), the Department o f Commerce’s Web site (www.jobs.doc.gov), and those listed on the jo in t public- private NPR Web site (PIanetGov.gov) found that all advertised positions were focused on specific technical skills to meet today’s needs. Entry-level professional positions were absent from the lis t o f offerings. Further research determined that, according to OPM, 343 Presidential Management Interns (PM I) were hired in Fiscal Year 1998. In comparison to previous years, this number is increasing however in comparison to the total number o f workers hired remains small. S ee Table 1 for a year-by-year listing o f workers hired under the PMI program compared to those workers hired overall.2 0 As stated earlier, PMI and other entry-level professional programs exist and are being used but are not openly advertised on the OPM Web site. As listed in Table 1, these entry-level management positions comprise a small fraction o f the total number o f workers hired each year. This review o f advertised l9It is difficult for federal workers to embrace public service when they are being downsized—a euphemistic phrase for no longer being employed—out o f their jobs. 2 0 The Presidential Management Intern (PMI) program hires first-time federal workers from colleges and universities. Other programs exist where students can enter the workforce in general administration, engineering, architectural, science, and other disciplines. For example, for Fiscal Year 1998, a total o f 8,289 students entered the federal workforce through these programs. This total number of new hires represents 3.41 percent of the total number of federal workers hired in Fiscal Year 1998. In addition to full-time student hires, the federal government administers a student temporary employment program. For Fiscal Year 1998,36,364 students worked temporarily for the federal government in various summer or between-semester functions. (Data from OPM Central Personnel Data File for Fiscal Year 1998.) 72 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE I COMPARISON OF EMPLOYEES H IR E D BY YEAR UNDER THE P M I PROGRAM AS A PERCENTAGE OF O VERALL NEW HIRES Government Fiscal Year P M I Hires T otal New Hires PM I Percentage o f A ll New Hires by Fiscal Year 1983 1 5 8 423.123 0.0373% 1984 1 6 3 427.349 0.0381% 1985 16 4 451.516 0.0363% 1986 178 379.267 0.0469% 1987 200 431.687 0.0463% 1988 19 7 375.561 0.0525% 1989 201 435.911 0.0461% 1990 253 716.066 0.0353% 1 9 9 1 247 351.112 0.0703% 1992 229 290.883 0.0787% 1993 180 253.324 0.0710% 1994 12 5 219.026 0.0571% 1995 15 2 222.025 0.0685% 1996 114 199.463 0.0572% 1997 339 209.725 0.1616% .1998 3 4 3 . , .2421532 0.1414% Source: O ffice o f Personnel Management, Philadelphia Service Center, PMI Program Data as o f March 31, 1999. vacancies supports the earlier claim that federal departments and agencies, not unlike dot-com corporations, are concerned about resolving today’s unique issues and are less interested in developing a workforce to resolve larger, systemic, government- wide issues.2 ' 2 1 It can be argued that GPRA, GMRA, ITMRA, and other results-based legislation is changing the focus of organizations from growing tomorrow’s leaders to identifying and recruiting today’s problem solvers. Professor Joe Wbotey of the University of Southern California states that measuring the actual impacts of the recent bottom-line or results-based legislation is difficult, if not impossible, under today’s guidelines. 73 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Research Propositions: Four Interdependent Views of the Changes in Human Resources Management The literature review conducted in support o f this research on the use o f inform ation technology tools in the hiring process relied on four propositions to gather and frame relevant inform ation. The four propositions—effects on applicants, changes to HRM practices, impacts on the federal organization, and perceived fairness—were introduced in Chapter 1 and reviewed in the following section. Each proposition was selected to capture an area o f change associated with using HRInT tools. Identification o f these areas resulted from conducting a literature review and interviews with current federal HRM officers and experts at NAPA’s Center for Human Resources Management As numerous sources have conveyed (MSPB, 1997; GAO, 1998,1999; McGrath, 1999), repetitive, standardized and objective are attributes used to describe the reason for increased use o f HRInT tools. The sections below discuss each o f the four propositions in further detail. Research Proposition One: Changing Opportunities and Effects on Applicants The argument can be made that increasing reliance on HRInT tools to rate and rank applicants instead o f the traditional human-being-based approach disadvantages some applicants. Those applicants who lack access to personal computers or others who are not technically comfortable cannot readily take equal advantage o f these additional automated avenues. Using the conventional paper method, an applicant must w ait while their printed resumes are mailed, received, 74 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. routed, manually scanned, keyword-searched, and entered into a database in order to compete w ith applicants using Email o r the Internet It is noted that the use o f hard copy applications versus soft-copy applications sent using Email o r the Internet might be viewed as an indication o f an applicant’s technical qualifications. I f receiving organizations generalize that applicants using hard copy are not trained or experienced in using soft-copy methods, one could deduct that applicants using hard copy responses may be viewed as less desirable. It is not known i f a bias exists between applicants who apply using soft-copy and those using hard-copy methods. Interview results and survey responses discussed in Chapter 4 further develop this question, although the findings are neither conclusive nor universal. Competing views surround the supposition that increasing reliance on technology disadvantages some applicants. One view, supported by Waldo and Weber, asserts that a position should be fille d w ith the most qualified person or, a s Waldo (1992) writes, the “ democratic objective o f a career open to the talents” (p. 88). The view concludes that those most competent to apply— in this case, the most technologically savvy—should be considered, and others need not apply. A different view, held by officials from NAPA, argues that government’s focus should be on universal access and training fo r all citizens. O fficials at NAPA view universal training as a means to equalize opportunities for a ll persons who may become potential applicants for federal positions (Sumser, 1999; McGrath, 1999). To state the argument differently, the use o f HRInT tools to gain access to listings o f vacant positions and to submit an application fo r employment demonstrates current 75 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. basic technical skills.2 2 Those applicants who possess technical d u lls but choose to submit their applications using hard copy resumes could be viewed as less competent Universal access is sighted as a method to raise the standards and possibilities for all applicants regardless o f economic status. Thus, technology, i f evenly applied, could assist each applicant and allow hiring officials to advertise and f ill a position in less time. I f all applicants submitted their applications using soft-copy methods, vacancy announcement periods could conceivably be shortened, and rated and ranked applicant lists could be created as applications are received. Applicants could b e interviewed in less tim e than is needed today, and positions could be fille d faster than today’s approach. Information collected from NAPA and HRM officers indicates that the us e o f consistently formatted resume printouts and responses to specific position-related questions posed in on-line applications o r from interactive voice response systems provides data on a candidate’s skills in a consistent form at In addition, the non personal method does not introduce additional bias in the selection process (Personal Interview, Ray Sumser, NAPA, March 31,2000, Washington, DC). Consistency o f data on a computer printout includes the format o f the printed output—allowing 2 2 The lack o f ready access to or familiarity with today’s computers could be indicative of an individual’ s economic situation. A person without the financial means to purchase a home computer or ready access to a computer at a public library may be disadvantaged in the automated process. The discussion of technical “haves” and “have-nots” has been recognized by several researchers. For example, John Kenneth Galbraith (1996) wrote in The Good Society. “We will collectively be truly civilized when those who have help those who do not” (p. 130). 76 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. hiring officials to quickly find answers to specific questions on the sam e location in each candidate’s summary page—consistent type font, and consistent choice o f paper. When hard-copy resumes are scanned and entered into databases and on-line applications contain m ultiple choice questions, consistency o f responses becomes an achievable goal. Computer printouts sum m arizing keyword searches and containing scores or grades on stored questions avoid the subjective interpretation o f essay responses to determine qualifications. For the applicant, the use o f HRInT tools indicates that the hiring office or organization must provide detailed vacancy notices listing necessary qualifications and requirements or research the position to the extent necessary to provide written position-specific questions. The requirement to provide additional detailed position- specific information, including the working environment, established expectations, knowledge, skills, and abilities, aids both applicants and hiring officials. By advertising and accepting resumes on-line, organizations are changing the duties o f human resources officers and causing changes to the associated support structures. Since the firs t applicant review can be by a personnel officer or, in a growing number o f instances, by an automated resume evaluation system, the first de facto evaluation begins when the organization writes and publishes a position vacancy notice. The notice must be clear, concise, and meaningful in order to attract candidates and then to successfully provide the standards and requirements necessary to evaluate potential candidates. 77 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The availability o f detailed information on the advertised position allows applicants to be more specific in their responses and to o ffe r a more complete view o f their skills and abilities relative to the position. As an incidental question, this research sought to discover whether federal organizations have increased the specificity o f their vacancy notices as a result o f implementing HRInT tools; and, if so, i f this increase has produced any visible results. The results are explored in more detail in Chapter 4. Innovations in Attracting Applicants One example o f innovation and improved access to federal organizations and vacant position announcements is the initiative jo in tly lead by the U.S. General Services Administration, the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, and private industry. According to a 2000 article by Sue Blumenthal from the NPR, the consortium plans to install computer kiosks with Internet access in shopping centers, grocery stores, and at public transportation centers in Iow-income or depressed a re a s where home computers or Internet services are not widely available. The project addresses m ultiple concerns discussed throughout this research. The firs t concern is the divide between those persons who have home computers and Internet access and those who do not Members o f both groups are citizens and have equal claim to opportunities to apply for public sector jobs. This concept also supports NAPA’s claim that the government should encourage free access and training to a ll citizens in order to begin to address the disparities between those who are experienced in using 78 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. computers and those who are not. This practice would provide publicly visible evidence o f the government’s commitment to an increasing role fo r technology and to its citizen’s use o f technology. O f interest is the increasing interconnection between federal, stale, and local governments. Blumenthal (2000) adds that public and private sector partners are installing thousands o f kiosks nationwide, including one in a Safeway grocery store in Northeast Washington, DC. She says: Urban Cool Network [a private sector consortium member] w ill be placing more than 3,200 kiosks in shopping malls in urban areas where there are few home computers or lim ited Internet access. GS Planet [private sector consortium member] is placing thousands o f kiosks in public transit centers such as train and bus stations. Both companies are providing the government [Internet connectivity] links at no cost to the American public, (p. 1) The new kiosks provide opportunities fo r individuals to use a touch screen— eliminating the need to type—and m ultiple methods o f identifying search topics to provide access to government information. Blumenthal (2000) points out that kiosks are expected to attract thousands o f users each day. These estimates may not be too for from actual uses. For comparison, an Im m igration and Naturalization Service kiosk located in a grocery store in Dallas, Texas, recorded 22,000 uses in its first month o f service (p. 1). Once implemented, these increases in the use o f technology in federal hiring offer sim ilar opportunities to those seeking federal employment regardless o f geographic location and social status. The challenge for the federal government is to communicate the availability o f the public kiosks and encourage potential applicants to overcome in itia l hesitation 79 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. to use these computers. In the not too distant future, it is conceivable that a ll vacant positions w ill be advertised, and applications w ill be processed using HRInT tools. This view is further developed and discussed in the research findings presented in Chapter 4. Ready access to vacancies, resources to assist in responding, and the mechanism to respond w hile using a public kiosk, computer at a public library, or home computer has attractive features for potential candidates and HRM specialists. This electronic medium reduces the time lost in handing o ff hard copy applications from one person to another and provides the a b ility to instantly forward copies o f rated, ranked, and summarized applications to m ultiple persons at the same time. Implementation of HRInT Tools in Hiring Workers The literature review revealed that HRInT tools are being employed in varying configurations throughout the federal government w ith the goal to compete w ith the private sector by reducing cycle tim e o f hiring applicants. Other reasons include: replacing downsized federal HRM specialists, complying with executive orders and legislation, and reducing hard-copy storage. By serving a s a mechanical method to match applicants w ith vacant positions, the use o f HRInT tools brings more consistency to the hiring process. The growing reliance on automation that occurred during the C linton administration was during one o f the strongest economies in the previous th irty years and follow s m ultiple political campaigns stating that big government is the problem, not the solution. The combination o f Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. these events could be responsible for negative public opinions, and, arguably, the shortages o f ready applicants fo r federal jobs. In a recent study o f Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) students attending m ultiple colleges and universities, W illiam C. Adams (2000) o f the George Washington U niversity asked about the attractiveness o f federal employment and applying for federal jobs. Adams discovered that the m ajority o f those surveyed (n=605) do not hold the highest regard fo r federal government employment A m inority o f those surveyed stated that they were interested in working for the federal government and believed that federal workers could change how the government works. Adams notes: “ About h a lf o f the PBKs gave Federal jobs credit for workplace diversity (52%), opportunity for career advancement (52% ), and supportive fam ily leave practices (51%)” (p. 4). He tempers these findings by adding that “ only 4% thought that a typical Federal job held by college graduates would allow freedom to do your jo b your own way. Sim ilarly, only 11% expected such a job to have efficient procedures fo r conducting work” (p. 4). Adams grouped the findings into four categories to reflect the level o f interest in a federal government job. The respondents most interested in working for the federal government were labeled “ stalwarts.” Those who were considering a federal government job, but had not committed to pursuing the process, were labeled “ sympathizers ” Individuals responding that a federal job was not appealing but at some point in their careers may consider working fo r the federal government were given the title “ skeptics.” The final category, those respondents who “did not expect to ever consider working for 81 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the federal government” were labeled “ seomers.” (See Figure 1.) O f the 605 PBKs who responded to the survey, a ll were listed in only one o f the four categories. The survey results revealed that stalwarts totaled 13 percent; next were the sympathisers totaling 1 4 percent; followed by the skeptics with 38 percent; and concluding with the scomers at 35 percent. A quick calculation o f the findings reveals that 27 percent o f those surveyed responded that they would or may consider federal employment in the near term w hile the majority—73 percent—said that they would not or were not likely to pursue a federal career. In addition to the differences in attitudes o f the responses, other survey findings are relevant to this research proposition. For example, o f the total population o f stalwarts, those respondents most interested in a federal job, 41 percent stated that they knew how to apply fo r a federal position (p. 11). In response to a question about applying for a federal job being a “ long burdensome process,” 1 1 percent disagreed, while 41 percent agreed, and 48 percent said that they were uncertain (pp. 11-12). A comment from one survey respondent summarizes the views o f many o f these potential workers: Some companies are in such desperate need o f people that I was offered a job almost before I went into the interview .. . . But there are government jobs that I applied for where they said they couldn’t even get back to me fo r six months, (p. 12) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Phi Beta Kappa Federal Job Alllaity Seale IScorners I Skeptics I Sympathizers □ Stalwarts PBK's Views FIGURE 1: PHI BETA KAPPA FEDERAL JOB AFFINITY SCALE Used w ith permission o f W illiam C. Adams (2000, October). Phi Beta Kappa's View o f Federal Employment: S Attracting the Next Wave o f Young Professionals. Washington, DC: George Washington University Study. Adams tempers his findings by calculating the total number o f students who could become federal employees as a percentage o f overall respondents. He employs the view that, overall, if the federal government were to hire the 1 3 percent o f PBKs who stated that they would seek a federal position, then the federal sector would receive more than its relative share o f the PBK pool o f workers. Adams explains that federal civilian jobs total about two percent o f the overall U.S. workforce, im plying that 1 3 percent o f the PBK students working for the federal government was several times higher than the comparative population o f federal workers.2 3 Adams adds that his recent survey o f Phi Beta Kappa students is sim ilar to an earlier survey o f PBKs conducted in 1988 by the National Commission on Public Service (a.k.a. the Volcker Commission), and today’s results appear to be similar to the conclusions o f the earlier study. The opening summary o f the 1988 Commission’s report states that “ too few o f our brightest young people—those with the imagination and energy that are essential for the future—are w illin g to jo in ” the government workforce (p. 1). I f one compares the 1988 findings to the 1998 results, it appears that the general perception among those PBK members surveyed remained constant over the past ten years and overall less than positive.2 4 One possible 2 3 Adams’ findings were first presented at the 1998 Conference o f the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in Boise, Idaho, and published in a condensed version in The Public Manager in the Summer 2000 edition. 2 4 The Volcker Commission report (1989) notes that, of the “610 engineering students who received bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees at the Massachusetts Institute o f Technology and Stanford University in 1986 and the 600 who graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997, only 29 took jobs in government” (p. 6). 84 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. explanation o f this continuing negative trend could be that external factors are influencing the perception o f public sector work. Sim ilar to the results o f 1960’ s environmental movement that reduced the attractiveness o f certain careers, external factors must be considered during this period. For example, for most o f this period, the federal government was the subject o f negative campaign slogans as well as continuous reductions in the number o f full-tim e workers. Aside from a brief increase in 1990, the overall hiring trend is down. The perceptions o f those surveyed, especially those concerned about cycle time, represent the conclusion that federal HRM officers are working to change. More specifically, the Phi Beta Kappa respondents pointed out that they do not know how to apply fo r a position w ith the federal government and that the process as they know it is much longer than competing private sector organizations. In response to continued pressure from candidates, elected officials, researchers, various surveys and m ultiple studies, the O ffice o f Personnel Management has added an introductory summary o f the federal hiring process to their Web site (www.usajobs.opm.gov). The summary claims that finding a federal job is straightforward, adding: “ We have made the process simple” by introducing a three-step process (p. 1). The process begins with the explanation: “ USAjobs [the OPM on-line Internet-based listing o f vacancies] provides worldwide job vacancy information, employment information fact sheets, job applications and forms, and has on-line resume development and electronic transmission capabilities” (p. 1). From the applicants’ perspective, the concept o f applying fo r m ultiple jobs during a 85 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. single Internet session has become easier w ith access to a “ database o f more than 7,500 worldwide jo b opportunities” that are “ accessible through the computer or telephone and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week” (p. 1). Paul C. Light, author, researcher and drafter o f the fin a l report o f the Volcker Commission, supports the PBK students’ view o f federal employment Light (1997) writes that the tenth anniversary o f the Volcker Commission would not bring celebration. Light added that the “ quiet crisis” reported over a decade ago remains worrisome and contends that elected officials and senior federal government leaders must take steps to improve this increasingly alarming position (p. 53). Light points to three lingering issues that are among the root causes o f the continued problems w ith fillin g federal positions. First, Light cites the failure to cut the number o f political appointees who appear in senior leadership positions. He argues that political appointees do not have a long-term view or perspective that is needed to make lasting changes to federal organizations. Next, Light claims that the continued weakening o f the executive branch’s management organizations is a contributing factor to the myriad o f practices and approaches to solving problems. Light argues that the “ M” in OMB is “ mostly invisible” and adds that the organization is focusing on budgets and not providing overall guidance to manage federal government departments and agencies (p. 53). Finally, he points out that the increasing tensions caused by reducing the federal workforce each year for the past ten years, while increasing workloads and raising user expectations publicly, contributes to the lack o f large numbers o f enthusiastic recruits. 86 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The federal government has been steadily reducing the size o f its workforce, thereby reducing the need to focus on hiring new officers. As depicted in Table 2, the size o f the federal workforce over the period since the Volcker Commission report has declined from the 1989 level o f 2*237,816 to the 1998 level o f 1,855,849. These reductions have caused federal departments and agencies to shift resources from hiring new workers to completing today’s requirements. TABLE 2 TOTAL FEDERAL PERSONNEL EXCLUDING THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE BY FISCAL YEAR FROM 1960 TO 1999 Fiscal Year E xecutive Branch E m ployees (Less Postal Service) C hange F ro m Previous Y ear Fiscal Year E xecutive B ranch E m ployees (Less Postal Service) Change F rom Previous Year 1960 1.807.958 1980 2.160.845 1961 1.824.578 16.620 1981 2.143.001 -17.844 1962 1.896.178 71.600 1982 2.110.433 -32.568 1963 1.910.538 14.360 1983 2.157.467 47.034 1964 1.884.332 -26206 1984 2.171.404 13.937 1965 1.900.552 16220 1985 2213321 42.117 1966 2.050.721 150.169 1986 2.175.773 -37.748 1967 2.251361 200.640 1987 2234.686 58.913 1968 2.288.999 37.638 1988 2221.817 -12.869 1969 2301.127 12.128 1989 2237.816 15.999 1970 2.202.602 -98.525 1990 2250323 12.507 1971 2.153.764 -48.838 1991 2243265 -7.058 1972 2.116.661 -37.103 1992 2.226.835 -16.430 1973 2.082.644 -34.017 1993 2.156.844 -69.991 1974 2.139.869 57225 1994 2.085.493 -71351 1975 2.148.840 8.971 1995 2.012.524 -72.969 1976 2.156.988 8.148 1996 1.933.979 -78.545 1977 2.131.413 -25.575 1997 1.871.843 -62.136 1978 2.164301 32.888 1998 1.855.849 -15.994 1 2 7 9 . 2.160.845 _ _-3.456 . . 1929 ..-L 821L 348 -35.501 Based on data from: SF-113-A Monthly Report o f Federal Civilian Employment O ffice o f Workforce Information, Office o f Personnel Management (OPM). Revised March 28,2000. 8 7 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Light's views can be summarized by the statement that the federal government is not focusing on long-term commitments o f career c iv il servants, systemic management or balancing workloads w ith available resources. While Light's views may be valid, it must be pointed out that the quiet crisis existed before the Clinton administration's focused effort to re-engineer government Light does not directly discuss competing w ith the private sector fo r employees, although he does add that pay inequalities may become an issue w ith hiring workers. He does not specifically include hiring practices or the use o f HRInT tools as potential solutions but highlights the effects o f reducing the number o f workers and lack o f a singular- focused management approach. Remedial Steps The drive to compete fo r workers is one reason fo r the increasing u s e o f automation, but additional reasons are originating in the legislative branch. Congress is continuing to apply pressure on federal organizations to become more automated and less hard-copy-centric. The Government Paperwork Elim ination Act (GPEA) (P.L. 105-277) is one example o f legislation that mandates the use o f automation instead o f hard copy. Under the GPEA, the Office o f Management and Budget was directed to develop procedures fo r federal departments and agencies to us e to review current processes and identify approaches to reducing the amount o f paper required to complete their work. The goal is to determine how to complete tasks without Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. paper and w ith fewer steps. The law advocates a business process reengineering approach based on increasing uses o f automation to decrease reliance on hard copy. Recent GAO findings echo the GPEA mantra. For example, a September 2000 GAO report contends that “ the dramatic rise in computer and network interconnectivity and interdependency in recent years has substantially changed how individuals, businesses, and government entities interact with one another” (p. 5). The report claims that, as o f January 2000, the “ W orld Wide Web contained more than 1 b illio n unique pages, compared to 100 m illio n [pages] in October 1997” (p. 5).M The proliferation o f available technology and a ten-fold increase in the number o f available pages would lead to the conclusion that the popularity and us e o f the Internet is a rich source o f information o f a ll kinds, including inform ation on potential new recruits.2 6 The report notes that increasing use o f automation requires federal departments and agencies to focus on five potential implementation challenges. These are: • Use o f investment management practices to account for the fu ll costs o f implementing automated tools; 2 s The total number of pages listed on the World Wide Web is a hotly debated number, with each proponent using numbers that support their specific position. Multiple numbers are used in this research project, each cited by their source. The researcher does not claim any more or less validity in any one set of numbers over another. 2 6 This statement is supported by increases in the number of people using the Internet According to the subject GAO report, in the twelve months from March 1999 to March 2000, the worldwide number of Internet users increased from 171 million to 304 million. 89 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Adequately plan for, install, and operate and maintain the needed capacity and connectivity to support increasing demands; • Provide a secure computing environment to counter the risks o f fraud, theft, and service disruption; • Develop records management capabilities; and • Overcome two basic challenges related to IT human resources—a shortage o f skilled IT workers and the need to provide a broad range o f sta ff training and development (p. 5) [emphasis added]. The GAO findings are focusing on implementation issues that must be addressed in order to successfully implement and operate information technology, including HRInT tools. The fifth bullet expresses the challenges o f competing w ith the private sector. From the applicant's view, the shortage o f skilled IT workers represents economic opportunities to be selective and directly compare offers and responses from potential employers. Typical actions that create a first impression include the completeness o f the in itia l vacancy notice, ease and method o f communicating, time to reply to an inquiry, the method o f replying, types o f questions asked, and completeness o f questions answered. The final point, comparing salaries, is an area where the federal government is overshadowed by the private sector. To be competitive, federal jobs must be marketed on more than salary. According to a GAO report: “ Federal salaries and benefits are perceived as less com petitive with each passing year” (p. 24). 90 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changing Public Perceptions There is evidence that the longstanding trend o f government bashing along the campaign tra il is losing popularity. This change was first noted in the 2000 presidential campaign. Paul Light (2000) notes that, for the firs t time in several decades, presidential candidates are not bashing federal employees. Light points out: “ This presidential campaign has already set a record for kind words said about government and its employees” (p. 34). Light attributes this change to the public’s increased tolerance fo r government during times o f economic prosperity and the NPR effort led by then-Vice President Gore. Light reasons that public service ha s improved and “ so has public intolerance for the traditional war-on-waste rhetoric that did so much damage to public confidence” (p. 35). Light argues that, without the federal workforce as a controversial target by both parties, the next administration and Congress may be better able to focus on strategic issues, including a domestic strategy for attracting and retaining talented federal workers (p. 35). Although government worker bashing has decreased the downsizing o f the federal government workforce has not. M ultiple GAO reports exemplify the changes to staffing levels that continue to impact HRM functions and resources. In a February 1999 GAO report titled “ Defense Headquarters, Status o f Efforts to Reduce Headquarters Personnel,” it was asserted that, between 1997 and 2002, the Department plans to reduce headquarters sta ff by more than 5,000 positions. These continuing reductions o f headquarters functions w ill increase competing demands for and pressures on the remaining Department o f Defense (DOD) workforce, including 91 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRM professionals. I f past is prologue, the HRM officers themselves w ill be part o f the non-core positions being eliminated in order to reach the new lower number, while the DOD continues to compete fo r and hire individuals with current skills in, for example, technology and program management The net effect is an increasing workload fo r remaining HRM officers that w ill continue to add to dependence on HRInT tools to offset diminished human being resources.2 7 According to a March 1999 GAO report titled “ Quadrennial Defense Review, Status o f Efforts to Implement Personnel Reductions in the Army Material Command,” the Secretary o f Defense ordered the U.S. Army to “ reduce personnel to help free up funds to be used to modernize the force” (p. I).2 * The Army Material Command (AMC) positions are not being outsourced, nor are the functions being contracted out. The AMC is an example o f the popular phrase “ doing more with less.” The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) ordered the army to reduce 17,366 civilian positions. The intent o f these reductions is to fund technology by reducing payroll. The GAO report focused on the reduction o f 8,530 civilian positions through Fiscal Year 2004 at the Army Material Command (AMC). This reduction represents about 1 5 percent o f the 56,000 AM C civilia n positions. The GAO report notes: The QDR reductions continue the downsizing o f the AMC that started in 1989. Between fiscal year 1989 and 1997, AMC 2 7 According to the GAO (GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-99-65), beginning in Fiscal Year 2000, the federal government will spend $27 billion for computer technology and information systems each year. 2 8 These duties are being added to an already full list of tasks that include learning and using technology and seeking new methods of completing tasks with a reduced workforce. 92 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. reported reducing the number o f its civilian positions from about 102,000 to 62,000, or 38 percent, as part o f DOD’s overall downsizing. Before the QDR, the Army had planned to reduce AMC to about 56,000 civilia n positions by fiscal year 2004. In addition to reductions called fo r in the QDR, the Arm y plans to reduce the AMC civilian authorizations by another 2,000 positions between fiscal year 2000 and 2005. (p. 3) Under the current plan, the 1989 total civilian workforce o f 102,000 people w ill be reduced to about 46,500 people by Fiscal Year 2005. C ollectively, these reductions w ill be achieved by outsourcing selected functions, consolidating facilities, and gaining increasing internal efficiencies. O f concern to practitioners and representative o f a growing frustration is that the GAO reports that the AMC expects to “ continue to do the [present] w ork w ith fewer personnel” while diverting funds to support force modernization (p. 11). The driving force behind reducing the number o f people who work at the AM C is the need to identify additional fiscal resources (dollars) to buy new technology. The AM C estimated that these personnel reductions w ill “ result in $1.4 b illio n in cumulative savings from Fiscal Year 1999 through 2004” (p. 1). The GAO study concluded that the AMC’s estimates o f cost savings are optim istic and added that the estimate did not include funds fo r implementing needed technologies to offset the reductions, funds to consolidate storage sites, nor include total personnel separation costs (pp. 9-10). This example illustrates a trade-off between human labor and dollars to fund investments in technology and supports the views o f workers as costs or liabilities. It identifies workers as lia b ilitie s that are expensive and should be reduced, although it was noted that the workload was not reducing at the sam e level. 93 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. M issing from the GAO report were references to the resources needed to operate and maintain the to-be-purchased automated equipment These omissions could have a substantial impact on expected total dollar savings and, i f overall trends in government spending for technology are an indicator, could elim inate the planned savings. In addition, personnel reductions highlight the continuing trend to a smaller more technology-centric federal government workforce. It must be noted again that individuals w ith these skills are the sa m e persons being actively sought and recruited by industry. As a demonstration o f its commitment to hire new people, industry is employing full-tim e workers and using other automated approaches to m onitor on line resume databases. These on-line recruiters, armed w ith a personal computer and Internet access, have the a b ility and authority to pose questions, provide inform ation on the company, determine a candidate’s suitability, and make a job offer in real tim e. The increasing u s e o f HRInT tools has expanded the options available fo r seeking employees and for seeking employment, especially for those with skills or experience in high technology areas. The other outcome attributed to the growing use o f HRInT tools is the a b ility to apply for positions in the public and private sectors and easily compare the response times, opportunities, challenges, and rewards from any location w ith a computer and telephone at any time. The demands on HRM officials continue to increase. Publicly marketing the department or agency or perception management, learning how to use increasing amounts o f automation, shortening time lines and continued reduction in the number 94 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. o f workers is occurring, while duties and functions o f executive branch HRM officers continue to evolve. Stephen Barr writes in the June 19,2000, edition o f the Washington Post that the “ C linton administration, which chopped the number o f personnel specialists by 25 percent during the 1990s downsizing, has started to redefine the role o f personnel managers in the government" to include supporting senior leaders staffing and cost/benefit decisions (p. B2).2 9 Barr adds that the actions o f HRM officers are becoming more visible and that specific goals for HRM professionals w ill be added to mandatory department or agency strategic plans. The status o f HRM actions towards meeting the tasks laid out by the White House w ill be included in annual strategic plan updates provided to and graded by Congress. This action suggests that HRM functions are increasing in importance or at least gaining attention, although the federal government has not indicated that it plans to increase the size o f the federal workforce or reduce workload demands. These combined actions led to the conclusion that, although not ready to act during an election year, the C linton administration acknowledged that federal HRM is important; and, by extension, the federal workforce may now be more important than earlier statements indicate. Increased v isib ility from the White House and Congress is coupled with legislation that mandates increased used o f automation causing the role o f the HRM professional to change from that o f previously unnoticed administrative support to a 2 9 According to the Office o f Personnel Management (OPM), during the period 1990 through 1999, the non-postal service federal government downsized 19.2 percent from 2,250,323 employees to 1,820,348 employees. This comparison supports earlier statements that the HRM function was targeted for more than a fair-share reduction. 95 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. front-line component o f federal organizations that ha s its work reviewed by Congress each year. Research Proposition Two: Evolving HRM Practices The role o f federal HRM professionals is evolving to that o f technology- proficient management consultant instead o f people-focused administrative support officer. The reasons for this change have been discussed in previous sections and include political, technical, economic, and functional circumstances. Understanding and conveying the overall effects o f technology on the HRM office is the focus o f this research proposition; but, in order to do so, the other external and internal factors must be introduced then isolated. In the past, it was assumed that HRM functions would be conducted by a staff o f c iv il service officers skilled in identifying and responding to applicants. As Louise N e ill, Deputy Director o f Manpower, Personnel, and Security for the Defense Inform ation Systems Agency, stated in a recent interview : “ On the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, personnel officers are the ESTPs o f the world. People who are people-focused and are now being tasked to become technologists work most closely aligned w ith INTJ preferences” (Email from N eill, 2000). N e ill’s view from a senior public administrator’s perspective is shared by academicians. Donald Klingner and Dahlia Lynn (1997) assert that, today, “none o f these [previously held beliefs] are true” and add that changes in “ public programs are more than likely performed by alternative organizations o r mechanisms” (p. 157). Klingner and Lynn 96 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. support the concept that alternatives are being employed to people conducting the people’s business. The researchers discuss outsourcing although acknowledge that alternative mechanisms, including technology, are being used. Klingner and Lynn add that a growing number o f workers are hired as temporary or contingency workers. These workers do not receive benefits nor count against the reported ceiling for full-tim e federal employees; however, they do have temporary careers and turn over faster than traditional workers. This acceleration o f the revolving door o f hiring leads to increased HRM workloads. Klingner and Lynn caution that, contrary to popular belief, “ development o f employees (through training, performance evaluation or motivation) is largely irrelevant” (p. 162) to solving staffing needs. These findings support the view that workers are hired, because they readily possess the skills needed to address today’s problems, which are not necessarily the same skills as those needed to lead tomorrow’s organizations. From the federal department’s or agency’ s perspective, m ultiple factors are converging to create staffing problems and increase the focus on solving today’s tasks. The private sector offers the attraction o f stock options, signing bonuses, less tim e to hire, larger salaries, and the lure o f m ultiple state-of- the-art projects in various geographic locations. The corollary in the public sector includes altruism and the opportunity to have a lasting impact on a ll citizens but is tempered w ith reduced hiring, adequate (vice generous) salaries and benefits, increasing workloads, negative publicity, and several years o f downsizing that 97 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. effectively removed the psychological contract o f the jo b -fo r-life view o f federal employment This high-level comparison points out some o f the d ifficu ltie s public administrators are facing in attracting and retaining critical skills. Stephen Barr (2000) acknowledges the shortcomings and writes: There is little doubt that the government lost key people during the mid-1990s, including engineers, scientists, computer specialists, law enforcement agents, and budget analysts. Many were swept up in agency decisions to downsize, reorganize staffs and automate some o f their work. (p. B2) These factors are converging to lend a renewed voice to the quiet crisis reported a decade ago. Barr adds: “ Agencies must adjust their personnel systems to cope with future trends,” including creating partnerships with state and local governments, the services o f contractors in the work place, and preparing for heavier reliance on automated tools (p. B2). In addition to downsizing and outsourcing, automation and private sector competition, there are other influences shaping the role o f the HRM manager. In a 1996 article, Chester Newland asserts what the Clinton W hite House acknowledged that federal HRM is important. Newland argues that dem olition politics is playing a role in the staffing problems o f the federal government He writes: Professional public personnel management in the U.S. government has been largely displaced since the C iv il Service Reform Act o f 1978 by partisan management o f a declining workforce. W hile this journal [The Public Manager: The New Bureaucrat] has most often stressed more particular, positive matters, three destructive dimensions o f personnel management have dominated the past 25 years, (p. 12) 98 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Newland (1996) adds that three major destructive forces have surfaced in recent decades and serve to increase the difficulty o f fillin g federal positions. The negative practices highlighted by Newland are politicization and “ disassembly” o f the O ffice o f Personnel Management (OPM), arbitrary workforce reductions and the presidential politicization o f labor-management relations (p. 12). These factors are not unlike those echoed by Paul Light in 1997. The three factors have served to weaken overall federal personnel management by repeatedly reducing resources available fo r OPM, which, in turn, lim its their ability to assist federal departments and agencies and, a s a result, has altered the workings o f HRM functions. One can look at the number o f independent agency-centric personnel systems that are being used today and ask if these systems are designed to serve short-term goals or are including a long-term systemic view o f human resources management I f these systems are focused on the future, one can ask why OPM does not adopt a new standard that would benefit the entire government This view o f OPM’s place in today’s government brings images o f the reported benefits from discarding the OPM Personnel Manual. Depending upon the perspective, either the growing number o f independent personnel systems is an indication o f success or failure to achieve the stated outcome: success in that the centralized methods employed by OPM are decreasing in number and importance; failure in that the m ultiple independent personnel systems require duplicative resources, practices, and policies to create and administer. In addition, experimentation is inconsistently occurring in m ultiple organizations w ith no clear method o f transferring results to other government 99 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. departments o r agencies. The Clinton administration’s much publicized effort to reduce the federal government was discussed in Chapter 1 o f this project as, to a lesser extent, was the politicization o f federal organizations. As Newland asserts and Barr reinforces, m ultiple factors are forcing changes to the functions o f federal HRM offices. In addition to Newland’s extemal-to-HR factors, the grow ing influence and cost associated w ith introducing HRInT tools is in and o f its e lf becoming a contributing factor for change. For example, according to a September 1998 GAO report, the Department o f State, with an IT [inform ation technology] workforce o f over 3,400 people and a 1998 fiscal year IT budget o f $573 m illio n , began several “ modernization projects” (p. 2) to improve their infrastructure. These projects include “ launching a number o f IT management improvements in such areas as IT architecture planning, project planning and management, human resource planning and IRM [inform ation resource management] training” (p. 2). The State Department example is one o f many modernization efforts that can be found in federal organizations.3 0 For a summary o f costs and comparisons o f HRInT tools development programs in five GAO-selected organizations, s ee Table 3. 3 0 In addition to those listed in this project, there are multiple GAO reports summarizing modernization efforts. In addition, Larry Wolfe's 19% doctoral dissertation contains case studies on NOAA and FAA. 100 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE3 COST COMPARISON OF VARIOUS HRInT TOOLS PROGRAMS Organization Initial Estimate Currently Reported Difference (DoUars) (Time) (DoUars) (Time) (Dollars) (Time) Center for Disease Control (CDC) $214 m illion 5 1 months data not available (n/a) n/a n/a n/a Department o f Veterans Affairs (V A ) $170 m illion 60 months $417 m illio n 84 months $247 m illion 24 months Department o f Defense (DOD) $1.05 b illio n n/a $13 b illio n n/a $248 m illion 1 8 months General Services Administration (GSA) n/a n/a $34 m illio n n/a n/a 8 months Department o f Labor (DOL) $26.5 m illion 43 months $71 m illion 55 months $44.5 m illion 1 2 months Source: GAO Report GAO/AIMD-00-270 published July 31,2000. Some data are not available at this time (n/a). According to a July 2000 GAO report title d “ Information Technology, Selected Agencies' Use o f Commercial O ff-the-shelf Software for Human Resources Functions," expected tangible benefits w ill result from implementing commercial- off-the-shelf (COTS) software in the HRM process. The report adds that the actual pace o f implementation is not consistent w ith the expected pace o f implementation nor are the tangible benefits as visible as most departments or agencies originally expected. O f the five organizations reviewed— Health and Human Services’ Center fo r Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department o f Veterans Affairs (V A ), Department o f Defense (DOD), General Services Adm inistration (GSA), and the 101 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Department o f Labor (Labor)—four o f the five reported delays in implementing the new processes and technology. Three o f the five (DOD, Labor, and VA ) report that they have reduced staffing levels as a result o f implementing “ HR COTS systems or related efforts” (GAO, 2000, p. 2). O f interest in this GAO report is the absence o f a discussion o f or reference to increasing productivity o f the HRM workforce. Quantifiable benefits were listed as “ requiring fewer employees to perform HR functions (not quantified), reducing manager time for transactions and data analysis, eliminating duplicative or multiple systems, and implementing self-service HR functions” (p. 2) [emphasis added]. The non-quantifiable benefits included easier access, improved accuracy, and better data analysis (p. 2). The above benefits continue to point to either reducing the HRM staff or re-sourcing the function from HRM officers to line and staff managers through the use o f self-service centers. The report states that, o f the five organizations, a ll experienced cost growth and schedule delays in implementing the HRInT tools. In addition to the above referenced five departments or agencies, it is reported that the national security community is moving to take advantage o f technology in the hiring process. Faced with multiple challenges and the charter to keep the president, policymakers, and decision-makers informed on global geopolitical issues, the national security community is taking advantage o f a public trust fund authorized by Congress in 1991. The public trust funds undergraduate and graduate students in return fo r a commitment to work for one o f the national security organizations for a period o f time equal to the duration o f the students’ grants. The students are 1 0 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. registered in a centralized database administered by OPM. The Web site (wwwjisepjite.opm .gov) can be accessed by authorized federal manager at participating organizations. Individual qualification to receive funds is based on the fie ld o f study and emphasizes an international focus. The candidate may work in paid or unpaid positions and is hired into a non-competitive position under Schedule A. From an HRM perspective, these candidates are already pre-selected and listed in a central database while waiting for a line manager to match available skills w ith a need. Objective Decision-Making Current researchers are claiming that objective decision-making is replacing subjective conclusions on hiring, promoting, and changing the public-private mix o f federal organizations. The blurred futuristic boundaries where public and private service providers freely interact and employees revolve into and out o f public service w ill increase the demand for HRM professionals and leaders who understand public and private HRM systems. This melding o f functions w ill cause senior leaders to look to HRM officers to resolve public-private issues, forcing an increase in their reliance on technology or an increase in their numbers in order to keep pace with the additional work. An example o f government-off-the-shelf (GOTS) technology (as compared to commercial-off-the-shelf or COTS) adding consistency or objectivity to decision making is the Department o f Commerce’s Commerce Opportunities On Line 1 0 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (COOL) program. The COOL program is in use at the Department o f Commerce, Census Bureau, and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NO AA).3 1 As written in the COOL brochure, the advantages to the new system are: • Archived Vacancy Announcements speed posting. • No more Rating Panels; Best Qualified Candidates are Determined by: Responses to Yes/No or M ultiple Choice questions instead o f Q uality Ranking Factors. • Specific questions on Experience, Education, Training/Self- Development, and Awards. • These four factors [listed under the previous bullets] and Questions weighted to emphasize needs form the basis o f objective decision-making (Department o f Commerce internal briefing charts on COOL, September 2000). These advertised advantages o f the on-line vacancy system highlight the strengths o f technology—reuse o f vacancy notices and elim ination o f applicant ranking panels—and point to tasks that were previously completed by human beings that are now prim arily the function o f analytic-type technology. Updating the vacancy notices and reviewing the scored and ranked results o f applicant answers to questions is a function o f the hiring manager, but is increasingly being augmented, 3 'The NOAA has been using automation for several decades to solve some of its most demanding problems. According to Larry Wolfe’s (19%) doctoral dissertation: “Some of the earliest applications o f computer technology to the federal sector occurred in the 1950s for solving weather forecasting problems” (p. 201). 104 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. or, in the case o f a p ilo t program under the COOL project, completed by technology. The COOL project was initiated in 1999 and reached fu ll operating capability in 2000. Referencing Table 3, depicting the schedule and cost amounts from the recent GAO study, the Department o f Commerce has, to date, spent less than $500,000.00 and the labor o f two government full-tim e equivalent positions (FTE’s) on the internal development o f the COOL system. The government developers use focus groups consisting o f COOL users to continue improving the system. The HRM officers plan to implement a Senior Executive version o f the COOL capability in 2001. The Department o f Commerce is one o f a growing number o f public and private sector organizations relying on analytic-type technology to augment a reduced HRM staff and continue providing increasing levels o f service. Implementation and benefits o f the COOL capability is further discussed in Chapter 4. This growing use o f HRInT tools indicates some level o f success or benefit to HRM productivity. The combination o f reduced HRM workforce, private sector competition, and growing expectations to produce results in less tim e leaves few options but to turn to technology for help. This trend towards automating HRM practices has been noticed and embraced by the marketplace. The use o f automated or HRInT tools to hire workers is becoming a visible market for commercial service providers. A review o f the trade journal, Human Resource Executive, reveals that dozens o f companies are advertising automated products to streamline the hiring process. In one article written by John Edwards (1999), a vendor o f the HRM tool, Personic, he 105 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. is quoted as saying: “This is a technology that has come a very long way in ju st a few short years” and that organizations are using tools comprising a field that “ almost overnight has established its e lf as a business mainstay” (p. 62). Edwards offers a moderating view o f the latest promised features from vendors when he contends that: “ Sales o f resume management systems are soaring, many HR managers are wondering whether the latest products can possibly live up to their vendors' often highly optim istic promises” (p. 62). He points out that the truth lies somewhere between the marketing hype ami the ingrained resistance o f HRM specialists to using new technologies to address changes in the hiring process. Even w ith these recognized uncertainties, research has shown that the use o f HRInT tools in federal organizations is growing both as in-house capabilities and as services that can be purchased. One indication o f the changes brought about by the Internet and Email was found in the way HRInT tool advertisers provide contact information. In reviewing the advertisers’ section o f Human Resource Executive, it was discovered that, in every instance, advertising companies included Web site universal resource locator (URL) addresses. W hile by its e lf this statement is not surprising, however, none o f the advertising companies included addresses, telephone, or facsimile numbers for perspective users to use to contact the companies. The review included more than a dozen companies and the federal O ffice o f Personnel Management (OPM). These organizations offer automated tools for sale or use in the HRM process. 1 0 6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A summary o f the advertisements revealed seven companies providing per- transaction-based pricing fo r hiring, recruiting, and training applicants. Ten additional companies offering to sell automated hiring support, including jo b and applicant Web sites, automated resume scanning, database entry and management o f jobs and applicants, providing employment inform ation to colleges and universities, and “ advanced automated staffing and skills management solutions” {Human Resource Executive, 1999, pp. 86-87). The U.S. O ffice o f Personnel Management (OPM) was among the advertisers offering “ state-of-the-art human resource consulting, tools, systems and services” to satisfy HRM needs {Human Resource Executive, 1999, p. 90). The litany o f HRInT products and services indicates that the use o f technology in the public and private sector is a lucrative market W hile the tools are proliferating, o f note are the changing perceptions o f HRM professionals. The C linton administration is requiring HRM officers to become management consultants, assist w ith outsourcing decisions and compete with private industry, while their workforce is being downsized and re-directed. The traditional people-centric skills o f HRM professionals are being expanded or replaced by other disciplines. In one instance reported by Klingner and Lynn (1997), the search for an HRM director in a mid-sized Florida c ity led to the person receiving the highest rating being an experienced labor-relations attorney without c iv il service experience (p. 166). Human resources management professionals are undergoing substantial and what appears to be sustained change in how they conduct their work, under what circumstances, and w ith which tools and resources. Other changes or 1 0 7 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. needed changes are being highlighted by multiple sources, including government publications. The undertone o f completing today’s requirements at the expense o f tomorrow’s needs is highlighted in a recent GAO report (2000). The report concludes that succession planning fo r members o f the federal Senior Executive Service (SES) is not being addressed. The study and report were completed at the request o f the C ivil Service Subcommittee o f the Committee on Government Reform. The report concludes: Results o f our review o f career S ES retirement trends point to the importance o f agencies placing appropriate emphasis and attention on SES succession planning and raise the question o f whether or not agencies are doing so. The career SES retirement trends projected through fiscal year 2005 show that about 20 percent more career SES members w ill be eligible to retire by that date than were eligible to retire as o f the end o f fiscal year 1998. (pp. 7-8) The report declares that succession planning must become a part o f the HRM process due to the percentage o f the SES workforce that is or w ill become eligible to retire. The GAO recommends that, in its capacity as the federal government’s HRM experts, the OPM should ‘‘take steps to identify the current status o f formal SES succession planning” (p. 8) and to “ periodically follow up to determine whether the agencies need any additional assistance” (p. 8). The GAO recommendations place the requirement to complete succession planning on OPM which, as was noted earlier, is struggling to recover from continued and targeted resource reductions. I f acted upon, this report w ill cause the OPM to rely on HRM officers in the various 10 8 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. departments and agencies to implement the new practices. Both OPM and organiza tional HRM officers are already over-subscribed and working to meet near- term demands. I f succession planning is not as important as the crisis de jour, then succession planning, o r other longer-term actions, w ill continue to be pushed further into the future. Succession planning is another example o f long-term planning that is not being completed in today’s results-based environment In summary, organizations are relying on technology to solve problems left unanswered due to workforce reductions and workload increases. The use o f HRInT tools is emerging as the favored approach to resolve the void between downsized HRM organizations and increasing expectations. The expectations include more consulting services, faster response times, and technical proficiency w ith state-of-the- practice and state-of-the-art automation and the need to compete w ith the private sector, while reporting to Congress on near-term productivity gains. Use o f technology in the support-type functions has been demonstrated. The long-term effects o f using technology in analytic-type functions is newer but gaining popularity in HRM organizations. Research Proposition Three: Challenges Facing Federal Organizations Federal department and agency leaders are focusing on changes to current practices to avoid what many label a s the impending human capital crisis. The most recent attempt to address the crisis is from David Walker, the Com ptroller General and leader o f the General Accounting O ffice. Walker testified before Congress that 109 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the shortage o f talented workers is one o f the “most pressing” problems facing federal managers. Walker (2000) has embarked on a campaign to do more than the traditional watchdog or “ gotcha” reports that have made his organization respected and feared fo r more than 80 years. He is working to collect, analyze, and publish information “ highlighting good federal and private-sector practices that agencies can emulate” (p. I). Walker told Congress: “ The federal government faces a human capital crisis o f significant proportions. The federal workforce is smaller. It is older. It is, in many cases, out o f shape and faces serious succession planning and skills imbalance challenges” (p. I). W alker is arguing that, without people, government cannot be efficient nor can government be accountable to the electorate and those elected. He is advocating steps to repair “ dam age wrought by the downsizing and hiring freezes o f the mid-1990s” and has requested special permissions to create a GAO-specific personnel system as w ell as authorities to alter existing policies. These requested authorities include eliminating the “ bump and retreat” rule o f federal employment that protects older federal workers who, through seniority, can bump a worker w ith fewer years o f federal service and retreat into the junior worker’s position. This chain o f events continues until those workers most recently hired—usually workers w ith the most current technical skills—are forced out o f their jobs and subjected to a reduction-in-force (RIF).3 2 Walker adds that the existing 3 2 Kenneth Burke, the noted researcher on the use of language, would be pleased with the latest change in the federal government’s phrase for reducing its workforce. The term “reduction-in- force” (RIF) has been replaced with the friendlier term “adjustment-in-force” (AIF), although both terms lead to the same end result. 110 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. rules for a RIF o r adjustment-in-force (AJF) increase the skills imbalance that currently exists inside the GAO. He has told Congress that, w ithout re lie f from existing rules and the ability to create a GAO pay scale to reward technical talent w ith SES-equivalent salaries, he cannot implement the changes needed to make the GAO a model agency for efficiency and an example o f what other departments or agencies could become. As m ight be concluded from the various competing interests, Walker’s approach is not universally supported and is being met w ith mixed reactions. Susannah Figura writes in Government Executive magazine that unions and OPM are concerned about the possible change. Quoting Beth Molton from the American Federation o f Government Employees (AFGE) union, Figura (2000) added that, if employees at GAO were covered by AFGE, the union would be “up in arms about this” proposed change (p. 26). She adds that Janice Lachance, Director o f OPM, states that the proposed changes would “ be inconsistent w ith the administration’s policies” (Figura, 2000, p. 26). Not all reactions are negative. Figura writes that Sally Marshall, a senior consultant w ith NAPA, believes that “ managers must have the ability to hire and release people in a way that makes sense,” providing that an « adequate appeal process exists (p. 27). Walker’s arguments for greater fle xib ility in selecting, retaining, and releasing the GAO workforce is embodied by his comments about the future o f executive branch organizations. Walker claims that human beings are the essential ingredients o f “ overall strategic planning and effective performance management” o f any organization (p. 28). ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Another entry point to the federal workforce that is often discussed but seldom analyzed is the conversion o f political appointees to career positions. Federal workers, researchers, and union leaders ra il against political appointees fillin g high paying jobs. As noted earlier, Paul Light believes that political appointees bring a shortsighted perspective to federal service and are hindering progress towards improving government A recent GAO review o f this practice titled “ Personnel Practices, Career Appointments Granted P olitical Appointees From October 19 98 Through June 2000” (GAO/GGD-00-205) found th a t over the 21-month period from October 1998 to June 2000,57 political appointees were converted to full-tim e career status (p. 2). O f these 57,10 were converted to Senior Executive Service (SES) status, and the remaining 47 were converted to G S-13,14, or 1 5 pay grades. The report notes that this total is a fraction o f 1 percent o f career appointments fo r the same time period (p. 2). Refer to Table 2 fo r a listing o f the number o f federal workers hired by year.3 3 While these 57 officers are included in the new-hire numbers for the respective years, they are not an added burden on the HRM recruiting process. From an HRM perspective, political conversions and m ilitary conversions represent the least burdened and fastest method o f hiring new employees. 3 3 According to a GAO review, the federal government had 5,981 career SES members as of September 30,1998. This number is down from a high of 7,160 career SES members employed as of September 30,1991 (GAO/GGD-00-113BR SES Retirement Trends). 112 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The size o f the federal government remains a topic o f interest to political candidates. As noted earlier, in years past, the size o f the federal government was a topic candidates publicly attacked w ith fervor. In the days leading to the 2000 presidential election, Governor George W. Bush and V ice President A 1 Gore, candidates for the presidency, included the government workforce as a topic o f discussion in multiple stump speeches. While the size o f government remains a topic those candidates choose to discuss, the tone has moderated dramatically in comparison to previous elections. For example, Vice President Gore told an audience in L ittle Rock Arkansas: “ As president, I w ill not add to the number o f people doing work for the federal government—not even one position. And there w ill be more who leave those ranks than the ones who are replaced” (Allen, 2000, p. A18). Gore’s choice o f words to describe his commitment on the size o f the workforce supporting the federal government vice discussing federal government workers could indicate a softening o f views, although the tone could lead to other interpretations. First, that, i f elected, he is not committing to increase the size o f the federal workforce without decreasing the size o f the contractor workforce—a conclusion that could reassure federal government workers and some citizens concerned about the cost o f contractors replacing federal workers. Second, the statement could be interpreted that the current size o f the federal government is correct in relation to its influence, and any further increases in contractors would be offset w ith decreases in the number o f federal government workers. One could assume that either o f these conclusions may be the intent o r that Gore was providing 113 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a politically palatable response without com m itting to a position. In either case, the negative publicity against big government and its workforce is absent W hile Gore’s statements are focusing on the size o f the federal government then-Govemor Bush contends that the government’s pace o f change is lagging behind industry and is leading to unresponsiveness in completing tasks. A Bush spokesperson, Stephen Goldsmith, remarked that “ the whole structure o f government is unresponsive to the current state o f the economy,” adding that “ people are running foster and foster inside systems that are only making incremental and marginal changes. Considering E-commerce and E-government, the federal government, in particular, needs to totally reconsider its outdated structures” (Barr. 2000, p. B2). The Bush campaign is focusing on what then-President Clinton declared the “good people caught in bad systems” syndrome. Bush is advocating more emphasis on E-government and technology to improve efficiency and remain competitive, while more quickly completing the peoples’ business. He is not discussing the size o f the government workforce but is advocating the expanded use o f technology as a force m ultiplier fo r the existing workforce. This focus leaves then-candidate Bush m ultiple options to consider in changing the role o f the federal government As V ictor Infante (2000) writes in Workforce magazine: “This election, i f nothing else, serves as a sort o f beginning o f the road, a place where America begins to address the concerns o f its rapidly changing infrastructure” (p. 42). Federal departments and agencies are beginning to push back on the continued reduction in resources and making recommendations back to Congress. In 114 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. October 2000, the Department o f Defense (DOD) requested a change designed to stem the tide o f downsizing. The DOD has requested a change from the longstanding practice o f elim inating a position each tim e a DOD employee accepts a buyout, retires, or resigns. As reported earlier, this practice has led to DOD reducing its ro lls o f civilia n employees by more than 400,000 positions. Under legislation currently in Congress, the DOD can continue to offer incentives for workers to leave but w ill be able to keep the position and hire an additional civilian worker to replace the departing worker. I f approved, the net result o f this change w ill be to begin to stem the tide o f downsizing and influence the future workforce. Implementation w ill increase hiring demands and ultim ately increase workloads on HRM officers. The goal is to encourage those senior employees with outdated skills to leave federal service, thus, freeing up a position for a person w ith more current skills. In addition to s k ills replenishment, the trend is to replace senior higher paid workers w ith either less-senior workers within the organization who are paid less or entry-level employees who are paid substantially less than seasoned employees. Either approach eventually or directly creates a vacant position to be fille d . The latter approach provides DOD the opportunity to reshape its workforce by adding current skills to its workforce inventory that could reduce the need to contract for those same skills. This approach causes the federal government to compete w ith, vice the trend o f being a customer o f, the higher-paying faster-acting public sector for technically-skilled entry-level employees. From an HRM perspective, competing with the private sector increases pressure to improve current policies, practices, and perceptions. This U S Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. competition causes an increasing reliance on HRInT tools, job-sharing o f existing workloads, outsourcing o f HRM functions, or increasing the number o f HRM officers performing the work. The firs t option, deploying HRInT tools, appears to be the most popular and the choice being implemented today. W ith some experimentation and modifications to cause commercial software to fit unique organizational needs, the use o f HRInT tools is increasing. Reportedly, the second option, job sharing, is being implemented w ithin organizations. A t this time, option three does not appear to be popular w ith current executive branch leaders or elected officials. Related Changes In addition to increasing experimentation and innovation, use o f automation, and reductions in the number o f experienced and skilled workers, the Clinton administration's downsizing effort has brought about changes affecting local economies. In areas with a high concentration o f federal workers, downsizing o f the workforce has affected tax bas es and sent economies scrambling to offset lost revenue. In a March 1 ,1999, Washington Post article on the impact o f federal downsizing on the local economy, M ike Causey writes that, o f recent administrations, “ the Clinton administration has been the most successful in cutting jobs,” adding that, in the Northern V irginia area, defense operations alone have eliminated more than 22,000 government jobs (p. B l). The strong economy and successful local initiatives to attract technology-based industries has created enough 116 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. jobs to offset the 22,000 lost federal jobs, at least in the short term. Causey’ s 1999 conclusions remain accurate for the year 2000. Lost federal jobs have in some ways fueled growth in the private sector. Lost jobs equate to more government spending to hire contractors to augment the reduced number o f federal workers performing needed functions. Spencer Hsu (2000) writes, in his article, “ Death o f Big Government Alters Region” : The shift to the private sector in the Washington area has not resulted in less spending by the government. It [the federal government] spent roughly $8.8 b illio n more in Fiscal Year 1999 in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area than it did in 1993. (p. A14) Hsu adds that “ politicians could assure taxpayers they were trimming the ranks o f federal workers” (p. A 14), while overlooking increases in government spending. Statements about a smaller federal workforce are accurate; they are dependent on the definition o f the word “ workforce.” Smaller in number o f full-tim e federal workers is one aspect. Larger in dollars spent to hire contractors to perform tasks previously performed by federal workers is another aspect, and larger in the overall number o f workers performing tasks is yet another view. On a local level, local government’s tax base included revenue collected from federal government workers and was believed to be a recession-proof and relatively constant source o f income. Under the model o f fewer govemment-employee residents, when the economy slows the region may experience the sa m e ebbs and flow s o f localities that are more inherently private-sector-dependent. Hsu (2000) acknowledges this fact in his article and adds that downsizing issues are important but concludes that, in addition to 117 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. politics, the current economy dictates that high skilled workers are migrating to the private sector. He adds that the “ government continues to be outbid by private companies” (p. A14) for workers w ith high-tech skills. The overall size o f the reported non-postal service full-tim e federal workforce continues its multi-decade decline. The changes in the federal workforce since 1960 were listed in Table 2. O f interest is that the federal workforce o f 1999 is smaller than the 1961 number. The changes from basal Fiscal Year 1960 (1,807,958) reached a high o f2,250,323 workers in 1990 then began a steady decline to 1,820,348 in 1999. During the in itia l thirty-year period from 1960 to 1990, the federal government added a net o f442,000 workers. In the nine years following 1990, the federal government reduced in size by 429,975 workers. This reduction includes reducing the build-up o f temporary workers added by President George H. W. Bush to support the G u lf War. When President C linton took office in 1992, the size o f the federal workforce was less than 2,226,000 workers. Much has bee n written about the Clinton administration and the leaders o f the NPR efforts touting the successful downsizing o f the federal service and comparing today’ s overall number to that o f the Kennedy presidency in the early 1960s. It is true that the Clinton administration has reduced the numbers o f full-tim e federal workers. What is not known and remains to be understood is the optimum size o f the federal government. This number could be based on changing demographics o f the country’s population, current federal government effects on the economy, optimum 1 1 8 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. number o f contractors and part-time workers, and the role o f the last remaining superpower and increasing trends in globalization. Although much has been written about the smaller federal workforce, not all researchers accept the published and often touted numbers on the current size o f the federal government. Paul Light, Director o f the Brookings Institution Center for Public Service, points out that the published numbers for the true size o f the federal government is misleading. W hile the number o f full-tim e federal workers has declined, the number o f part-time, contract, and temporary workers has increased a s well, along w ith the number o f private sector contractors working in federal organizations. Light argues: “ It is a big illusion to say the federal government h a s gotten smaller because we have reduced head count” (Hsu, 2000, p. A 15). In addition to the growing number o f non-full-tim e federal workers, the number o f state and local government workers continues to increase as a result o f the C linton adm inistration's efforts to devolve more responsibilities to state and local levels. What is not reported by the Clinton administration and the NPR is that devolution and contracting out are creating shadow contract workforces. These shadow workforces are not reported in Table 2; they are completing tasks previously performed by full-tim e workers in the federal government and reinforcing M ilward’s concerns about a hollow state. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Research Proposition Four: Questions about Fairness Today’s HRM professionals are more likely to advise senior leaders on strategic employment plans, complete cost and benefit worksheets, support outsourcing or contracting-out decisions, and populate Web pages w ith corporate information than to meet with employees in face-to-face counseling sessions. These same HRM officers spend less time meeting candidates and employees in face-to- face sessions to provide career guidance or offer assistance on work-related issues. The stage is set fo r the perception o f diminished importance on human beings and a growing focus on technology and processes. As evidenced by the past decades o f federal workforce bashing by political candidates, if the public questions the fairness, equality, or efficiency o f a process, elected officials tend to react. The Fiscal Year 1997 to Fiscal Year 2002 Office o f Personnel Management’s Strategic Plan includes such concerns. Under the category o f “ Government-wide Issues,” OPM authors state that public “ perceptions o f the Federal Government (inefficient, bureaucratic, too large) spur legislative and/or executive action to effect change” and could have “ positive or negative effects” on achieving OPM goals (OPM, 1997, p. 18). The plan lists those goals most affected by specific elected official actions. For example, goals one, two, and four are affected by public perceptions o f trust in government The report declares: Actions o f any branch o f the Government can affect the public’s trust and confidence in the Government as a whole. Public perspective makes a difference in how attractive the Government is as an employer. In the past year, polls have shown a resumption o f student interest in public sector employment 1 2 0 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. independent o f income considerations. OPM can jo in w ith agencies, when requested, to promote public service employment and w ill continue its compliance reviews to avoid employment scandals which could reduce public confidence, (p. 18) The OPM plan states that, in recent years, the government has been able to hire workers, because the government is hiring fewer workers, the overall positive perception o f fairness and equity in the hiring process, especially w ith m inority workers and persons w ith disabilities, and a willingness to use fle x ib ilitie s in core hours and work locations. The 1997 plan provides a pre-cursor to the year 2000 labor market and noted that, i f the private sector becomes more aggressive in their recruitment approaches and labor markets continue to tighten, the federal government could face serious recruiting challenges. One solution referenced in the plan was to expand the use o f employment information systems to reach additional applicants (p. 20). The changing role o f HRM officers and potential shortcomings have been noted by OPM in various documents and by other researchers. One result o f this less nurturing or less people-centric and more technology-centric role for HRM professionals can be found in an article by Ron Sanders in Public Manager. Sanders (1997) asserts that many o f today’s public managers are ill-equipped to deal w ith today’s work environment, and the management development strategies that got them where they are w ill no longer suffice for their successors. He argues that, worse yet, their successors may already be in the very same development positions, preparing for an organizational future that no longer exists (p. 26). 121 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. As Sanders notes, the rush toward homogenized practices and away from unique subjectivity has some drawbacks and may not work in today’s or tomorrow’s environment This view on processes for attracting, hiring, and retaining future leaders is shared by other public administrators and, fo r example, is conveyed in the NAPA publication, Entry-Level Hiring and Development fo r the 21s t Century. Ralph Bledsoe (2000), chair o f the panel, states that “ no single flexible hiring authority, technique, or method w ill resolve the difficulty o f competing for the best o f the nation’ s recent college graduates” (p. 9). The future environment Sanders is warning about and Bledsoe is confirm ing is one where public managers w ill not be prepared for the organizations they w ill lead nor w ill HRM professionals be trained and prepared to support these managers. Sanders is focusing on the rapid changes occurring in today’s workplace, the interest in solving near-term problems to depict progress towards reportable results, and the lack o f a coordinated approach to prepare or communicate changes to future organizational leaders. Bledsoe is admitting that today’s subjective or organization-centric hiring processes and practices are needed and may become more so in order to compete w ith industry fo r the caliber o f work that w ill be required to lead tomorrow’s federal organizations. Evidence o f this conclusion can be found in the growing number o f organizations that are developing their own compensation systems and unique approaches to using COTS or GOTS HRInT tools in hiring processes. Then-President Clinton and then-Vice President Gore, in conjunction with the NPR, published several articles and books on the implementation and progress o f the 122 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NPR effort to increase individual employee accountability and productivity by dismantling the systems surrounding federal workers. Noticing the administration’s theme, today’s print media is ripe with high-level directions and guidance to improve productivity and reduce reliance on human beings by increasing the number o f computers. What is missing is an equal number o f publications that contain systematic processes, procedures, and successful practices to implement automated tools. Other public administrators are trying different tactics to address the “ good people caught in bad systems” view o f the NPR. For example, the Mayor o f the D istrict o f Columbia, Anthony Williams, has announced that he is giving each city manager a choice—either give up his or her c iv il service protection and get a 1 0 percent raise or keep c iv il service protection and be demoted out o f supervisory ranks (Leonnig, 2000, p. B l). W illiam s' goal is to dismantle the city’s c iv il service commission and its associated protection fo r managers who are, reportedly, not performing their duties and have c ivil service protection. In return, W illiam s is offering increased rewards for those who agree to be paid for performance and contribute toward the mayor’s goals. When implemented, the D istrict w ill have a new Management Supervisory Service compensation system based on results that w ill be used to reward and reprimand supervisory performance. Leonnig adds that the m ajority o f supervisors accepted the pay increase and the challenge o f having their pay based on performances instead o f c iv il service protection. Other topics have been investigated but were deemed to be on the fringe o f this research and did not add to the findings. These topics are o f current concern and 123 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. published in, fo r example, the Washington Post, New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, and include: welfare-to-work laws, job-enrichment, and telecommuting. Industry-speci fic publications offer views into hiring issues associated w ith particular industries. These publications were reviewed and, where appropriate, used to validate practices that are increasing productivity or part o f emerging trends. For example, the trend toward using corporate Web sites as recruiting centers is a common and growing theme. A 2000 survey conducted by ERC Dataplus discovered that, o f the 1,018 HR professionals who responded to the question concerning methods o f recruiting, only 1 source—newspaper advertising (89%)—is relied on more heavily than the Internet (77%) (Human Resource Executive, 1999, p. 112). Considering the longevity o f newspapers and the relatively recent introduction o f the Internet, the survey indicates that the Internet is rapidly gaining support and, i f this trend continues, w ill overtake print media as the most used source to advertise fo r candidates. In addition to the above sources, in November 1999, the NAPA published results o f a data collection effort designed to learn about hiring workers into the federal government The results stated th a t o f the approaches listed— newspapers, job fairs, Internet organization Web site, and employee referrals— the result for newspaper advertising “ does not produce a high volume o f candidates” and is “ best for marketing the firm to potential applicants” (NAPA, 1999, p. 91). The report adds that Internet posting and organizational Web sites are a “high volume source o f resumes, but additional screening [is ] needed” and a “ good source o f applicants, especially as software becomes more sophisticated” 124 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (p. 91). The results o f this literature review and analysis leads one to conclude that public- and private-sector-recruiting efforts are sim ilar, w ith each trying to shorten the tim e-to-hire in order to offer a position to a qualified candidate faster than the com petition. In addition to the above-listed sources o f inform ation, current data on federal hiring can be obtained in interviews with current HRM directors and practitioners. Several interviews were conducted in the course o f this research. In addition to being highlighted in this chapter, the interviews are discussed in more detail in Chapter 4. A dditional information can be found in a variety o f public administration, government, human resources management, and inform ation technology texts. Researchers in these fields include the classic leaders o f public administration and social sciences, including Weber, Simon, Waldo, Barnard, Gulick, McGregor, and Parkinson. In addition, Van Riper, Frederick Taylor, Deming, Senge, and Kanter, on organizational management and change, and Bennis and Cleveland, on executive leadership, influenced the direction and content o f this research. Other topics include economic theory and practice by Coase, Ohmae, and James Q. Wilson on bureaucracy and developing a moral se nse or what Simon labels the “ ought” instead o f focusing on today’ s “ is.” Collectively, these sources cover the spectrum from academic theory and deliberations to current interest topics in public administration, technology, hiring competition, trends, and critical skills. The Selected Bibliography contains a complete listing o f specific titles included in the literature review and is divided into categories that represent today’s diverse research opportunities. 125 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Examples of Current Periodicals In addition to the previously-cited examples and references, several periodicals regularly offer articles related to or are indirectly effected by the us e o f HRInT tools. In addition to public administration related periodicals, information on competition fo r critica l skills, new recruiting approaches, how to negotiate with potential employees, and emerging fields and skills was found in industry-specific publications, including Nation's Business, Signal, InformationWeek, and Computerworld. The broad categories and specific entries are listed in Table 4 and contain a representative sample o f the sources o f the information used in the literature review conducted for this research. One o f the most popular practitioner’s publications is the trade journal Government Executive. This monthly publication tends to focus on current hiring practices from the perspective o f the hiring organization and occasionally offers articles on specific HRInT tools. The m ajority o f the published articles tends to focus on the positive aspects o f being able to use technology to automate manual processes and the strides made by organizations in support o f NPR. The Government Executive Web site (www.govexec.com) posts weekly articles from practitioners in the field. For example, Kathy Troutman, author, researcher, consultant, and president o f The Resume Place, published a weekly article on the use o f automated tools in the federal hiring process. Troutman frequently focuses on the use o f Resumix resume rating and ranking software. In her articles, Troutman offers advice on how to configure automated systems in order to allow the applicant ample sp ace 126 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE 4 LIST OF TOPICS REVIEWED IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT Joarnab Books Government Publications Periodicab Newspapers Reports Public Administration Public Administration Implementation MSPB Reports Government Executive Washington Post NAPA Human Resources Management Human Resources Management GAO Reports Program Manager Wall Street Journal Organizational Management Public Administration Theory Reports from Federal Organizations Training Los Angeles Times Sociology Organizational Development Congressional Testimony HRMagazine Financial Times Public Personnel Management Organizational Theory NPR Reports Pentagram New York Times Public Productivity & Management Review Technology Advances NIST and Commerce Reports and Studies Nation’ s Business Public Manager Federal Civil Service Signal Workforce Related Topics Computer- World History Information Week Leadership Human Resource Executive Training for career details and the keyword-triggered software the opportunity to match a s many words and phrases as possible before rating and ranking the applicant Occasionally, the magazine contains articles advocating other current interest topics, including changes affecting various federal departments or agencies, innovation, and trends in the federal workplace. Government Executive focuses on practitioners and 127 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. provides current information on efforts to automate, outsource, and downsize the federal workforce. This practitioner-based view is contrasted w ith the refereed academic journal, Public Administration Review (PAR), which provides a rich source o f inform ation based on academic interpretation o f the changes effecting the federal HRM process. These articles include some o f the first successes o f using computers as w e ll as early concerns about computers controlling HRM processes (Gerold, 1962) and continue today to focus on changing roles o f HRM officers. The journal, Public Manager, provides the forum for discussions on the changing role o f federal management and how it effects the hiring and developing o f future federal workers. For example, in the Spring 1997 edition, Ronald P. Sanders wrote that the federal government is undergoing dramatic change, more so than in past years. He argues that NASA privatizing the space shuttle program, the Department o f Interior contracting out the management o f petroleum reserves, and the growing number o f departments and agencies that are developing their own personnel rules are “ divorcing the agency from the rest o f [the] federal government” (p. 25). Sanders reasons that these actions are further blurring the lines between public and private providers. His thesis is that the previous porous boundaries between public and private—as interdependent as they were—do not compare to today’s outsourcing and contracting-out strategies (p. 24). Sanders cautions against trying to make government too business-like and adds that there are some functions that the government should continue doing. Cited 1 2 8 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in Sanders’ 1997 article, NASA is now considering changes to its staffing levels, although in this case, adding fu ll-tim e federal employees to its roles and requesting authority to continue increasing staffing levels for Fiscal Year 2001. For background, NASA reduced its 30,000 employees to 18,000 during Fiscal Years 1995 to 2000, an overall 40 percent reduction in five years (GAO, 2000, p. 6). As captured in the July 2000 GAO report, titled “ Space Shuttle, Human Capital and Safety Upgrade Challenges Require Continued Attention,” NASA is working to address workforce issues and is attempting to “ revitalize its workforce.” For example, in December 1999, it terminated shuttle program downsizing plans and initiated efforts to begin hiring new staff” (p. 4). The GAO report claims that NASA officials admit that “ the agency faces significant safety and mission success risks as a result o f the downsizing” (p. 7). In response to this trend, NASA hired 95 employees in Fiscal Year 2000 and requested authority to add 278 new workers in Fiscal Year 2001. W hile outsourcing and contracting-out are practices that are being aggressively employed in most federal organizations, these practices, in the case o f NASA, are being reevaluated against mission needs to determine i f the outsourcing and downsizing claims are producing advertised benefits. In NASA’s example, new positions are destined for core capabilities that are required to ensure mission safety and success. Unfortunately, to date, the federal HRM function appears to be subjected to downsizing, redirection, increasing workloads, and increasing reliance on HRInT tools without the added assistance o f contractor support or, until recently, being recognized as a core capability in today’s federal organizations. 129 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Potential Significance to Public Administration Overall, the number o f people employed by the federal government in support positions declined during the Clinton administration According to a GAO report (1997) and noted earlier, the number o f people employed in federal HRM-related occupations in the four years between 1992 and 1996 declined by 18 percent (p. 2).M These reductions occurred at a time when changes in technology, availability o f information, the workforce, and workplace have caused organizations to seek workers with new skills. Demands on downsized HR departments are growing and include hiring applicants w ith high-tech skills in a competitive economic environment, consultation on cost/benefit analysis for outsourcing decisions, and being proficient in the use o f automated tools. These growing demands, in turn, have lead HR departments to greater reliance on technology to keep pace w ith expanding workloads. The interest in and benefits o f using technology to do support-type tasks has been proven and documented, but concerns remain about using inform ation technology tools to replace human judgment in analytic-type functions. Interests in and predicted benefits o f the use o f information technology has an established history. For example, in a 1967 Public Administration Review article, Anthony Downs wrote that the payoff from the increasing use o f computers would be in either increased technical or power-related areas. Downs’ s predicted that technical ^For comparison, the non-postal service federal workforce was reduced 13 percent during this same time period. 130 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. advances would include more inform ation available faster and workers using this inform ation to achieve greater efficiency. Positional-power-related advances were defined as new groups o f individuals using the information to influence decisions (Downs, 1967, p. 204). Downs’ predictions were accurate but not far-reach in g enough. In the thirty-plus years since his original article, we are experiencing both technical- and power-related advances in technology and in the growing number o f technology-dependent fields. Evidence o f the accuracy o f Downs’ 1967 prediction can be seen today by the demand for technically-skilled workers, the growing political use o f up-to-the-minute polling and the Internet, and in the Clinton administration’s reliance on technology’s ability to readily replace downsized federal workers. We have all but forgotten the earlier and often-heard complaints about the computer fouling up a process or the time-worn joke that “ to err is human” ; but, if you really want to foul things up, use a computer. Today, we use computers to predict weather, track airplanes worldwide, control satellites, and save lives. What remains to be proven is the rate o f implementation or how fast human cognitive a b ility can absorb and react to changes in technology or the amount o f technological help we human beings are w illin g to accept In the HRM field, one concern about the rate o f change is how quickly existing managers can or w ill use the new technologies. According to an MSPB report (1998), when compared to today’s trends, current managers are members o f the old school and are accustomed to having HRM officers available to support hiring actions and decisions (p. 18). That is, they are accustomed to personnelists’ 131 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. support for their human resources management requirements and do not yet have confidence in o r experience w ith their new roles as manager HRM advisor, and user o f information technology tools in the hiring process. I dicing familiar rules, training, and a desire to become their own HRM consultant or use new information technology tools, managers are feeling the pressures o f doing m ultiple unfamiliar jobs with fewer government workers. An example o f MSPB’s concern is that some managers are refusing to review applications and resumes electronically submitted via the new scannable format and, instead, are continuing to review applicants in the traditional method o f reviewing hard copy SF-171 forms or traditional resumes (Troutman, 1999). Building on Sanders’ conclusions discussed earlier in this chapter, technology is forcing changes to these out-of-date practices as more candidates are using Email, kiosks, and the Internet to submit applications. The goal o f seeking process efficiency through increasing use o f automation instead o f focusing on the behavioral aspects o f people working in organizations to complete the peoples’ business may have some long-term drawbacks. Herbert Simon (1997) points out: “ We cannot simply chuck psychology overboard and place the theory o f organizations on an economic foundation. Indeed—as w ill become increasingly evident—it is precisely in the real world where human behavior is intendedly rational, but only boundedly so” (p. 88). Simon’s aspect o f change is raised here not as the precursor for an in-depth organizational psychology study but as a reminder that the application o f technology succeeds or fails— in varying 132 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. degrees—on workers’ behavioral characteristics and abilities. Simon’s concern serves as a reminder o f the importance o f human beings in organizations. The use o f HRInT tools in analytic-type functions raises several questions about changes in federal hiring processes. As previous researchers cited herein have concluded, the federal workplace and hiring processes must continue to evolve into a more competitive, fester-responding, automation-based process. The rapid pace o f implementing analytical-type functions in federal organizations warrants a closer look into how the public sector became dependent on automation in comparison to other advances. The use o f automation has, fo r the most part, been without open discourse or embraced as a necessary step forward. For comparison, Chet Newland (1988) wrote in the International Review o f Administrative Science that it took from the 1930s until the late 1970s for the country to resolve the creation o f a Senior Executive Service (SES) (p. 629). Newland notes that the discussion surrounding a senior service had its roots in the American Centennial Era dating back to 1876 (p. 625). Using this example o f a more than 30-year effort to create the SES and nearly 100 years o f periodic conversations, one must question the rapid, by comparison, embrace o f analytical-type functions o f technology in the human resources management process. Information technology has been in use in the human resource area since the late 1950s, serving to store, count, and retrieve data on employee earnings; however, these support-type functions were not designed to be or used as part o f the analytical-type functions o f the process to hire human beings. One must point out that hiring the next generation o f employees has lasting effects—both 133 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. positive and negative—and deserves a public conversation on the various approaches and outcomes. A counter argument can be made that inherent human biases, the lack o f consistency in hiring decisions, competition from the private sector, the need to produce measurable results, and reductions in numbers o f HRM professionals has accelerated the search fora more consistent and faster method to hire qualified candidates. It must be pointed out that the definition o f “ qualified” could be the subject o f m ultiple discussions and a separate research study. Today, more so than in the past, qualifications o f potential employees are being determined by binary responses to questions and automated tools instead o f human beings. From an applicant’s view, the only source by which to judge qualifications is the published position description. The applicant reviews the position description and required qualifications and then writes his or her response based on the provided information and includes relevant data gained from experiences in or around the selected field. The ultimate outcome fo r applicants is did he or she get the position for which he or she applied. I f so, then the applicant was the best qualified among those who applied at this particular tim e; i f not, then someone else better qualified must have been selected. From an HRM organization’s view , the metric is how fast a qualified candidate can be located and hired using available resources. HRM offices have been downsized and refocused into consultants relying on automation. Using various means that rely more so on automation than human beings, the m etric is productivity. 134 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A concern may be that, by focusing on productivity or quantity, other equally important factors w ill be overlooked. The adage o f what is rewarded is what gets completed first is appropriate for considering how HRM organisations are measured. Other hiring considerations include hiring a diverse workforce, locating people with skills to contribute in a meaningful way, the ability to grow into senior positions, and the a b ility to continue learning as technology changes. From a technical-centric HRM view, when an automated resume-scanning program decides that an applicant is qualified and assigns a high numerical rating, portions o f the decision process shift from HRM professionals to software. This statement is not intended to b e judgmental, but to reinforce the outcome that, when HRM officers are downsized, other resources must be employed to complete their tasks. From the federal organization’s vantage point, the pressures to produce and report results to Congress and the administration are noteworthy. The numerous Acts passed in the mid I990’s designed to report results or benefits in relation to costs or resource allocations translates into the need to hire the most qualified candidate in order to remain or become compliant w ith legislation and executive orders. The publicly-stated and perhaps politically-m otivated goal was to shift the workload from people to technology, although what was not said is, in the process, decision-making responsibilities may also sh ift from people to technology. In his July 16,1992, speech at the Democratic National Convention, presidential candidate B ill Clinton said o f the then-President George H. W Bush: “ He won’t streamline the federal government, and change the way it works; cut 100,000 bureaucrats, and put 135 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 100,000 new police officers on the streets o f American cities. But I w ill” (p. 224). This passage is an early indicator o f the then-presidential candidate’s view o f the expected contributions o f technology and federal workers and a precursor to the changes in store under a C linton administration. M ultiple organizations, both public and private, are now using automation to support or lead the hiring process. Automation is serving as the in itia l screening tool in the hiring process. By allow ing HRInT tools to rate and rank candidates, technology has taken over some o f the HRM functions and provides opportunities to effect productivity levels. The question that can only be answered after the passing o f sufficient amounts o f time is how well do these new automated subjectively objective approaches compare to the previously subjective approach using human beings. Previous approaches relied on human beings w ith experience in the field seeking and qualifying other human beings w ith sim ilar skills, education, and experiences. Today’s approaches rely more on technology, and, to a lesser extent, human beings to hire people to use technology to discharge the public’ s business. The trend is clear; however, the intended and unintended consequences are not as visible. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER IV RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING PRODUCTIVITY CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH USING HRInT TOOLS The purpose o f this research study is to determine i f automated technology or Human Resources Information Technology (HRInT) tools increases productivity. The research topic was selected in order to evaluate a critical long-term event in the federal workforce. As stated earlier without people, federal buildings stand idle. Chapter 5 contains summaries o f findings, specific sources, evaluations, supporting evidence, and conclusions. For reference, the original research question is repeated below. Do uses o f human resources information technology (HRInT) tools in federal organizations improve their human resources management (HRM) productivity? Data collection and analysis steps followed the identification o f a research area. These steps are displayed in Figure 2. Due to rapidly-changing implementation environments and changes associated w ith m ultiple implementations o f HRInT tools, discussions w ith federal practitioners, academic advisors and federal oversight and management officers were repeatedly held throughout this research project As new information was discovered, it was added to the collective research base and 137 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission w fc li HUM prot aat aMb; pra pm W oM Md HRI iiT t o o t o id en ti fi ed A x m e d , Mk ofaaiyii* Hypotfcci fcai dMtM mM vi a m ail t o O P M , MSPB.OAO.andNPR Li t erat i m rev ie w M a r te d i Di aami dawMi H RM off i cer *, NAPA, m d teulty t o form R e a e a r c f c Qmtioa fcr <w fttw w t , al l ool l ecM d ata me m liaM l la t e tvie wr w W > HUM p witnlpwl^ c w c mi dt ai id wrrpy fmpoum f or HR JaT lo o te FIGURE 2: THE STEPS TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE DATA COLLECTION PORTION OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT Input from HRM practitioners, federal oversight end management officers, and academicians was included throughout and contributed to the above iterative process. W 00 discussed in subsequent interviews to ensure a thorough understanding o f the topic. An incidental benefit o f these discussions is that inform ation was ma de available to interviewees that otherwise may not have been discussed. The remainder o f this chapter contains background on and steps used in collecting, cataloging, analyzing, and displaying research data and conclusions. Design and Methodology The data collection portion o f this research included a lengthy literature review o f HRM-related material. Both public- and private-sector information was analyzed to fo lly frame the research question. In addition to literature reviews, m ultiple other sources were used to create foundation data for this project Sources included results o f N APA and federal surveys on current and future human capital trends, reviews o f potential sources o f applicants, planned or potential retirements, and effects o f implementing the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR). Information from the annual OPM Factbook was used to create the historical inform ation on hiring per year. Information from MSPB and GAO reports and data from the Bureau o f Labor Statistics (BLS) served as data points. In addition, interviews with senior federal HRM professionals and HRInT tools vendors and results from the HRInT toois-focused survey provided near-real-time information on current practices, successes, and challenges. For completeness, summaries o f interviews are provided later in this chapter. In addition to these sources, the HRInT tools survey provided unique perspectives 139 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and the opportunity to compare responses on multiple topics. A copy o f the survey can be found in Appendix A . Appendix B contains the lis t o f a ll the organizations that replied to the survey, and Appendix C provides a copy o f the questions used during interviews. The HRInT tools survey is discussed in detail later in this chapter. Collectively, these sources provided a framework for the current HRM practice and reinforced the selection o f the research propositions as key areas o f interest affecting public administration and, specifically, today’s federal hiring environment. Other sources o f data fo r this research include discussing the use o f HRInT tools w ith administrators o f America’s Job Bank, officers from NAPA, a federal HRM consultant, OPM personnel specialists, and personnel researchers from MSPB. America’ s Job Bank is an Internet Web site managed by the Department o f Labor and contains job vacancies from federal, state, and local governments and private sector employers. The federal government provides funds, although the program is jo in tly managed by public sector participants. For example, on January 11,2001, the site listed a total o f983,451 vacant positions. The Web site boasts o f being “the biggest and busiest job market in cyberspace” (www.abj.dni.us, January 11,2001). O fficers from NAPA pointed out that the Census Bureau, Congressional Budget O ffice, and some Department o f Defense (DOD) organizations are actively implementing—albeit with unique approaches and increasingly relying on—HRInT tools in the hiring process. The NAPA officers add that m ultiple federal organizations are following suit, w hile others are taking a more cautious approach to researching, implementing, and using automated tools. Implementation and use o f 140 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRInT tools has been increasing and accelerating since about 1995. One o f the areas in the HRInT tools questionnaire addresses this question. The results are discussed later in this chapter. The introduction o f HRInT tools in the hiring process has brought about expanded predictions fo r additional changes in the hiring process. In a 1997 article in Government Executive, the declaration was made that, beginning in January 1999, the DOD would only accept resumes submitted in scannable format (G ille rt, 1997, p. 1). Today, DOD continues to accept paper resumes, although implementation o f a hybrid DOD-wide resume ranking, rating, and tracking system is underway. While G illert’s prediction is partially correct for DOD, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that it no longer accepts paper resumes. Applicants must use the USGS Web-based application in order to apply. The USGS capability is b u ilt around the commercial product from QuickHire. The company specializes in providing HRM software designed for use in government organizations. Interviews were conducted with individuals from USGS and QuickHire and are discussed separately later in this chapter. Overall, applicants who submit applications via Email or the Internet are afforded benefits in time savings and extended application deadlines not normally available to applicants using paper resumes and applications. Applicants using Email or the Internet can submit their resumes up until the last minute o f the last hour o f the vacancy closing date. Finding a post office that can provide the necessary postmark at 11:59p.m. is somewhat more problematic. In addition, i f a soft-copy and 141 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. hard-copy application are sent at the exact tim e, the soft-copy applicant w ill have his or her application rated and ranked before the conventional hard-copy application is received. I f a paper or hard-copy and an electronic or soft-copy application are received and the hard-copy application is accurately keyword searched, rated, and ranked, the results to the applicants w ill not be influenced. The workload on the HRM sta ff is greater for the applicant using a hard-copy application than it is for the applicant who uses a soft-copy application. G illert’s 1997 prediction may not be entirely true in the year 2000, but the trend is clearly moving towards a soft-copy environment that benefits both the applicant and the employer. A comparison o f processing tim e is addressed in various interviews and as a specific question on the HRInT tools survey. In responses where hard-copy and soft-copy applications were accepted, soft-copy responses were viewed as the faster and preferred method. Justification for Research Topic The research subject is important to the practice o f public administration in m ultiple ways, including impact on applicants, changes to federal HRM workforces, changes to organizations, and perceived fairness o f the process. In addition, the impact o f making the correct selection o f individuals to conduct the peoples’ business cannot be overemphasized. As m ultiple HRM professionals pointed out, without people, buildings do not accomplish very much. The benefits o f hiring individuals w ith appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities and the drawbacks o f not 142 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. doing so represent the difference in successful or unsuccessful efforts to conduct the peoples' business. Throughout the early- to mid-1990s, federal HRM officers were subjected to large reductions in forces and budget cuts in order to fund or protect day-to-day or mission-centric activities. The irony is that, by creating and implementing better HRM practices, organizations can attract and select better-qualified applicants. Better-qualified applicants lead to increased mission performance. Instead o f viewing HRM functions as overhead, the hiring process could be viewed as an investment in an organization’s future. To comply w ith reductions levied on federal organizations during the 1990s, HRM organizations were subjected to larger reductions than other mission-support elements. These reductions forced organizations to turn to automation or, as Brian Hochstein states: “ Gore’s reinvention o f government did two things that prompted automation. He added 20 percent new reg[ulation]s to an already burdensome lis t w hile cutting HR staffing by 50 percent” (Hochstein, Email, January 27,2001). Reductions in HRM personnel were substantiated and quantified in interviews and HRInT tools survey results, w ith larger organizations experiencing HRM downsizing o f as much as one-half o f their HRM staff. From a public administration perspective, the process o f hiring human beings and the outcome o f such practices are keystones fo r creating and operating an effective government The growing use o f and reliance on HRInT tools by federal organizations to attract employees to serve the public is an area that is without published theoretical 143 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. or practical research. H iring today’s workers, and, it is hoped, tomorrow’s leaders is a critica l function for any organization, especially those that serve the people o f this Nation. During the Clinton administration, the overall trend appeared to be on resolving today’s problems in order to demonstrate near-term results. It appears that this goal came at the expense o f longer-term efforts. As reported earlier, David Walker from the GAO expressed concern to Congress about today’s hiring practices and the need to focus more energy on hiring future leaders. The debate over people being critical to the future or a current cost that should be reduced as fast as possible is based in the fundamental view o f labor. There are supporters o f both positions concerning the value o f human labor. One view voiced by Walker supports the perspective that labor is an asset—an entity that provides energy and ideas to continuously improve public organizations’ abilities to discharge the peoples’ business. Thus, federal organizations and hiring officials must use every available approach to hire then retain the best qualified and most technically-competent workers. The competing view, one demonstrated by the Clinton administration early in its tenure, is that federal labor is a cost, both p o litica lly and economically, and should be reduced as quickly as possible. Researchers as w ell as practitioners offer competing interpretations o f these opposing views. Acknowledged by MSPB and GAO, reductions in labor cause practitioners to lament the loss o f historical knowledge, ability to surge during crises, and paying more fo r workers who leave government to be re-hired as contractors. As cited earlier in Chapter 3, NASA is 144 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. attempting to halt then reverse downsizing plans. In addition to NASA, the DOD has requested permission from Congress to retain and fill the position when one o f their employees retires. In addition to these examples, public administrators are voicing concerns over a potential mass exodus o f retirement-age workers without younger workers to continue the function. The cover story for the February 2001 volume o f Government Executive magazine is titled “ The Defense Department’s debilitating loss o f critica l workers” and is followed by a three-and-a-half-page article by George Cahlink (pp. 22-24,26, & 28). This practical view is contrasted by the conclusions o f other research. Researchers, fo r example, Verma and Cutcher-Gershenfeld, in an article on the National Partnership fo r Reinventing Government (NPR), contend that the Clinton administration has been tim id in reducing the workforce. Verma and Cutcher-Gershenfeld (1996) add: Had these [NPR] initiatives been announced a decade earlier, they would have likely been seen as dramatic in their scope and reach. Set in a world where many nations are privatizing entire sectors o f government and rethinking core socialist assumptions, the reinvention theme seems almost modest in its ambitions, (p. 207) Verma’s and Cutcher-Gershenfeld’s statements align w ith the view that labor is a cost and supports the wholesale outsourcing or elim ination o f government functions, including, for example, the human resources management process. Verma and Cutcher-Gershenfeld add that the Clinton administration’s pace o f change is slower than reform efforts in other developed countries (p. 207). The above argument is not which method w ill produce the best outcome for the people o f a given country—proponents on neither side are directly addressing this 145 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. outcome—the argument is about discovering the optimum pace o f devolving federal government functions. This argument appears to be based on a race to reduce the reported size o f governments rather than on the desire for long-term benefit o f the governed. I f human labor is another input in the overall pool o f resources with lim ited or less value than cost, then the C linton administration’s views are correct. If, (mi the other hand, as in the cas e o f Walker’s concerns for GAO’s future or OPM’s emerging people-friendly on-line database, where candidates are encouraged to Email questions and applications to OPM’s HRM director, the argument could be made that, increasingly, public administrators recognize the value o f human labor and are working to im prove relations w ith those who potentially provide needed labor. In summary, ju stifica tio n to support research on this subject, as well a s a possible lim itation o f th is research, is the lack o f public discussion on the u s e s o f HRInT tools in the federal hiring process. There are competing and staunchly defended views o f the costs and benefits o f automation and o f labor. Debate on the impact on the existing federal government’s a b ility to conduct the peoples’ business and, for example, published information on HRInT tools are lacking w ith nearly opposite levels o f fervor. For example, available research discovered to date h a s focused on reengineering the public personnel process because o f GPRA, NPR, or TQM. Legislative effects o f GPRA, GPEA, ITM R A and other technology-related Congressionally-directed actions, including references to the keystone 1965 Brooks A ct, remains at the forefront o f today’s research and is readily available. Downsizing 146 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the HR workforce has been documented in academic and practitioners’ journals as has, to a lesser extent, some o f the effects o f discarding the Federal Personal Manual. A lim ited number o f HRM periodicals is focusing on quality o f work life (QO W L) issues, including telecommuting, job sharing, and jo b enrichment; and a few articles continue to discuss proposed changes to the federal Senior Service and the growing number o f non-OPM-controlled compensation systems. There are sources on public personnel policy and analysis o f general management practices. In addition, legal journals report on the results o f litigation o f unfair labor practices. In the federal sector, the MSPB, GAO, and OPM have published findings that, respectively, discuss changing demographics, the costs and schedules o f major HRInT tools development projects, and OPM offering for a fee to provide HRM services to other organizations. To date, specific published research and in-depth studies on the effects o f the use o f HRInT tools in the workplace have been lim ited. Data Collection Methodology Data collection methods include a literature review, m ultiple interviews and discussions, creation o f a Web site, assistance from an industry consultant, and the results o f a survey designed to solicit current u s e s o f HRInT tools. Additional research sources include analysis o f data from the Bureau o f Labor Statistics’ (BLS) central personnel data files (CPDF) and OPM’s Annual Factbook on hiring trends and analyses o f NAPA and government surveys on hiring. Three case studies 147 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. focusing on the use o f HRInT toots in three federal organizations were written. The multi-month literature review included government, commercial, and academic sources. The lis t o f persons interviewed in support o f this research study includes senior federal HRM officers, technical support officers supporting the implementation and use o f HRInT tools, and others in the field from NAPA, academia, and the private sector. The HRInT tools survey was created with assistance from university professors, current HRM directors, and industry consultants. The survey and survey results are discussed in detail later in this chapter. In support o f this research study, a Web site was created that encouraged cyber visitors to participate in the research project, if they were employed in federal HRM activities o r had recently applied for a position w ith the federal government. Information on the Web site included a summary on the research project, request for additional comments on the research topic, and the researcher’s Email address. The Web site (www:geocities/com/hrinttools/index.html) was indexed under the Yahoo! search engine heading o f “ Government, Federal.” The return on the Web site was negligible w ith less than fifty visitors accessing the site from October to December 2000. The low number o f visitors could have resulted from lim ited indexing o f the subject Web site, lack o f sufficiently exciting graphics to catch and bokf attention, or the perceived percentage o f cyber visitors who would be interested in participating. Forty-three visitors accessed the Web site, w ith only two sending Emails to the 148 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. researcher inquiring about the research project The Web site continues to exist; b u t as o f this w riting, no additional research value has been realized. Another electronic medium that reached a broader and, most probably, different audience was employed in this research. Working with Kathy Troutman and Brian Friel, a short entry was included in the weekly on-line version o f Kathy Troutman’s column in Government Executive magazine on federal HRM. Troutman informed her electronic audience about the researcher’s study and the need for input from recently-hired federal workers, recently-unsuccessful federal applicants, and federal HRM professionals on the u s e o f automated tools in the hiring process. The researcher’s Email address was included w ith a request for individuals in either o f these categories to send an Email to the researcher to begin a dialogue on what worked well and what aspects could be improved. According to Troutman, she routinely Emails the weekly electronic column to about 2,000 federal managers. Secondary dissemination or the number o f individuals who received the information from the original recipients is not available. Unfortunately, this much-appreciated assistance did not generate any new information. O f the 2,000 managers on Troutman's original m ailing list, only one person responded seeking inform ation about entering a doctoral program. This low response rate could be attributed to lack o f tim e or desire to respond, incomplete m ailing addresses, or the concern over additional questions or scrutiny about current practices. This last point—concern over negative publicity—was a topic raised by several HRInT tools survey recipients and is discussed later in this chapter. 149 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Data Sampling The available sampling frame for this survey was created from inform ation collected in individual interviews conducted by the researcher, literature searches, and analysis o f the results o f recently-released NAPA and federal government surveys on hiring practices in federal organizations Some o f the questions in a November 1999 NAPA study o f entry-level hiring are directly relevant to this study. In m ultiple discussions w ith NAPA officials, the research topic was discussed and a request was made for NAPA to include specific questions concerning the research study.3 5 The NAPA report, presented later in this chapter, discusses the growing use o f automated tools in federal hiring practices. In addition and in support o f this research study, the researcher created and administered a separate HRInT tools questionnaire specifically addressing the use o f HRInT tools. (See Appendix A fo r a copy o f the HRInT tools and responses.) Data Analysis Information from the literature search and m ultiple interviews were used to address the research hypothesis and then to frame and respond to four research propositions. Responses from the HRInT tools survey were cataloged, cross tabulated, and compared to understand the current state-of-the-practice. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses to the questionnaire. Succinct 3 5 The results of the then-ongoing NAPA survey can be found in the NAPA publication. Entry-level Hiring and Development fo r the 21" Century: Professional and Administrative Positions, published in November 1999 by the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, DC. 150 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. c as e studies focusing on the use o f HRInT tools in specific departments and agencies were created. The NAPA provided recommendations for selecting the organizations (personal conversation w ith Ray Sumser, March 31,1999). The results o f the case studies are presented later in this chapter. Review of Previous Surveys Several recent surveys have been referenced and discussed in earlier chapters. Results o f these surveys were used to create and validate the research question, hypothesis, and propositions. These surveys from the Clinton administration's NPR, NAPA, academia and one sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts are relevant to the outcome o f this research project W hile several surveys provided a foundation for questions and fram ing the research, the November 1999 NAPA survey on hiring trends and practices discusses the importance o f automated tools in today’s job environment The NAPA survey was directed by Ray Sumser and used the results o f the 1989 Volcker Commission Report as a baseline by which to compare today’s responses. The results o f the NAPA survey (1999) identified twelve recommendations, including recommendation number seven that states that in order to attract additional applicants, OPM should “ develop a federal careers Web site and emphasize computer proficiency” (p. x v ii). For reference, Appendix D contains the twelve NAPA recommendations. Recommendation number seven further points out that candidates who lack basic computer proficiency are not competitive for 151 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. professional and administrative careers and must understand that this critica l s k ill is needed in order to compete for federal jobs. NAPA recommends increased use o f automated tools in the hiring process as a method to “ reinforce that reality” w ith potential candidates (p. 59). The research acknowledges that today’s “ electronic tools are a very important part o f the recruiting process” (p. 90) and adds that sophisticated tools are available from m ultiple sources that manage the communication o f vacant positions and automatically review and notify candidates. Specifically, the report notes: It is critica l, in this age o f the expanding Internet, that agencies and OPM move aggressively to us e that technology for recruitment and processing activities or be le ft permanently unable to compete for the educated talent that is needed to operate and manage government functions, (p. 55) The NAPA findings reinforce the sources cited earlier in this project that recruiting methods using automated or HRInT tools can increase the competitiveness and efficiency o f federal organizations and serve to underscore the growing importance o f technical skills and experiences. Results of Interviews To augment the literature review, c as e studies, and HRInT tools survey data, several interviews were conducted between the researcher and senior federal HRM professionals. In addition, one interview was conducted w ith the Vice President o f Federal Sales o f QuickHire, a popular commercial HRInT tool provider. The interviews were initiated by an Email introducing the research topic, explaining the 152 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. intended use o f the data, and requesting an appointment. These interviews proved to be a unique source o f department- or agency-specific practices and provided the researcher the opportunity to leam about past and current experiences, implementation successes, and areas for improvement. To reduce any additional biases, the researcher used a standard set o f questions to conduct a ll interviews. In addition to the open-ended questions, time was allotted for the interviewee to provide any additional data on the research topic. The interviews were scheduled and conducted via Email. To highlight the growing use o f the Internet and Em ail, in those situations were telephones were used for scheduling the interview, the telephone number was provided via Email in response to the in itia l Email request Two interviews are summarized in this section. One interview is w ith Bryan Hochstein, the Vice President o f Business Development for QuickHire. QuickHire is one o f the more popular HRInT tool vendors. Ray Sumser from NAPA stated that he found the features in QuickHire software to be “ superior to the current features o f [its com petitors]" (Sumser, Email exchange, December 20,1999). The second interview is w ith Greg Huttman, the senior IT professional responsible for implementing HRInT tools, including the QuickHire software at the Geological Survey o r USGS. These two interviews were selected due to their contrasting views on federal hiring and the connection between a common HRInT tool— the QuickHire software. The USGS was cited by Troutman, federal HRM o fficia ls, and Hochstein as one o f the leaders in the use o f HRInT tools in federal hiring. The QuickHire interview is 153 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. summarized first to provide an example o f COTS HRInT tools and a background on non-government views o f federal hiring. QuickHire Software An Alexandria, V irginia, company doing business under the name o f QuickHire is marketing what it labels as a completely automated hiring system in public- and private-sector versions. The software is marketed as a combination o f capabilities designed to: • Create the vacancy and develop ranking criteria—in seconds; • Send vacancy announcements to OPM’s USAJOBS and other organizations—w ith the click o f a mouse; • Accept applications—via the Internet or paper; • Identify the most qualified applicants—automatically; • Access your secured data—anytime; and • Streamline the process even more—our resources meet your needs (QuickHire Web site [www.quickhire.com], February 8,2001). According to the information provided on the company’s Web site, QuickHire tools provide templates for creating vacancies and job-specific questions based on identified position criteria. In addition, the software can send a vacancy announcement to existing applicants, USAJobs, organizational Web sites, and other pre-selected organizations. Using a scanner, the software accepts either soft-copy applications or conventional paper copies. The paper copies are scanned and, using 154 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. optical character recognition, entered into a database. The inform ation is then available fo r future search and retrieval. Finally, the software “ rates, ranks, and scores applicants based on your criteria, eliminating the need fo r panels” (QuickHire J F e b site, February 8,2001). The above capabilities are designed to replace manual tasks w ith automation; although, as w ill be discussed in Chapter 5 , automating m anual tasks may not be as effective as redesigning the tasks to take advantage o f automation. In addition to Sumser’s comments, the popularity o f QuickHire software among federal organizations is one measure o f its success at easing the administrative load on HRM offices. According to Hochstein, . . . there are about 20 agencies that us e QuickHire or are about to in the next few weeks. We are adding an agency every 3 to 4 weeks. Not bad since our 2n d anniversary is Feb[uary] 1 [2001]. We also have a couple m ajor state and locals and school systems using QuickHire. (Email Interview, January 27,2001) When asked about the popularity o f the QuickHire software, Hochstein had a sobering view o f the majority o f attempts to automate HRM practices. He adds: Staffing is one o f the most complex [issues]. Many automation efforts in the past have met w ith disaster—mostly because the automation did not take in to account the rules and regs. Instead o f trying to fight the system, QuickHire just automated them [i.e., rules and regulations]. (Em ail Interview, January 27,2001) When asked about the future o f automation in hiring to fill federal government positions, Hochstein contends that the trend is to push more work from the HRM department “ down to the applicant” by using the Internet to collect information. He views cycle tim e as a factor that w ill continue to grow in importance. In Hochstein’s 155 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. view, the importance o f cycle time is closely followed by communicating early and often with every applicant. Hochstein adds that, w ith regular communications—a task that is missing in most HRM departments— applicants “now know where they stand in the hiring process.” He adds: “ Our clients now treat their applicants a s customers” (Email Interview, January 27,2001). Hochstein sees even more automation in the future o f hiring. The goal is to reduce cycle time or, in economic terms, transaction costs. Recall that cycle time is defined as the time to f ill a vacant position w ith a qualified and affordable candidate. Hochstein advocates that, in the near future, a ll applicants w ill be tested while submitting their application; and, if successful, the applicant w ill be automatically scheduled for an interview w ith the designated hiring official. When the applicant arrives for the interview , his application, score, and ranking information w ill be readily available by the interviewing official as w ill a customized lis t o f position- specific questions. Hochstein s ee s a seamless flo w from creating a vacancy announcement to testing, hiring, and entering required HR information directly into payroll and benefit HR systems. Hochstein’s view o f the hiring process relies heavily on technology and line managers to create vacancy notices, compile questions and provide responses, and interview the resulting most qualified applicants. He s e e s less HRM involvement in hiring new employees and believes this trend w ill continue. In Hochstein’ s view, automating and stream lining existing HRM organizations w ill improve federal hiring. Hochstein’s view is focused on today’s hiring practices—a not unreasonable IS6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. approach for an HRInT tools vendor—and does not raise other benefits and possibilities to HRM specialists. For example, he does not offer insights into other HRM tasks that could benefit from data collection and analysis, although QuickHire contains a readily accessible database. Tasks o f interest to HRM specialists include identifying and analyzing trends in regularly-vacated positions, tracking employment dates by specified categories and, most importantly, providing inform ation for us e in strategic workforce planning. Based on survey responses and interviews, Hochstein is not alone in overlooking these functions. One must ask if today’s demands do not leave time to prepare for the future or if vendors and users alike are choosing not to focus on longer-term benefits. The following interview is from Department o f Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS is one o f QuickHire's customers. The USGS echoes some o f QuickHire’ s views, although it offers contrasting notions o f HRM involvement in hiring federal employees. Department of Interior’s Geological Survey The U.S. Geological Survey is one o f the subordinate organizations in the Department o f Interior. The Department o f Interior consists o f three bureaus, three services, one office, and the Geological Survey. The Geological Survey was chartered by Congress in 1879. Today, the USGS employs some 10,000 civilian employees in more than 400 locations. The mission o f USGS as stated on the USGS Internet home page is to serve the Nation “ as an independent fact-finding agency that collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural 157 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. resource conditions, issues, and problems” (USGS Web site [www.usgs.gov], February 28,2001). The Department o f Interior’s HRInT tools survey response and Hochstein’s statements during the QuickHire software interview cited USGS as one o f the innovation leaders in applying HRInT tools. Through Email exchanges, Mr. Greg Huttman, the senior IT officer responsible fo r implementing the USGS automated hiring tools, agreed to be interviewed. Huttman, whose title is Human Resources Information System Specialist and Survey C ity Manager, stated that the USGS began using HRInT tools in February 2000. The USGS defines HRInT tools as the suite o f capabilities that comprise the on-line automated recruitment system (OARS) portion o f the USGS-wide automation effort known as Survey C ity. Recall that Survey City and the OARS system were discussed in Chapter 2. When asked about the reasons fo r investing in and using automated tools, Huttman replied that the USGS has three overarching objectives. The first is improving HRM-customer service. Huttman alleges that the current HRM office views USGS hiring managers as customers and supports the goal o f providing customers the most complete and competitive lis t o f potential applicants as quickly as possible. He adds that, before automation, too much time was lost between closing the vacancy announcement and actually making an offer to a potential employee. This tim e delay was not competitive in environments o f Internet applications and up-to-the-minute status on any hiring action. 158 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The second objective is transferring routine tasks from HRM specialists to automated tools. Huttman points out that, by using QuickHire software, “ hiring managers receive a jo b certificate o f best qualified candidates to begin interviews w ithin 4 days.” He adds that hiring officials can make job offers “ as early as one week after the announcement closes” (Email Interview, January 23,2001 ). For comparison, before using HRInT tools, the manual system required “ from 30 to 60 days to get a list o f candidates for the hiring manager to interview” (Em ail Interview, January 23,2001). Huttman notes that senior managers are turning to HRM officers for ideas and advice, as hiring h a s become more time-sensitive and com petitive. He adds that “this shift can only take place i f much o f the routine processes are automated to free up the HR specialists” to focus on more than processing potential applicants (Email Interview, January 23,2001). In addition to increasing customer service and transferring routine tasks from human beings to automation, Huttman offers a third objective. He labels this critical objective “ survival.” Huttman adds: I f the USGS personnel office is not able to do the job to the satisfaction o f its customers, it can certainly be replaced. The Department o f Interior could ramp up a staff to do personnel work for all o f Interior. It could be farmed out to OPM or even outsourced to other Federal agencies or the private sector. (Email Interview, January 23,2001) This last point appears in line with the Clinton-Gore administration’s view that government w ill be conducted by what is determined to be the most efficient organization, or MEO, and may explain concerns expressed on the part o f some 159 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. survey respondents. During the Clinton-Gore administration, outsourcing to the private sector was embraced as the best approach to improving performance. Huttman was candid enough to voice an otherwise little-discussed topic—that o f outsourcing the entire HRM function. O f the HRM officers interviewed and survey comments received, Huttman was the only source to raise the topic o f outsourcing. The researcher doubts that the concern over losing one’s job to the private sector only affects USGS. Concerns voiced earlier about the purpose and use o f any provided data leads one to conclude that fear o f losing jobs to com petition or possibly negative publicity that could, in turn, lead to the loss o f jobs remains a concern fo r m ultiple contributors, even i f not openly discussed. When asked about implementation, Huttman offered that successful implementation o f automated tools requires a change management plan and strategy. He adds that “the affect on the Personnel sta ff is significant and cannot be understated” (Email Interview, January 23,2001). One aspect o f the USGS change management strategy was frequent communication to the HRM staff. M ultiple messages were sent beginning several months before using the new system. In addition, extensive training was provided and—an important factor that is often overlooked—tim e to play w ith the new system before beginning operations. Huttman credits this planned approach w ith successfully training the existing HRM workforce and notes that, due to a complete implementation plan, his was the only IT position added fo r the implementation o f the OARS system. 1 6 0 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. When asked about the future direction o f federal hiring and the use o f HRInT tools, Huttman said that the pace w ill quicken and more changes are on the way. Huttman added: It w ill probably be 4-7 years before we see fu lly Federalized robust HR systems in the federal government Once developed, the question w ill become can they be afforded. Generally they [HRInT tools] cost tens o f m illions o f dollars and take m ultiple years to implement HR offices, in much o f the Federal sector, are the lone step-child and tend to get ignored. (Email Interview, January 23,2001) Huttman recognized that today’s tools are a step towards changing hiring practices and acknowledged that much remains to be done. In closing, Huttman offered that empowerment cost reduction, and service are attributes o f using HRInT tools. He added th a t considering the number o f federal workers eligible to retire in the next few years, there w ill be plenty o f opportunity to use and refine new technologies and methodologies. These two interviews—one vendor and the other customer—are linked by sim ilar views o f the short-term benefits o f automation but separated by different longer-term perspectives. In both interviews, tim e was seen a s the metric o f choice. Providing hiring managers with a list o f qualified candidates a s rapidly as possible was the overarching goal o f both interviewees. In the firs t case, QuickHire designed software to support a fester approach for repetitive HRM tasks, and it now offers that the role o f HRM specialists could dim inish over time. In the USGS interview, points stressed were that HRM officers remain necessary, become more ingrained in the daily operations o f the organization, and focus on providing additional services to 161 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. hiring managers. This subtle but important difference is highlighted to contrast a near-term and longer-term view o f federal HRM. In the first interview, automating processes were the driving factors: In the second interview, speed was important, but it was tempered w ith collaboration w ith human capacities designed to increase service to the organization. These arguably esoteric points exemplify the competing views o f human labor. Recall in earlier discussions that labor is viewed either as a cost to be reduced or as a capability to be celebrated. The Clinton-Gore administration’s views o f federal labor are known. It is too early in the Bush-Cheney administration to form a conclusion, although the campaign rhetoric did not focus on reducing the size o f government Another conclusion that can be drawn from the interviews is that m ultiple approaches are being explored to resolve hiring problems. As reported earlier, Ralph Bledsoe (2000) stated that federal hiring could not be improved with a single approach but would require multiple approaches to address unique problems (p. 9). Results o f these two interviews, conclusions in the follow ing case studies, and comments in the returned surveys support and demonstrate Bledsoe’s claim . One must question the uniqueness o f each federal department or agency and ask i f the department’s methods are due to automating existing manual practices or to unique needs. This topic re-surfaces in the recommendations section in Chapter 5, but the results appear to be practice-specific instead o f responding to actual unique needs. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Results of Case Studies Three organizations were selected to be the subject o f case studies on current practices in federal hiring. The organizations were selected to represent unique features, including total civilian population, us e o f automation, civilian and defense focus, and a review o f a legislative branch entity. O fficials from NAPA highlighted these three organizations a s leaders in employing technology in the hiring process. The actual interviews with HRM directors from each organization focused on specific questions and sought to gather relevant information on organizational and personal backgrounds, current practices, keys to implementation suc ces s and areas for improvement, and insights into future trends. The interviews lasted from 90 minutes to 140 minutes and were conducted in the respective HRM professional's office or on the telephone. Additional information was requested and received on the organization’s mission and recent successes. The interviews produced data on the use o f HRInT tools, including starting dates, volume, schedules and costs, and em pirical data based on the interviewee’s personal experiences. In all cases, the HRM directors had spent more than 25 years in federal service w ith most or a ll o f that tim e in HRM. Although reportedly and undoubtedly busy and over-extended, these professionals agreed to set aside tim e to meet and discuss the present and future roles o f technology in the hiring process. The follow ing three ca se studies represent three diverse federal organizations. The firs t describes the Department o f Commerce’s successful development and use o f a hybrid government-created solution labeled “ Commerce Opportunities On-Line” 163 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. or COOL. The COOL project was started by the Census Bureau, one o f the bureaus w ithin the Department o f Commerce, and migrated to become a department-wide tool. Creation, implementation, and operation o f the COOL capability is a model o f a cost-efficient hybrid approach that increases productivity, reduces overall time to hire, and is accepted by unions, HRM officers, and applicants. The second example is from the defense sector. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) represents one o f the premier defense support elements and is employing commercial technologies to aid its downsized HRM sta ff in meeting hiring needs. The interview with the HRM director highlights the people aspects o f using technology to hire other people. In DISA, people are viewed and treated as a capability vice cost. The HRM director points out that today’s technology-dependent HRM environment could benefit from hiring additional HRM officers trained in technology to optimize the us e o f HRInT tools. The focus o f this case study is on changing skills needs o f HRM professionals. The third review is from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Director o f HRM states that organization size is a factor in using and selecting HRInT tools. The director offers perspectives spanning the past three decades o f technology’s involvement with HRM processes and provides an experience-based perspective on the future o f federal hiring. These three case studies provide diverse, yet interdependent, views o f the use o f HRInT tools in federal hiring and serve to reinforce the need fo r in-depth conversations on this topic. 164 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Department of Commerce Department o f Commerce HRM officials were interviewed in the course o f this research. Their successful progress in implementing a unique approach to Hiring employees is directly relevant to this research and offers examples for other departments and agencies. Commerce is implementing a government designed, created, and maintained HRInT tool. The tool, Commerce Opportunities On-Line, or COOL, is a Web-based product that allows applicants to apply for positions from any computer w ith a Web browser and Internet access. The Department o f Commerce started working on the COOL project in December 1998. The original concept was designed by government employees in the Department o f Commerce’s Bureau o f Census. A senior HRM officer in Commerce explained that the goal o f COOL is customer service. The COOL process removes unknowns o r “ puts everything up front and avoids surprises.” Several o f Commerce’s employees are represented by labor unions. The unions approved the use o f COOL to f ill vacant positions based on added objectivity and fairness. The unions support a quantifiable and repeatable process ba se d on score results instead o f relying on subjective human beings to interpret the content o f essay responses or to glean skills from indirect questions (Interview, December 3, 2000). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 6 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The COOL process begins w ith a vacancy notice that is posted on the Department o f Commerce Web site and also listed on the USAJobs Web site- The two sites are linked, allowing all applications to be completed in COOL. Once a vacant position is posted, applicants can complete an on-line application that includes questions about specific skills. These questions require yes/no or m ultiple choice responses. For multiple-choice questions, the COOL application has pull down choices that allow applicants to point and click instead o f typing a response. Pull-down choices facilitate faster and easier responses and provide the consistency required in order to accurately and immediately rank applicants. W hile the applicant is completing the questions, a response summary is being created. COOL represents a real-time rating capability that reduces the tim e to quantified results from hours or days to as the applicant answers on-line questions. In addition to questions tailored to specific vacancies, applicants have the opportunity to provide additional information that would aid in the selection process. I f additional information is provided, the data is reviewed by a hiring o ffic ia l to ensure that the automated rating and ranking score is consistent Forward-leaning advantages o f Commerce’s implementation o f the COOL application are abilities for internal employees to pre-register for specific job categories and fo r Commerce to pre-register external candidates in preparation for future vacancy announcements. This capability reduces and possibly eliminates the time delay in locating candidates to f ill vacant positions. As the senior HRM officer noted, by using COOL, Commerce has been able to reduce the time to certify an 167 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. applicant by “ about 50 percent” and provide a common framework for a ll applicants. A lis t o f the ranked and rated candidates is electronically provided to Commerce hiring officials. The lis t contains the candidate’ s name, score against the standardized questions, and current employer. I f additional information is desired, the candidate’s name on the electronic lis t is linked to the original on-line application. Commerce HRM officers acknowledged that managers routinely review original applicant submissions to validate scores and ensure that no relevant inform ation is overlooked. Another feature o f COOL is the ability to store resumes and completed applications from internal candidates. The resumes and applications are privately held w ith only the employee allowed to access the data until the employee decides to submit the resume and application. This feature allows employees to maintain current resumes in a standardized format that can be quickly submitted in response to an advertised vacancy announcement Resumes and applications are readily available for editing and revision from any Commerce workstation and, with a few keystrokes, can be submitted against a vacant position or positions. This capability provides the employee control over when he or she applies fo r a vacant position and allows the Department o f Commerce to encourage standardized resumes. In short while encouraging employees to become involved w ith managing their careers and offering a convenient standardized method, location, and on-line assistance, COOL allows the employee to retain the decision to apply or not to apply for a position. 168 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This approach can be compared to organizations that m aintain a current skills database. It searches the database when a vacant position occurs to identify the most compatible candidate. Once employees with requisite skills are identified using the central database, they are informed o f the vacancy. Next, employees can be asked if they are interested in applying or may be directed to f ill the vacancy for either a temporary or permanent tour. When asked about implementation o f the COOL application and specifically about operator and user training, the responses reflected positive and pro-active approaches to gaining user buy-in to the new capability. For example, a ll HRM officers who use COOL are provided hands-on orientation training with an experienced instructor or senior user. In addition to orientation, COOL provides on line help screens that address how to complete actions. Finally, the COOL application has a help desk staffed w ith experienced developers available to address technical questions. Requests fo r changes (RFCs) to the COOL system are submitted or reviewed by a user-group consisting o f Commerce employees. The user group is active in recommending improvements to the in itia l operating capability and works w ith the government developers to implement required changes. A planned improvement in the COOL application includes the addition o f a Senior Executive Service version o f COOL that contains senior executive positions throughout Commerce. A comparison o f using COOL to pre-automation practices was offered that highlighted the benefits to productivity and overall Commerce mission readiness. 169 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Senior HRM officials stated that, before COOL, Commerce would post a job vacancy and “ hope that someone would apply” or, in other words, operate hiring practices in a reactive mode. By implementing COOL and using the analytic-type functions o f today’s technology, Commerce is now proactive in fillin g vacancies. For example, by pre-registering internal and external candidates in jo b categories and for specific vacancies, Commerce has the potential to f ill a position as soon a s a vacancy or pending vacancy is known. The volume o f applications, users, resumes, and system administrators can be reviewed in Table 5, which is a screen capture from November 20,2000, listing the user statistics o f the COOL system. The Department o f Commerce’s implementation, operation, and support to COOL is an example o f how support-type and analytic-type technologies can be coupled with proactive recruitment actions to improve productivity. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLES SCREEN CAPTURE OF ACTIVITY METRICS FOR NOVEMBER 20,2000, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE'S COOL APPLICATION Users Currently Logged-In Announcements Currently Open Total Announcements Posted Total Job Searches Total User Log-Ins 111192 5S284 6445 16301 853 147 179 66 661 Total Submitted Resumes Total Registered Applicants Total Registered Managers Total Registered HR Users Total Registered Administrators Defense Information Systems Agency Senior officials from the Defense Information Systems Agency were helpful in providing a unique view into their current hiring practices and providing insights into how to better u tilize HRInT tools. The interview was conducted via telephone on December 27,2000, w ith Louise N eill, the Deputy Director for Manpower, Personnel, and Security. N e ill provided valuable information on the HRM organization and offered examples o f areas for future improvement During the interview, N eill was asked and responded to standard interview questions concerning the use o f HRInT tools and offered insightful concerns on the growing demands9n HRM officers. The interview results are provided in the following paragraphs. N e ill’s in itia l focus was on the people who sta ff HRM organizations. She explained that HRM organizations traditionally hire individuals who care about 1 7 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. people and about helping people solve problems. She added that, on the Myers* Briggs Personality Type Indicator, these people are the ENFP’s o f the workforce. N e ill added that, while caring about people is a prerequisite for people hiring other people, there is a need fo r HRM officers to focus on processes, practices and the use o f technology.3 6 She recommended that organizations revalidate their skills requirements and consider adding individuals who understand and focus on improving the us e o f technology in HRM functions. N e ill (2000) stated that, while “ computers are a tool, just lik e a pencil is a tool, they can make an exponential difference in the efficiency o f HRM offices.” N e ill added that DISA is actively working to improve the productivity o f the HRM practices and views HRInT tools as an important capability. S h e said that computers are a tool, and she used the analogy o f a computer and a bulldozer by stating that “ computers to HRM are like a bulldozer to road builders. Both must understand how to use the tool in order to do a better jo b ” (Telephone Interview, December 27,2000). N eill pointed out that, while technology offers progress, unless computers can synthesize submitted data and operators are available to use the technology, it “ doesn’t fo lly enable HRM officers to improve.” 3 6 According to David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates (1984), in their book, Please Understand Me, Character & Temperament Types. ENFPs are “keen and penetrating observers and are capable of intense concentration on another individual while aware of what is going on around them” (p. 1 73). Following Neill’s observations, a review of Keirsey and Bate’s book discovered that INTPs are the architects “of ideas and systems” and are found in “only 1 percent o f the population” (p. 186). The authors add that INTPs, unlike ENFPs, “may be insensitive to the wants and wishes of others, often quite unaware o f the existence o f these wants and wishes” (p. 188). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. N eill advocated the increased use o f analytic-type functions o f today’s technology instead o f continuing to lim it technology to support-type functions o f the past several decades. She pointed out that, w hile results are positive, today’s technology has room fo r improvement She used the example o f a vacancy announcement in the HRM department that included the words “ effective communicator w ith knowledge o f communications and networks.” In this instance, the vacancy was fo r an HRM specialist to communicate with other individuals and establish a network o f contacts to resolve problems. The automated resume-scanning software rated individuals w ith computer LAN and WAN communications and networking skills as the most qualified to f ill this HRM position. In this example, analytic-type functions associated the words “ communications” and “ networks” with the more popular applications o f managing today’s computer and communications networks instead o f networks o f human beings. N e ill acknowledged that additional work is needed to refine the tools, including keyword associations and possibly w riting vacancy notices differently than the established practices. N e ill concluded the interview by stating that HRInT tools increase productivity and added that the Internet is a valuable tool; although, under current practices, the centralized database o f the 6,500 DISA employees is and w ill remain the most critical tool fo r HRM use. S he noted that, while these tools are helpful, a continuing need exists fo r human beings to serve as the final decision authority for hiring for the foreseeable future. 173 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was created in 1974 to provide Congress with objective, tim ely, and nonpartisan policy and cost analysis. The CBO employs some 230 H ill-tim e employees. The Director o f HRM fo r the CBO agreed to provide information about changes brought about by the use o f technology. M r. Jan Bohren provided invaluable background on the jo in t history o f HRM and IT and added a detailed overview o f how CBO is leveraging technology to accomplish HR work. He discussed several areas for further improvement and concluded that the u s e o f technology in HRM functions does improve productivity. He added that the processes and practices have progressed since his first involvement w ith IT in support o f HRM in the m id 1960s. Bohren said that the HRM community embraced IT “ in order to make great work easier,” but today’s automated tools have some lim itations. The additional benefits sought include IT tools that support succession planning, a utomating some o f the repetitive processing, eliminating some o f the routine clerical tasks, and making fu ll use o f electronic communications media. He added that, in order to receive the fu ll benefits o f most commercial applications, departments or agencies need large numbers o f applicants to process. The CBO employs about 230 full-tim e workers and operates a robust summer intern program. During the discussions, Bohren stated that, in the summer o f2000, the CBO employed 26 summer interns. The program provides opportunities for college and university students to work in each o f the five CBO divisions and to gain first-hand policy and cost analysis experience in a unique and prestigious federal 174 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. agency. The summer intern program is the source for many o f the new employees entering the CBO workforce. The CBO relies on automated tools, job fairs, and campus recruiting to attract the technically-competent talent needed to staff the organization. The CBO is implementing a new hybrid HRInT tool specifically designed for its unique hiring needs. Bohren reported that CBO has designed a resume-scanning and referral system that w ill be implemented early in 2001. When implemented, the tool w ill provide a new level o f interaction between the HR office and line managers. For example, once a candidate has submitted an application in response to an advertised vacancy, the original requester (hiring division) or “ owner” o f the vacancy reviews the application and decides whether to pursue the applicant. I f a decision is made to pursue the candidate, an indicator appears next to the applicant’s name in an applicant database. The indicator conveys that the applicant’s file is restricted or “ owned” by the designated office. Under planned procedures, others in CBO can review the applicant’ s inform ation for the purpose o f fillin g other vacancies, but only the original requester or owner can contact the applicant. I f the original requester or the candidate decides that the advertised position is not a match, then the original requester removes the protected indicator in the applicant database. This now signals other CBO line managers that the application is available fo r other internal CBO organizations to interview. I f one o f the line managers and the applicant agree that another CBO position is a possible match, the restricted iifdicator is added to the applicant’s name by the interviewing component while the interviewing process 175 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. continues. This aspect o f the proposed system is designed to elim inate internal competition fo r and contacts with applicants, inform hiring managers o f ongoing hiring actions, and standardize applicant contact in a sequential rather than parallel process. Bohren estimated that, once the new HRM system is implemented, CBO can reduce the time the HRM staff spends on these process functions. For reference, the CBO had four fu ll-tim e HRM employees, including one full-tim e recruiter. Bohren added that the goals o f the emerging system include improving the speed o f processing, or shortened time-to-hire, and eliminating redundant efforts including locating, copying, and transferring hard copy files. The system w ill generate Email responses to individual applicants acknowledging receipt o f application information and providing status o f the job opportunity. In response to how HRInT tools can add value in the future, Bohren provided the following examples that, if implemented, would improve HRM users’ abilities to process incoming inform ation. Although not in priority order, he selected the following as important areas for improvement* • Create a strategic marriage between the organization’ s goals and stated goals o f the employees. • Manage succession planning to provide a guide fo r who should be developed and in which positions. • Use more o f the human senses to Gonvey responses (i.e., voice commands, touch screens, and projector screens). 176 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Provide better training tools available on the desktop for HRM officers to use when needed. Bohren added that, today, IT assists HRM in discharging duties, but there are areas fo r improvement. He pointed out, for example, that most HRM application programmers have not performed HRM functions, and, added that “ people who do not analyze our kind o f information are w riting software” for HRM. Bohren said that "we need more creative help from IT people to get the HR job done, and they [IT providers] need to understand our business w ell to be able to create tools.” He added: " It’s our job to explain that [requirement] when seeking IT solutions to our needs” (Jan Bohren, Personal Interview, October 10,2000). Bohren pointed out the successful accomplishments that marked the progression o f IT and HRM over the past three decades. He added that IT has proven it can accomplish routine tasks but can do more in the way o f analytic-type functions to assist HRM professionals. He asserted that the use o f IT in the HRM area is increasing. For future developments, Bohren added that mutual learning about IT and HRM would be helpful in developing and implementing the next generation o f HRInT tools. The above three examples highlight different views o f specific benefits and uses o f HRInT tools in federal hiring processes. Each organization reasons that automation is helping increase productivity by automating repetitive tasks, reducing the time to complete and communicate actions from one person to the next, and assisting in analytical-type functions. These three case studies reveal that there are 177 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. numerous methods o f acquiring HRInT tools, from hybrid commercial developments, to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) procurements, and government in-house developments. Each method has unique performance and cost issues that are part o f the decision process. Once the tools are procured and in place, actual use o f HRInT tools raises questions about the skills m ix o f HRM organizations. In a ll three examples, people skills were noted as important contributors to the successful im plementation o f HRInT tools. It was noted that individuals were needed to operate and optim ize the automated capabilities and that HRM offices may need to hire additional s ta ff to maximize potential benefits. A ll acknowledged that HRInT tools add to productivity but agreed that additional improvements w ill surface w ith future versions and a more mature user base. Organ ization size or the number o f full-tim e employees and potential hiring actions are factors in using HRInT tools. The above discussions highlight a correlation between the number o f employees or potential vacancies in an organization and the level o f support- and analytic-type tasks users expect from HRInT tools. It appears that the larger the organization the more support that is expected o r needed from HRInT tools. Admittedly, this statement is based on a lim ited sample o f three organizations. It does represent organizations o f substantially different sizes, ranging from 230 fu ll-tim e workers for CBO to 6,500 workers fo r DISA to 30,000 workers at the Department o f Commerce. Collectively these organizations represent over 36,000 civilia n workers. 178 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRInT SURVEY The HRInT survey used in this research was created by the researcher in order to gain inform ation on current practices in federal departments and agencies. The survey questions were created after extensive course work, a lengthy literature review, discussions w ith officers from NAPA, industry, and academia, reviews o f previous NAPA surveys on federal hiring, and discussions and Email exchanges w ith current federal HRM officers. The survey was designed to provide current state-of- the-practice inform ation on user attitudes, advances in using technology, and practitioner perspectives o f the effects on productivity. Background on HRInT Tools Survey The HRInT tools questionnaire matured through several stages. The first stage was an in itia l set o f questions that was reviewed and led to interim beta versions to a final version that was distributed to HRM professionals. This transition occurred over the period o f several months, during 1999 and 2000, w ith the final survey being distributed in December 2000. The in itia l version o f the survey was created by the researcher and reviewed by faculty members from the University o f Southern C alifornia. The initial version was forwarded to two researchers, Kathy Troutman and Brian Friel, for their review. (Troutman and Friel regularly contribute HRM-related articles to Government Executive magazine.) These comments were reviewed and incorporated into a second beta version that was then redistributed by the researcher to three HRM directors fo r a final review. Collectively, the result o f 179 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. these reviews guides the words and intent o f the questions used in the final survey. The final survey questions were validated in m ultiple discussions w ith practitioners and academicians, including Professors Chester Newland and John McLaughlin o f the University o f Southern California. Professor Joseph Wholey o f the University o f Southern California approved the questions fo r public release. Instrument Improvements Resulting from the Revision Process Several changes resulted from the comments and suggestions o f various beta- version reviewers. Questions were restated or eliminated, and one additional question was added that directly addressed effects on productivity attributed to the use o f HRInT tools. These changes were incorporated into the questionnaire. Finally, the beta version was distributed to six federal HRM officers from three federal agencies fo r review. Their recommended changes included adding more implementation-oriented questions. In toto, the questionnaire was reviewed multiple times by USC faculty, federal HRM Directors, one industry consultant, and N eil Richenberg o f the International Personnel Management Association (IPM A). Although IPMA did not quality to be included in the survey audience for this research, Richenberg deemed the final version o f the survey to be “ very good” (Richenberg, Email, December 6,2000). This version became the questionnaire that was distributed via Email to potential respondents. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Survey Audience A final survey distribution lis t was created from m ultiple sources, although prim arily from a NAPA-provided lis t o f federal HRM organizations. The NAPA lis t contained entries for the organizations that comprise the NAPA Center for Human Resources Management (NCHRM). The NAPA lis t was compared to a lis t provided by Troutman, and both lists were compared to federal departments and agencies listed on www.FirstGov.gov. The NAPA list totaled 86 Email addresses fo r senior HRM professionals. The Troutman lis t was used to validate the completeness o f the NAPA lis t In every instance, the departments, agencies, bureaus or services listed in the Em ail from Troutman were included in the NAPA lis t A review o f the federal organizations listed on the Web site (www.FirstGov.gov) validated the representativeness o f the number o f potential respondents. Once favorably compared to the FirstGov.gov and Troutman lists, the NAPA lis t was selected a s the distribution list for the HRInT tools survey. Included in the original NAPA survey distribution lis t were three non-federal government addresses that are outside o f the scope o f this research project These three entries represent one c ity government one state government and one international public administration organization. These subtractions reduced the total to 83 potential respondents. Eleven o f the original 83 entries represented different geographic or physical units o f the sam e department, agency, or bureau. That is, in eleven cases, m ultiple persons were listed for the same department These eleven individuals were sent a 181 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. survey, and any returned entries were reviewed for applicability to this research project The review basis included differences in position, geographic region, reported use s o f HRInT tools, and overall survey response. For example, in the c as e o f the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NO AA), two surveys were received—one from the Director o f HRM and one from the senior IT o fficia l supporting HRM applications. The tw o returned surveys from NOAA represent the only instance where two responses were received from the same physical location in a single organization. These two responses provided contrasting views on the uses o f and support for HRInT tools. Comments were included in the survey results, although the numerical counts o f HRInT tools included only once. In another instance, the Social Security Adm inistration (SSA) was represented by two entries—one for the Baltim ore, Maryland region and one for the SSA writ-large. Ten returns represented the Department o f Defense. These returns were from the department overall, defense support organizations, and elements o f the m ilitary services. For example, Arm y HRM was represented by two returns—one from the C ivilian Personnel Operations Center (CPOC), or headquarters element, and one from the Pacific region. A review o f the returned surveys determined that the information provided from these multiple entries fo r NOAA, SSA, and DOD resulted in varied insights into regional and national operations. Responses received from department headquarters elements were different from those received from subordinate elements. For example, the response from SSA headquarters stated that a database containing 182 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. employee career information existed and was used to fill internal vacancies. The regional response stated that a database did not exist and that hybrid automated tools were not currently employed in the hiring process at the fie ld location. Similar differences were reported in other responses, although the collective responses did not consistently demonstrate that headquarters elements were more advanced or used more automated tools than did fie ld elements. In the case o f the Department o f Interior responses, for example, the department stated that some o f the bureaus (Land Management and USGS) were using hybrid tools, but the use was not department- wide. In summary, questionnaires were sent to 83 individuals representing federal departments, agencies, bureaus, or services. O f the 83 questionnaires sent, 34 recipients, or 40.96 percent, returned the surveys. Expected Results Based on the literature review and interviews with HRM professionals, it was anticipated that survey results would provide current inform ation on practices, processes, and changes to productivity as a result o f using HRInT tools. While interviews provided some o f this data, the use o f a questionnaire proved to have a higher success rate than did requesting interviews. The survey goal was to gain current insights into the effects on productivity in order to address the research hypothesis. Thirty-four surveys were returned. The completeness o f the returned surveys ranged from every question being answered, with additional explanations to 183 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. shorter responses, including “yes” or “ no” and “ no comment,” to not answering some o f the questions. O f the 34 surveys returned, most HRM professionals thoroughly responded to the questionnaire. Some offered additional information on their current use o f HRInT tools. Other respondents skipped questions entirely or responded w ith “ no comment” M ultiple potential respondents requested that no individual names be disclosed in reporting the final survey results, and others added statements advising that any further inform ation would have to be approved by their respective public affairs offices before release. A statement reassuring recipients that a ll information would be used fo r research purposes and presented in the aggregate was included in the introductory section o f the questionnaire. In the two in itia l Emails from the researcher to the 83 questionnaire recipients, the researcher declared him self to be a graduate student at a reputable university and a current federal employee. Each survey respondent was reassured that inform ation would be used fo r research purposes and published without individual attribution. Even w ith these statements, several HRM officers asked how the data would be presented and i f their contributions would cause their departments or agencies to be unduly scrutinized. One could view these questions as curiosities or precautions, although in itia lly the researcher assumed that public employees were accustomed to responding to public requests. With the exception o f some defense- or intelligence- related organizations where certain information is not releasable, one may conclude that this cautious reaction is an artifact o f politically-m otivated government-bashing 184 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. or concerns over the requested information being used fo r further downsizing. The effects o f these non-engaging perceptions may have contributed to negative responses by the PBKs cited in Chapter 3 and other potential federal workers’ attitudes cited in earlier chapters. In a recent PAR article, titled “The Dim inishing Publicness o f Public Service under the Current Mode o f Governance” by M . Shamsul Haque (2001), the author provides another possible explanation for a lack o f public inform ation about public service. Haque writes: In recent years, the concern for ascertaining the status o f public service as an authentic public domain seems to have diminished worldwide under the emerging market-driven mode o f government. Public service itse lf has undergone businesslike transformation, especially under the influence o f current global context characterized by the triumph o f market forces and the reorientation o f state policies toward deregulation, privatization, and liberalization, (p. 65) Haque claims that one o f the metrics o f successful public service is public trust (p. 72) and adds that, w ithout conversation about public activities, trust is d iffic u lt to quantify o r express. Campaign slogans or the increasing privatization o f public services are two possible reasons fo r the concerns voiced by survey respondents. In his PAR article, Haque offers a third reason—that o f the lack o f public trust. There may be other reasons that d id not surface during this research study. Although outside o f the scope o f this project and a sizable undertaking in itself, one has to Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. question the seemingly heightened sensitivity o f some HRM professionals to public inquiry.3 7 Email Introduction and Request for Assistance In an effort to increase the response rate and to explain the purpose o f the survey, an introductory Email was sent to the 83 potential respondents introducing the research topic, researcher, and purpose o f the research. In addition, the Email requested assistance in completing an upcoming automated tools survey. Contact information, including Email address, telephone and facsim ile numbers, was provided in the event questions arose. In return for completing the questionnaire, the researcher offered each respondent the results o f the survey. The in itia l Email was sent on Sunday, December 3,2000, and was most likely received on Monday, December 4,2000. The in itia l contact generated two telephone inquiries about the research project and 1 2 Email responses asking about the purpose o f the research, confidentiality, and agreeing to help w ith the research project O f the 1 2 responses, 4 respondents requested a copy o f the survey results, and one requested a copy o f the completed dissertation. 3 7 The timing of the questionnaire may have been a factor. The disputed 2000 presidential elections were in the courts and in the news media. A new president equates to a number of political appointees changing jobs or moving from the public sector. In one case, one senior HRM director stated that, once the election was determined, her time would be consumed by working transition issues for newly-appointed workers. In addition, one must wonder if heightened news coverage of an otherwise routine practice of electing a new president raised sensitivities o f government employees. 186 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Survey Responses The questionnaire was sent to 83 potential respondents on December 10, 2000. The Email me ssages were most like ly received on Monday, December 11, 2000. O f this in itia l m ailing, 26 responses were received by December 30,2000, w ith two additional respondents stating that they would complete the survey in the next few weeks. A follow-up reminder Email was sent on January 7,2001, to those recipients who had not yet responded. This follow-up Email generated eight additional responses. No further attempt was made to collect survey information after the January 7,2001, Email message. Concerns about relative timing, decreasing responses, and increasing workloads due to the incoming administration were factors in this decision. One could question the amount o f time between m ailing the in itia l survey and the follow-up Email. Based on the decreasing volume o f Email tra ffic received by the researcher during the holidays, it was determined that little , i f any, could have been completed in less time by a single researcher. Electronic Delivery of Questionnaires Due to the increasing reliance on automation and the nature o f this research project, in itia l introductions, responses to questions, and the questionnaires were distributed via Email. This medium was employed to expedite the responses and to take advantage o f time savings offered by Email over conventional m ail. Since most, if not a ll, respondents had a workstation and Email access at their desks, Email provided the opportunity for a tim ely response rate. In addition, the use o f Email 187 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. allowed the researcher to conduct an inform al inquiry into the currency o f m ailing lists, responsiveness to public requests fo r assistance, and the opportunity to observe user levels o f proficiency. For example, the survey questions were included in the body o f an Email message in order to avoid delays caused by virus-scanning software in use in federal departments. The software deletes attached files in an attempt to reduce the number o f viruses introduced into the organization’s computer networks. The Email response method, described in the survey, requested respondents to complete the questionnaire and forward the completed Email to the researcher. Dependent on the Email system in use, recipients have to first create a forwarded message from the original Email survey, f ill in the requested inform ation, and then send the completed survey to the researcher. In a ll but four instances, respondents successfully returned the questionnaires and responses. One respondent did not return the completed survey but provided responses numbered to correspond to the survey questions. Three responses were returned via facsimile. It is not known if these facsimile responses were due to technical problems with Email or computus, or i f the respondent preferred to work in hard copy. Regardless, nearly 90 percent o f those recipients who returned surveys successfully responded via Email. Survey Results The results o f the HRinT tools survey are presented in this section. Overall, 34 completed surveys supported the research hypothesis and resulted in evidence that the use o f HRInT tools does increase HRM productivity. The number o f 188 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. organiza tions using HRinT tools is growing, although the survey revealed that current practices vary by organization. Some o f the current tools, namely the OPM database, Internet, and Email were used by most o f the respondents. Other tools, including external kiosks, resume-scanning software, interactive voice response systems, and hybrid in-house developed solutions, were employed by fewer organizations. The questionnaire was divided into five sections and contained twenty-four m ultiple choice, yes/no, or fill-in-the-blank questions. The in itia l section o f the questionnaire asked for demographic information about the respondent These questions included current position and function, hiring authority, number o f civilian employees (vice m ilitary officers or contractors), and fo r a listing o f HRinT tools in use. Some o f the 34 returned surveys did not respond to a ll the questions. The total sample size referenced throughout the following text lists the number o f responses fo r each question under discussion. The actual survey was divided into four categories: HRM Organization Interests, Applicant Interests, Hiring Manager Interests, and the Applicant Process. These four sections were designed to solicit responses that would correlate to the four research propositions and ultim ately address the research question. The survey included questions that directly supported the research question by requesting specific details on HRinT tools and their use, a s w ell as supporting questions that provided additional background inform ation on the research topic. Survey section headings did not directly align w ith research propositions due to concerns that 189 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. respondents would attempt to guess the research hypothesis. This research project had been ongoing since early 1999 and had been the topic o f discussion in various forums w ith m ultiple individuals. These conversants included multiple federal HRM workers, classmates, industry consultants, and officers from NAPA. The concern was that any additional discussion o f the research hypothesis or four propositions could bias the survey responses. Survey questions were ordered w ithin categories to avoid convenience bias and to guard against respondents guessing the purpose o f the question. According to Elizabethann O’ Sullivan’s and Gary Rassel’s (1995) textbook, Research Methods for Public Administrators, “ serious distortions may occur if a respondent gu ess es the purpose o f the questions” (p. 200). Due to the straightforward nature o f a number o f the survey questions, the researcher was concerned about guessing and instrument bias. According to the research planning guide, titled By Design, Planning Research on Higher Education by Richard Light, Judith Singer, and John W illet (1990), instrument bias w ill cause researchers to “ be less likely to detect effects that really exist, regardless o f their size and [the researcher’s] analytic technique” (p. 205). These texts and comments from Professors Chester Newland, Joseph Wholey, and John McLaughlin served as references fo r the survey design. Representativeness of the Survey The representativeness o f the HRinT tools survey was determined by comparing the number o f returns against the number o f executive branch 190 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. organizations listed on the Web site (FiistGov.gov). A count o f federal employees, as reported by the U.S. Bureau o f Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/newsrelsJitm) and forwarded to the researcher by Professor Chester Newland, states that the October 2000 federal government workforce totaled 2,623,000 full-tim e employees. The total included 863,000 Postal Service employees. The Postal Service was not included in this research project due to its govemment-corporation structure. Once the Postal Service employees are subtracted from the total, the non-Postal Service total for October 2000 is 1,769,000. Using this same calculation, the full-tim e civilian total for December 2000 was calculated to be 1,757,000. This number is provided only a s a reference to population numbers reported later in this section. For comparison, one o f the questions in the demographics section o f the HRinT tools survey requested the number o f civilia n workers but did not lim it the response to full-tim e workers. A count o f the number o f civilia n federal employees represented by the survey respondents was compiled from the 34 responses. Using information available on the Web site (FirstGov.gov), civilian workforce population totals for agencies, bureaus, offices and services were listed under the appropriate department or independent establishment to avoid double counting. Where departments as well as subordinate organizations responded, civilia n personnel counts for subordinate organizations were included in department totals and not counted separately. Based on civilian population numbers reported in HRinT tools surveys, respondents represent more than 1,902,000 full-tim e, part-time, and temporary civilian 1 9 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. employees.3 * Due to the inclusion o f part-tim e and temporary workers in the reported numbers, the exact percentage o f the to ta l civilian workforce is not known and most likely cannot be determined. Numbers published by the BLS and referenced earlier in this section are fo r full-tim e civilia n employees. Due to the flu id nature, part-time and temporary federal civilian workers are not regularly included in BLS reports. The Web site (FirstGov.gov) lists fourteen departments in the executive branch o f the federal government HRM representatives working in ten o f the fourteen departments completed and returned surveys. In addition to the ten, the Congressional Budget Office, 1 3 agencies, offices, or services and eight independent establishments (i.e., EPA, SSA, NASA, etc.) responded to the survey.3 9 Based on responses representing more than 7 1 percent (.7142) o f executive branch departments and several independent establishments, the survey results were deemed to be representative o f the existing population o f federal civilian workers. Survey Analysis Analysis o f the survey results compared current uses o f HRinT tools with responding organizations. Several aspects o f the returned data were analyzed. Specific analysis included: 3 *The survey question was designed to solicit the breadth of the potential workload in HRM organizations. A comparison to the BLS numbers cannot be made due to the inclusion o f part-time and temporary workers. While not reported, the researcher suspects that the totals reported in the HRM survey responses included: interns, political appointees, and summer-only employees in addition to full-time, part-time, and temporary workers. 3 9 Duplicates were received from SSA and NOAA. [f all replies are counted, the total number of responses is 34. 192 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Number and popularity o f HRinT tools in use; • Reasons fo r using HRinT tools; • Vacancies fille d using HRinT tools; • Size comparison o f civilian workforce; • Changes to HRM staffing levels; • Most and least productive tools; and • Effects on productivity. The results are provided and discussed throughout this section w ith specific comparisons provided in graphic form and further discussed in the te x t Where appropriate, conclusions and explanations are provided in order to convey a more detailed understanding o f the current u s e s . Number and Popularity of HRinT Tools in Use Respondents were asked to list all HRinT tools currently in use in their hiring processes. Once the duplicate response from NOAA was subtracted from the total, the 33 respondents listed 130 instances o f HRinT tools in us e in federal hiring processes. S e e Figure 3 fo r a comparison o f reported tools in use by respondents. Based on the survey results, the central OPM jobs database and vacancies advertised on individual organization’s Internet Web sites are reported to be the most popular tools for recruiting applicants. The reported use o f Email is ranked third and is nearly as popular as OPM’s jobs database and the Internet These three tools represent about 60 percent o f the total HRinT tools in use today. 193 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. C w p ir tiw «THM iT T—to Dud t m tkm Hiring P n c w External Kiosks IS Automated Resume Scanning US 1 6 % OPM Database 21% FIGURE 3: COMPARISON OF HRinT TOOLS USED IN THE HIRING PROCESS OPM’s jobs database has the largest share followed closely by the Internet and Email. Collectively, these three entries comprise over 60 percent o f a ll tools in use. The totals fo r Email and intranets should be roughly the same w ith intranets (or more cumbersome dial-up capabilities) required for Email. A few organizations reported a separate intranet g fo r HRM use. The remaining tools collectively total about 40 percent. O f note is that the three most popular tools are relatively low cost to HRM organizations. In comparison to other HRM-specific tools the OPM database, Internet Web sites, and Email represent low to moderate costs to HRM organizations. The remaining tools—resume-scanning software, interactive voice response systems, kiosks, and intranets—represent a smaller percentage o f currently-used tools and are more expensive to procure, operate, and maintain. One question raised by these data concerns the costs associated w ith various tools. For reference, refer back to Table 3 for a GAO-sponsored cost comparison o f hybrid HRM tools. For example, the OPM database is managed and staffed by OPM; the Internet and Email are managed and staffed by the organization’s inform ation services or enterprise services organization and is available a s a menu pick on most desktops. These capabilities are now an established component o f departments or agencies and are fam iliar tools to most, if not a ll, o f the federal workforce. Operation and support costs are amortized or distributed over the entire organization and are d ifficu lt to attribute to a single function. These choices are readily understood, have no or very few equals, and do not require HRM organizations to invest in specialized training or staffing. Compared to costs associated w ith hybrid automated resume-scanning software, interactive voice response systems, and external kiosks, the three most popular tools represent methods o f entering the digital age w ithout the expense o f hybrid solutions. 195 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The remainder o f the cited HRinT tools are not viewed as organization-wide capabilities but seen as HRM-specific and most likely championed and funded by HRM organizations. In addition, these HRM-specific tools require specialized skills and capabilities that must be identified w ithin the HRM organization. For example, in the Department o f Commerce, HRM positions were identified to support staffing the COOL help desk and to serve as the project manager for the COOL development Funds for the project were identified from w ithin the HRM budget This example highlights the additional financial and personnel services expenses HRM organizations may incur in order to implement HRinT tools. The arguably short-sided view that hiring new workers is a task relegated to and reserved for the HRM organization is developed and discussed in Chapter S . A section is presented later comparing the popularity o f tools in use to the reported tools that add the most to HRM productivity. In addition, a separate question asked respondents to identify the least productive HRinT tool in use. Only nine respondents answered the survey question asking for the least productive tool. O f the nine responses, four respondents cited Email as the least productive tool in use today fo r hiring new employees. Two o f the remaining five responses cited resume-scanning software; two others cited IVRS, and one cited the Internet as the least productive tool in use today. A review o f the responses suggests that there is little agreement on the best or worst HRinT tool. For example, other recipients cited these same tools as adding the most to their productivity and unique implementations. The lack o f consistent views or consistent applications o f HRinT tools is one o f the unanticipated study findings. 196 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Uniform application and selection o f HRinT tools appears to be lacking. For each complaint or condemnation about a specific tool or type o f tool, there was equal praise for the same tool by a different organization. This disparity was not only reported w ithin departments but by respondents in different departments. The statement is based on a review o f the responses to questions about most and least productive tools in use today. For a complete listing o f most productive tools in use, see Figure 4. Reasons for Using HRinT Tools To gain a better understanding o f the reasons behind using automation, the questionnaire asked respondents to explain why they began using automated tools in the hiring process. O f the responses (n=25), increasing efficiency and speed was the most popular factor. Figure 5 depicts the results o f this question. No correlation could be determined between these responses and the size o f the civilian workforce, current use o f HRinT tools, or downsizing o f the HRM department staff. One must ask i f increasing competition from the private sector or the Clinton administration’s NPR effort is the leading cause o f the increased focus on efficiency and speed in the hiring process. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 9 8 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Why Did Your Organization Start Using HRinT Tools? (n=25) Efficiency/Speed Reduce Support reduced Seeking paperwork staff additional capabilities FIGURE 5: WHY DID YOUR ORGANIZATION START USING HRinT TOOLS? i Respondents cited speed and efficiency as the primary reason fo r em ploying automated tools. In interviews, when asked about the costs to ta ilo r otherwise commercially available products, the interviewees cite increased fle x ib ility and the need to customize technology to fit their specific needs as justification fo r the additional expense. In addition to efficiency and speed, four org an izations cited the need to reduce paperwork as the reason to automate. Specific legislation (i.e., Government Paperwork Elimination Act o f 1998, or GPEA, P.L. 105-227, T itle X V II) was cited by two organizations, w hile two others sought to reduce the growing amount o f paperwork associated with HRM practices. Vacancies Filled A separate question asked respondents to provide a relative estimate o f the number o f positions fille d using HRinT tools. Twenty-three respondents answered this question by selecting one o f the follow ing responses: none, some, half, most or a ll positions are currently being fille d w ith the assistance o f HRinT tools. The results reveal that less than one-half o f a ll vacant positions are being fille d w ith the assistance o f HRinT tools; however, this result is a b it misleading. O f the 23 responses, 1 1 reported “none” or “ some” positions; 3 reported that one-half o f a ll vacant positions are fille d using HRinT tools; 7 reported “ most positions” ; and 2 reported that all positions are being fille d using automated tools. O nly one respondent stated that no positions are being fille d using automated tools, w hile two 200 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. declared that all positions are being fille d using automated tools. S e e Figure 6 fo r a comparison o f the results. Size Comparison of Civilian Workforce Organizational size was compared to determine i f a correlation could be discovered between the number o f federal civilian workers and the reported number o f HRinT tools in use in the hiring process. The survey respondents represented organizations ranging from 74 to 700,000 employees. The respondents reported between one and six HRinT tools in use in the hiring process. Results o f the survey im ply that the number o f civilia n workers is not as great a factor a s one would suspect. For example, an organization with 100 civilia n workers reported using three automated tools (Internet, Email, and intranets), w hile an organization w ith 230,000 workers also reported using three tools (OPM database, IVRS, and intranets). These can be compared to a response representing 27,000 civilia n workers reportedly using 6 HRinT tools in the hiring process. Overall, the survey responses averaged 4.06 HRinT tools per organization. A review o f the surveys sought to correlate responses w ith number o f HRinT tools in an attempt to determine the single factor responsible for using automation in the hiring process. For example, nine o f the respondents stated that they used a central database to store inform ation about civilian employees. These respondents reported civilia n workforces ranging from 230 to over 165,000. O f the nine, seven reported efficiency as the reason fo r using tools; two did not respond. Overall, efficiency was the most reported reason for using automated tools 201 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in the hiring process. Based on this lim ited response, size o f the civilian workforce could not be positively identified as the single factor leading to the use o f more HRinT tools. Changes to HRM Staffing Levels Downsizing o f federal HRM organizations was reported and reviewed. One could conclude that, if fewer people were available to complete HRM work and the workload remained constant or increased, alternatives would be sought to alleviate the backlogs. When budgets are constant or declining and staffing is being cut, innovation using technology is a reasonable alternative. O f the 34 survey responses, HRM sta ff downsizing affected 19 o r 55.88 percent in the past five years. O f the 19, 7 reported reductions o f 50 percent or more in the past five years. This reported loss o f people to complete the work may be a primary factor in the growing popularity o f HRinT tools, although data are insufficient to directly support such a claim. During the Clinton administration, competition from the private sector, tight labor markets, downsizing o f HRM specialists, and increasing workloads appeared to converge to serve as a catalyst for change. This catalyst caused or contributed to increasing use o f automation in the HRM workplace. The prevalence and benefits o f different automation approaches is reviewed in the follow ing section. Most and Least Productive Tools By comparing the responses, it appears that the most commonplace tool is not consistently viewed by HRM officers as the most useful tool. When asked to identify 203 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the single most useful HRinT tool in use today, nine o f the 25 respondents selected the Internet. This result does not correlate w ith the result o f the earlier question concerning the most common tool. Recall that the OPM database was identified by survey respondents as the most popular tool in use today. O f note is that only 3 o f the 25 respondents (or about 1 2 percent) identified the OPM database as the tool adding the most to their operations; however, the remaining respondents selected other tools. Refer back to Figure 4 for the complete listing o f responses to this question. Unfortunately, not a ll survey respondents answered a ll questions causing the total responses to vary by question. There are m ultiple possible explanations for the differences in responses for the most popular tool and the most useful tool. For example, use o f the OPM database is readily accepted for those organizations classified as non-exempt from OPM practices. A review o f respondents’ Internet home pages revealed that each respondent provided access to employment opportunities. This entry on organizational home pages can be viewed as an effort by federal organizations to use m ultiple avenues to attract potential employees.4 0 In discussions w ith HRM survey respondents, the point was made that organizational home pages were relatively inexpensive to create and maintain and offered the opportunity to reach applicants already interested in or at least visiting the ^Speculation leads to the economic adage that free goods are abused, because they are free. Since the OPM jobs database is administered by OPM and is not directly billable to consuming departments or agencies, one would expect to see widespread availability of the database. 204 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. organization’s Web site. Most organizations use both the OPM database as w ell as their internal home pages to advertise positions. Some respondents reported that they electronically connected or hotlinked their organizational vacancy notice to the one published in the OPM database to ensure consistency and timeliness. When an applicant completes an on-line application in the OPM database, the inform ation is collected in the organization’s HRM database and is rapidly available fo r further review and processing. Thirty-two survey respondents report that additional tools are planned for future deployments. The majority o f responses, 28 o f 32 or 87.5 percent, are planning to increase their reliance on and use o f automated tools in HRM practices. Four respondents plan to remain w ith the existing number o f tools, and no organization expects to use fewer automated tools. Applicant Preferences As reported by survey respondents, applicants clearly us e some tools more than others when applying for federal positions. A ll tools listed in the survey were reportedly in use, but the Internet was used more often than internally-developed tools, Email, interactive voice response systems (IVRS), or the OPM database. Se e Figure 7 for the results o f this survey question. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a 206 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Effects on Productivity A review o f evidence collected from interviews, c as e studies, and survey results indicated that HRinT tools are used fo r m ultiple reasons. Data suggested m ultiple reasons without causation to organization size, number o f vacancies, or recent downsizing. The only statement that was consistently supported by this research was that the majority o f data support the conclusion that the use o f HRinT tools increases productivity o f federal HRM organizations. When asked for a direct “yes” or “ no” response to this question, the m ajority o f survey respondents as well a s all o f the HRM officers interviewed stated that the use o f HRinT tools increased productivity. Figure 8 depicts survey responses to the question concerning HRinT tools and increasing productivity. The m ajority, 24 o f 25 or 96 percent o f those responding stated that the use o f HRinT tools increased HRM productivity. For comparison, the responses to this question are more consistent than the responses to any other survey question. W hile the majority o f other survey replies were fairly mixed in response to specific questions, nearly all respondents believe automated tools improve productivity. The single dissenting response pointed out in survey comments that automated tools do improve a number or areas, but additional improvement is needed. The respondent stated that computers do not replace human judgment, and HRM organizations must focus on hiring sta ff members who are trained in using technology. The lone negative response appears to be more o f a caution flag concerning implementation methods than a condemnation o f the tools. 207 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. D ow Usi ng HRi nT Toola I mprove Producti vi ty? (n -26) knpfM Not Im pr ove FIGURE 8: SURVEY RESPONSES INDICATING 96 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS BELIEVE HRIaT TOOLS ADD TO HRM PRODUCTIVITY The one negative response was explained by the respondent as concern over implementation, not the tools. Lessons Learned from Survey Effort Several lessons were learned as a result o f creating, administering, and analyzing the survey. First, as w ith many questionnaires, the potential fo r a lower* than-useable response rate was a concern until the survey responses arrived. The concern that no one or only a few individuals would respond, relegating the hours spent in preparation and consultation worthless, was a nagging concern. This worry was exacerbated by early questions from potential respondents about drawing negative publicity. The d ifficu lty o f creating a representative Email list and keeping the lis t current was highlighted early in the distribution o f the HRinT tools questionnaire. NAPA uses the source lis t to communicate w ith members o f NAPA’s Center for Human Resources Management (CHRM). Members sponsor research, attend meetings and conferences, and converse with NAPA via Email. The d iffic u lty o f maintaining a current Email lis t in today's fast-paced federal environment proved challenging. In addition, a larger distribution that consistently contained m ultiple entries for each department or agency may have generated a larger pool o f responses. This statement is not to take away from the views o f the senior HRM officers who responded to the survey but to point out that more data could have provided additional insights. The m ajority o f survey responses (n=22) came from individuals w ith the title o f Director, Deputy Director, or Associate Deputy Director o f Personnel o r HRM. These senior-most HRM officers are the best source o f HRM information, but lower- 209 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. level responses may have revealed additional implementation information. The mechanical lesson learned is that early and frequent communications with potential respondents is necessary to gain support and maintain current Email addresses. Leaving mechanical issues and moving towards practical issues, the practical lesson is that the subject o f the survey must be interesting to potential respondents, or the respondents w ill not be sufficiently motivated to help. In this instance, a survey return rate o f 40 percent, representing more than 70 percent o f executive branch departments, is acceptable albeit somewhat Washington, DC-centric. I f resources were available, a nationwide survey, including a greater number o f regional responses, may have resulted in different findings. In addition, individual interpretation o f some o f the questions provided less than optimum responses. One question in particular—that asked “ Why did your organization start using automated inform ation processing tools?” —generated responses ranging from reasons for using automated tools to m ultiple occurrences o f when automation was introduced into the HRM office. These responses led the researcher to conclude that the question could have been better stated. In another example, the question read: “ Can you te ll us the exact steps an electronic response takes once it is received by your department or agency?” A sim ilar question was asked about hard copy, w ith the goal o f comparing the two responses. Unfortunately, responses ranged from ignoring the questions, to simply responding “yes” or “ no” to a few responses that actually provided the steps. In this example, the question was not worded correctly to solicit the desired response. 210 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Regardless o f the number o f reviews, the importance o f specific words and overall question intent cannot be over-emphasized. While other potential explanations could be that respondents were expecting a specific question on when they started using automation, or, in the second example, that the survey was establishing a level o f process knowledge, the importance o f question wording was reinforced. Finally, debate about the validity and usefulness o f survey results is ongoing. The advent o f CNN-ABC News polls, up-to-the-minute voter responses that are used by politicians, and exit polling relying on awkwardly-worded questions, unknown samples, and speculated populations have caused some researchers to view survey data as a collection o f uninformed opinions. To avoid some o f the more commonplace criticisms, this survey design incorporated several safeguards that may not be present in the popular opinion polls o f the moment administered to provide background on fast-breaking news events. For example, the HRinT tools survey was drafted after extensive research, vetted w ith academic leaders in the HRM field and experienced in questionnaire design and metrics analysis. The survey was tested with HRM professionals and industry consultants. The distribution lis t was provided by a noted source in public administration and vetted against an independent lis t provided by an industry consultant Three respondents requested telephone interviews o r face-to-face meetings to discuss the survey. Using Em ail, the researcher explained th a t in order to avoid biasing the responses, it was preferable for respondents to complete and return the survey before any additional conversations on this subject A fte r the explanatory 211 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Emails were sent, the three respondents completed and returned their surveys. Finally, the survey results were one piece o f evidence that formed the conclusion o f this research study, but they were not the sole basis o f opinion. These safeguards were implemented and believed necessary to ensure the research study was not biased by a lack o f rigor. Summary and Analysis of Findings Impact on Applicants From an applicant perspective, the use o f HRinT tools has provided m ultiple avenues to apply fo r federal positions. The most popular, and also the most prolific, is using the Internet. In addition to the Internet, applicants can use a telephone and ac ces s the OPM database or, in some organizations, apply through an interactive voice response system. In addition to the above, kiosks located at shopping malls and transit stations offer another opportunity to apply. The advent o f Email provided access to federal jo b opportunities from CompuServe and America On-Line home Email accounts. The advent o f HRinT tools expanded the options available to applicants and increased the ease o f applying for federal positions. As discussed in the section on survey results, use o f the Internet ha s singularly expanded the avenues available to applicants. Applicants have more latitude to apply fo r m ultiple positions with less effort u n til one minute before midnight on the closing dates. A factor that is w ithin the scope o f this project is the methodology employed in advertising, attracting, rating and ranking, interviewing, and potentially hiring new 212 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. workers. The use o f keyword searches changes how an applicant applies. Instead o f replying w ith essay-style answers, applicants can achieve the same o r better results by w riting short, concise responses. In addition, applicants can continue to tailor their replies as they gain more experience to better compete for specific vacant positions. In days past, resumes were w ritten, edited, and professionally typeset The use o f HR inT tools allows the applicant greater fle xib ility and options in applying for federal positions. Impacts on HRM Workforces Downsizing o f HRM workforces has led to increased reliance on HRinT tools to complete routine processes. It is not clear from survey findings o r interviews which change caused which result—downsizing caused increased reliance on technology or increased reliance on technology led to downsizing. It appears from some interview data that downsizing was the cause, and increasing reliance on technology was the response. Expanded workloads, including strategic workforce planning and analyzing HR data for senior management, are new tasks being levied on HRM specialists. Many o f the survey respondents reported serving as senior consultants fo r outsourcing or downsizing decisions a s examples o f new areas that take away from traditional HRM functions. In addition, the increasing reliance on H R inT tools and technology in general is changing the skills employed by HRM organizations. As several survey respondents and interviewees noted, HRM organizations are relying 213 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. more on IT skills, either by training existing employees or hiring and contracting for needed skills. Technology is raising user expectations and increasing workloads. The use o f HRinT tools allows applicants to apply anytime from anywhere w ith the appropriate technological hardware. This approach relies more on technology and people who manage technology. Greater reliance on technology has the effect o f raising the publicness o f organizations that, for example, have their access disrupted by hackers o r virus attacks. This added dimension increases public awareness o f vulnerabilities o f technology and, as reported occasionally in local Washington, DC, news broadcasts and in print, provides additional non-positive publicity on the effects o f using technology. Openness facilitates faster public access but allows computer attacks to disrupt day-to-day organizational functions. Changes to Federal Organizations The use o f HRinT tools has caused changes in the way employees are hired. Due to factors described earlier (retirements, outsourcing, technology, expectations, etc.), culminating in a focus on cycle time and the continuing debate about government salaries lagging behind private sector, hiring the most qualified candidate who can resolve current problems proved to be a challenge during the Cfinton-Gore administration. In addition, the tim e lag between submitting an application and receiving an offer o f employment, or cycle time, was longer in the public sector than the private sector. Private industry was working in a framework o f 214 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. hours or days, while the public sector was working in weeks or months. The private sector represents the new metric for public sector organizations. The use o f HRinT tools is reducing cycle tim e and helping government organizations compete fo r applicants. Increasing requirements that out-paced available resources, the growing need fo r specialization, and the trend o f outsourcing functions to contractors are factors that affected the federal workplace and demands on federal employees. Organizations continue to face the tasks o f interviewing candidates in addition to normal or expected production and management duties. Time on the calendar to concentrate on the hiring process is viewed as a method for improving overall hiring outcomes. It is acknowledged by survey respondents that downsizing o f the workforce and increasing workloads have squeezed out available time. A benefit o f using HRinT tools is that practices can be captured and stored, providing a starting point fo r compensating hiring officials for the lack o f tim e to focus on hiring. The impacts o f negative publicity—another major factor in both hiring and retaining employees—has been addressed in earlier chapters, although cannot be discounted as one o f the concerns for retaining a competitive federal workforce. Perceived Fairness of the Hiring Process The perception o f fairness has been increased by using automated tools, although some o f the credit must include OPM’s USAJobs database and standing requirements, including, fo r example, the rule o f three. Since 1997, OPM has been 215 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. required to provide an electronic method for cataloging vacancy announcements for positions open to candidates outside o f the hiring organization.4 1 This requirement led OPM to create today’s USAJobs database that can be accessed from a touch tone telephone as w ell as computers accessing the Internet The Clinton-Gore administration orchestrated the largest single government downsizing effort in recent decades, leading to a 1990s government with a 1960s number o f reported full-tim e civilia n workers. The reported rapid reduction in federal workers has also reduced the level o f historical memory and raised concerns over the true costs o f contracting out service formerly performed by public employees. O f note is the collaboration between unions and employers in implementing the COOL system in the Department o f Commerce. Labor unions support repetition as a method o f encouraging less individual bias and more fairness in the application process. In addition to reducing cycle tim e, the system is perceived a s being more equitable to applicants by providing results in less time than previous practices. Increasing reliance on technology is in some ways ensuring future reliance. As more processes are automated, less information is shared by experienced workers as they mentor ju n io r workers. Instead, position-specific questions, ranking and rating criteria, and automated responses to rules and regulations are contained in HRinT tools. From a process lens, this approach increases productivity and 4 1 For additional information on OPM’s statutory requirements, see 5 U.S.C. 3330 requiring OPM to maintain a comprehensive listing of vacancy announcements. 216 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. standardization or repetition. From a human being approach, HRM specialists need IT skills more today than in the past One wonders if, at some future juncture, HRM offices w ill be relegated to Web-based home pages with menu picks o f the most popular choices, allowing applicants and employees to function without HRM workers. Does the Use of HRinT Tools Increase Productivity? The research question sought to determine if HRinT tools are increasing the productivity o f federal HRM organizations. Supporting questions asked if federal HRM organizations are automating manual processes or changing processes in order to take advantage o f available advances in technology and, if the former, what should be changed in order to improve the federal hiring process. From the results o f the literature review, interviews with HRM professionals and consultants, and results o f the HRinT tools survey, one can conclude that the us e o f HRinT tools in the federal hiring process does increase productivity. The results o f this research determine that the us e o f HRinT tools does improve the federal HRM organizations' productivity, thus, supporting the in itia l research hypothesis. Evidence collected fo r this research project does not support the null hypothesis—that the use o f HRinT tools does not increase productivity. Research to date has determined that organizations are using HRinT tools to support a variety o f tasks. These tasks include both support-type functions and analytic-type functions. Support-type functions include augmenting reduced HRM staffing and 217 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. automating manual processes or, what Herbert Simon labeled, “ making typewriters fester.” Analytic-type functions include rating, ranking, and automatically communicating w ith applicants without the involvement o f HRM workers or line managers. The survey results validated what was learned in case studies and interviews—that the use o f HRinT tools increases productivity. The conclusion is based on a number o f factors, including: • The growing number o f departments and agencies that are using HRinT tools in hiring processes; • The statements in November 1999 NAPA research (1999) citing the growing need for all applicants to be computer-literate in order to be competitive for federal jobs (p. 59); • Most federal HRM organizations have experienced a higher percentage o f personnel reductions than other administrative or support elements; • The workload for remaining HRM officers has increased w ith the addition o f corporate-level analysis and direction from the Clinton administration to report on HRM goals and accomplishments in annual planning documents; • An increase in part-time and temporary workers has added to the HRM workload; 218 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • A strong economy and private sector competition for specialized skills increases the pressure on HRM organizations to reduce cycle tim e to compete w ith private sector employers; and • The retirement o f senior HRM officers is leaving voids in corporate knowledge and capabilities while workloads increase. Other contributing factors include: uneven implementation o f the use s and funding levels fo r automated tools, and uneven practices and expectations. As one interviewee stated: “ HR offices, in much o f the Federal Sector, are the lone step child and tend to get ignored" (Huttman, USGS, Email Interview, 2001). The majority o f responses leads to the view that HRinT tools are being implemented to address near-term issues. I f HRinT tools were implemented w ith a view to near- and long-term issues, one must wonder if additional capabilities could be discovered by existing HRM organizations. For example, several respondents and interviewees stated that current HRM organizations were being tasked to complete strategic workforce planning and serve as consultants to department leaders. These new roles are in addition to existing workloads. If, fo r example, information in HRM hiring databases was used to collect metrics about vacancies, including average time to vacate positions by position category, average tim e to f ill positions, and identify positions w ith the highest turnover rate, proactive approaches could be taken that would assist organizations in fillin g vacancies. Chapter 5 offers recommendations for further research as well as implementation suggestions that could lessen the workloads on existing HRM organizations. 219 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE STUDIES Review of Research Conclusions This chapter contains a summary o f the research findings discussed in Chapter 4, a section on recommendations for improving existing implementations o f HRinT tools in federal hiring processes, and a section on suggested additional research projects. The conclusions noted in Adam’s survey o f Phi Beta Kappa students (PBKs) symbolize applicants’ concerns with federal hiring. Human resources management was viewed as one o f the original improvement targets o f Clinton’s NPR’s e ffo rt There has been progress in improving HRM performance, but sources are not readily identified in current literature.4 2 As reported in Chapter 4 and based on HRinT tool survey responses, the reasons for automating HRM processes are grouped into four broad categories that include increasing efficiency, augmenting reduced HRM staffs, reducing paperwork and seeking additional capabilities. These overarching goals represent the reasons 4 2 For additional information on the progress of the Clinton-Gore National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPRX see the September 2000 GAO report, “Reinventing Government, Status of NPR Recommendations at 10 Federal Agencies” (GAO/GGD-OO-145). 220 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. behind implementing HRinT tools in the federal workforce. The resulting changes in HRM practices are marching towards these goals; however, some federal organizations remain ahead o f others. The next section provides further discussion on this topic and points out a sampling o f the variety o f views and interim outcomes. Overall Results are Positive, but HRinT Tool Implementation is Varied The results o f current efforts to meet these goals are causing positive changes in HRM practices. Some areas o f improvement were reported in HRinT tool survey responses that, if shared, may increase the number o f successful implementations. For example, in the narrative section o f the survey, several survey participants noted concerns that are divided into three broad categories. These categories are summarized and discussed below. Training of HRM Specialists. M ultiple respondents pointed out that change from manual processes to automation requires training for HRM officers in order to u tilize and benefit from the new tools. Training was a popular topic among the survey respondents and would lead one to identify training as the most important area fo r improvement Concerns included HRM specialists’ understanding and support o f automated processes, new expectations, and changing workloads. One respondent claimed that solid analysis is needed to validate automated rating and ranking results, because computers are not yet able to distinguish between words used in different contexts. Words, including networks and communication, were cited as examples. Another stated that the downsized HRM department is “ too busy to use automated 221 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tools.” Training in the use o f HRinT tools is key to acceptance and successful implementation. M ultiple respondents cited the lack o f acceptance by HRM specialists as concerns in implementing HRinT tools. Consistent Practices and Technologies. Respondents cited consistent practices as an area for improvement that, if addressed, could show immediate results. One respondent claimed that his organization uses different automated tools to hire temporary workers and to hire permanent full-tim e workers. Others declared that the headquarters or department elements use different tools and procedures than regional offices. It is not clear i f these reported differences are due to beta testing o f new product, or if regional organizations are developing applications for the department sim ilar to the Census Bureau’s development o f the Department o f Commerce’s COOL system. Available resources and technology-centric views o f HRM directors could be driving factors. Many HRM officers stated that resources for HRinT tools were taken from existing HRM budgets. In addition, it appears that the level o f interest demonstrated by the HRM director is a single strong influence in the use o f HRinT tools. This latter point could be influenced or expanded w ith more training to create a consistent understanding o f automated capabilities. Automating Existing Processes. A comparison o f times to process soft- copy applications in comparison to hard-copy applications resulted in time savings ranging from minutes to many hours. Concern was voiced over automating manual processes and not changing the overall process. One applicant added that current practices have “merely paved the cowpath,” and automated implementations have 222 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. assumed that existing steps are necessary. Another respondent voiced concern over machines evaluating resume-based applications and offered that an application-based evaluation system appears more productive. The HRM specialist added that his organization was in the process o f developing a hybrid applications-based system to overcome concerns o f a keyword-based approach. One o f the causes o f inconsistent processes and practices could be the continued automating o f legacy or existing practices. New technologies offe r new tools and the possibilities to create new approaches. Based on comments on m ultiple survey responses, it appears that changing existing processes in addition to reducing cycle time or speeding up the process should be considered. The above sampling highlights the major implementation challenges encountered by HRM organizations. It appears that each organization, albeit at varying stages o f completeness, either at the department or within-department level, is working to address implementation issues while attempting to support existing workloads and new requirements. One could be encouraged that, o f the 34 responses, a ll concerns can be grouped into three categories, and some o f the concerns were accompanied by recommendations for addressing them. One Productivity Measure The use o f HRinT tools in federal hiring processes improves the productivity o f HRM organizations, although more remains to be implemented and polished. Current implementations vary by department and by agency, bureau, or service 223 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. w ithin departments. The HRinT tools survey responses point to m ultiple implementations based on varying numbers o f tools and uses in current HRM practices. Viewed through a different lens, the survey results identify the degree o f alignment between investments, gains in productivity, and use by applicants. S e e Table 6 for the derived results o f this comparison. A comparison was compiled between the number and type o f HRinT tools in use, the most productive HRM tool, and the tools used most by applicants. The results provide a unique view into areas fo r future investment and focus by HRM organizations. Table 6 lists the raw and derived data used to create the comparison. A composite chart was created using survey data depicted in Figures 3,4, and 7. Since the total respondents to each question varied, all data was normalized to a single scale, w hile retaining the relative values as reported in the survey responses. The derived data used the largest response set (n-130) and normalized the remaining response sets, n=25 and n=30, to the larger (n=130) scale. Adm ittedly, this derived conclusion is less precise than that resulting from comparing equal numbers o f responses; however, the calculated data is accurate based on relative instances o f responses. Table 6 depicts the actual responses o f the three questions, and it then displays the calculated or extended values using the n=130 scale. Figure 9 provides a graphic representation o f the results. The results o f the derived ratings for each HRinT tool are discussed in the paragraphs follow ing Table 6 and Figure 9. Based on H R inT tools survey results (n=34), Table 6 and Figure 9 provide insights into where current HRM organizations are focusing their resources and how 224 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. applicants are entering the potential candidate pool. The “ tools in use” category represents actual totals reported by survey respondents. The other tw o categories, “ adds the most” and “ used by applicants,” contain two columns. One column contains the actual response data. The second column under each heading contains the calculated o r derived data. Using the results o f this normalization lens, the data in this example begins to point to areas fo r further investment and areas that, with additional research, may need to be de-emphasized to realize optimum benefits. TABLE6 COMPARISON OF POPULARITY, HRM PRODUCTIVITY, AND APPLICANT USE Tools ia Use (■=130) Adds the Most? (■=25) Used by Applicants? (n=30) Actaal Response Actual Derived Actual Derived OPM Database 28 3 16 2 9 Internet 28 9 47 21 90 Email 24 4 21 2 9 Intranets 21 0 1 4 Automated Resume Scanning 14 0 0 Other/Hybrid 8 8 42 2 9 IVRS 6 1 5 2 9 External Kiosks 1 0 0 Total 130 25 130 30 130 Note: Comparison o f actual and derived data on popularity and productivity of HRinT tools in use based on survey responses. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Comparison of Popularity, Productivity, and Use (Derived Results) External K io s k s IVRS Other/Hybrid A u to m a te d R e s u m e S c a n n in g In tra n e ts E m ail In te rn e t OPM D a ta b a s e □Used by Applicant*? (n»30) UAdde the Moat? (n-25) B Tooltinltf(n»130) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 FIGURE 9: COMPARISON OF POPULARITY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND USE (DERIVED RESULTS) Findings by HRinT Tool Entry Each HRinT tool included in the survey is discussed in this section. In the m ajority o f instances, results o f the existence, HRM productivity, and applicant us e do not match. This conclusion is further developed at the end o f this section. External Kiosks. Respondents included one instance o f reported use o f external kiosks. Overall, the responses do not include instances o f external kiosks adding the most to HRM productivity or favored by applicants. External kiosks appear to be a potential low-cost, high-volume approach to recruiting potential workers. The results o f this survey did not indicate strong support fo r this approach by applicants or HRM specialists as currently implemented. Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS). Use o f Interactive Voice Response Systems was reported under a ll three questions. Using the normalized data, current reported uses o f IVRS tools appear to align closely among the three categories (tools in use, adds to HRM productivity, and used by applicants). O f the eight categories o f HRinT tools, IVRS appears to be the most closely aligned. This statement is based on a comparison o f survey results depicted on a normalized scale. The comparison is between the three categories—popularity o f the tool, benefits to productivity, and us e by applicants. Using the data provided in the survey, the instances o f popularity o f IVRS appears to match the benefits to HRM organizations and applicants. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. H ybrid/O ther. M ultiple organizations report that hybrid (other/hybrid) automated tools add the most to the HRM organization’s productivity. Since hybrid tools are designed to address organization-specific issues, this response is not unexpected. Yet, in answering the question— which tools are used most by applicants—the derived number is not proportionately equal. This could be due to the fairly low number o f organizations using hybrid tools or recent implementations that are not yet fu lly operational. Automated Resume-Scanning Software. Respondents included automated resume-scanning software in the “tools in use” category, but this capability was not included in the other two categories. The researcher finds this result surprising, since a number o f reported hybrid/other solutions includes automated resume-scanning capabilities. Based on comments from the D irector o f HRM at DISA and survey responses, concern over the use o f keyword searches may be a factor for the low score. The comments on keyword searches ranged from positive support to negative comments. Intranets. The use o f intranets is most like ly reserved for internal-to-the- organization applicants. Candidates who are federal employees and seeking to change jobs w ithin their existing organization could use intranets, or internal HRM networks, to access and respond to current vacancy notices. External applicants would use Email o r the Internet to communicate w ith the HRM office. Survey respondents noted several instances (n=21) o f intranet use; however, the capability 228 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. was not selected fo r adding the most to HRM productivity. This disparity could be explained by the nearly perfect substitution o f Internet access fo r most applicants. EmaiL The use o f Email was cited in a ll three categories. Email use is a popular tool that was selected by fewer respondents a s adding the most to the productivity o f HRM organizations. Both internal and external applicants can use Email to communicate w ith HRM and line managers. The reported results o f this survey indicate that, while a few organizations believe Email adds the most to their HRM organization, applicants do not proportionately use Email as often as would have been expected. Internet. The Internet was reported to be used by the m ajority o f applicants. A total o f 30 responses were received to this question. The results indicate that the Internet is the tool o f choice for more than 60 percent o f the responses (21 o f 30 responses). The Internet is accessible for internal and external applicants and can be used by HRM and line components. Using the derived dafr, the Internet is the tool o f choice by applicants, adds the most to HRM productivity, and is in use today. Based on this data, the Internet represents an area fo r additional investment The data suggest that the m ajority o f applicants use the Internet yet there does not appear to be a commiserate level o f resources directed to the Internet I f the number o f instances as reported in the ‘Tools in us e” category is accurate, the survey population could benefit from applying more resources to the Internet and less to other tools. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. OPM Database. The OPM database was reported in us e as frequently as the Internet and more frequently than Email. About 10 percent o f survey respondents selected the OPM database as adding the most to HRM productivity. About 6 percent o f applicants use the OPM database to apply fo r federal positions. The inform ation on the database could be a b it misleading. Since m ultiple organizations have vacant positions published on their individual Web sites and linked directly to the OPM database, the results o f productivity and applicant us e scores may be d iffic u lt to separate. The OPM database is an established capability that is accessible from m ultiple sources, including the Internet and telephone. To provide a metric on the scope o f the OPM database, a January 1999 article by Michelle Hankins (1999) in Signal magazine claims that “ more than 65,000 resumes are on file with the government” and contained in the OPM database (p. 47).4 3 Hankins did not explain the currency o f the resumes; but, if all 65,000 are current, then the federal government is practicing one o f the industry's best practices—that o f establishing a cadre o f skilled and potentially interested candidates to f ill vacant and to-be-vacant positions. This approach is discussed later in this chapter in the section on proactive recruiting practices. Nine respondents reported sim ilar benefits to HRM productivity fo r the Internet and eight for the Other/Hybrid categories. A larger difference was reported 4 3 The OPM database, USAJobs, is available to federal organizations as a common database to list vacant positions. The OPM database should not be confused with the Department o f Labor database known as America’ s Job Bank. The latter is a federally-funded Internet database that is used by federal, state, and local governments and the private sector to list vacant positions. 230 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in the number o f applicants who use the two tools; 2 1 o f 30 respondents selected the Internet, and tw o o f 30 selected hybrid tools. Considering the number o f applicants who are trained in and experienced w ith the Internet compared to those who are fam iliar w ith the use o f hybrid tools, this difference is understandable. This large user population is another reason fo r relying mote on Internet-based approaches. The survey results reported above would suggest that resources directed to the Internet provide greater benefits and opportunities to attract applicants than resources allocated to other applications. This statement is based on the number o f instances o f reported productivity gains and use by applicants compared to reported tools-in-use responses. Improvements to existing Internet recruiting capabilities was discussed in a recent M e rit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) report A February 2000 MSPB report suggests that improvements to existing Internet Web sites could result in additional applicants applying fo r vacant positions. Specifically, the report notes: “ The Internet has the potential to become agencies’ most effective recruiting tool, because large amounts o f information can be posted quickly and cheaply w ith the potential o f reaching more people than a newspaper ad ever could” (p. 9). The potential audience o f Internet users is reported as one o f the largest groups o f any o f the communications media. The number o f persons accessing and using the Internet continues to grow. According to the Department o f Commerce (2000) publication, “ Falling Through the Net: Toward D igital Inclusion,” published in October 2000, there were 116.5 m illio n “ Americans on-line as o f August 2000— 31.9 m illion mote than only 20 months earlier” (p. 33). Earlier in the 231 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. same publication, Commerce reported: “N ationally, more than h a lf o f a ll households have a computer, and over 80 percent o f those households access the Internet (p. 1). While the popularity o f home computers and the Internet is rapidly expanding, caution should be exercised in relying prim arily on the Internet as the source for new candidates. A recent GAO report, titled “ Telecommunications, Characteristics and Choices o f Internet Users,” published February 16,2001, states: “ Internet users, compared w ith the general U.S. population, represent a higher percentage o f whites and a lower percentage o f African-Americans and Hispanics” (GAO-Ol-345,2001, p. 12). The need or desire to hire a representative workforce may not be well-served by relying prim arily on today’s Internet population. The use o f external kiosks in urban and rural areas may have the potential to attract the anticipated diverse workforce applicants lacking from today’s Internet audience. Recommendations for Practical Improvements M ultiple research sources provided ample information for this research project and, w ith analysis, provided suggestions that could improve current implementations o f HRinT tools in federal hiring processes. This section provides suggestions for addressing the three categories o f concerns discussed earlier in this chapter—training, consistent practices, and automating existing practices—and adds other potential improvement areas. Notwithstanding the already taxing workload o f HRM offices, these changes could help improve the near- and long-term effects o f using automation in the HRM process. 232 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Training The first issue raised by survey respondents was training. A model for training users prior to, during, and after implementation exists in the USGS approach to introducing the Survey C ity model. Overall, the USGS approach “ demystified” the introduction o f new technology and allowed users to become comfortable before starting the crush o f production. Communications to HRM officers, managers, and employees were frequent and through different mediums. HRM officers were encouraged and given time to learn about and experiment with the new system. The system was built with input from the HRM office. These efforts converge to provide a level o f com fort for HRM specialists, managers, and employees or, to say it differently, these efforts helped to reduce the fear o f failure. In addition, USGS includes detailed yet understandable instructions for external applicants on their on line employment applications. The underlying themes are e ngaging HRM officers, managers, and employees early and frequently in the change process. Training should be tailored to or, at a minimum, include examples that directly relate to the intended audience. Attending training classes could be beneficial to HRM specialists but is another demand in addition to existing workloads. Increasing HRM workloads was noted m ultiple times as a concern. The obvious recommendation is to lessen the workloads, although one must ask if existing requirements are aligned w ith existing resources. For example, completing existing functions, adding consulting tasks, and automating HRM processes may b e 233 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. overtaxing, already-downsized HRM organizations. This global question requires local review and response but was repeatedly cited as a concern in survey responses. Consistent Implementation Could Improve Performance The second topic identified by survey respondents was consistent practices. Federal hiring practices are in transition. The use o f automation to resolve organization-unique issues is a growing trend, albeit in nascent stages in several organizations. Transitioning from one capability to another, installing commercial software releases that require new knowledge, competing w ith private industry’s x- raying and flipping techniques while taking on new responsibilities is a substantial challenge. In addition, issues surrounding consistency, completeness, and depth o f jo b descriptions were raised as an area for improvement. One survey recommendation included an effort to standardize the information in job descriptions throughout the federal organization in order to produce more consistent and complete vacancy announcements. One must ask if standardized jo b descriptions leading to standardized vacancy announcements are a viable government-wide goal. Just a s computers brought about a unique dialect with acronyms, including PC, LAN , WAN, HTM L, Web site, networks and communications, the words and phrases in vacancy notices may need to be reviewed to reduce the potential fo r misinterpretation by HRinT tools. Increased consistency, which could provide quicker turnaround on creating and posting vacancy announcements, contributes to reduced cycle tim e for hiring. For example, Tim Kauffman reported in the A p ril 17,2000, edition o f 234 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Federal Times that, by implementing automated approaches for standardizing hiring processes, the USGS saved substantial tim e and money. Kauffman (2000) writes that, in “ only two months o f operation, the automated recruitment system has boosted jo b applications by 400 percent, saved 7,200 hours in processing applications and saved the agency thousands o f dollars in government fees for certifying jo b finalists” ( p .l). Consistency o f practices has rewards in efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, consistency w ill be o f benefit, should the organization decide to use the data available in HRinT tools to formulate strategic workforce plans—a practice discussed later in this chapter. Do We Need to Reengineer Hiring Practices? The third category o f reported concerns underscores engineering practices to take advantage o f new technologies instead o f automating existing capabilities. Simon’s question o f making typewriters work faster seems appropriate fo r a reminder that automation speeds up today’s processes, but one must not lose sight o f the steps that can be eliminated or engineered into more efficient processes. The need for im proving current processes was noted in a February 2000 MSPB report The report title d “ Competing for Federal Jobs,” offers three recommendations for im proving the federal hiring process. The recommendations are: Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Agencies should look for ways to expedite their hiring processes. • Agencies should ensure that their competitive examining sta ff and those responsible fo r recruiting think o f applicants as customers and treat then in accord w ith agencies’ customer service standards. • OPM and agencies should improve how vacancy announcements are posted on the Internet (pp. 17-18). The first recommendation is focused on timeliness o f hiring applicants and adds that the time to hire is important not only to organizations but to applicants as w ell. Earlier discussions have focused on the importance to organizations to f ill vacancies; but, in the MSPB document, the importance is highlighted from the applicant’s perspective. The second recommendation centers on communication w ith applicants. The report notes that federal organizations “ may want to establish an Email address to which applicants may address questions” and adds that “ agencies must provide some type o f meaningful feedback to jo b applicants” early and often during the hiring process (MSPB, 2000, p. 18). The third recommendation emphasizes e a s e o f locating on-line vacancy announcements and the need fo r announcements to be “ visually appealing, inform ative, and easy to navigate” (p. 18). The report points out in visitin g federal organization’s Internet Web sites that, on one site, the “ employment page was four screens down under the Office and Budgets lin k ” and adds that “ this kind o f placement makes it d iffic u lt for visitors to the site to fin d vacancy listings” (p. 9). These findings can be summarized a s a call to change existing processes in order to compete for needed skills and provides examples cited 236 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. earlier in the PBK study. The MSPB report reinforces previously-identified areas for improving the hiring process. The New Paradigm in Filling Federal Positions: How Hiring is Changing The associated question that could make an additional contribution to practitioners is: What current steps in federal hiring processes can be eliminated or re-engineered? That is, how can the hiring process become better for applicants, HRM professionals, and hiring organizations without compromising fair and equitable competition? As depicted in Figures 1 0 and 11, the status quo or baseline model o f hiring relies on m ultiple steps using several inputs that change rapidly and, to be successful, requires human intervention. A comparison o f steps is presented in these figures, and they depict a summary o f the steps in the conventional hiring process and one where H R inT tools are used for support-type and some lim ited analytic-type functions. It must be pointed out that federal organizations may vary in their hiring practices, and not a ll organizations follow a ll o f the steps below. The summary o f steps indicated below captures today’s practice for organizations to hire workers. Depending on the frequency o f a class o f positions becoming vacant and interview and hiring practices, not a ll organizations follow a ll o f the above-listed steps. To move from the current to the future approach, Figure 1 1 is a representative lis t o f steps attributable or soon to be attributable to organizations using HRinT tools. In comparison to Figure 10, changes to the original process steps are indicated in underlined italic typeface. 237 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Federal position becomes vacant Decision to f ill w ith federal employee Position Description (PD) is reviewed and a vacancy notice is written or edited Vacancy is advertised using OPM Web site, organizational Web site, newspapers, or other media until the vacancy is closed Candidates review vacancy notice and submit th e ir resumes and qualifications H iring organizations receive hard-copy or soft-copy responses H iring officials review candidate submissions Q ualified candidates identified (or vacancy re-announced) H iring organizations prepare fo r interviews Interview committees are formed Using the PD, vacancy notice, and knowledge o f the position and organization, standard questions are created Interviews are scheduled Candidates are interviewed Each interviewed candidate is rated on qualifications (formerly knowledge, skills, and abilities) Panel discusses and ranks candidates Background references are checked on the most qualified candidate or candidates The hiring official reviews the results and makes a decision An offer is made to the most qualified candidate pending successful completion o f any mandatory requirements (physical, security...) The candidate has some number o f days to accept o r reject the position I f the candidate accepts, the process is complete and hiring actions fo r this particular position is closed. I f not, and i f another acceptable candidate exists, the next candidate on the list is contacted and offered the position. FIGURE 10: TRADITIONAL APPROACH The above process does not include time to certify applicants' e lig ib ility. This step is sim ilar in both examples. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Statistical data suggests that a position is likely to become vacant in the next few months. Management works to identify and train suitable replacement. I f none exists. Emails are sent to previous candidates inquiring about interest and the vacancy notice is updated Position becomes vacant Decision is made to f ill w ith federal employee Stored vacancy announcement is advertised usine OPM W eb site. organizational Web site, kiosks, and other mediums until vacancy is fille d . Candidates submit their resumes and qualifications on-line and respond to position-specific questions stored for this position. HRInT tools rate and rank applicants, schedule interviews, and provide a ranked list to interviewing officials. Standard questions associated with the vacant position are provided to interviewing officials from HRInT tools database I f no acceptable candidates are found, the above steps are repeated Each interviewed candidate is rated on qualifications (formerly knowledge, skills, and abilities) and the results o f this rating are compared to the ranked scores from the automated tools Panel discusses and ranks candidates and reviews results o f automated functions Background references are checked on the most qualified candidate or candidates The hiring official reviews the results and makes a decision An offer is made to the most qualified candidate pending successful completion or any mandatory requirements (physical, security...) The candidate has some number o f days to accept or reject the position I f the candidate accepts, the process is complete and hiring actions fo r this particular position is closed. I f not, and i f another acceptable candidate exists, the next candidate on the list is contacted and offered the position. FIGURE 11: AUTOMATED APPROACH Steps that can be or are being automated bv HRInT tools are listed in underlined italic typeface. It is important to note that in addition to changing the process, the time to complete most steps is reduced. The above example could be automated further, however, the researcher chose to demonstrate an interim-automated approach. 239 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Are HRInT Tools Reserved for Short-Term Foci? An underlying theme is that HRInT tools are being employed to resolve short term actions. This theme o f short-term focus is emerging as a repetitive viewpoint throughout the literature review. Interviews, survey responses, and literature reviews did not contain inform ation on whether HRInT tools could contribute to long-term hiring goals, in addition to being used to focus on short-term hiring needs. To date, the organizations that have implemented HRInT tools have done so to fill positions quickly. The C linton administration’s focus was on demonstrating immediate improvements. This focus led organizations to compress their tim e horizons to meet immediate needs in support o f the administration. The question o f using HRInT tools to support strategic workforce planning is an area worthy o f further consideration and one that could be o f value to both near- and long-term goals. Can HRInT Tools Support Strategic Workforce Planning Efforts? In the final days o f the Clinton administration, additional emphasis was given to strategic workforce planning. Included in the 1996 GPRA and reinforced through the NPR effort, strategic workforce planning is an effort to project future s k ill needs. No less d iffic u lt than predicting any future event, strategic workforce planning requires data on current staffing and hiring trends, demographics, strategic decisions, economic and business projections, and administration foci. One piece o f the research necessary to project hiring could be retrieved from HRInT tools. The results o f time lines for vacancies, interviews, and hiring decisions can be important sources 240 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. o f information for strategic workforce planning activities.4 4 The m ajority o f HRInT tools in use in HRM offices include some form o f a database. These databases store vacant position descriptions, internal candidate resumes, external candidate resumes, Email addresses, hiring officials, and, by the nature o f software applications, date and time data associated w ith activities. By retrieving this already collected and stored information, a hiring trend can be constructed fo r the overall organization by office or individual position in the organization. This information can then be added to other analysis o f strategic directions, budget decisions, and economic projections to create scenarios for future needs.4 5 Edgar Schein writes in his 1978 book, Career Dynamics: Matching Individual and Organizational Needs, that: Organizations must plan for its [sic] own sake to deal with the shifting needs o f its people and the shifting nature o f its work for which people w ill be needed. The lin k between formal planning and planning fo r resources is increasingly becoming a matter o f necessity rather than o f convenience, (p. v ii) Schein is a strong advocate o f workforce planning and planning in general. He would support the view that human beings are an asset to be supported and encouraged. He advocates projecting into the future based on major changes occurring in the organization and its environment in an effort to prepare today for tomorrow’s changes (p. 222). 4 4 The GAO publication, titled “IRS Telephone Assistance, Opportunities to Improve Human Capital Management,” dated January 30,2001, references the Internal Revenue Service’s use of strategic workforce planning in managing staffing levels (GAO-01-144,2001, p. 10). 4 5 For a review of scenario-building, see Peter Schwartz’ s The Art o f the Long View. 241 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Competing for Skilled Workers: Shonld Hiring Approaches Be Changed? Possibly the single most important driving force in the renewed interest in HRM is the aging national government workforce. The current federal workforce raises concerns about skills and historical memory loss, mass exodus, and compering fo r replacement workers. Private industry is employing aggressive recruiting techniques designed to expand the applicant pool and quickly offer incentives for workers to flip from one employer to another. Some o f the new private sector approaches are outlined in this section to provide an awareness o f the next level o f competition facing federal hiring managers. Private sector firm s are expanding their recruiting approaches to include members o f the future workforce and those not actively seeking a different job. Hatasha Haubold writes in the A p ril 10,2000, edition o f Federal Computer World’ s on-line newsletter, FWC.com, that private sector corporations are recruiting new workers who are in school and indirectly as early as the sixth grade. Haubold notes that “ Hewlett-Packard Co. indirectly recruits as young as sixth grade.” By “ forming partnerships with schools and sponsoring science projects, students become fam iliar w ith the company’s products” and the company (p. 2). Haubold adds that other companies, including Oracle Corporation, hire applicants then begin a three-month training program to teach business and customer relations skills to recent college graduates and employees seeking second and third careers (p. 2). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Proactive Recruiting Practices The private sector is beginning to expand use o f automation to support a more proactive approach to hiring needed skills. While in the nascent stage o f implementation, the proactive approaches demonstrate increasing levels o f direct competition for scarce skills. In addition, these practices, i f continued, must be considered in comparison to federal hiring procedures and reviewed in the context o f organizational ethics and fairness to applicants. The increasing need fo r private sector organizations to remain profitable translates into hiring the most qualified candidates to complete tasks. This need equates to fillin g empty positions as quickly as possible. According to inform ation from the Corporate Executive Board, the Internet and associated data retrieval tools offers opportunities and risks related to finding and keeping employees. In a presentation titled “ Staffing in Internet Time,” Larry Giammo (2000), Managing Director o f the Corporate Leadership Council o f the Corporate Executive Board, states that the Internet offers opportunities to find applicants a s well as presents risks to keeping qualified employees. The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) was established in 1979 to provide “ best practices research and executive education to a membership o f the world’s leading corporations and not-for-profit organizations” (CEB Web site, March 17,2001). The CEB claims that their client lis t includes more than 1,400 o f the w orld’s leading corporations. Giammo’s presentation includes concern over automated search technologies, labeled “ Web-bots,” or software programs designed to automatically search 243 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. predetermined Web sites for resumes o f potential candidates. The Web-bot technology is designed to review on-line resumes and rate and rank the resumes based on stored requirements and report the results back to the hiring organization. Some Web-bot technology includes sending a machine-generated Email to the potential applicant expressing interest in a follow-up dialogue and notifying the Web-bot initiator o f search results. In addition to searching repositories o f on-line resumes, Web-bots can be used to search discussion groups, user groups, or, conceivably, other organization’s personnel listings. Lim iting the searches to individuals already in the desired field increases the probability o f success for locating candidates. The practice o f looking for people who are not active job seekers, but could f ill vacancies, is labeled “flipping.” The goal is to cause sought- after employees w ith identified skills to flip from one employer to another. Flipping is discussed in the context o f using Web-bots or automated search routines to quickly locate and contact potential candidates. In addition to Web-bots, some private sector organizations are hiring individuals to peruse on-line resume repositories for the same purpose. I f active job seekers are in high demand, then the private sector is working to expand the potential applicant pool by including passive jo b seekers or those not seeking to change jobs. One o f the approaches discussed in support o f flipping is an approach labeled “ x-raying.” X-raying is described as searching “ all the pages in a corporate Web site that are not behind the company firew all (Corporate Leadership Council, 2000, p. 43). A firew all is a network hardware device programmed to allow certain 244 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. communications and software applications to enter the organization, while blocking selected network tra ffic . Firewalls are regularly used to protect intranets from external viruses. Any information that is not behind the firew all can be instantly pulled up by an x-ray. The presentation adds that inform ation on employees, used by customers in resolve technical issues and viewed a s positive market relations, can be used by competitors to identify and target currently-skilled employees as potential applicants. Giammo advocates creating and maintaining a database o f potential candidates w ith needed skills who could f ill vacant positions. Although not stated in the presentation, com piling and m aintaining metrics on which positions become vacant and the tim e to f ill these positions is another piece o f the decision space. Maintaining a database is an approach to proactive recruiting designed to shorten or eliminate cycle tim e to fillin g a position. The extent o f use o f these proactive approaches is not known nor widely published. Giammo (2000) concludes by offering four key lessons from his research: • Heightened competition o f New Economy and rapidly tightening labor market are converging to escalate the war for talent to a new level o f intensity; stark imperative fo r HR is to leverage technology to furnish line managers w ith talent upon demand. • Two state-of-the-art Web [Internet] search tools are crucial here; customized Web-bots can search high-yield sites w ithin the Deep Web, 245 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. w hile conventional search engines can be deployed to flip and x-ray sites on the surface Web. • HR must bear in mind, however, that Web search capabilities represent a double-edge sword; they provide talent identification capabilities, but they also open the door to heightened talent poaching. • The larger opportunity afforded by the Web is for HR to reengineer recruiting life-cycles by establishing a pipeline o f suitable candidates, prior to specific job vacancies arising; proactively notifying suitable candidates o f new job vacancies is an essential component o f such pipeline building. The above practices highlight several concerns as well as shortfalls for current public-sector hiring approaches. The researcher is not advocating using government-only inform ation to pilfer workers from contractors but more active recruiting approaches that repeatedly convey the message that the federal government is seeking skilled employees and, in return, offers important and challenging assignments. This proactive approach can be viewed as positive marketing that could assist w ith the issues raised by Adams in his study o f PBK students and offer another data point fo r Hague’s research group to consider in forming opinions about public trust 246 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Should Federal Organizations Use Proactive Recruiting? The introduction o f HRInT tools ha s brought about the creation o f different practices and new phrases. The use o f personal computers, Internet, and Fmail has diminished time and distance allowing recruiters to proactively seek employees, in some cases, before high-tumover positions become vacant The practices o f flipping, x-raying and using stored resumes to fill positions were not found in the public sector, although they may be implemented a s next steps in the evolution o f HRInT tools. I f implemented, Web-bots, flipping, and x-raying approaches w ill intensify the competition between public- and private-sector employers and w ill likely produce complaints from the private sector o f unfair use o f government information. Open discussions on privacy, ethics, and fairness must be held before the federal government can undertake these aggressive recruiting actions. Other actions, including maintaining a database o f potential candidates, are in use today in various implementations in the Department o f Commerce, OPM’ s USAJobs database, and Department o f Labor’s America’s Jobs Bank database. Recommendations for Future Studies This section outlines the associated topics that, due to complexity, tim e, and resource lim itations o f a single researcher, are outside the scope o f this study. These areas include a generous variety o f topics. For example, i f the Bush-Cheney administration continues the quest for reductions in the reported size o f the workforce, outsourcing human resources management functions is an alternative that 247 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. may surface.4 6 While frequently highlighted by the C linton administration, the downsizing and outsourcing movement is coming under increasing scrutiny. Proposed legislation would require justification before migrating public sector functions to the private sector. The House o f Representatives is considering the Truthful, Responsibility and Accountability in Contracting (TRAC) Act as a method o f saving taxpayer dollars and protecting government jobs (Seffers, 2000, p. 62). If passed, the Act would require contractors to prove cost savings to the public whenever a public sector function is competed and outsourced to a private sector firm . Opponents o f the b ill, including members o f the Information Technology Association o f America (IT A A ), argue that the b ill w ill bring outsourcing to “ a screeching halt, waste taxpayers dollars and maybe even force the federal government to shut down” (Seffers, 2000, p. 63). The TRAC Act was not passed under the Clinton administration, and opposition forces continue to marshal resources against the b ill. I f enacted, the outcome could affect federal outsourcing and downsizing efforts. In addition to slowing reductions in the number o f workers, the b ill could affect the pace o f implementing additional automation.4 7 One o f the driving forces for implementing HRInT tools is to compensate for reduced levels o f ^According to survey responses, the Merit Systems Protection Board has outsourced its HRM functions to the Department o f Agriculture, retaining one HRM officer to coordinate requests between MSPB employees and Department of Agriculture HRM specialists. 4 7 Passing the TRAC legislation will undoubtedly be difficult. The strong position o f the IT industry and the number of associated jobs in each Congressperson’s jurisdiction will play substantial roles in the bill’s success. 248 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRM staffing. W ithout additional s ta ff reductions, it is d iffic u lt to predict if the remaining driving forces are important enough to continue pushing HRInT tool use. Another concern is the methods proposed under the TRAC legislation. Conducting cost/benefit analysis o f using and supporting technology in comparison to retaining HRM administrative and support workers may not always represent the final outcome. Since the use o f HRInT tools has blossomed in recent years without debate or public discourse, information needed to support such investments could be d ifficu lt to produce. Once automated tools are procured and implemented, both HRM and IT skills are needed to use and operate the tools. The number o f IT specialists required to support an organization varies by implementation and user skills. For example, USGS stated that they hired only one additional IT professional, although the number o f existing on-site or on-call contractors was not discussed. This statement can be compared to the Department o f Commerce that hired an IT program manager, writes software in-house, staffs a help desk, provides internal user training, and conducts user focus groups to improve the products. It must be pointed out that, including the aforementioned functions, the Department o f Commerce remains one o f the most cost-effective automated HRM solutions in use today. In summary, the balance o f fewer HRM specialists is often offset by the increased number and cost o f IT contractors required to m aintain and operate the tools. The fields o f information technology and human resources management have been the subjects o f research projects and legislation for many years. As early a s 249 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. George Pendleton’s successful e ffo rt to eliminate patronage and eighty years later in 1962 issues o f Public Administration Review questioning the rapid use o f computers in HRM, there has been interest in both fields. Research fin d in g s combining these two fields does not exist in the same depth, breadth, or quantity, although the GAO and MSPB have published reports on this jo in t outcome. Several additional areas o ffe r opportunities for future research. The rapid pace o f technological change and changing labor markets provides rich environments for additional study. These HRM and technology-related areas are summarized below. The lis t is not all-inclusive but representative o f areas that were not readily found in literature reviews, interviews, or survey responses. • W hile not discussed in interviews or survey responses, a combination o f public- and private-sector HRM functions was raised in the literature review and is o f ancillary interest to public administrators, if available labor pools remain low. As reported earlier, a combined federal, state, and local Internet-based jobs database exists and is in use. The site, known as America’s Job Bank, is funded by the Department o f Labor and used by m ultiple governments to advertise vacant positions. This jo in t listin g o f available government positions could be the firs t step in inter governmental HRM cooperation and lead to reducing the workloads o f and need for multiple HRM organizations. As o f this w riting, a jo in t public-private approach was lim ited to discussion in literature, although the above inter-governmental effort may be a worthy research topic. It is 250 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. too early in the Bush-Cheney administration to determine i f any expansion w ill gain widespread support. • Implementation o f strategic workforce planning is an area o f further study. I f pursued by the Bush-Cheney administration, strategic workforce planning outcomes influence the use o f HRInT tools and future HRM processes. • The slowly-expanding and occasionally-discussed area o f telecommuting is an area for future research. Although not directly focusing on HRInT tools, these technology-based outcomes further exemplify the need for computer-literate workers and offer insight into telecommunities. The numbers o f workers who participate in telecommuting is not known, nor has the future direction be en embraced. Additional research on telecommuting and associated support needs in a global society is another study area. • State and local governments’ HRInT tools implementation approaches are additional research possibilities. The phrase “ best practices” was discussed in the USGS interview, but most research evidence did not define or discuss industry nor state government best practices. • I f today’s trends continue, future HRM professionals w ill need different skills than those used today. Research on how organizations and individuals are preparing for changing roles o f HRM professionals is another attractive research area. Increasing use o f HRInT tools and added 251 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. analytical functions and other tasks to traditional HRM organizations create the need fo r more diverse skills and abilities. The business o f HRM is people. HRM is an intensely personal o r person-to- person function that is being transformed into an automation-based, time-sensitive experience. The emerging role o f technology is one where the use o f machines is overtaking the human interests in hiring other human beings. Machines are being used to determine who gets the opportunity to be hired or viewed from a different lens, machines are managing people who hire individuals to complete the peoples' business. Karen King (2000) writes in a PA Times article: “ HR uses machines to manage people, and IT uses people to manage machines, and both have to deal with a mixture o f the two worlds” (p. 5). The domain o f IT and HRM is ripe w ith questions about future approaches that could further reduce workloads and cycle tim e to f ill vacant positions. The emphasis to date is on cycle time or quickly fillin g vacant positions. It is not clear that this emphasis w ill dim inish over time. Research to date indicates the contrary— the urgency to f ill vacant positions as soon as possible w ill continue to be o f importance to employers and applicants alike. Summary The us e o f automated tools in federal hiring practices is widespread and growing. The tools allow HRM organizations to remain open to accept applications 24 hours each day without paying human beings to sta ff the office these same hours. 252 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. One o f the views voiced by applicants is that the use o f automated tools promotes consistency and fairness. In reality, automated tools add what one could label “ consistent subjectivity,” which, arguably, is being described as “ objectivity.” In this context, consistent subjectivity is explained a s the follow ing. The rules in analysis- based software applications are created by line managers and HRM workers and stored in the software application. The software application automatically and consistently grades applicant responses fo r each applicant regardless o f time, place, or any o f the ism s (racism, sexism, etc.) factors. Use o f a rules-based approach to rate and rank applicants adds consistency and, within the bounds described above, consistent subjectivity to the process. Viewed differently, the use o f analytical-type HRInT tools reduces the variables a hiring official might consider or introduce into the hiring process. For example, the presentation and medium o f resumes and applications are now standard on a computer-generated printout The printout has consistent inform ation located in the same place on the page for each applicant The best one can accept is that HRInT tools offer the a b ility to demonstrate consistency and repeatability in hiring processes. The goal for using HRInT tools can be stated as one o f attempting to reduce variables, a position that agrees w ith Simon's bounded rationality and the lim itations o f cognitive capabilities o f decision-makers. The use o f HRInT tools w ill not mimic fact-based objectivity such as that found in a laboratory environment. A truly objective process requires ingredients that are independent o f the mind or held a s facts. It is d ifficu lt fo r one to claim that human 253 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. beings using automated tools to hire other human beings can ever be an objective process. The data collected to date supports the research hypothesis that HRInT tools do increase the productivity o f HRM organizations. The findings suggest that reduced HRM offices are facing increasing workloads. Gregory Den Herder, Chief o f the A ir Force’s Personnel Force Management organization, illum inates the increases in workloads and reliance on technology. Den Herder writes that, since August 1999, “ there has been a steady increase in the number o f on-line resumes and Email- transmitted resumes received. The on-line resumes through Resume W riter has increased from about 700 in August ‘99 to nearly 7,000 in February ‘0 1 Den Herder adds: “ Email submissions have increased by 350 percent Conversely, hard copy submissions have decreased by 23 percent.” The m ajority o f the A ir Force’s applicants are using electronic avenues to apply for positions. Den Herder admits that “ the percentage o f electronic submissions has risen from 60 percent in August 1999 to 92 percent [in February 2001J ” (Email from Gregory Den Herder, March 21, 2001). Popularity o f the tools is increasing. The variety o f implementation approaches is diverse and supports Ralph Bledsoe’s statement that no single approach w ill serve the entire federal government Human resources management officers claim that the use o f HRM tools is a fa ir and equitable way to increase HRM productivity, emphasize a candidate’s a b ility to maneuver in cyberspace, and augment HRM specialists. Ginger Groeber, the Director o f DOD’s C ivilian 254 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Personnel Management System (CPMS), adds: “ The days o f m ailing applications is lim ited. Continued use o f old SF-171s w ill also go away with [the use o f] a fully electronic medium moving towards the use o f resumes to convey work history information” (Em ail from Ginger Groeber, March 19,2001). Applying Human Resources Inform ation Technology tools requires different skills in HRM organizations that satisfy both interactions with human beings and use o f state-of-the-practice technology. A new paradigm for doing HRM business is emerging that is not unlike Comte’s Law o f Three States. Comte suggests that human experiences migrate through three states— from primal theological focus through a metaphysical or speculative state to a final scientific bent The future o f federal HRM remains a sharply-curving path carrying dozens o f cyberspace pioneers relying on technological improvements to resolve issues surrounding finding people to conduct the peoples’ business. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Journals Allmendinger, Jutta, & Hackman, J. Richard (1996). Organizations in changing environments: The case o f east German symphony orchestras. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41 (3), 337-340. Barley, Stephen R. (1994). Review o f Paul S. Adder's 1992 Technology and the future o f work (New York: Oxford University Press). Administrative Science Quarterly, 39 (5). _______ (1996, September). 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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. Clinton, W illiam J., President o f the United States (1996, July 16). Executive order 13011. Washington, DC: The White House. Clinton, W illiam J .,& Gore, A lbert (1997). Blair House papers. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. Gore, A lbert, Vice President o f the United States (1993). Report o f the National Performance Review. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (1993). Creating a government that works better and costs less: Intelligence community report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. Johnson, W illiam B. (1988). Civil Service 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. National Commission on the Public Service (Volcker Commission) (1989). The Volcker Commission report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. National Telecommunications and Inform ation Administration, U.S. Department o f Commerce (1997). KickStart initiative: Connecting America's communities to the information superhighways. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. U.S. General Accounting Office (1997, June 2). Federal downsizing: Effective buyout practices and their uses in F Y 1997, GAO-97-124. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (1998, September 2). Department o f State IRM: Modernization programs at risk absent fu ll implementation o f key best practices, GAO/NSIAD-98-242. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 261 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. _______ (1999, January 27). Defense IRM: Alternatives should be considered in developing the new civilian personnel system, GAO/AIMD-99-20. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (1999, February 5). Government management: Observations on OMB’ s management leadership efforts, GAO/T-GGD/AIMD-99-65. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. _______ (1999, February 7). Defense headquarters: Status o f efforts to reduce headquarters personnel, GAO/NSIAD-99-44. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (1999, March). Quadrennial defense review: Status o f efforts to implement personnel reductions I the Army material command' , GAO/NSLAD-99-123. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (2000, May 12). Senior executive service: Retirement trends underscore the importance o f succession planning, GAO/GGD-OO-113BR. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. _______ (2000, July 15). Information technology: Selected agencies’ use o f commercial off-the-shelfsoftware for human resources Junctions, GAO/AIMD-00-270. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (2000, September 15). Electronic government: Government Paperwork Elimination Act presents challenges for agencies, GAO/AIMD-OO-282. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (2000, September 18). Personnel practices: Career appointments granted political appointees from October 1998 through June 2000, GAO/GGD-OO- 205. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (2001, January 30). IRS telephone assistance: Opportunities to improve human capital management, GAO-Ol-144. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. (2001, February 16). Telecommunications: Characteristics and choices o f Internet users, GAO-010345. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. U.S. M erit Systems Protection Board (1998). The evolving role o f the U.S. Office o f Personnel Management. Washington, DC: U.S. M erit Systems Protection Board. 262 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. U.S. O ffice o f Personnel Management (1998). Civil Service 2000: Policies for the future. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. _______ (1997). Strategic plan FY1997-FY2002. Washington, DC: O ffice o f Personnel Management Walker, David, Comptroller General o f the United States (2000, March 29). Managing in the new millennium. Presentation to the U.S. Congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing O ffice. Newspaper Articles Allen, M ike (2000, October 25). Gore pledges government work force w ill shrink. Washington Post, p. A18. Barr, Stephen (1998, December 9). Survey backs Gore's long-haul view o f reinvention. Washington Post, p. A23. _______ (2000, May 7). Retirement wave creates vacuum. Washington Post, p. A l. _______ (2000, June 7). This much is for sure: E-goverament w ill be different Washington Post, p. B2. _______ (2000, June 19). White House gives managers new task: Create satisfied workers. Washington Post, p. B2. _______ (2000, August 15). A look at what agencies can do to keep talented employees. Washington Post, p. B2. Behb, Peter (1999, March 17). Federal audits o f computer benefits loom large for Gore. Washington Post, Business, p. 6. Causey, M ike (1999). Federal workers and unions: How to bridge the divide. Washington Post, p. B4. (1999, March I). Federal diary: Downsizing hits home. Washington Post, p. B4. _______ (2000, March I). In the future, an older, smaller work force. Washington Post, p. B9. 263 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dubnick, M el (1999, December 4). The Waldo/Simon debate: Who won? What was [almost] lost? PA Times, 22 (12). Harding, Russell (2000, February). Seen through the weeds Dim ly. PA Times, p. S . Hsu, Spencer S. (2000, September 4). Death o f big government alters region. Washington Post, pp. A l, A14-A15. Joyce, Amy (1999, January 17). In the d iffic u lt hunt for hires: A new automated weapon. Washington Post, p. H I8. Kauffman, Tim (2000, A pril 17). Job applications skyrocket on new USGS Website. Federal Times, p. 1 . King, Karen N. (2000, May S). IT changes way public sector HR managers do their jobs. PA Times, 23 (5), p. 5. Leonnig, Carol D. (2000, August IS). In D.C., a push for accountability. Washington Post, pp. B l, B4. Light, Paul C. (1999, December 24). Who wants a federal career? Washington Post, p. A15. M iller, Hugh T. (1999, December 6). Theory as the basis for action. PA Times, 22 ( 1 2). O 'N eill, Robert J., Jr. (2000, July 1-2). Challenges for public servants in new century. PA Times, 23 (7), pp. 1-2. Petzinger, Thomas (1999, December 31). Industry & economics— Talking about tomorrow—Ronald Coase: The Nobel Prize winner was a pioneer in the study o f how firm s do business; E-commerce has brought him back in vogue. The Wall Street Journal, p. R36 Timney, Mary H. (1999, December 3). The imperative o f theory in public administration practice. PA Times, 22 (12). Periodicals Bartholomew, Doug (1998, March 2). G etting on track: Alignment o f information systems w ith business strategy isn’t easy to achieve or maintain. Industry Week, 22-24. 264 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Bennis, Warren (1992, A p ril). On the leading edge o f change. Executive Excellence, 5-6. Bledsoe, Ralph (2000, January). Hiring tomorrow's public-sector leaders today. Public Objective: A Newsletter from the National Academy o f Public Administration, 6 (1), 9. Bok, Derek (2000, January). Derek Bok offers insights into civic indifference. Public Objective: A Newsletter from the National Academy ofPublic Administration, 6 (1), 7. Cahlink, George (2001, February). The Defense Department's debilitating loss o f critical workers. Government Executive, 23 (2), 22-24,26,28. Edwards, John (1999, November). Scanning the future. Human Resource Executive, 62. Ferris, Nancy (2000, February). High-tech hurdles: Everyone wants to evaluate IT performance, but few have figured out how to do it. Government Executive, 31 (2), 21-24. Figura, Susannah Zak (2000, September). The human touch. Government Executive, 31 (9), 34-35. Frederickson, H. George (1992, October). Painting bulls’ eyes around bullet holes. Governing, 13 . G ille rt, Douglas J. (1977, March 26). DOD sim plifies job applications. Government Executive, 29 (3). Grensing-Pophai, Lin (1997, March). Employing the best people—From afar. Workforce, 31-39. Hankins, Michelle L. (1999). Competition drives government to match private sector incentives. Signal, 53 (5), 47. Haubold, Natasah (2000). Agencies take cues from the competition. FCW.com, 2. Infante, Victor D. (2000, October). The HR vote. Workforce, 79 (10), 42. Light, Paul C. (1997, December). The quiet crisis, 10 years later. Government Executive, 29(12), 53. 265 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________ (2000, September). Fed bashing out o f style. Government Executive, 24. McCloskey, Deidre (1998, Summer). Other things equal: The so-called Coase theorem. Eastern Economic Journal, 24 (3), 367-371. Reiger, Bradley J. (1995, October). Lessons in productivity and people. Training and development, 56-58. Savas, E. S., & Ginsburg, Sigmund (1973, Summer). The C ivil Service: A meritless system? The Public Interest, 32,70-85. Seffers, George I. (2000, September 4). IT industry cries foul. Federal Computer Week, 62. Troutman, Kathryn Kraemer (1999, March 30). Sell yourself with key words and phrases. Government Executive. W right, Robert (1997). The M ike Mulligan moment: Computers may be dumb, but they're not too dumb to take your job. Time, 149 (21), 68G. Interviews Bohren, Jan, Director o f HRM, Congressional Budget O ffice (2000, October 10). Personal interview. Hochstein, Bryan (2001, January 27). QuickHire HRInT Tools Vendor. Em ail response to interview questions. Huttman, Gary, Human Resources Information System Specialist and Survey C ity Manager (2001, January 23). U.S. geological survey. Email interview. N e ill, Louise, Deputy Director fo r Manpower, Personnel, and Security, Defense Information Systems Agency (2000, December 27). Telephone interview . Sumser, Ray, National Academy o f Public Adm inistration (1999, March 31). Personal conversation. Washington, DC. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Emails America's Job Bank (1999, March 10). Email (Empcomm@ajb.dni.us). M illa rd , Regina, Director o f Human Resources for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (1999, November 14). Washington, DC. _______ (2000, August 30). Washington, DC. Sumser, Ray, National Academy o f Public Administration (1999, December 20). Email exchange on COTS HRM software. Washington, DC. Van R ijn, Paul, Personnel Research Psychologist, O ffice o f Policy and Evaluation, U.S. M erit Systems Protection Board (1999, March 29). Email (Paul_vanRijn/PE/MSPB@MSPB.gov). Web Sites Department o f Commerce (www.doc.gov). O ffice o f Personnel Management (www.opm.gov). QuickHire Corporate Web Site (www.quickhire.com). USAJobs (www.usajobs.opm.jobs). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDICES Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX A HRInT TOOLS SURVEY AND NUMERIC RESPONSES Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HRInT TOOLS SURVEY AND NUMERIC RESPONSES (Bold numbers in the r e s p o n s e a r e a s indicate the cumulative totals from survey re sp ond ent s.) INTRODUCTION I would like to ask for IS minutes o f your expert time to answer the below 24 questions below. As you may recall from my earlier Em ail, I am a grad student (and federal employee) completing a dissertation on the changes in government hiring processes. I am in itia lly looking at the use o f automated tools in hiring processes. I would like to know your experiences w ith Internet technology, automated resume scanning software, telephone voice response systems, kiosks, and other automated tools. I would appreciate it if you could respond to the below questions. I realize that you are (way too) busy and do appreciate any information you can provide. I w ill make the survey results available in a separate Email to those who are interested. Thanks and i f you have any questions, please send an Email or call me at (nnn) nnn- nnnn. Roy Combs DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Your responses to the demographic inform ation questions w ill be used to quantify inform ation on organization size, structure, and processes. A ll information in this section, as w ell as this survey w ill be kept confidential w ith the results reported only in the aggregate. What is Your First Nam e?________________________ 270 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. What is Your Current Title? Current Agency or Department? Do you work in the HR Department? 29 Yes 5 No How Many C ivilian Employees W ork in Your Agency or Department? In Your Current Position, are you a H iring O fficial? 22 Yes No Which o f the Following Automated Information Processing Tools Does Your Organization currently us e in the H iring Process? (Please mark all that apply) 28* Internet 14 Automated Resume Scanning Software 28* The OPM Internet Jobs Database •Does not include duplicate entries. With duplicate entries, the numbers are 29 and 29. I would like to interview respondents to discuss this survey and changes in hiring processes. I f you would be interested in participating in a short follow-up meeting, please check the follow ing. Yes, I would be available for a short meeting to discuss this survey and hiring processes. I would like to feature a few organizations that are making the most effective uses o f new hiring technologies. I f you would like to nominate your organization to be featured, please check below. Email 1 _ _ External Kiosks Jfc_ Interactive Voice Response System Intranets Other (please specify) 271 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Yes, I would like to nominate my organization as a best practice leader in the use o f new hiring technologies. SURVEY QUESTIONS HUMAN RESOURCES INTERESTS: 1 . Do you have a central database containing employees' resumes or career inform ation? 9 Y e s No I f yes, how many current employees could submit their resumes or career inform ation to the database from w ithin your organization? (Please select only one o f the following: None, Some, Half, Most, A ll) 2. Does your department or agency use information in this database to identify workers to fill internal vacancies? 8 Y e s No 3. Does your organization use automated inform ation processing tools (i.e ., Internet, Email, Resumix, Voice Response systems, others?) to fill vacancies? 30 Y es No I f yes, Why did your organization start using these to o ls? _________________ Which single automated inform ation processing tool adds the most to your overall productivity?__________________________ 272 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. W hich single automated inform ation processing tool adds the least to your overall productivity?__________________________ 4. For which steps o f hiring processes does your organization currently use automated information processing to o ls? _______________________________ 5. For which additional steps in future hiring processes does your organization plan to use automated inform ation processing to o ls? _____ 6. What is the long-term plan fo r using automated inform ation processing tools in hiring processes in your organization? Use Less Q Status Quo 4 Use More* 32 •Duplicate Entries removed. 7. In your opinion, do automated information processing tools make it easier or harder fo r your organization to f ill positions with the most qualified applicants? 22 Easier 1 Harder Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Why? 8. What positive and negative changes in hiring processes would you attribute to the use o f automated inform ation processing to o ls?_________ 9. Has your Human Resource department experienced downsizing in the past five years? Yes 19 No jj I f so, by how much? (Please select only one o f the following: None, Some, Half, Most, A ll) 10. What additional changes do you foresee for your Human Resource department?_____________________________________________________ APPLICANT INTERESTS 11. In your opinion, do automated information processing tools make it easier or harder for an applicant to apply for a job at your organization? 27 Easier 1 Harder W hy?___________________________________________________ 12. Which tool (Internet, Kiosks, Voice Response System, others?) is used most often by applicants?___________________________________________ 274 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 3 . I f your organization accepts on-line resumes, what are the most common mistakes applicants make when submitting resumes?______________________ 1 4 . In your opinion, does using automated information processing tools (instead o f mailing a hard copy resume) provide benefits or result in drawbacks to the applicant? Benefits 24 Drawbacks 6_____ How? _______________ _________ ________ HDUNG MANAGER’S INTERESTS: 15. Since you have been using automated information processing tools in the hiring process, how many positions has your agency fille d using the tools? (Please select only one o f the follow ing: None, Some, H alf, Most, A ll) 16. As a result o f using automated inform ation processing tools, has the job description in vacancy announcements become more detailed in the areas o f duties and responsibilities? 21 Yes 3 No 17 . How many hiring managers u s e your existing applicant database fo r review and selection o f candidates? (Please select only one o f the follow ing: None, Some, Half, Most, A ll) 275 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 18. Does the use o f automated inform ation processing tools improve the HR department's overall productivity? 24 Yes 1 No Why or why n o t? ___________________________________________ THE APPLICATION PROCESS: 19. Are you using or recommending an on-line Resume Builder? Yes 13 No_____ 20. I f you use an on-line Resume Builder, what is the maximum length (in pages) o f your (Resumix, Restrac or other) on-line resume builder?__________ 21. Can you te ll us the exact steps an electronic response takes once it is received by your department or agency?_______________________________ 22. Can you te ll us the exact steps a hard copy resume takes once it is received by your department or agency?___________________________ 23. I f using resume scanning software, does a hiring manager see the original resume that was scanned in addition to the printout s ummarizing the applicant's resume? 2 Y e s ______ No 276 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 24. Is there a difference in processing tim e fo r hard copy resumes compared to electronically received resumes? 13 Y e s No I f yes, Which ha s the shortest processing time? 1 Hard copy 12 Electronic How long is the average difference in processing time between hard copy and electronic resumes? ________________________________ Please add any additional information you want us to know about using automated tools in the hiring process.__________________________________ Thank you for taking the time to complete and return this Email survey. Sharing your experiences is greatly appreciated and, it is hoped, w ill help the process. 277 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX B LIST OF FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDING TO THE HRInT TOOLS SURVEY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDING TO THE HRInT TOOLS SURVEY 1 . Department o f Commerce 2. Bureau o f the Census (Department o f Commerce) 3. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Department o f Commerce) (tw o responses, one from HRM, one from IT supporting HRM) 4. Department o f Defense 5. United States A ir Force (Department o f Defense) 6. Defense Inform ation Systems Agency (Department o f Defense) 7. Defense Financial Accounting Service (Department o f Defense) (two responses, one from HRM, one from IT supporting HRM) 8. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (Department o f Defense) 9. United States Arm y (Department o f Defense) 1 0 . United States Arm y, Pacific Region (Department o f Defense) 11 . United States Navy (Department o f Defense) 1 2. National Reconnaissance Organization (Department o f Defense) 13. Food and Drug Administration (Health and Human Services) 14 . Housing and Urban Development 15. Department o f Interior 16. United States Geological Survey (Department o f Interior) 17. Department o f Justice 18. Immigration and Naturalization Service (Department o f Justice) 19. Department o f State 279 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 20. Department o f Treasury 21. Federal Aviation Adm inistration (Department o f Transportation) 22. Veterans Administration 23. Tennessee Valley Authority (Independent Entity) 24. Environmental Protection Agency (Independent E ntity) 25. Social Security Adm inistration (Independent Entity) 26. Social Security Adm inistration, Baltimore Region (Independent Entity) 27. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (Independent Entity) 28. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Independent Entity) 29. M erit Systems Protection Board (Independent Entity) 30. Federal Trade Commission (Independent Entity) 31. Federal Maritime Commission (Independent Entity) 32. Congressional Budget O ffice (Independent Entity in the Legislative Branch) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX C INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Thank you fo r responding to my survey and for agreeing to participate in a follow-up informational session. Based on responses to the survey, your organiza tion has been identified as a leader in the use o f automated tools in the hiring process. The inform ation to date has provided a rich array o f data on using automation in hiring processes. Due to the range o f survey responses, I am seeking clarifying information on the below topics. Please respond via Email or facsimile. From the perspective o f using automated tools (Email, Internet, automated resume scanning software, voice response systems, kiosks, etc.) in the hiring process: 1 . Have you experienced any unexpected changes in the number o f applicants applying fo r vacant positions? 2. In your opinion, by accepting soft-copy applications, have you received responses from a greater, lesser, or the same number o f qualified applicants in comparison to accepting only paper copy responses? What are the reasons contributing to this outcome? 282 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3. In addition to downsizing inform ation you have provided, please summarize any changes to your department's or agency's hiring process that you attribute to using automated tools. 4. What future changes do you anticipate in the HRM field? 5. What has been your involvement w ith information technology and how has it changed your views o f federal hiring? 6. What else can you tell me about the use o f automation in federal hiring processes? Thanks for your tim e and for returning your completed survey. Thanks to your help, I am w riting the final two chapters o f my dissertation. For reference, I sent 83 surveys and received 34 responses. Roy Combs, Doctoral Candidate, University o f Southern C alifornia 283 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A P PEN D IX D TWELVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION'S STUDY OF ENTRY-LEVEL HIRING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 21s t CENTURY: PROFESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TWELVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION'S STUDY OF ENTRY-LEVEL HIRING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 21s t CENTURY: PROFESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS The National Academy o f Public Administration published twelve recommendations fo r improving federal hiring processes. These recommendations are referenced in this research project and are reprinted here fo r completeness. 1. Create a Career Intern Program. 2. Aggressively organize and invigorate the College Cooperative Education Program. 3. Amend agency delegated examining agreements to make clear that it is permissible to exclude internal candidates, who can apply for a job under m erit promotion procedures, from applying for the same job under external delegated examining procedures. 4. Ensure the use o f tire Outstanding Scholar and bilingual/bicultural authorities is consistent w ith the Luevano consent decree as approved by the plaintiffs. 5. Design recruiting and examining strategies geared to the major sources o f applicants. 6. Realize that cooperation between OPM and federal agencies is critical. 7. Develop a federal careers Web site and emphasize computer proficiency. 8. Promote internships and professional development, not just jobs, for college graduates. 285 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 9. Propose modification o f the Rule o f Three. 10. Fine-tune the Presidential Management Intern Program (PM1). 11. Delegate examining authority for AC W A positions, whenever possible, to the agencies. 12. Expand OPM’s range o f recruiting services. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Combs, Roy James, Jr. (author)

Core Title Do uses of human resource information technology (HRInT) tools in federal organizations improve their human resource management productivity?

School School of Policy, Planning and Development

Degree Doctor of Public Administration

Degree Program Public Administration

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag business administration, management,history, modern,OAI-PMH Harvest,Political Science, public administration

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Newland, Chester (committee chair), [illegible] (committee member), Burke, Catherine (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-197005

Unique identifier UC11330056

Identifier 3065774.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-197005 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3065774.pdf

Dmrecord 197005

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Combs, Roy James, Jr.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA