People

At OPM, Weichert pushes direct hire, pay agent changes

Margaret Weichert, now acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, is clearing agencies to make direct hires in IT, cyber and other tech fields and is changing pay for specialized occupations.

People

Weichert: Workforce issues stall IT modernization, data progress

Now acting head of the Office of Personnel Management, Margaret Weichert laid out her priorities for the workforce and the commercialization of federal data.

Digital Government

A government contractor crosses over to USDS

Steve Kelman reports on what prompted Kelly O'Connor to take an rather unusual career turn.

People

Army extends higher pay, colonel rank to new cyber entrants

The Army is opening higher ranks and pay grades to cybersecurity specialists who join the Army in hopes of bolstering the cyber mission force.

People

What the OPM shakeup means for the agency's planned merger with GSA

The abrupt departure of Jeff Tien Han Pon as director of the Office of Personnel Management was met with mixed levels of surprise, but some believe his being replaced will accelerate organization and policy changes.

People

Director Jeff Pon out at OPM

Margaret Weichert, the Office of Management and Budget's deputy director for management, will be taking on a second role: acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, replacing Jeff Pon.

People

OPM targets improved job satisfaction scores

The Office of Personnel Management is targeting low employee performance and engagement scores within agencies and setting milestones for action.

People

House Republicans agree to give feds pay raise

The Trump administration had proposed a pay freeze on federal civilian wages in fiscal year 2019, but after the Senate passed a bill including a 1.9 percent raise for feds, House appropriators have followed suit.

Cybersecurity

DOD struggles with loss of cyber personnel

The Defense Department looks to targeted recruiting and bonuses to check the loss of cyber workers as it expands the Cyber Excepted Service Personnel System.

People

How AI will change the way government works

By automating mundane administrative tasks, AI creates work experiences that unleash productivity, bringing out the best in human workers.

People

Hurd, Kelly: Government must pay more attention to AI

The leaders of the House IT subcommittee are looking to legislation and funding to level up progress in AI and workforce development to make sure feds can leverage the technology.

People

Why HR must adapt to rise of AI, tech

The National Academy for Public Administration wants federal hiring and workforce management to adapt to modern technologies.

Cybersecurity

Security clearance backlog drops 9 percent

An interagency council credits a series of changes instituted to the security clearance process this year with the first drop unprocessed background investigations in years.

Acquisition

Air Force rolls out PEO Digital

The service is rebranding and changing its acquisition structure to reflect new statutory authorities and its agile approach to development.

People

What federal job automation looks like

As the Trump administration aims to drive efficiency and accuracy and eliminate "low-value work," agencies are starting to think about what aspects of their operations lend themselves to automation.

Cybersecurity

Barriers to effective insider threat monitoring

IT security and HR shops must align their policies and activities to tackle the threat of data exfiltration.

People

White House hosts summit on future of workforce

Federal employee unions weren't invited as private sector and federal HR leaders gathered in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to talk about automation and retraining.

People

White House officials to huddle on future of federal workforce

Federal CIO Suzette Kent said she will talk about federal technology workforce needs at a White House session.

Digital Government

Will civic tech save government from its tech talent crisis?

Students drawn to digital government are bringing desperately needed skills (and enthusiasm) to agencies that are willing to engage, Steve Kelman writes.

People

Congressional opposition to federal pay freeze mounts

A group of 182 lawmakers are opposing President Trump's plan to freeze pay for civilian federal employees.