The heartbeat of any organization can be summed up in one word: people. It isn’t the technology or automated processes that many agencies have come to rely on over the years.
The truth is, when organizations hire good people, the technology takes care of itself. People provide overall direction and vision for an organization, ensure that technology enhances operations and ultimately develop more leaders to implement effective plans.
But people are often the costliest — although undeniably the most valuable — resource within an agency. Author Jim Collins, whose books are widely read by government hiring managers, has said great organizations get the right people on the bus, get the wrong people off the bus and get the right people in the right seats.
That’s why this GovLoop playbook focuses on the key issues agencies must address to achieve those outcomes: recruiting, hiring, onboarding and employee development. To better understand how agencies are addressing these key issues, we sat down with chief human capital officers (CHCOs), human resources directors, hiring managers and rank-and-file employees at all levels of government. They are professionals from Denver, Indiana, the General Services Administration’s digital consultancy group, 18F, and the Labor and Homeland Security departments.
In addition to practical tips for addressing some of government’s most pressing HR issues, there are also takeaways for employees to help them navigate the hiring process and be their own advocates for career development.
