Book Description

The Government's program to oversee Federal personnel systems has existed in some form since World War II when rapid expansion of the civil service necessitated the delegation of personnel authorities to individual agencies. Today the law requires the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to assure that Federal agencies operate their human resources management programs in accordance with the standards of fairness, efficiency, and objectivity embodied in the law's merit system principles. To do this, OPM maintains an oversight program that monitors the effectiveness of Federal personnel laws, regulations, and policies, and agency compliance with them. The program has undergone many changes over the years, the most recent a 1995 reorganization that focused attention on the importance of the merit system principles to Federal personnel activities. Because the oversight program is important to OPM's mission and to the health of the civil service, and because signifcant changes in human resources management are challenging the program's effectiveness, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or the Board) undertook a study of how, and how well, OPM performs its oversight function. The study findings reveal an oversight program much improved since 1992, when the Board last reviewed it. At the same time, certain refinements are still needed, such as more consistency in the evaluation approach among field divisions, better use and dissemination of information obtained in the course of oversight activities, and development of ways to focus oversight attention on line managers as their personnel authority continues to expand. This report discusses our findings, describes the continuing challenges to the oversight program, and suggests actions that OPM's director and department and agency heads can take to improve the Government's system for assessing human resources management.