HR Chiefs Not Happy With IT

The federal human resources community is hampered by a lack of robust information technology systems, forcing many HR leaders to rely on outdated manual processes, according to a new report.

The report, released by the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton on Wednesday, is based on a survey of 68 federal chief human capital officers. Many CHCOs said agencies struggle with a host of manual HR processes, noting a need for technology and systems that streamline operations and produce the data and results needed to manage effectively.

CHCOs also noted that they are still not happy with many of the government's current IT solutions, including the Office of Personnel Management's hiring portal, USAJOBS.gov. Many CHCOs, however, were generally supportive of OPM's recent effort to revamp the job search website.

Several CHCOs also noted individual agencies often pay high fees to the same IT vendors to build unique IT solutions when those systems often are the same with only slight modifications. They suggested it would be easier and more cost effective to have a coordinated effort to approve a small number of common systems so agencies could choose the one that best meets their needs. CHCOs also noted the need to see their current systems linked to cut down on manual processes. "What we really need is something that can connect everything, sometime to integrate different data sets," one CHCO said in the report.