HR task force prepares expanded guidelines, SSP criteria

The interagency task force spearheading the government’s consolidated Human Resources initiative is putting the finishing touches on expanded guidelines for public agencies and private companies that want to become HR shared-services providers, an Office of Personnel Management official said.Norm Enger, who heads the agency’s e-government programs, said today that the new guidelines will explain in greater detail which services all SSPs—whether public or private—need to provide to their potential customers. The notices come as OPM finishes work on a for private-sector SSPs that will be available within the next two months, he said.Speaking at a breakfast in Washington sponsored by market research firm Input of Reston, Va., Enger said the HR Line of Business task force will release its performance reference model within the next few days.The , Enger said, will measure how an SSP performs its services, including response times to questions and other support functions. It will be rolled into the service-level agreements that an SSP will sign with their customer agencies, he said.“This gives the voice of the customer and the voice of the SSP,” Enger said.In September, the task force will release an updated and more thorough version of HR LOB target requirements, which will outline the functions that a company or agency must meet to be considered an SSP, he said.OPM and the HR LOB task force released the first three target requirements last year—personnel action processing, which includes information regarding hiring and promotions; compensation management, including payroll; and online benefits management.The more detailed version, Enger said, will include longer-term functions, including staff acquisition, HR strategy, organization and position management, and HR development.Five agencies were selected last year as SSPs: the Treasury, Defense and Health and Human Services departments, the Interior Department’s National Business Center and the Agriculture Department’s National Finance Center.