In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the problems that federal personnel managers have in recruiting and retaining automatic data processing (ADP) personnel; and (2) Office of Personnel Management (OPM) programs that would help recruit and retain a high-quality ADP work force.

GAO found that: (1) federal managers believed that noncompetitive wages, obsolete personnel classification standards, limited training opportunities, and the negative image of federal service hindered their efforts to recruit and retain high-quality ADP personnel; and (2) although OPM had governmentwide programs intended to help in recruiting, federal managers did not know that OPM granted agencies direct-hire authority and higher pay for computer-related occupations and launched a recruiting program that marketed federal government employment.