Human Capital:
Managing Human Capital in the 21st Century
T-GGD-00-77: Published: Mar 9, 2000. Publicly Released: Mar 9, 2000.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed ways to improve the federal government's approach to managing its people.
GAO noted that: (1) federal employees should be viewed not as costs to be cut but as assets to be appreciated; (2) strategic human capital management recognizes that employees are a critical asset for success, and that an organization's human capital policies and practices must be designed, implemented, and assessed by the standard of how well they support the organization's mission and goals; (3) the experiences of leading private sector firms underscore these ideas; (4) in studying nine selected private sector organizations known for innovative or effective human capital management, GAO found that human capital considerations were commonly included at all stages of management, from strategic planning through day-to-day business operations, and these firms focused on building and maintaining the competencies of their leaders and other employees and rewarded them for performance; and (5) although the civil service system is viewed by many as outdated and in need of reform, there is much that can and should be done today--by individual federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, GAO, and Congress--to improve the way the federal government manages its human capital, even in the absence of any fundamental legislative change.
Feb 24, 2021
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Bureau of Prisons:
Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness ProgramsGAO-21-123: Published: Feb 24, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 24, 2021.
Jan 12, 2021
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DHS Employee Morale:
Some Improvements Made, but Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Employee EngagementGAO-21-204: Published: Jan 12, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 12, 2021.
Sep 16, 2020
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Senior Executive Service:
Opportunities for Selected Agencies to Improve Their Career Reassignment ProcessesGAO-20-559: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Feb 25, 2020
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State Department:
Additional Steps Are Needed to Identify Potential Barriers to DiversityGAO-20-237: Published: Jan 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 25, 2020.
Dec 30, 2019
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Office of Congressional Workplace Rights:
Using Key Management Practices Would Help to Fully Implement Statutory RequirementsGAO-20-222: Published: Dec 30, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 30, 2019.
Oct 10, 2019
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Department of Veterans Affairs:
Improved Succession Planning Would Help Address Long-Standing Workforce ProblemsGAO-20-15: Published: Oct 10, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 10, 2019.
Oct 2, 2019
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Defense Workforce:
Steps Needed to Identify Acquisition Training Needs for Non-Acquisition Personnel [Reissued with revisions on Oct. 2, 2019.]GAO-19-556: Published: Sep 5, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 5, 2019.
Sep 25, 2019
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Federal Workforce:
Talent Management Strategies to Help Agencies Better Compete in a Tight Labor MarketGAO-19-723T: Published: Sep 25, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 25, 2019.
Sep 11, 2019
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USAID Reform:
Efforts Address Most Key Practices but Could Improve in Performance Assessment and Strategic Workforce PlanningGAO-19-609: Published: Sep 11, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 11, 2019.
Aug 15, 2019
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Defense Acquisition Workforce:
DOD Increased Use of Human Capital Flexibilities but Could Improve MonitoringGAO-19-509: Published: Aug 15, 2019. Publicly Released: Aug 15, 2019.
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