The Office of the Secretary of Defense reduced the time it takes to fill a Senior Executive Service position from more than nine months to under five months, earning the department one of Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Awards this week.
Office of Personnel Management Director Janice Lachance presented the award to the team of OSD employees on Tuesday. The team cut the time it takes to fill an SES position in half by automating some processes, streamlining others, and doing steps simultaneously instead of sequentially, said Al Papenfus, director of the personnel and security directorate at OSD.
Papenfus said the office also held workshops for people applying for SES positions so they could understand how to make the process faster for themselves. The office has been able to streamline the process without compromising quality control, he said.
The amount of time it takes to fill SES positions in other agencies varies, but the average time is under five months for civilian agencies as well, according to OPM.
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