Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions
Key claim: Federal agencies can share already-vetted job-candidate lists with one another and use OPM-run pooled hiring for common occupations, so they do not each have to run a separate competition for the same jobs.
Abstract
(Rule · Personnel Management Office) The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing an interim rule to improve hiring efficiency across federal agencies, modify provisions pertaining to how an appointing authority (i.e., the head of a Federal agency or department) may share a competitive certificate with one or more appointing authorities, implement provisions to allow an appointing authority to share an excepted service certificate with one or more appointing authorities, and implement provisions regarding OPM-led hiring actions which allow federal agencies to utilize competitive and excepted service certificates for occupations common to many agencies.
Why this matters
Federal hiring has long been criticized for duplicative competitions in which each agency reruns the same vetting for similar jobs. Allowing shared certificates and OPM-run pooled announcements lets one competition fill vacancies across agencies, shortening time-to-hire and reducing applicant and HR burden. It is an incremental process change but a meaningful piece of federal workforce administration.