Results
The U.S. Digital Service and OPM have conducted two rounds of pilots and subsequent SMEQA hiring actions since 2019.
- 17 completed actions
- 42 agencies
- 6450 applicants
- 933 qualified
- 406 selections
- 274 accepted offers
Pilots
Initial pilots (spring 2019)
Proving the concept
Agencies can drastically improve hiring outcomes using current delegated examining rules and regulations by incorporating Subject Matter Experts into the process.
In spring 2019, the team tested the SME-QA process with two agencies, focusing on improving the quality of applicants appearing on certificates. Our final report and case study review the results and lessons learned.
Subsequent pilots
Expanding possibilities
Later pilots sought to discover if the SME-QA process could flex to different assessment types and sped up through better tools to make resume reviews and interviews easier to manage.
In 2020 and 2021, the team refined the process with pilots at further agencies, including cross-government pilots. SMEQA actions have continued in 2022.
Assessment and Selection Summary
CMS: MULTIPLE OFFICES
Product Manager - GS-13 - 2210 series
Data Scientist - GS-12/13 - 2210 series
Product Manager - GS-13 - 2210 series
CX: MULTIPLE OFFICES
Customer Experience Strategist - GS-13/14/15 - 0301 series
Customer Experience Strategist - GS-13 - 0301 series
DATA: MULTIPLE OFFICES
Data Scientist - GS-13/14 - 0343 series
DHS: OIT
IT Specialist (INFOSEC) - GS-12/13 - 2210 series
DOI: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
IT Specialist - GS-13 - 2210 series
IT Specialist - GS-13 - 2210 series
EPA: OFFICE OF MISSION SUPPORT
Personnel Security Specialist - GS-13 - 0800 series
IT Specialist - GS-13 - 2210 series
GRANTS: MULTIPLE OFFICES
Grants Management Specialist - GS-11 - 1109 series
GSA: MULTIPLE OFFICES
UX Designer - GS-15 - 301 series
Contract Specialist - GS-09 - 1102 series
HHS: CIO AND CTO
IT Specialist - GS-13 - 2210 series
STATE: MULTIPLE OFFICES
Grants Management Specialist - GS-12 - 1109 series
Foreign Affairs Officer - GS-13 - 0130 series
Time to Hire Improvements
First round of pilots
Round one pilots focused on improving the quality of certificates, rather than reducing the time it takes an agency to hire applicants. However, to gather baseline information to inform future hiring actions that employ the SME-QA process, the team tracked time to hire data for the initial pilots.
HHS was the first to pilot the SME-QA process, and took 3.5 months from posting the job announcement to creating the certificates. Learning quickly from HHS, the team iterated on the SME-QA process during the DOI pilot by concurrently scheduling and conducting the first and second interviews and simplifying assessment ratings to remove the less decisive “borderline” score. These rapid iterations helped DOI complete the same hiring phases as HHS in only two months.
USDS played the role of project manager, which kept the SME-QA process moving and reduced the time to hire. As project managers, the USDS team enforced the structure and completion of the job analysis workshop, which created both a shared understanding of the SME-QA process among all participants and also built the necessary momentum to post the job announcement one week later.
When people got a cert in the past, they had to hunker down for a long ugly slog. This cert came-in and was ready to go. Literally [we] can choose today.
— HHS Hiring Manager
Second round of pilots
Round two pilots added a Resume Review Tool that allowed SMEs to conduct resume reviews, and for HR Specialists to audit those reviews, much faster than before, along with a self-scheduling tool for interviews. Written assessment reviews were used at CMS and EPA in lieu of a first round interview. The results were striking: 5.5 weeks from announcement to certificate, and both EPA and CMS were able to make immediate selections.
Continued SMEQA actions
In 2022, agencies continued to conduct hiring actions using SMEQA practices. CMS's fall 2021 hiring action took less than five business weeks from announcement to certificate. Other agencies are rolling out and developing hiring practices to more fully utilize SMEs in a variety of ways.