MODERNIZING THE RECRUITING AND EXAMINING SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01826R000300130070-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 6, 2002
• Sequence Number: 70
• Publication Date: December 14, 1965
• Content Type: LETTER

~. COPY
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PUBLISHED IN ADVANCE OF INCORPORATION
IN FPM Ch. 331
FPM LTR.331-1
Orr
i1ici"I -'-- q,
office of Per's?"o:ijil
7 DEC 1965
FEDERAL PERSONNEL MANUAL SYSTEM
FPM LETTER. NO. 331-1
LETTER
Washington, D.C. 20415
December 14, 1965
SUBJECT: Modernizing the Recruiting and Examining System
Heads of Departments and Independent Establishments:
The Civil Service examining system, guiding the' carter staffing of the
Federal Departments and agencies, is of paramount importance to the
effective conduct of the Nation's business. The system must not only
measure merit in accordance with public policy, but also serve as a means
of attracting to the Federal service the best qualified in the employment
marketplace. It must be responsive to the demands of Federal programs
and sensitive to the expectations of the public served. It must operate
in an environment of efficiency and economy.
For that reason, the Civil Service Commission has made an intensive review
and evaluation of the present system of examinations and the organization
through which it is carried out. The purpose of this review was to make
sure that this system is fully effective in meeting the employment needs
of today and is fully responsive to the. public's right to compete for
available jobs on the basis of merit. As a result, the Commission, with
the full endorsement of the President, has decided to undertake an exten-
sive program of modernization of the total recruiting and examining system.
(The exchange of correspondence between the President and Chairman Macy
is attached for your information.)
The new program will substantially revise the present pattern of staffing
and placement at grades GS..l through GS..15, and for Wage Board jobs. It
will simplify, quicken, and adapt to today's needs our present methods,
strengthening our efforts to obtain employees of the highest calibre, when
and where we need them,, with the training and competence demanded by our
national goals and a dynamic technology. It will aid us immeasurably in
our overriding purpose of providing to all qualified citizens an equal
opportunity to compete on the basis of merit for Federal positions.
INQUIRIES: BRE, Inter-Agency Boards, Code 183, extension 7619
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DISTRIBUTION: PPM (Advance copy limited)
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I LPII. 331-1 (2)
^rJi_ih the changing nature of th 3 labor market and the population upsurge,
auve applications for Federal ;mployment for each position filled must be
2 1r.dled, and employment inforn:ition must be made available to more people.
:Equal Employment Opportunii;y program demands wider publicity of oppor-
Lity and more frequent exams cations.
r. national youth programs ant the increasing numbers of young people
each year entering the employment market emphasize the Commisciongs re-
ylvnsibil'.ity for assuring that each qualified applicant is accorded the
;na murn opportunity for consid, 3ration for Federal employment. Graduates
of our educational system must be offered such opportunity when they
ra.duate.
Our abtl:ity to respond to thes,; needs is enhanced by these features of the
new program which make it poss:Lble to fully utilize the growing Commission
,aacity in the use of automat:Lc data processing equipment for the more
1i"Iltine, repetitive phases of -.he examining process.
The Gurrent System
T"r= partnership arrangement be;ween the Departments and agencies with the
?Joirmissior in the administration of the examining program has served for
n,":=..y years as an outstanding e:?:ample of interdepartmental cooperation.
Under the new program, we exp&:t this collaboration to continue and in-
:rease in effectiveness, though within a different context.
The Cu/il Service Act of 1883 provided for Boards of Civil Service Examiners
drew no line of d .stinctio:1 between what the Commission would do "in
ou,.se" and what would be done I )y Boards.
!rder the influence of the corri-ersion period following World War II, the
umber of Boards increased enormously and piecemeal, frequently under the
sears of expediency and oft?:n as the result of Commission-a envy nego-
`JA:Lions undertaken to respond to an immediate examining need.
r+e result of this expanding 1 lard of Examiners system has be a delegation
recruiting and examining au-:thority to a large number of semiautonomous At present, 66i, separate Boards throughout the country.
1:nr?ounce examinations, evaluate: applications, and refer names Of eligible
3m .didates for enployment cons:..deration.
'.the program proposed responds -,o one of the major findings of our study--
r.hat a Clearer, sharper line mi::st be drawn between the operational functions
t' the Commission and those of the Boards.
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FPK LTR. 331-1 { )
The existing Boards issue examination announcements which, for the most part,
are-designed for specific agencies served by individual Boards, and tend to
be narrow in scope. They also tend to cover one particular part of a broad
occupation rather than the whole occupation. The large number of small Boards
prevents coordination among them,'.. so that sometimes there is duplication of
recruiting and examining effort and sometimes a lack of any coverage at all.
Because of this complex dispersion of the recruiting and examining activity,
.the public-information task is exceedingly difficult.
The New System
Inter-Agency coordination and cooperation will be the foundation of the new
program. The present 668 Boards of Examiners will be consolidated Into a
basic network of 65-Inter-Agency Boards located in selected centers of both
general and Federal populations. Each Board will serve a clearly defined
geographic segment. A map showing the locations and geographic territories
of each of these Boards is attached.
An Inter-Agency Board will be composed of agency managers, acting as a
Board of Directors, and representing the agencies located in a particular
area. Rating panels will be made up (as at present) of agency specialists.
Boards will continue to operate under the supervision of the Commission.
The outstanding success of the twelve Federal Executive Boards in the
recent past clearly shows the remarkable. achievements possible through
concerted action by Federal executives. We strongly believe'that the
coordination between the Commission and the agencies called for by this
program will constitute another important step toward attaining throughout
the Government the rapid and effective action.that accompanies true inter-
agency management.
The new Inter-Agency Boards will be staffed by full-time Executive Officers
and employees on the rolls of the Civil Service Commission, superseding the
present arrangement in which Board staffs are carried on the rolls of parti-
cipating agencies. Under the program's financing plan to be,established
under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 691, the agencies will reimburse the Com-
mission for the expenses of Board operations on a proportionate-share basis.
Under the new plan, the Civil Service Commission:
o will provide leadership, supervision, and general recruiting
support,
0 will announce, schedule, and score large-volume written tests,
using the latest computer techniques, and speed the results to
the Inter-Agency Boards.
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FPM MR. 331-?1 (41 "
The Inter-Agency Board:
0 will develop imaginativo and vigorous recruitment programs
in cooperation with the participating agencies,
0
will evaluate the exper:Lence and training of candidates,
? will maintain lists of eligibles and refer eligibles to
employing agencies,
? will operate a one-stop Federal job information center so
that interested citizen;3, including graduates of the Job
Corps and the Neighborhood Youth Corps, can be counseled on
job opportunities and w-11 no longer have to visit a number
of Government offices to get the information they need,
o will give strong suppor-~ to our efforts to become an equal
opportunity employer in every sense,
o will assist in identifying highly able employees for
possible reassignment, ?5ransfer and promotion to jobs
of greater responsibili-5y throughout the service.
Plan and Timetable :'or Installation of the Chapges
The Commission's plan is to beg:Ln implementation of the new system immediately.
It is expected that the first Liter-,Agency Boards will be established by July 1,
1966 and the cdmpl.ete network w:Lll start operation by January 1, 1967.
Howeverj, the installation of changes in examinations and in the examination
process will be mare gradual. The assumption of the examinations handled
by the current boards of Examin