Human Capital: Selected Agency Actions to Integrate Human Capital Approaches to Attain Mission Results

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

Intended to help Federal agency leaders better manage their organizations' most important asset -- their people. Federal agencies that acquire, develop, and retain high performing employees with the appropriate skills and competencies are better able to respond to the needs of the public on a daily basis and in times of crisis. This model is designed to help agency leaders effectively use their people, or human capital, and determine how well they integrate human capital considerations into daily decision-making and planning. The model highlights the importance of a sustained commitment by agency leaders to maximize the value of their agencies' human capital and manage related risks.

" Given the budgetary and long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation, agencies must identify options to meet their missions with fewer resources. However, if agencies do not pay careful attention to strategic workforce planning and other approaches to personnel management, then reduced investments in human capital can have lasting, detrimental effects on their capacity to meet their mission. GAO was asked to review the actions taken by selected agencies to manage their workforces and plan for future needs in an era of flat or declining budgets. This report assesses (1) key strategic human capital challenges federal agencies face in an era of highly constrained resources and identifies strategies for addressing them, and (2) the extent to which OPM ensures agencies have the assistance that CHCOs considered most important to mitigate human capital challenges. "