San Antonio, TX - Continuing U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James' directive to conduct a nationwide series of seminars on federal hiring flexibilities, OPM and the San Antonio Federal Executive Board (FEB) hosted a meeting of Human Resources professionals on January 11.

"Using the access and resources FEBs are able to provide, OPM is educating federal regional and field managers on new HR flexibilities and specific emergency preparation plans that are responsive and effective," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. "The collaboration with FEBs is designed to give federal managers and supervisors the latest and most practical information to help them do their jobs more effectively."

Creating an effective and efficient federal hiring process has been a top priority for James, and she continues to stress that, "The keys to improving the quality and speed of the hiring process are to use existing flexibilities when they are appropriate and to fully engage HR staff."

The San Antonio seminar focused special attention on veterans' preference, category rating systems, and the 45-day hiring model.

Sixteen federal agency representatives from 4 different departments and agencies came to hear information about how to implement these strategies through practical applications.

Agencies represented at the seminar included:

Department of the Air Force

Department of the Army

Department of the Interior

OPM.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.