ApplyGov fully supports initiatives to modernize federal hiring and advance merit-based workforces. In fact, they’re the very reasons we exist: to bring private sector innovations and capabilities to federal talent acquisition. In response to OPM’s Merit Hiring Plan, ApplyGov conducted an analysis to illustrate how the Apply Government Solutions FedHire federal talent acquisition system (TAS) is already aligned, share plans for additional FedHire changes, and suggest actions for client agencies.
FedHire is more than just an approved solution; it is the leading FedRAMP-secure federal talent acquisition system available. ApplyGov brings 23+ years of experience having served 100+ federal agencies, combining government-specific functionality with private sector best practices and data-driven innovation to hire qualified talent, reduce time-to-hire and advance hiring outcomes. FedHire was purpose-built to meet federal needs, and as a commercial solution recommended by decades of government standards, goes beyond compliance to offer far greater power, capability, and flexibility than what other competitors can offer. Specifically, FedHire features a time-saving and effective Position Classification system, streamlined Job Analysis technology, skills-based hiring assessments that allow agencies to re-use candidate scores across announcements, personalized virtual Onboarding, and other solutions that support the President’s seven goals and four key elements of the Merit Hiring Plan.
FedHire was purpose-built to meet federal hiring needs and continues to evolve in step with government-wide hiring priorities. Our system follows a regular release schedule and includes any changes as rules and guidance evolve. We work hand-in-hand with OPM and our agency partners to ensure any required implementations are appropriately understood, including potential impacts, and tested before deployed to live systems.
FedHire’s Alignment to OPM's Merit Hiring Plan
Many components of the Merit Hiring Plan were existing OPM initiatives, such as sharing certificates, skills-based assessments, and reducing time-to-hire, which is why our FedHire TAS is already well aligned. In addition to implementing our timesaving and power-boosting federal talent acquisition platform, ApplyGov can further enable agency alignment with the Merit Hiring Plan through a variety of avenues, including:
Deploying our off-the-shelf standardized alternative assessments for non-supervisory and supervisory positions through our FedHire-integrated testing platform
Partnering with us to develop and implement agency and/or position-specific technical and alternative assessments
Automating your SME-based assessments, like structured resume reviews and structured interviews, with the FedHire Collaborate module
Utilizing the new, short essay questions added to FedHire
Posting announcements to the Internship Portal and STEM portals to support targeted recruitments
Onboard technical positions, as well as VEOA, VRA, MISP, and DAV Direct Hires, through our Onboarding platform
Rejuvenating agency-controlled applicant notifications so they are easy to understand
Sharing certificates of eligibles (per CSA) through our Selecting Official module and implementing our future Shared Certificates module to quicken time-to-hire
Automating your classification process to support PD standardization with FedHire’s Position Classification module
Accessing FedHire Analytics tools to report on key hiring metrics, like Time-to-Hire
Creating checklists in FedHire throughout the hiring process to better enforce administration, OPM guidance, and agency processes
Supporting agencies in streamlining two Merit Hiring Plan data calls to OPM to show status on implementing short essay questions and technical or alternative assessments
ApplyGov remains committed to governmentwide hiring priorities and collaborating with its agencies on strategic and effective innovations to streamline, automate, and advance federal talent acquisition. Our federal agencies have already vetted FedHire as the best solution to support merit-based hiring and their decision complies with EO 14271, which prioritizes cost-effective, commercial technology for federal use. OPM is continuing to release additional guidance, which we are monitoring and seeking clarifications where needed so we can determine the best path forward in collaboration with our agency partners.
Please note, the above is an abbreviated list of how FedHire enables the OPM Merit Hiring Plan. Our federal TAS goes way beyond OPM’s suggestions and better supports Trump’s Merit Hiring Goals. For federal agencies currently using FedHire, please check the Corner for a more detailed outline of how FedHire aligns with suggested agency actions and view our Merit Hiring Plan webinar and slides. For all other agencies and partners, reach out to us to learn more.