Strengthening Federal Cybersecurity: Best Practices for Recruiting, Developing and Retaining Cyber Workers in Government
Case Study – Hiring Incentives for Federal Cyber Workers Organization – U.S. Office of Personnel Management Big Cybersecurity Recruitment Idea OPM has prepared information describing available incentives to increase attractiveness of job offers, particularly focused on attracting new cyber workers.
Their Story As the federal government’s personnel management agency, OPM has supported a variety of incentives to improve federal hiring. Many of these incentives are provided through statute and regulation, and are most suitable in providing incentives in recruiting cyber workers.
Their Goal OPM’s goal was to provide information about incentives directly applicable to increasing the attractiveness of job offers to potential candidates, and make both CIOs and CHCOs fully knowledgeable about these incentives.
Their Challenge OPM’s challenge was to provide a wide variety of incentives, since some require significant levels of financial investment and not all federal agencies have significant budget to provide these incentives.
Their Solution In November 2015, OPM issued a comprehensive memorandum detailed a variety of available incentives, including:
Government-wide Special Rates for entry and developmental level Computer Engineers, Computer Science Specialists, and Information Technology Management Specialists. See the Special Rates main page for more information. 5 U.S.C. 5305 and 5 CFR part 530, subpart C.
Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive up to 25 percent of basic pay for hard-to-fill positions multiplied by the number of years in the service agreement (up to 4 years). See Incentives Fact Sheet Index for more information. 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5 CFR part 575, subparts A and B.
Retention Incentive for highly-qualified employees or employees filling a special agency need that are likely to leave the Federal service, up to 25 percent of basic pay for an individual or 10 percent for a group. See the Retention Incentive fact sheet for more information. 5 U.S.C. 5754 and 5 CFR American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 500, Fairfax, VA 22031 www.actiac.org ● (p) (703) 208.4800 (f) ● (703) 208.4805 Advancing Government Through Collaboration, Education and Action
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