featured project ARCHIVE

ESTABLISHING A REVOLUTIONARY WORKFORCE MODEL AT DOS

To ensure the most cost-effective matching of personnel resources to operational requirements, Congress required the Department of State to develop an analytical basis for determining domestic workforce requirements. To help, we developed a model to quantify the current domestic demand for human resources, estimate future demand on the basis of workload trends, and document current and projected workforce requirements for use in resource planning.

We developed the Domestic Staffing Model, a sophisticated analytical method that documents more than 1,400 organizational functions and 850 workload drivers. DSM also calculates trends and forecasts the future workload and staffing requirements for each function. It breaks down these estimates by grade level and skill and links them to strategic goals, for the first time providing visibility of the types of personnel resources required for these goals. DSM met the congressional directive and, more important, enabled DOS to deliver on the human capital portion of The President’s Management Agenda. In recognition of its workforce planning efforts, DOS received the International Public Management Association Leading Edge Award for innovative use of technology at the Federal Office Systems Expo (FOSE) and the 2005 President’s Quality Management Award for overall human capital excellence.