I am pleased to inform you the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued final regulations on December 10th concerning 5 CFR Part 410 (Training) and 5 CFR Part 412 (Supervisory, Management and Executive Development). The regulations are available at www.opm.gov/fedregis.
These final regulations support OPM's continuing efforts to lead the way in making the Federal Government the model employer and in building a high-performing workforce. The regulations make several significant changes concerning the training and development of Federal employees, supervisors, managers and executives. The regulations now include training and development provisions contained in the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, which require agencies to:
- Develop a comprehensive management succession program;
- Evaluate its training programs on a regular basis, and ensure alignment with strategic goals; and
- Train new supervisors within one year of appointment, and retrain at least every three years; training must include strategies for mentoring employees, improving performance management and productivity, and conducting performance appraisals
In addition, the revised rules require agencies to establish a program for the continuing development of current SES members. These programs must include the development and regular updating of an Executive Development Plan (EDP). The regulations also provide for the developmental use of sabbaticals and long-term assignments outside the Federal sector, as provided by relevant legal authorities.
The regulations also change requirements for Senior Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Programs (SESCDP). These changes include a requirement for agencies to obtain OPM approval of candidate development programs before initiating a new SESCDP, and re-approval every 5 years; current programs must also seek re-approval from OPM. OPM also modified the 4 month developmental assignment to include at least one assignment of 90 continuous days outside the scope of the candidate’s position of record. The regulations further require these assignments include roles at the executive level where the candidate is held responsible for achieving organizational or agency results during the developmental assignment. The oversight requirements and responsibilities of the agency Executive Resources Board (ERB) in the SESCDP approval process have been clarified. Lastly, the regulation removes the exemption allowing agencies to recruit internally only—previously, this was allowed if an agency could show at least 15% of their career SES appointments were from outside the agency.
If you have any questions, please contact Julie Brill, Training and Executive Development Group, at (202) 606-5067 or Julie.Brill@opm.gov.