New Talent Pools (Shared Certs) Feature for USAJOBS' Agency Talent Portal

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Washington, DC 20415 Workforce Policy and Innovation December 01, 2023 Memorandum For Human Resources Directors From: Veronica E. Hinton Associate Director Workforce Policy and Innovation Subject: New Talent Pools (Shared Certs) Feature for USAJOBS’ Agency Talent Portal

The Office of Personnel Management is proud to announce a new USAJOBS’ feature, Talent Pools, to “advertise” available shared certificates of candidates across government. These certificates, issued under delegated examining procedures through the Competitive Service Act (CSA) or an OPM-run cross government hiring action, contain candidates who have applied to an open announcement, have been assessed, and are available for agencies’ consideration. Agencies’ use of pooled hiring advances the President’s Management Agenda Workforce Priority Strategy 1 that calls for agencies to efficiently and inclusively attract and hire quality candidates and reduce any systemic barriers by improving the hiring process for all applicants, hiring managers, and Human Resources (HR) Specialists. Pooled hiring reduces applicant burden by allowing job seekers to apply once and be considered by multiple agencies for selection. It also speeds time to hire for agencies who can fill vacancies from the shared certificate of candidates who have already completed rigorous assessments and been found qualified. Through pooled hiring, more candidates are hired from each certificate, reducing the need for agencies to post multiple hiring actions throughout the year for the same positions. For this to be successful, agencies need to populate the Talent Pools with available delegated examining certificates of eligibles. Please consider opportunities for sharing your certificates to help other agencies fill their critical vacancies. Remember, in order to share certificates with another agency, the original agency must follow the requirements of the CSA including notifying applicants in the job opportunity announcement and allowing them to opt-in to have their names and application materials shared with other agencies. Agencies interested in making a selection from another agency’s certificate must verify through job analysis that the original agency qualification and assessment criteria are appropriate for the position they want to fill and meet other requirements of the CSA. For more information, please see the ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Empowering Excellence in Government through Great People www.usajobs.gov attached handout, Shared Certs – Competitive Service Act, for agency requirements, and the Shared Certs Implementation Guidance. Talent Pools Launch On March 31, 2023, Talent Pools launched for CSA certificates. This allows the originating agency to create a Talent Pool of the candidates from the CSA certificate, which gives visibility to receiving agencies. A second phase of the Talent Pools functionality was launched in September to share OPM-issued cross-agency hiring certificates through this platform. Please see the attachments for implementation guidelines and the steps needed to sign up to use Talent Pools. Contact Information If you have questions about the requirements for sharing certs or are interested in learning more about how your agency can share certificates with other agencies, please contact OPM’s Hiring Experience Group at HX@opm.gov. If you have questions on the Talent Pools functionality, please contact recruiterhelp@usajobs.gov. To learn more about the USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal, please visit the Agency Talent Portal Help Center. Attachment: Shared Certs – Competitive Service Act Requirements USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal Talent Pools Flyer Talent Pools Implementation Guidelines cc: Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs) and Deputy CHCOs

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Talent Pools Implementation Guidelines The Talent Pools feature is available on USAJOBS’ Agency Talent Portal (ATP). Talent Pools allow HR Specialists to preview available certificates of eligibles to determine if an existing certificate will meet their current hiring need(s). It also provides hiring managers a central location to see all the certificates available to their agency in these categories. This will make accessing shared certificates and participating in pooled hiring actions much easier, saving hiring managers time and helping to make hiring faster, easier, and more effective. Agencies can also use the ATP to collaborate within a recruitment workspace to find talent through mining the USAJOBS database of over one million searchable resumes, searching for candidates with non-competitive appointing authorities, messaging talent about open jobs and career events, and career or recruitment events to job seekers who visit USAJOBS. Agency Roles in Talent Pools The Talent Pools functionality created two new roles in the USAJOBS ATP. Each agency that will use the Talent Pools functionality must designate individual(s) for these roles. • Talent Pool Manager is from the “original hiring agency” (i.e., the agency that first initiated the hiring action and will be sharing the certificate of eligibles with other agencies) and determines which certificates will be shared with other agencies. We expect this role to be those HR Specialists who are certified in delegated examining and understand the requirements for sharing certs under the CSA to ensure only hiring actions that meet the requirements for sharing will be shared. •

Shared Certificate Coordinator is from the “receiving agency” (i.e., the agency that will use a shared certificate generated by another agency, to include the OPM cross-government actions) and will view available shared certificates to determine if any meet the hiring needs of their agency. Individuals assigned this role are certified in delegated examining, are aware of their agency’s hiring needs, and will manage the use of Talent Pools among their agency hiring managers. The individuals designated for these roles should email recruiter-help@usajobs.gov and indicate the role for which they would like to register. Once confirmed and registered, upcoming training dates and details will be provided. Any other HR Specialist, hiring manager, or recruiter who needs to view candidates listed in a Talent Pool will need an ATP account, which they can obtain by emailing recruiter-help@usajobs.gov. This will also ensure they are notified when new shared certificates, or talent pools, are available for their agency’s use.

Case File Documentation The Talent Pool platform is not the system of record but is a vehicle that allows access to view the available certificates regardless of the talent acquisition system used by the original hiring agency or the receiving agency. When sharing a certificate, the original agency, through their Talent Pool Manager, will provide the receiving agency a copy of all documentation pertaining to the creation of that certificate (e.g., the job analysis, job opportunity announcement, rating schedule/crediting plan, applications of those certified, etc.). Additionally, each receiving agency, through their Shared Cert Coordinator, will access the shared certificate and supporting documentation of the original agency and must follow applicable hiring rules, including confirming selected candidates are within reach. As such, the receiving agency, through coordination with their Shared Cert Coordinator, must maintain its own case file documentation to independently reconstruct its use of that certificate and support the selection(s) in the same manner it would if it had advertised the job under its own delegated examining authority. Specific to the Talent Pool, each receiving agency should download and include in its case files a copy of the Talent Pool Report. For More Information For more information on the Talent Pools functionality, please contact recruiterhelp@usajobs.gov. To learn more about the USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal, please visit the Agency Talent Portal Help Center. For information on the requirements for sharing certs or information on how your agency can share certificates with other agencies, please contact OPM’s Hiring Experience Group at HX@opm.gov. Shared Certificates - Competitive Service Act General Requirements

An agency may share a competitive certificate issued under delegated examining procedures with one or more agencies for a position that is in the same occupational series, grade level (or equivalent), full performance level, and duty location • All selections must be made within 240 calendar days of the original certificate issue date • Each agency must maintain case file documentation to reconstruct its own use of the certificate Receiving Agency Requirements Original Agency Requirements (the sharing agency) • • • • • • • Provide notification in the job opportunity announcement Allow applicants to opt-in to having their material shared Close out and audit the certificate before sharing Share all documentation pertaining to development of certificate Safeguard PII during transmission of certificate materials Redact the names of applicants who did not opt-in and those selected Notify receiving agencies if errors are found in the original case • • • • Verify, through job analysis, original agency qualification and evaluation criteria appropriate for position being filled Notify the shared list of candidates of its receipt of their application material and: • Its intent to consider them for a position • The requirement to consider its own employees first Provide notice of the opportunity to its own employees and others required to consider • Allow them up to 10 business days to apply Consider individuals under RPL and CTAP All actions must be taken in accordance with the DEOH and all applicable regulations (5 CFR 332.408). Agencies should develop an internal shared cert policy. USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal

Hire Employees Faster with Talent Pools Using the USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal What Is a Talent Pool? A talent pool is a list of qualified candidates who are already on an approved shared hiring certificate and ready to be hired. These candidates have opted-in to share their federal application with other federal agencies who are hiring for similar positions. You can use talent pools to find candidates that fit your hiring need. Why Should I Use a Talent Pool? Talent pools give your agency access to qualified candidates who are already on a hiring certificate and interested in similar jobs at any agency. You can quickly review their resumes and speed up the hiring process if the hiring certificate matches your positions. If you want to hire a candidate from the talent pool, work with your shared certificate coordinator to complete the action using your talent acquisition system. Who Can Use Talent Pools? To use talent pools, you must have a USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal account. Request an ATP Account What Is the USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal? The USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal (ATP) is a recruitment platform for federal employees who work in recruitment - HR specialists, recruiters, hiring managers, disability program managers, and event coordinators - that is used to discover highly skilled talent. How Do I Get an Agency Talent Portal Account? To request an account, email Recruiter-Help@USAJOBS.gov. You will receive an email with a link to access ATP. Once you have logged in, click “Talent Pools” on the landing page. Where Do I Go With Questions? • • USAJOBS Agency Talent Portal (ATP) Help Center USAJOBS Help Desk: recruiter-help@usajobs.gov