The Office of Personnel Management has been putting out new human resources guidance for agencies this month after the President’s budget blueprint was released. The revised guidance appears to be in preparation for possible cutbacks at federal agencies.
Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook
Some new guidance just released by OPM is called the “Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook.” As OPM describes it, it is a guide to “provide assistance to agencies that are considering and/or undergoing some type of reshaping (e.g., reorganization, management directed reassignments, furlough, transfer of function, reduction in force).”
One of the primary topics discussed in the guide is the reduction in force (RIF). The guide looks at roles and responsibilities of both management and HR as well as a detailed breakdown of the processes and components of a RIF.
Administrative Furlough Guidance
OPM also recently released updated administrative furlough guidance for agencies and employees. Unlike the reshaping operations guidance, this guidance was not new, however, the agency had not updated it since June 2013.
Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook
