Introduction

Christos Anagiotos and Aileen G. Zaballero

According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM; 2012a), the federal government has a civilian workforce of 2.76 million employees. However, budgetary constraints coupled with an increased demand to attract and retain talent have imposed complex challenges. A surge in the number of senior federal employees becoming eligible for retirement is causing national leaders to take heed of these challenges; meanwhile, the "technical skills required in today's workplace continue to necessitate advanced employee training efforts" (Condrey et al., 2012:1). Government human capital leaders are seeking solutions to improve the federal human resource (HR) systems that will optimize talent. However, several issues pertaining to the existing system must be addressed:

• Recruiting and selecting

• Developing and training

• Deploying and placing

• Retaining

• Transferring knowledge.

The aforementioned HR functions have changed as today's global markets compete in the "war for talent" (KPMG International, 2012:2). HR departments in both the private and public sectors have shifted from playing predominantly administrative roles to achieving strategic missions and objectives where resources are often scarce. Federal agencies in particular are attempting to adopt new HR practices to succeed during this complex period. The alignment of talent management to business objectives will require systematic and strategic initiatives.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION

In the early 1920s, personnel management was strictly focused on the administrative function of employee recordkeeping. During this period, the government's influence on employee relations was nonexistent. Employee abuses, including unsafe working conditions and child labor, were very common. However, during World War II the need to motivate employees to be more productive became important. Furthermore, classifications of workers and occupational categories that altered the recruitment and selection process were developed (Kavanagh et al., 2012).

The civil rights movement in the 1960s was the impetus for many new federal labor regulations. During this period, the government became responsible for policing discriminatory employment practices. Personnel departments were encumbered with legislative regulations that demanded data collection to substantiate that there were no unfair or discriminatory practices. The combination of optimizing employee productivity and the desire to avoid punitive damages for noncompliance resulted in the expansion of personnel manage