Summary: Resource reductions and changing missions, along with the replacement of aging human resource management information systems, have spurred federal agencies to restructure their personnel offices. Congress has made it clear that it expects agencies to improve their accountability for resources, including human resources, in accomplishing their missions. In addition, the National Performance Review in 1993 recommended that agencies reduce by half the costs of administrative positions, including personnel jobs, by 1999. Between September 1993 and September 1997, the number of civilian personnelists across government fell by about 21 percent--or 8,900 employees. This report reviews four major federal departments--the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Veterans Affairs--and (1) describes their efforts to restructure personnel offices and operations; (2) determines what, if any, performance measures are in place to gauge the results of the restructuring efforts; and (3) identifies issues that agencies may commonly encounter when, in restructuring their personnel operations, they consider outsourcing automated personnel and payroll services to another agency or the private sector.
