Subject matter expert qualification assessments

Government agencies have always been in competition with the private sector to attract and hire the best talent, but the intensity has reached new heights with talent shortages and the advent of distributed work. Until they can attract, engage, and hire candidates at the speed of industry, federal agencies will remain at a severe disadvantage compared to private sector employers with advanced technology that enables them to hire in days versus months.

In an effort to create fairer hiring for federal workers, U.S. Digital Service partnered with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to create the Subject Matter Expert Quality Assessments (SME-QA) process. The SME-QA process has the potential to improve the federal hiring process tremendously by ensuring qualified applicants make it to the certification list hiring managers use to select candidates.     

Unfortunately, without modern technology, the five step SME-QA process does not provide the speed or scale required to compete with private industry. There’s a 4-6 week delay from job posting to certification list, a lack of candidate feedback in the interim, and the subject matter expert labor costs are steep. Combined, this makes the process difficult for agencies trying to compete with the private sector for high-demand positions in STEM or skilled trades. 

Subject matter expertise meets cutting-edge technology for faster hiring

Fortunately, SME-QA Powered by HireVue takes the benefits of the process and powers them with the speed and efficiency of hiring industry best practices and private industry technology. Using HireVue, federal agencies can continuously engage applicants from the day they apply, dramatically reduce the time and labor costs to generate certification lists, and enhance their government recruitment service.

SME-QA Powered by HireVue

Designed to make your hiring fast, fair, flexible, and secure, SME-QA powered by HireVue automates what can be automated so recruiters don’t waste time on manual tasks—and can spend more time on the strategic parts of hiring. 

What the process looks like with HireVue:

• The job posting is posted on multiple sources and resume review becomes optional
• Everyone receives a structured on-demand interview built with HireVue Builder, a tool that enables subject matter experts to build out custom competencies for key hiring roles. 
• HireVue provides tools that enable reviewers to rank candidates more efficiently based on core competencies—and ensures all applicants are evaluated equally.
• The best candidates are then prompted to use automated self-scheduling to schedule a video interview. 
• Upon completion, the certification list is issued.

An automated, streamlined hiring process boasts many benefits including:

Increase in top of funnel and fairer hiring

Limiting your applicant pool to essentially only those with insider knowledge will keep you from a lot of top talent. Increase your applicant pool and structure your interviews to make your hiring fairer and support your agency’s DEI goals. 

Better candidate experience

An easy and positive candidate experience matters, because it’s a reflection of the employee experience. Offering text-powered, mobile-friendly solutions shows you respect candidates’ time and value them as people. Allow candidates to put their best foot forward by offering 24/7 interviews with text reminders and notifications. In 2022, ~50% of on-demand interviews were completed outside of normal business hours, so give candidates the opportunity to put their best foot forward which may be after a full day of school, work, or family circumstances. 

Keep candidates engaged throughout the process

Speed will help you win the best talent, while process delays will work in favor of your competition. Did you know texts have a 98% open rate versus emails which have a 20% open rate? Text recruiting and automation allow you to work fast and efficiently even with an increased volume of candidates. Easily scale your hiring even during surge hiring cycles, and engage your candidates 24/7/365 with process automation. Continually engaged candidates with automated reminders and status updates, so no candidates are left waiting.

Powering your SME-QA hiring with HireVue enables federal hiring at the speed of industry and simultaneously improves candidate and hiring team experience—resulting in more qualified and diverse employees.  

Start competing with the private sector and ensure your top talent is the best talent out there. Schedule a demo here.