Veterans Administration human resources systems and recruitment practices

VA HR

The purpose of this report is to accurately describe the systems and procedures at the Veterans Administration (VA). This report will fully analyze the history of legislation and court decisions that have implications to the agency's personnel management. Additionally this report will examine the major components of the agency's human resource system's goals and practices regarding hiring and recruitment practices. Finally the report will list recommendations that can improve the agency's success of recruiting and training a diversified workforce.

Laws Affecting the Agency

It is first important to examine the history of the VA itself before examining the more specific human resources department section of the Veterans Administration. According to the VA's website, the formation of this agency in the federal government has demonstrated the political views of this government towards the soldiers who fight the wars for this country. As a result of this relationship, laws, rules and doctrine have been introduced through legislative and other official means to establish the VA has a lawful and respectful representation of this country and the attitudes towards veterans these people take demonstrates the important characteristics of our country as a collective unit.

Veterans have been around since the start of this country and taking care of these individuals also has a unique history. The VA's website continued by suggesting that "Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for service persons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different Federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers." Later on in 1930 more formal changes were enacted to establish this institution. The Veterans Administration arrived in 1930.

Hiring practices at the VA are regulated by several different federal laws, codes and statutes. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race color, religion sex or national origin. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects people who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older.

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments applies to the VA as well. This information can be found in the United States Code of Law. Additionally sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government, this applies to the VA as well

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee applies to this organization in its hiring practices. The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination also must be obeyed and followed (Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination, EEOC).

Personnel Recruitment and Hiring Practices

The VA released a Human Resource Strategic plan for the years of 2005-2010. This document highlighted the special laws and rules this organization must follow in order to continue its operations. According to this plan the mission statement is as follows: "Recruit, develop, and retain a competent, committed, and diverse workforce that provides high quality service to veterans and their families. -- The VA Human Resource community is a dynamic, innovative, flexible organization that thoroughly understands VA's business lines. VA Human Resources ensures that VA has the right people, in the right jobs, with the right skills and abilities, with a true sense of personal value, and a commitment to providing high quality service to our Nation's veterans "( VA Human Resource Strategic Plan, 2010).

Contained within this mission are principles and objectives that aim to follow the specific rules and laws associated with hiring practices. The VA Human Resources Department listed 6 explicit goals to help determine their specific roles within government. These goals are listed as follows:

1. Strategic Alignment- Align HR with missions, goals and organizational objectives.

2. Workforce and Succession Planning and Development: Ensure workforce has the necessary skills to meet the needs of today's veterans.

3. Leadership and Knowledge Management- Effectively manage people and ensure a continuity of leadership. Agencies will provide programmed core competency training for supervisors and leaders to assure that the people in line for leadership positions have the training they need to perform. Agencies will also be formalizing the programmatic links between training and career progression in leadership development programs .

4. Results-Oriented Performance Culture- Agencies will have a diverse and results oriented management system.

5. Talent- Develop strategies that address mission critical skills knowledge and competency gaps and deficiencies in occupations and competencies needed in the workforce.

6. Accountability- Human capital decisions will be guided by data driven results oriented planning and accountability system.

Recommendations for Recruiting and Training a Diversified Workforce

The VA has done a fine job in ensuring that diversity is maintained within their workforce. This does not mean that some recommendations cannot be offered to help improve their standing. First, it is important for the VA to remember that they are civil servants who are here to serve the American people by taking care of the veterans that helped contribute to protecting it. Many times this idea can get lost ensuring that one department or another is politically correct.

The Veterans Administration has had a poor reputation at times throughout its history and this should not be acceptable to anyone, but especially for those who work at the VA. Only when an organization can lift itself out of its own misery and problems will success flourish and negative attitudes become invisible. Recommending that the workforce does not look upon diversity as a negative trait suggests that the organization can provide the community and healing services that are so desperately needed.

The VA would also serve themselves better by trimming some of the administrative red tape that accompanies such agencies' systems of operations. Becoming a sleeker and more flexible administration will help manage the many laws and regulations that it spends its time complying within instead of taking care of veterans.