Federal Government has a University
Did you know that the Federal Government has a University? Well it does and we are not referencing USDA’s Graduate School. The Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCOC) established the University in February 2011. It is an online University available to all federal employees. The Human Resource University (HRU) is fully supported by Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Director, Katherine Archuleta. Having the support of the Chief of Chief Human Capital Officers is a recipe for success.
The HRU offers a full range of courses from performance management to strategic planning. The courses offered have already been developed in various agencies minimizing duplication and thereby saving dollars. The effort is collaborative and has currently registered more than $100 million in cost-savings government-wide. The HRU’s mission is to prepare and retain talent in order to create the next generation of leaders throughout the Federal Government. The courses are not only content and information driven, but focused on best practices across government and industry.
Collaboration and information sharing are an ideal goal for the gatekeeper of Human Resources, OPM. It has been difficult over the years to create collaboration and information sharing within the Federal Government. Each agency had its own agenda separated by hard-lines in the sand. That strategy has been and is counter to creating an informed workforce with the ability to transcend agency agendas and embrace the overarching goals and objectives of the Federal Workforce under the auspices of the Director of OPM.
Presidents depend on OPM Directors to set the tone and the trajectory going forward for everything Human Resources. Human Resources is a pivotal part of the strategic processes that drive government-wide operations. President Obama in his 2015 budget overwhelmingly emphasized training collaboration. The President all but said that training collaboration was a mandatory component of effective management and the single most important piece of assuring future leadership and talent within the ranks of the federal workforce.
Is HRU is good idea? I think so. My question is how many Federal Employees actually know about the HRU and how many are taking advantage of the online courses?  Knowledge unshared is knowledge lost.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
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