OPM launches shared service center for federal human resources

A new Office of Personnel Management hub for shared human resources services is open for business, the agency announced Tuesday.

In a memo to federal agency leaders, OPM Director Scott Kupor said the HR Shared Service Center aims to “reduce fragmentation” within the government and allow agency staff to focus on their mission rather than administrative work. 

Per the memo, that new center provides a “comprehensive” suite of functions, such as benefits management, payroll administration, performance management, recruitment, training, and workforce planning. Using those services is voluntary for agencies and is a fee-for-service model. 

At least eight federal entities have already indicated they will make the transition, per the memo. Those include the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

The announcement is the latest development in the Trump administration’s broader push to consolidate HR services across the government. That plan, called “Federal HR 2.0,” aims to create a single personnel management platform for the federal government as a way to save money and reduce duplicative systems. 

The new center builds on the “vision” of Federal HR 2.0, Kupor’s Tuesday memo said. 

“This Shared Service Center is a milestone in our effort to streamline operations, reduce duplication, and deliver high quality service across government,” Kupor said in a statement included in an emailed release. “With the expertise and modern HR technology we have at OPM, we are well positioned to make that vision a reality.” 

According to the memo, the nearly 42,000 HR employees across the government at the beginning of the Trump administration were “often performing duplicative and overlapping functions.” 

The HR workforce, like other occupations, has decreased under President Donald Trump as part of the administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Roughly 8,500 workers in human resources-related jobs have left government since Jan. 20, 2025, per OPM data as of January of this year. 

OPM didn’t respond to FedScoop’s request for comment on whether the shared services center would impact the HR workforce across government and expectations for how many agencies would be transitioning to the service, among other things.

As for next steps, interested agencies were instructed to contact the new center. The estimated timeline to migrate services to the center is six months.