Trump administration outlines details for centralized HR effort
The White House and Office of Personnel Management shared more details Wednesday about the effort to transition federal government HR platforms to a single system, outlining a timeline and expectations.
In a memo to agency leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and OPM Director Scott Kupor said the transition portion of the administration’s “Federal HR 2.0” project will take place over the next two years, with some agencies coming online earlier than others. Agencies must also stop current projects related to their current systems unless they have an exception, and an advisory board to oversee efforts is forthcoming.
“For too long, taxpayers have footed the bill for duplicative HR systems that no modern organization would tolerate,” Kupor said in an emailed statement with the memo. “Today’s announcement is a major win for efficiency, accountability, and good government.”
The memo is the latest action in the Trump administration’s push to centralize HR systems as a way of saving money. Per the document, the government currently has more than 100 “core human capital management” systems, and the administration expects that consolidating those systems — as well as HR services — will save billions.
While the memo provides more details on the transition, the administration has not yet announced what platform will serve as the backbone for the new system. It initially announced Workday had won a sole-source contract for core HR services but immediately canceled that award. Eventually, in October, it began a competitive process for a governmentwide system with a request for proposals.
The transition will happen in two waves, per the memo, with at least eight agencies expected to begin using the platform in fiscal 2026 and the remaining agencies in the following fiscal year. That approach will allow for “interagency feedback and collaboration,” according to the memo.
Among those early adopters: OPM, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Interior. DOI’s transition might also include federal agencies that use its shared HR services through its business center, according to the document.
According to an example timeline included in the document, each agency’s transition is expected to take roughly eight months. Within that transition, agencies will first test the capabilities and then move to “user acceptance testing,” which is the last stage of software development.
The memo also included “immediate” actions for agencies to prepare for the move. Specifically, agencies are asked to stop “procurement, development, and related modernization projects” for their own core human capital management systems. Some of that work can still continue if it’s “critical” or “time-sensitive,” but agencies will have to receive an exception from OMB and OPM.
Agencies are also instructed to identify personnel to support the HR 2.0 work, review their data and systems, and prepare staff.
