Last October, many federal workers suffered an 18-day furlough because Congress couldn’t come up with an agreement on the federal budget. The FBI were among the many agencies that were affected by these changes. but the bureau endured sequestration, budget cuts and hiring freezes long before the partial government shutdown, the Washington Post reported.
Since 2011, the FBI has faced more than $800 million in budget cuts. According to Owen Harris, FBI’s assistant director of the training division, when the agency talks about financial constraints, hiring and training programs get suspended first.
One of the FBI’s biggest training facilities in Quantico, Virginia, is now struggling to find training instructors and prospective agents to fill spots — classes are slated to begin on June 1, 2014.
The FBI was given the green light to utilize its HR software last month because the budget deal President Barack Obama signed in December provided funding to the agency. Typically the FBI hires about 1,000 agents and service workers per year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Attorney General Eric Holder said that this year’s round of hiring will mainly go toward national security, violent and cyber crime divisions.
“After years of doing more with less, we will begin to fill critical vacancies,” Holder said in a video on the hiring spree. “And we will resume the normal hiring process for federal agents, prosecutors, analysts and the other staff we need to fulfill our mission.”
Hiring a staff member takes anywhere between 60 days to four months at the FBI because the process includes polygraphs, tests, interviews and a lengthy background check. HR software solutions can help the FBI expedite the pre-screening process. Time is limited, so any adjustment can make a major difference.