# OPM Targets Faster Federal Hiring

OPM’s Merit Hiring Plan targets reducing federal time-to-hire to under 80 days, but sequential handoffs between agency human resources and Personnel Security can delay employees’ entrance on duty and undermine that goal. OPM guidance issued in March 2026 encourages broader use of preliminary determinations and seeks three-day processing for qualifying reciprocity cases. No specific solicitation or award is identified, but the issue points to potential agency interest in integrated hiring and personnel-vetting workflows, secure information exchange, and end-to-end performance measurement.

- Agencies and contractors may find opportunities to connect HR and Personnel Security processes and reduce delays between hiring decisions and entrance on duty.
- Companies offering relevant workflow integration, secure information exchange, or performance-measurement capabilities can assess how their services address the handoff challenges described.
- The under-80-day hiring target and three-day reciprocity processing goal provide concrete benchmarks for evaluating potential solutions; the three-day goal applies to qualifying reciprocity cases.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 03, 2026

### Government Entities
- Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

### Vendors
- Chainbridge Solutions ()

### Sources
- [
        Federal hiring reform will stall at the HR-Personnel Security handoff - Federal News Network](https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2026/10/federal-hiring-reform-will-stall-at-the-hr-personnel-security-handoff) - Federal News Network