USPTO Performance and Accountability Report - U.S. Patent and ...

OBJECTIVE 3: Improve employee and
stakeholder relations
The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO)
plays a critical role in the agency’s efforts to meet
the management goal to “achieve organizational
excellence” by making significant and continuous
improvements to many of our routine programs and
services in the areas of human capital, telework,
security, safety, and environmental awareness.
Targeted Recruitment and Employee Feedback,
Development and Wellness
In support of the USPTO goals, a targeted hiring plan
was executed to recruit highly-qualified patent
examiners with meaningful IP and technical
knowledge and experience. The USPTO identified
strategies that target top talent by conducting focus
groups, surveys, and planning sessions with Patents
Hiring Coordinators, recent patent examiner hires,
human resource specialists, and subject matter
experts. As a result, a stronger emphasis has been
placed on:
●● Developing deeper relationships with universities
that yield successful hires;
●● Creating vacancy announcement language that
is specific, clear and exciting; and
●● Marketing strategies that utilize research, social
media, and targeted messaging and advertising.
Additionally, the USPTO established a veterans
outreach program with specific goals and strategies.
The USPTO on Facebook.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
We attended 16 veteran-specific job fairs, conducted
targeted veteran’s outreach activities including
Facebook and Twitter, and created a new position to
assist with the veteran’s hiring initiatives. This year, the
USPTO hired 115 veterans.
The USPTO established metrics to frequently measure
progress against goals as well as performance. Hiring
data is analyzed to understand where the agency’s
new hires heard about us and which universities yield
the most successful hires. This allows USPTO to make
data-driven decisions and develop deeper relationships
with the universities and their target student
population, making the agency more agile when it
comes to responding to factors that impact efficiency
and effectiveness.
Effective and Efficient Recruitment Plus
Employee Satisfaction Equals Retention
Effective recruitment and employee satisfaction are
essential to mission achievement. Employee
feedback obtained through the annual Employee
Viewpoint Survey (EVS) is critical to understanding
our employees’ concerns and satisfaction with the
agency overall. To increase employee participation,
the Office of Human Resources (OHR) developed a
strategic campaign to market the 2012 EVS. Multiple
communication techniques were employed and as
a result, the USPTO response rate on the 2012 EVS
was 74 percent—an increase of nine percent from
the 2011 survey. Using the results of the EVS, OHR will
partner with business units to help identify and
address human capital opportunities.
The agency’s Leadership Development Program
(LDP) includes a diverse set of development strategies
designed to efficiently and effectively identify
and address competency gaps, as well as
strengthen leadership values, knowledge, skills, and
abilities. The LDP includes an Executive Education
Program component designed to maximize the
capabilities, contributions, and potential of our
entire Senior Executive Service (SES) team, build and
sustain a common leadership vision, and enhance
learning across the agency.
The LDP includes a Leadership in Action Program
component which provides employees an opportu-
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