The Census Bureau Did Not Develop a Workforce Plan to Address Field Representative Staffing Gaps

For our evaluation of the Census Bureau’s recruitment, hiring, and retention of field representatives (FRs), our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies the bureau uses to support its recruitment, hiring, and retention of employees in mission-critical positions. Specifically, we reviewed staffing requirements and strategies intended to ensure the bureau recruits, hires, and retains enough FRs to collect survey data. We found that the bureau does not have effective strategies to address staffing gaps and high vacancies in FR positions. Specifically, the bureau did not meet its staffing goals for three major surveys or implement a process to track and assess vacancy information from the regions.