Back to Blog Working to modernize an outdated hiring system Date September 14, 2021 | Updated on October 6, 2021 Authors Tags New research and advocacy inform two critical civil service reforms: President Obama’s executive order aiming to improve how government hires, recruits and trains members of the Senior Executive Service; and the Competitive Service Act, a law Congress passes in early 2016 that allows agencies to share information about qualified job applicants and more easily fill mission-critical positions. Learn more about our wide-ranging research products.