The Human Capital Framework (HCF) Diagnostic Tool is an assessment designed to help you determine your agency’s relative strengths and weaknesses in strategic human capital management. The tool is organized around HCF focus areas. Focus areas are key elements to consider when designing and implementing the four HCF systems (Strategic Planning and Alignment, Performance Culture, Talent Management, and Evaluation). Each focus area has a set of questions that represent key aspects of effective human capital management for the particular focus area.

There are a total of 146 items over 16 focus areas that were developed and reviewed by subject matter experts. You can complete questions for one or a few focus areas, or you may choose to complete the questions for all focus areas.

You may complete this based on your own knowledge of your agency’s human capital management, or you may wish to do this with a group of individuals who are familiar with the various human capital systems in your agency.

Each question asks for a “yes” or “no” response regarding whether the agency is "effective" at doing what the item represents.

Items represent an ideal. Do not be surprised if your agency does not respond “yes” to all items within each focus area(s). If you provide “yes” responses for fewer than 70 percent of items for any individual focus area, you will receive a message that provides you with links and information about additional resources and reference materials related to that focus area.

By using the same percentage for each focus area, focus areas with more items do not have greater weight than areas with fewer items. You may choose to compare the percentages for the focus areas you have completed to get a general idea about your agency’s relative strengths and weaknesses. However, strengths and weaknesses should be viewed in light of the agency’s need to emphasize particular areas of strategic human capital management to support the agency’s strategic plan and mission.

Given the subjective nature of responding to this tool, please consider the results from this tool in conjunction with data from other sources for your agency, such as survey responses, workforce plans, and human capital analytic results.

This tool provides information and ideas about key aspects of effective strategic human capital management in each focus area. It also provides information about resources and references targeted to specific focus areas. If you compare responses from different respondents from the same agency, it may generate a useful group discussion or determine whether there is consensus about the agency’s human capital management strengths and weaknesses.