Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—Federal HR 2.0 initiative will transition government to single core ‘human capital management’ platform, (Dec 11, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The federal government currently has more than 100 unique core HCM systems across numerous agencies.

Over the next two years, the federal government will transition to what it calls a single core “human capital management” (HCM) platform for personnel action processing, employee system of record, position management, employee and manager self-service, analytics and dashboards, time and attendance, and learning, according to a memorandum from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The core HCM system will integrate with other federal human resources (HR) information technology (IT) systems to ensure a seamless flow of information across various HR functions.

Federal HR 2.0 initiative. The federal government currently has more than 100 unique core HCM systems across numerous agencies. According to OPM, outdated and duplicative core HCM systems waste taxpayer money, hurt the federal government’s operational efficiency, make it costly to gather and report on critical HR data, and burden federal agencies and employees with delays and unnecessary work. The new Federal HR 2.0 initiative, OPM says, will consolidate more than 100 outdated HR systems into one modern, commercial core HCM platform used across the government; save taxpayers billions of dollars by eliminating duplicative systems, redundant contracts, and costly maintenance of legacy technology; improve HR service delivery through standardized workflows, modern self-service tools, and seamless, real-time data integration; enable faster, more accurate personnel actions; strengthen security and data integrity; and lay the foundation for consolidation of HR services.

Two waves of implementation. The transition to a single core HCM platform will be divided into two waves of implementation, with Wave 1 agencies planned to begin transition in fiscal year (FY) 2026 and Wave 2 agencies following in FY 2027. This approach will allow for significant interagency feedback and collaboration, the memorandum states. As part of the transition, agencies are expected to pause their own core HCM procurement, development, and related modernization projects but may seek an exception if there is a critical, time-sensitive update or need to modernize or procure a new core HCM system prior to the adoption of the centralized core HCM suite.

Prior to onboarding onto the single core HCM systems, agencies can prepare for the transition by identifying appropriate personnel to support the effort, reviewing agency data and systems, developing change management strategies, and working internally to prepare staff for migration.

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