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“In the early 21st century, the U.S. federal government faced a hiring crisis as fully half of its workforce would soon be eligible to retire. Yet hiring procedures were time-consuming, confusing to the applicant, and frustrating to managers who felt their new hires often lacked necessary skills despite screening. The non-profit Partnership for Public Service decided in 2004-2005 to run a one-year pilot program which would bring together three volunteer federal agencies with seven private sector or non-profit firms (which offered their services pro bono) expert in hiring and recruiting. The hope was that the public agencies would identify and adopt relevant and effective private-sector hiring best practices. Part (A) of this case describes the process by which the Partnership brought together all the participants in what it dubbed the Extreme Hiring Makeover project. It highlights the suspicions on both sides — from the public sector whether private firms could understand the constraints of the public agencies, and whether they might try to exploit the project to win lucrative contracts; and from the private sector whether agencies could be flexible enough to adopt new practices.”