United States Department of Homeland Security Reduces Wait Times To Hire Project Managers By 50% With GLSS Lean Six Sigma
Home » Case Study » United States Department of Homeland Security Reduces Wait Times To Hire Project Managers By 50% With GLSS Lean Six Sigma
Washington
Government
HR
50%
- The problem: Hiring Project Managers took far too long—up to 115 days. This excessive S&T’s ability to support R&D projects efficiently resulted in slower project delivery times.
- With Green Belt Training & Certification, they reduced the time to 57 days—a 50% improvement.
Automate Project Work + Documentation with Kure
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and security of the United States. DHS was established in 2002, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, with a mission to safeguard the nation from threats. Over the years, DHS has successfully led countless initiatives to protect the country, relying on continuous improvement to adapt to an ever-changing world. To maintain this success, improving operations, especially in critical areas like hiring, is key to keeping the organization moving forward.
Recognizing the urgent need for change, the Science & Technology division turned to Alexander Banks, Program Manager, to lead the effort. With a commitment to driving operational excellence, Alex chose GLSS Green Belt Training & Certification to streamline the hiring process. Turning to GLSS Training & Certification equipped their team with the process improvement tools necessary to tackle the issue and ensure faster results without compromising quality.
Alex explains:
“I chose GLSS for my certification because they offered the best support, provided the necessary resources, and allowed me the flexibility to work at my own pace—an essential factor as I navigated this challenge.”
The hiring process for Project Managers in DHS’s S&T division took up to 115 days just to develop and approve a job posting before it could be listed on USAJOBS.gov. This long timeline was preventing S&T from hiring the talent needed to support critical R&D projects. Without project managers in place, these projects experienced delays, hurting productivity and slowing down delivery times. The goal was clear: reduce the hiring lead time from 115 days to just 60 days.
Through the GLSS Training & Certification process, Alex and his team identified two main causes behind the delays:
- Lack of standardization: There were no consistent processes or templates for these job postings.
- Complexity of the postings: Some job postings were highly complex, while others were simpler, but both went through the same lengthy review process.

With the expert guidance provided by GLSS Green Belt Training & Certification, Alex and his team developed several strategies to streamline the hiring process:
- Streamlining the approval process: By simplifying and standardizing the steps for posting approvals, unnecessary delays were eliminated.
- Improving communication: Enhanced communication between HR, S&T, and hiring managers ensured everyone was aligned and worked efficiently together.
- Introducing automation tools: Automation helped speed up repetitive tasks, such as formatting and approvals, reducing manual work.
- Training HR and managers: The team provided comprehensive training, ensuring everyone involved understood and could implement the new, faster processes.
- Developing standardized templates: Creating standardized job posting templates for both complex and simple roles sped up the process.
- Conducting regular reviews: Continuous process reviews allowed the team to monitor progress and quickly address any new challenges.


with GLSS
Alex reflects on the project,
“GLSS and Kure exceeded my expectations in helping me organize my initial approach and strategy for resolving this problem. Their support was instrumental in achieving a successful outcome that I look forward to implementing.”
By embracing GLSS Training & Certification, Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology division didn’t just achieve their goal of reducing hiring lead time—they transformed their hiring process entirely.
The innovative instructional design and content of GLSS allowed their team to achieve faster results, and the success of this project has positioned DHS to continue improving and responding to future challenges. In an organization where time is of the essence, this project sets the stage for even greater success down the road.
