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New civilian personnel system starts for AFRC employees

  • Published
  • By Bo Joyner
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  About 70 people assigned to Tinker AFB, Okla., are Air Force Reserve Command's first civilian employees to convert from the General Schedule personnel system to the National Security Personnel System. They were among 3,100 Air Force employees who made the switch to NSPS April 30.

"Their conversion marks the beginning of the landmark transformation of the Department of Defense's human resources from a legacy civilian personnel system, with its rigid structure and heavy reliance on seniority, to a pay-for-performance system that gives each employee the opportunity to be rewarded for excellence," DOD officials said in a press release announcing the conversion.

NSPS is being deployed throughout the DOD incrementally. Each increment is known as a spiral. Each spiral is further broken down into smaller units to facilitate implementation.

The AFRC employees at Tinker who were switched to NSPS were all in non-bargaining unit positions, and about 30 percent of them were in supervisory positions, said Charles Carignan, chief of the civilian personnel division in the directorate of manpower and personnel at Headquarters AFRC, Robins AFB.

The performance appraisal cycle for the Tinker employees and the rest of the 3,100 Air Force civilians included in Spiral 1.1 began April 30 and ends Oct. 31. They will be eligible to receive their first performance pay increase in January. In addition, employees performing above an unacceptable level will receive the general pay increase and the locality pay increase received by GS employees in January.

NSPS officials are looking closely at Spiral 1.1 to identify any issues that arise during the transition period.

"We will be monitoring how these 1.1 activities go and continue to keep the lines of communication open with the senior leadership and employees, so we can get early indicators if there are any difficulties and look at them and determine if they are training needs or if they are systemic things that need to be tweaked," said Mary Lacey, NSPS program executive director.

More non-bargaining unit employees will deploy to the new system in Spiral 1.2, scheduled for October, and in Spiral 1.3, scheduled for January. Bargaining unit employees will be converted at a later date, when issues are worked out between the government and union officials.

Spiral 1.2 will include AFRC non-bargaining unit civilians at March Air Reserve Base, Calif.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Lackland AFB, Texas; McConnell AFB, Kan.; and Patrick AFB, Fla. Non-bargaining unit AFRC civilians at all other locations will be included in Spiral 1.3.

Command personnel officials have asked that civilians at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, La.; Portland International Airport, Ore., and Gen. Mitchell Air Reserve Station, Wis., not be included in Spiral 1 since these bases will be undergoing closure activities during the conversion period. Air Force officials have yet to act on this request.

In all, about 1,400 AFRC civilians will be transferred to NSPS during Spirals 1.2 and 1.3. Overall, the command has nearly 14,000 civilian employees.

NSPS got its start in 2003 when Congress granted DOD the authority to establish, in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management, a new civilian human resources management system to better support its national security mission. Highlights of the system include:

-- A simplified pay banding structure, allowing flexibility in assigning work;

-- Pay increases based on performance rather than longevity;

-- A performance management system that requires supervisors to set clear expectations and employees to be accountable;

-- Streamlined and more responsive hiring processes; and

-- More efficient and faster procedures for addressing disciplinary and performance problems, while protecting employee due-process rights.

NSPS does not affect merit principles, rules against prohibited personnel practices, benefits, allowances and travel, subsistence expenses, training, leave and work schedules, anti-discrimination laws or veteran's preference.

AFRC civilians who will be converted to NSPS during Spiral 1 have been notified of the training they are required to accomplish before their transition, Mr. Carignan said. He encouraged all civilian employees to visit the AFRC, Air Force and DOD NSPS Web sites often to learn more about the system and stay current on NSPS progress.

"As we implement NSPS, there is definitely going to be a learning curve involved, and there will be adjustments that have to be made," he said. "As NSPS grows and changes, it's important that everybody stay informed about what is going on. The best way to do that is to check the Web sites frequently."

The AFRC NSPS Web site is located at https://wwwmil.a1.afrc.af.mil/DPC/NSPS/NSPS.htm. The Air Force NSPS Web address is http://www.af.mil/library/nsps%2Daf/. The DOD NSPS Web address is http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/index.html. (AFRC News Service)