ML18162A073
| ML18162A073 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/08/2018 |
| From: | Jennifer Golder Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer |
| To: | Mccree V NRC/EDO |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18158A269 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML18162A073 (6) | |
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Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process NRC Enhanced SWP Process Office and region directors and their management implemented the enhanced SWP process in partnership with the OEDO and OCHCO. The SWP process takes place on an annual cycle to develop strategies to address workforce needs in both budget execution year +1 and budget execution year +5.
The SWP process integrates with existing agency processes: strategic planning, staffing, budget formulation, performance management, and training and development. The NRC SWP process has six steps as defined below, and in the detailed process map found in Appendix C - Enhanced SWP Process Map (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML18162A105, dated June 11, 2018).
NRCs Enhanced SWP Process Model Step 1.0 - Set Strategic Direction The NRC strategic plan provides a basis for determining workload forecast and workforce needs to achieve future programmatic results. SWP builds upon the strategic plans environmental scan performed by most offices and regions to monitor key workload drivers and internal and external opportunities and risks that may influence current and/or future workload. Using this information, offices/regions perform a workload forecast in both the short- and long-term. The results provide strategic insights on office/region needs, identifies potential changes to positions or the organization, as well as tactical insights on the necessary pace and direction of workforce changes.
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Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process Deliverables:
1.1 - Environmental scan narrative outlining Drivers and Factors and High-Level Projections and Assumptions on Workload Volume and Fluctuations.
1.2 - Workload forecast documented in the template.
Step 2.0 - Workforce Demand Analysis The workforce demand analysis uses the workload forecast to determine core positions, the number of employees, and the competencies of the workforce needed to perform the agencys functions and achieve the strategic plan, now and in the future. The workforce demand analysis includes identifying new competencies required to meet emerging technologies to design.
Deliverable: Document the results of the workforce demand analysis by completing the workforce demand section of the SWP Workload Forecast and Workforce Demand Template.
Step 3.0 - Workforce Supply Analysis The workforce supply analysis is a review of the current workforce to project the size and competencies of the workforce into the future. The pilot offices used the SWP database to conduct a review of their workforce by assigning values to attrition risk, position risk, and skill level to each employee to determine the future workforce.
Deliverable: Office Directors or Regional Administrators prepare and send an email to OCHCO indicating the completion of the workforce supply analysis table in the SWP database.
Step 4.0 - Gap Analysis and Risk Assessment The gap analysis and risk assessment determines and prioritizes the gaps and/or overages that may exist between the information collected from Step 3.0 Workforce Supply Analysis and Step 2.0 Workforce Demand Analysis. The results of the data analysis highlights the risks associated with competency gaps and workforce gaps and/or overages identified.
Deliverable: Prioritized list of gaps or overages (Note: This deliverable was not required for the pilot since OCHCO provided oversight).
Step 5.0 - Develop and Execute Strategies The offices and regions collaborate with OCHCO to develop strategies and an action plan(s) to address overages or gaps in the workforce. Strategies may include plans to develop competencies needed, ensure adequate succession planning, and build an agile workforce that enables the NRC to shift qualified employees or their work assignments to meet the demands of the changing environment with speed and flexibility. OCHCO incorporates the agency-wide strategies developed into the Human Capital Operating Plan.
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Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process Deliverables: (Office/Region) SWP Strategies and Action Plan, and OCHCO prepares an Agency SWP Strategies and Action Plan for those strategies that cut across the agency.
Step 6.0 - Monitor, Evaluate, and Revise Strategies and Action Plans Strategies are continuously monitored and evaluated, and revised to make course corrections and to address new workforce issues. Management monitors the environment for internal and external changes that may require revisions to strategies and action plans, and reports significant issues that affect the workforce or the offices strategies and action to OCHCO and at the Quarterly Performance Review.
Deliverable: Update or revise the following as required: Office and Region SWP Strategies and Action Plans; Agency SWP Strategies and Action Plans; Human Capital Operating Plan.
Supporting Documentation The development of guidance and templates facilitated the execution of the enhanced SWP process, promoted consistency in its execution, and provided additional instructions. The guidance included a description each individuals role, documented the detailed steps in the process, contained referenced key documents, provided key questions to consider, and a detailed description of the deliverable(s). A detailed process map (flow) (Appendix C- Enhanced SWP Process Map) was developed to provide a visual representation of the process, who was responsible for the process step, and how the information flows through the process.
Point of Contact (POC)
Each pilot office provided a POC to be a liaison to the implementation team for their office. The POCs received training on the process and were an integral part of the implementation by sharing their knowledge of the process, answering questions, distributing documentation, gathering and sharing feedback, and providing additional training their office management.
Identification of Core Positions A key component to define the scope and to support the implementation of the enhanced SWP process is the identification of core positions. Core positions are positions categorized based on their clear link to the agencys mission and strategic plans. Core positions collectively define the competencies needed to achieve the NRC strategic goals and objectives. Categorizing positions as core positions does not assume or imply that these positions are more important, but ensures the enhanced SWP process focuses on maintaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with those positions that have the most impact on the NRCs strategic plan.
The NRC focus is on building a more agile workforce by identifying core positions in a holistic manner and by taking into account how the set of competencies associated with the core position cut across organizational boundaries. Therefore, core positions take into account a broader scope of tasks and responsibilities and the associated 3
Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process competencies. Within each office or division, core positions may have specialty competencies associated with the base set of competencies. OCHCO met with each office to identify their core positions and the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the positons as described under Skills Identification and Tracking.
Skills Identification and Tracking The long-term plan to define the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the core positions identified is to develop competency models. However, the competency model project was in pilot as well; therefore, OCHCO used the job analysis tool to collect knowledge, skills, and abilities. OCHCO catalogued the information from the job analyses in a SharePoint site and made it accessible to all of the participating pilot offices. As part of the testing, OCHCO had three separate approaches to complete the job analyses:
- 1) OCFO - POC developed a draft of the job analyses for the core positions and worked with the branch chiefs to finalize.
- 2) RES - Branch chiefs received training from OCHCO to develop their job analyses with the help of the POC.
- 3) Region II - OCHCO conducted hands-on development of the job analyses.
The implementation team investigated a short-term solution for developing a new skills inventory database to support the pilot. However, the rapid timeline for the pilot, along with the resources required, was not compatible with the time and resources available.
The team determined that development of a system was duplicative of efforts currently underway with the competency-modeling pilot, which uses vendor provided software to house the models and track skills.
Training Training was an integral part of the enhanced SWP process pilot. Managers in the participating pilot offices received training (instructor-led and online) on the process and associated enhanced SWP concepts during September and October of 2017 as described below:
Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Workshop I The enhanced SWP workshop is a 2-hour workshop that provides an overview of the enhanced SWP process, roles, expectations, and a timeline for managers participating in the enhanced SWP process.
By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:
- Explain the concepts of strategic workforce planning as part of the Federal governments human capital framework.
- Communicate the specific enhancements to strategic workforce planning and their underlying rationale
- Implement Phase 1 (Pilot) of the enhanced SWP process 4
Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process In January - February 2018, the NRC provided additional training (instructor-led and online) on the execution of the remaining SWP process steps for all levels of management as described below:
Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Workshop II The enhanced SWP workshop is a 2-hour workshop that provides an overview of the enhanced SWP process, roles, expectations, and a timeline for managers participating in the enhanced SWP process.
By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:
- Explain the business case for SWP
- Perform an inventory of core positions and conduct a workforce supply analysis
- Analyze the results of the gap analysis and risk assessment
- Develop gap closure strategies in collaboration with OCHCO SWP Database OCHCO developed a SWP database (MS Access database) to automate the collection of information from the offices on the current workforce as part of Step 3.0 - Workforce Supply. The implementation team developed a database based on similar database created by the United States Department of Agriculture, Farms Services Agency. The SWP database contained basic employee information downloaded from the Federal Personnel/Payroll System (FPPS) for each pilot office. Division directors and their branch chiefs performed an analysis of their offices current workforce by using the SWP database to assign an attrition risk, position risk, and skill level to each employee using a defined set of factors. Using this information combined with the information gathered in Step 2.0 - Workforce Demand, OCHCO manually developed a report for each core position for use by the pilot office to conduct a gap analysis and risk assessment on the workforce in budget execution year +1 and +5.
Communications The implementation team followed and continuously updated the detailed and communication plan provided in the working groups proposal. Below are a few highlights of activities that took place throughout the pilot.
Pilot Office Meetings and Communication The implementation team conducted a kick-off meeting with the pilot offices and their POC representatives. The team met with the pilot offices at key points of the enhanced SWP process to discuss the upcoming process steps in detail and to receive feedback on draft guidance and templates. The team met individually with each pilot offices management to collect feedback on completed process steps. In addition, the pilot offices reviewed guidance documents and provided feedback to refine the process in real time.
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Appendix B - Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning Process SharePoint Site The design of the Enhancements to Strategic Workforce Planning SharePoint site supported all aspects of the implementation, including a dedicated area for the pilot offices to access guidance, templates, received deliverables, links to training documents, the job analysis site, and other documents. The site also included status reports, project plan, project charter, and links to memos and all documents associated with the implementation team and former working group.
Status Reports The enhanced SWP process implementation team issued biweekly status reports on the progress of the pilot to all NRC offices and regions and posted them on the Enhancements to Strategic Workforce Planning SharePoint site under Implementation Status.
Other Communications and Presentations
- Meeting with NTEU to provide an overview of the process and implementation plans.
- Commission Briefings - June 22, 2017, November 30, 2017, and June 6, 2018
- Career Planning Gets More Strategic, by Trish Gallalee, NRC Reporter Article, February 7, 2018, Volume 14, Issue 2.
- Progress reporting to General Accountability Office (GAO) and Senator Barrasso monthly memo.
Conclusion The implementation team and the pilot offices met in May 2018 to discuss lessons-learned and collect additional feedback to include in the final report on the pilot. The report provides the results of the lessons-learned of the pilot, including strengths, challenges, estimated resources, and recommended improvements to the enhanced SWP process.
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