Text

Complete NRC Feorp Submission for Fy 2018 and Fy 2019 Plan
	ML18351A243
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/17/2018
From:	Pamela Baker, Miriam Cohen; Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, NRC/SBCR
To:	;
	K . Englsih/OCHCO
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ML18351A240	List: ML18351A243;
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	Download: ML18351A243 (13)
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Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 FEORP Plan Accomplishments and Successful/Promising Practices at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC continues to focus on diversifying its federal workforce despite limited opportunities to hire externally. Our efforts concentrated on attracting a diverse group of students and professionals for the limited external vacancies we had in FY 2018, as well as retaining and cultivating diversity in the agencys current workforce.

The NRC conducted outreach and recruitment events typically focused on engineers, scientists, and those fields deemed important to carrying out the agencys mission. Fifty-six percent of the events that occurred during FY 2018 were focused on minorities, veterans, women, and individuals with disabilities. In addition, the NRC promoted job opportunities by placing print and on-line advertisements in diversity focused publications and Web sites.

The NRC continued to support nuclear education by awarding 51 grants totaling more than $15 million to 40 academic institutions in 25 states. Recipients included four-year universities and colleges, two-year trade schools and community colleges, and minority serving institutions.

These colleges and universities specifically focus on developing individuals with the skills and competencies necessary to accomplish nuclear safety, including health physics, radiochemistry, probabilistic risk assessment, seismology, and other nuclear-related areas. NRCs grant program is approaching its 10-year anniversary, and we are proud to say that more than 3,200 students in 35 states and Puerto Rico benefited from this grant program. The NRC also co-sponsored the 2018 Annual White House Initiatives National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference. The NRCs Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) conducted a session titled, Leveraging Public Private Partnerships for Competitive HBCUs, which provided HBCUs with insights on establishing and maintaining effective academic partnerships.

With limited external hiring, the NRC focused on continuing to communicate the importance of career planning and skill development to all staff, including women and minorities. To this end, OCHCO created a training and development Web site that assists employees with identifying training opportunities, including, but not limited to, a supervisor development program for new supervisors and the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program to assist with succession planning.

The NRC also developed a Leadership Model during FY 2018, which provides a more inclusive, reliable, durable, and flexible leadership framework to drive improved and sustainable organizational performance. The Model focuses on the following six characteristics, referred to as PREDICT: Participative Decision-Making, Receptivity to New Ideas and Thinking, Empowerment and Shared Leadership, Diversity in Thought, Innovation and Risk Tolerance, and Collaboration and Teamwork. It also describes the specific leadership behaviors associated with these characteristics, which are expected from individuals, managers, and organizations. To support roll-out of the Model, the NRC created an internal Web site which provides information on the Model as well as useful resources such as key messages, communication plans, and frequently asked questions.

Through various feedback mechanisms such as agency surveys and listening sessions, the NRC identified that it may have a less than optimum level of trust at the agency. As such, fostering a climate of trust is an overarching theme for the agencys action plan to improve employee engagement. The NRC embodies trust in its core values, and it is an integral focus in many of the agencys initiatives. The Speed of Trust initiative was implemented to complement agency efforts and provide opportunities for strengthening mutual trust among agency leaders, supervisors, and staff. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to improve and sustain a positive work environment at both the work unit and agency levels. The initiative includes a series of workshops for managers and employees based on Stephen M.R. Coveys book, The Speed of Trust, and was designed to enhance the NRCs environment so employees feel free to speak out knowing they will be heard, understood, and respected. The agency also developed a crosswalk that linked the PREDICT behaviors from the Leadership Model to the Speed of Trust 13 Behaviors of High Trust. As of the end of FY 2018, 88% of supervisors and 28% of staff participated in Speed of Trust workshops. Additional workshops are being offered in FY 2019.

The NRC continued to strengthen organizational effectiveness by expanding diversity and inclusion awareness. The agency continued implementing its DIALOGUE program (Diversity Inclusion Awareness - Leading Organizational Growth, Understanding, and Engagement), which helps to develop a greater appreciation for the value and positive impacts made by diverse groups in meeting the mission of the agency. The program promotes diversity and inclusion awareness by providing a forum to discuss diversity topics in an open environment. Participants from a variety of backgrounds are selected to form a cohort to engage in regularly scheduled sessions during which they discuss a variety of diversity and engagement topics. NRC completed 10 cohorts since its inception in 2017, three of which were completed in FY 2018.

The Directors of both the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer and SBCR partner to provide two formal briefings to update the Commission, agency senior executives, and staff on progress made on topics relating to our most valuable resource, our people. In addition, the NRCs eight Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Advisory Committees, and the Veterans Employee Resource Group prepare a joint statement to brief the Commission. These briefings are open to the public as well as the workforce and participation is generally very high.

Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP)

Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Hispanic Employment Strategies and Applicant Flow Data The NRC employs multiple strategies and activities to recruit, develop, and retain Hispanics.

During FY 2018, 56% (9 out of 16) of our recruitment activities focused on minorities, veterans, and women, of which one was cosponsored by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). In addition, NRC has a robust media advertising strategy for both print and online advertising. The results of our recruitment activities directly impact the number of applicants applying for positions at the NRC.

The Office of Personnel Management identified applicant flow data as an important tool for assessing the effectiveness of recruitment and hiring efforts. Our applicant flow data indicates that 85% of applicants volunteered to provide their Race and National Origin (RNO) information. Of these applicants, 8% self-identified as Hispanic. Of the Hispanic applicants that applied for job openings and were deemed qualified, 2% were selected. It is important to note that even though the number of external hires decreased at the agency in FY 2018, 8% of all selections were Hispanic.

The NRC funded multiple research and development, educational and training, and experiential learning projects to enhance academic excellence and to help produce a diverse and skilled future workforce. In FY 2018, NRC awarded grants totaling $2,323,252 to the following nine Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs): City College of New York; University of Texas San Antonio; Florida International University; Texas A&M University; Texas A&M University-Kingsville; University Houston Downtown; University of Texas at Austin; University of Texas at El Paso; and Cuesta College. The NRC awarded incremental funds totaling $541,095 to the following five HSIs, who are existing grantees of the agencys Minority Serving Institutions Grants Program (MSIGP): Polytechnic University Puerto Rico; University of Houston-Downtown; University of El Paso; University of Nevada Las Vegas; and Texas College.

The NRC has in place a Hispanic Employment Program Advisory Committee (HEPAC) that works with the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) to identify issues of concern to Hispanic-Americans in the NRC, implement initiatives to increase their representation at all levels in the agency, and to eliminate barriers that may hinder their equal opportunity in hiring, training, retention, and career advancement. During FY 2018, the HEPAC hosted a variety of events designed to enhance the work environment for Hispanic Americans at the NRC. The HEPAC, along with OCHCO, hosted a panel discussion on preparing for the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SES CDP). The SES panel discussed the process for applying to the SES CDP, life as an SES, and answered questions from employees. The HEPAC, along with several other advisory committees, conducted a training course titled, Context-Challenge-Action-Result (CCAR) Writing Workshop: Presenting your Accomplishments for Leadership Opportunities. This interactive workshop was designed to help NRC employees prepare high-quality narratives for leadership opportunities by applying the CCAR writing model. In addition, HEPAC sponsored the Hispanic Heritage luncheon.

Point of Contact for NRCs applicant flow data analysis:

Susan Salter, Chief Workforce Management and Benefits Branch Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission The NRC uses Monster Government Solutions to track and report on applicant data.

Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP)

Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Employment of Individuals with Disabilities To fulfill Executive Order 13548, Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities, the NRC continued to implement activities to improve recruitment and retention of individuals with disabilities, and people with targeted disabilities.

To increase outreach and the number of applications from individuals with disabilities, the agency continued its partnership with Equal Opportunity Publications (EOP). Through this partnership, the agency not only participated in recruitment events hosted by EOP, but also posted job vacancies on the EOP online job board. During FY 2018, the NRC participated in one EOP career expo event, which focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) professionals. In addition to the EOP partnership, the agency also posts vacancies and maintains an agency profile page on GettingHired.com, a job board that empowers job seekers with disabilities to find employment. The NRC continued to partner with the Department of Defenses Operation Warfighter (OWF) Program, which provides Federal internship opportunities in a supportive work setting to recovering service members. NRC representatives participated in OWF hiring events at Ft. Belvoir and Walter Reed on a periodic basis. Lastly, the NRC utilized the Workforce Recruitment Program resume database to search for candidates for Administrative Assistant, Information Technology, and Temporary Summer Student positions.

The NRC developed an Affirmative Action Plan, which includes a 12% representation rate goal for people with disabilities, both at the GG-11 level and above (including Senior Executive Service (SES), and at the GG-10 level and below. The Plan also includes 2% representation rate goal for people with targeted/severe disabilities, both at the GG-11 level and above (including SES), and at the GG-10 level and below. For 2018, the NRC hired five people with disabilities, and of the five, two were people with targeted disabilities.

During FY 2018, the NRC revised its Reasonable Accommodations procedures to achieve compliance with Section 501 regulations and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance, including adding personal assistance services to allow employees and applicants to participate in the workplace. We are currently awaiting EEOC approval of the revised procedures.

The NRC conducted Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) annual and refresher training for managers and supervisors, which covered disability regulations and requirements, including providing personal assistance services.

The NRC began the following efforts during FY 2018, and will continue working on these initiatives in FY 2019:

Updating the agencys Web page to allow greater access to reasonable accommodation information.

Developing operating procedures to explain the process to follow when job reassignments are needed under the reasonable accommodation process.

Revising the agencys Management Directive (MD) 10.162, Disability Program.

Revising the agency travel procedures for requesting Premium Class Travel due to a disability or other medical need, which will centralize the review process for medical documents. As a result, the medical documentation will only be handled by the Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator, alleviating the need to provide this information to individuals who do not have a need to know.

Developing standard operating procedures for acquiring and installing equipment or assistive technology for reasonable accommodation requests.

Updating the agencys Strategic Disability Project Plan.

Creating a communication plan to focus on educating staff on the EEOC 501 Final Rule.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Annual Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 The NRCs Inclusive Diversity 2016 Strategic Plan, also known as the NRC Comprehensive Diversity Management Plan (CDMP), demonstrates the agencys commitment to diversity and inclusion by facilitating the analysis of internal organizational trends, and strategically addressing agency objectives. Examples of best practices related to relevant CDMP target areas are described below.

Goal: Diversify the Federal Workforce through Active Engagement of Leadership NRC leaders will continue to attract, recruit, retain, and cultivate diverse leaders by communicating, accounting for, and modeling inclusive diversity behaviors that attract and reflect the broad diversity of American society.

Strategy: The NRC will provide training to managers and supervisors to develop and refine the skills they need to manage people more effectivelyand prepare for unexpected changes in EEO and affirmative employment policies, and better manage diversity. The training will provide information regarding EEO laws relating to the Federal sector; the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process and benefits of ADR; ways to avoid decision-making which leads to the filing of discrimination complaints; management responsibilities under the Rehabilitation Act; management responsibilities related to eliminating and preventing workplace harassment and retaliation; and management responsibilities related to affirmative employment and diversity management. Examples of benchmarks may include increasing leadership and management participation in diversity and inclusion initiatives, such as participating in employee resource/affinity groups events, serving as mentors, and supporting employee participation in diversity and inclusion training and education.

Goal: Include and Engage Everyone in the Workplace The NRC will need to intensify efforts to foster a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness. This will enable employees to contribute to their full potential, feel valued for their unique qualities, and experience a sense of belonging, engagement, and connection to the mission of the agency.

Strategy: The NRC will continue to support supervisory and non-supervisory staff participation in the DIALOGUE program (Diversity Inclusion Awareness - Leading Organizational Growth, Understanding, and Engagement), which helps to develop a greater appreciation for the value and positive impacts made by diverse groups in meeting the mission of the agency. In addition, staff and supervisors will be encouraged to participate in Speed of Trust workshops and Huddles. The agency will also provide opportunities for management listening sessions, where staff are encouraged to share workplace issues with the NRCs Safety Culture Team, or establish a learning group to promote knowledge exchange and development within the work unit. Examples of benchmarks may include hosting three DIALOGUE cohorts, and continuing to offer workshops for managers and employees based on Stephen M.R. Coveys book, The Speed of Trust.

Goal: Optimize Inclusive Diversity Efforts Using Data-Driven Approaches The NRC will intensify efforts to create and foster a diverse, high-performing workforce by utilizing data-driven approaches, and optimizing policies, processes, and programs to drive inclusive diversity efforts and accomplish the NRCs mission.

Strategy: The NRC will conduct an analysis of current staffing for critical skill gaps through the ongoing Strategic Workforce Planning process, and review and analyze feedback from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), Safety Culture Climate Survey, and other surveys as applicable. The agency will focus this analysis on the five inclusive habits of Fairness, Openness, Cooperativeness, Supportiveness and Empowerment (FOCSE) to identify areas for improvement and develop action plans. Examples of benchmarking may include increasing the number of employees participating in the FEVS, and improvement in scores related to areas of concern.

1 FY 2018 FEORP Progress Tracker Type Agency Name Below (Replace Text)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Mentoring If "No" or "Other", please use this section to provide Mentoring Qualitative Questions (Text) a detailed explanation.

Response

Agency has a Formal Mentoring Program Yes Response Mentoring training is not provided; however, a mentor and mentee workbook, enrollment instructions, and other mentoring resources are Mentoring Training provided posted on the agency internal mentoring Web page.

No Response Mentoring is a self-service program in which employees enroll Program is evaluated themselves and access the online resources. The NRC no longer actively No manages and evaluates the program.

Frequency of Program Evaluation (e.g. annual, semiannual, Response The NRC no longer actively manages and evaluates the program.

quarterly, other) Other Response Employee Feedback on the program is not being collected at this time.

Feedback is provided No Response Employees can read about the program via the agency's extisting Program is announced to all qualified individuals mentoring Web site.

No Agency collects demographic data of mentoring participants Response (Race, National Origin, Veteran, People with Disabilities, etc.) Yes Mentoring Quantitative Questions (# or %)

Response

Percent of employees involved with mentoring in FY 2018 13.61%

Response

Percent of SES involved with mentoring in FY 2018 35.04%

Response

Percent of managers involved with mentoring in FY 2018 Combined with supervisors

Response

Percent of supervisors involved with mentoring in FY 2018 20.07%

Response

Count of employees involved with mentoring in FY 2018 432

Response

Count of SES involved with mentoring in FY 2018 48

Response

Count of managers involved with mentoring in FY 2018 Combined with supervisors

Response

Count of supervisors involved with mentoring in FY 2018 55

Response

Total number of employees eligible to participate in FY 2018 3175 Diversity and Inclusion Training If "No" or "Other", please use this section to provide Diversity and Inclusion Training Qualitative Questions (Text) a detailed explanation.

Response

2 Formal Diversity and Inclusion Training provided Yes Frequency of Diversity and Inclusion Training per year (e.g. Response annual, semiannual, quarterly, other) Quarterly

Response

Training on Unconscious Bias provided Yes All employees briefed on agencys Diversity and Inclusion Response Policies Yes Diversity and Inclusion Training Quantitative Questions (# or %)

Percent of employees who have participated in formal Diversity Response and Inclusion Training in FY 2018 8.00%

Percent of Senior Leadership that have participated in formal Response Diversity and Inclusion Training in FY 2018 53.80%

Count of employees who have participated in formal Diversity Response and Inclusion Training in FY 2018 259 Count of Senior Leadership that have participated in formal Response Diversity and Inclusion Training in FY 2018 71 Total number of employees eligible to participate (this should Response not be equal to the total count that has participated unless 100%

3237 of workforce has participated) in FY 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Council If "No" or "Other", please use this section to provide Diversity and Inclusion Council Qualitative Questions (Text) a detailed explanation.

Response

Agency has a Diversity and Inclusion Council Yes

Response

Diversity and Inclusion Council has a charter Yes

Response

Council members have received training Yes

Response

Councils mission aligns to agency mission Yes Frequency of council meetings (e.g. annual, semiannual, Response quarterly, other) Quarterly Diversity and Inclusion Council Quantitative Questions (# or %)

Response

Percent of employees on council 65.00%

Response

Percent of Senior Leadership on council 35.00%

Response

Count of employees on council 13

Response

Count of Senior Leadership on council 7

Response

Total number of people on council 20 Development Programs If "No" or "Other", please use this section to provide Development Programs Qualitative Questions (Yes or No) a detailed explanation.

3 Agency has a SES Candidate Development Program that is Response announced to all qualified individuals Yes

Response

The SES Candidate Development Program is evaluated regularly Yes Agency has a Career Development Program that is announced to Response all qualified individuals (this is a CDP that is different from the SES CDP program and geared towards the lower grade levels) Yes

Response

The Career Development Program is evaluated regularly Yes Agency collects demographic data of development program Response participants (Race, National Origin, Veteran, People with Yes Disabilities, etc.)

Development Program Quantitative Questions (# or %)

Percent of employees who participated in the SES Candidate Response Development Program in FY 2018 0.00%

Percent of employees who participated in a Career Development Response Program in FY 2018 11.34%

Count of employees who participated in the SES Candidate Response Development Program in FY 2018 0 Count of employees who participated in a Career Development Response Program in FY 2018 337 Performance Plans Does your agency have a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) element in the following groups performance plans (this may also be incorporated in the leading people element)?

Use this section to provide additional response or explanation as D&I Element in SES performance plans it relates to a D&I element in performance plans (required for "No" responses)

Yes or No Percentage Count Yes 100.00% 132 Use this section to provide additional response or explanation as D&I Element in Management/Supervisor performance plans it relates to a D&I element in performance plans (required for "No" responses)

Yes or No Percentage Count Yes 100.00% 274 Use this section to provide additional response or explanation as D&I Element in employee performance plans it relates to a D&I element in performance plans (required for "No" responses)

Yes or No Percentage Count D&I element is included in managerial level or higher performance plans.

No 0.00% N/A