Standardizing performance requirements across the Department of Defense is a major step toward institutionalizing a new culture of employee performance for the DoD's 600,000 civilians by the end of 2018.
The Department of Defense Performance Management and Appraisal Program (DPMAP) -- also known as New Beginnings -- will provide more transparent processes as well as improve recruiting, developing and rewarding of DoD employees.
AMCOM is providing mandatory training for all supervisors -- both raters and senior raters -- and employees to ensure a smooth transition to New Beginnings.
"There will be one performance management system for the General Schedule workforce," said New Beginnings instructor Bill Baxter. "This system -- New Beginnings -- will be used by all military branches."
AMCOM's two-day training course, being taught twice a week at the Toftoy Training Facility, not only introduces supervisors and employees to how the new appraisal program is administered but also discusses issues in the Army's civilian workplace.
The New Beginnings class encourages open discussion among classmates and instructors, and touches on all aspects of appraisals and employee development. The discussions are focused on improving communication in the workplace.
"Through New Beginnings, the Army is trying to be fair, credible and transparent with its employees," Baxter said.
Baxter is a 20-year Human Resources specialist for AMCOM Human Resources, G-1, who is both an employee and a supervisor. He is joined in the classroom by fellow instructor Alysia Greer, a 13-year Human Resources specialist.
In the DoD civilian workforce, performance management involves employees in improving organizational effectiveness as well as accomplishing the mission and goals. Performance management involves planning work and setting expectations, monitoring performance and evaluating performance as well as recognizing and rewarding good performance.
DoD looks to its civilian workforce for the core values of technical knowledge, professionalism and leadership through dedication to duty, integrity, ethics, honor, courage and loyalty. The core values form the foundation of the DoD performance culture.
"The foundation of any organization is its people. You are an essential element," Baxter told employees in a recent New Beginnings class.
"Performance management is the tool that AMCOM uses to connect employees to its strategic goals. Everyone has got to know where they fit in. They have to know where they belong and why they come to work every day."
Under New Beginnings, GS 13-15 employees will transition to the new appraisal system in July, and GS-12 and below employees will transition in November with wage grade employees transitioning in 2018.
Supervisors will be required to have four formal documented face-to-face discussions with each employee -- an initial performance plan meeting, two midpoint progress reviews and a final performance appraisal discussion. They can initiate additional discussions, but the minimum is four, Baxter said.
Supervisors and employees will use "MyPerformance Tool," an automated DoD appraisal tool to manage the appraisal process.
New Beginnings is designed to reinforce the connection between the individual employee's contribution and the overall success of DoD, the Army and AMCOM, Greer said.
"Are you engaged in your work, and in the purpose and mission of the organization? Are you happy in your current job? Would you refer someone else to a job with the federal government? Do you have a clear understanding of your career path? Are you valued at work? How frequently do you receive recognition from your supervisor? Can you give upwards feedback to your supervisor? These are the questions we need to be asking," Greer said. "Do you believe the leadership team takes your feedback seriously?"
Greer, when talking to the class during the lesson on Employee Engagement, said that, while a high-performing organization must, at times, be directed, it is more reliant on a collaborative exchange of ideas from engaged employees, she said.
"Employees need to have psychological ownership if they are to be engaged. With organizational clarity and technical competence, they can be trusted to perform at their best, without management having to always direct them," Greer said. "Supervisors must create an environment where employees are thinking, active, passionate, creative. Supervisors who take control attract followers. Supervisors who give control create leaders."
New Beginnings classes for AMCOM employees have been set up in the Civilian Human Resources Training Application System (CHRTAS). To find a class in CHRTAS and register, go to the CHRTAS website at: http://www.civiliantraining.army.mil/Pages/CHRTAS.aspx. Log in, go to the STUDENT tab, select COURSE SEARCH, then click on SEARCH.
At the next screen type in DPMAP under COURSE TITLE; M under CLASS; and Redstone Arsenal under LOCATION. The list of AMCOM DPMAP classes will then show. Under the ACTION Column, click apply for the class date you choose. Classes beginning with M, as in M21, are AMCOM specific DPMAP classes.
Employees at off-site locations should review CHRTAS for their location and apply for local classes.
Employees should not attend a class unless they receive an email approving them to attend. Approval emails are sent from the Civilian Human Resources Agency one to two days before the start of class and provide the specific classroom at the Toftoy Training Facility.
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