National Security Personnel System survey period extended

  • Published
  • By Donna Miles
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Response to a survey about the new National Security Personnel System has been "enthusiastic," so defense officials extended the survey period through July 27 to allow civil service employees more opportunity to participate.

The survey period began July 6 and was initially scheduled to continue through July 20. Officials said the one-week extension will give more employees an opportunity to weigh in their views.

In addition, a switch to a new computer server will allow more respondents to access the survey, log on and begin filling out the survey with little wait time, said Sharon Stewart, chief of human resources for the program. Before the server change, some respondents complained the online survey took too long to access, she said.

The new National Security Personnel System Factor Survey gives general schedule employees the chance to register their views about several performance factors identified for inclusion in the new personnel system.

Response has been "enormous," Ms. Stewart said, and many civil service employees have requested an extension of the survey period.

Gordon England, acting deputy secretary of defense, emphasized in a June 29 memo the survey's importance and urged employees to participate.

"We need your assistance to ensure that these performance factors are relevant and reflect work that you personally perform on your job," he wrote.

Participation is voluntary, and all responses are confidential, said Charles Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

To ensure confidentiality, Ms. Stewart said employees access the survey through a secure system, and their passwords are used only to control access and provide data for statistical analysis. Login information is transmitted from respondents' work stations through the Internet using a secure encryption system. Direct access to the database is limited to approved users only. And once the data is collected, all password information will be destroyed.

Ms. Stewart urged employees to participate in the survey, which takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete, and to report their experience with the survey process through the survey Web site.

"Your responses will make a difference, so please take this opportunity to let us hear from you about the relevance of performance factors in your job," she said.

The survey is online at www.pfsurvey.net/nsps.

Views expressed in the survey will have long-term implications, Mr. Abell said. The results will help program implementers determine what factors will be used to evaluate employees' job performance for the next 15 or 20 years, he said.

"It's an opportunity for (employees) to have a voice in the system that they are going to be living under and to make sure that we get it right," said Mary Lacey, program executive officer for the NSPS. "And we want to get it right. We want to hear what employees have to say, and we want them to be a part of our design process."

System designers are particularly interested in hearing from civil service employees who have been part of DOD personnel demonstration programs, Ms. Lacey said.

"They bring to the table real experience in a system that has National Security Personnel System-like features," she said. "So we think their input will be incredibly valuable."

Meanwhile, progress continues in putting the new personnel system in place. The goal is to publish the final regulations in the Federal Register by summer's end, and to begin bringing the first employees into the system by the end of the fiscal year, Ms. Lacey said. However, the implementation schedule will be "event-driven."

"We are not going to take certain steps until we are ready," she said.

Once in place, officials have said the new personnel system is expected to benefit the Defense Department and its civilian employees alike by doing away with outdated, bureaucratic policies.

"DOD is a dynamic institution," Mr. Abell said. "Our mission has changed, our focus has changed, and this will allow the civilian-employee workplace to change with that changing mission and changing focus of our leadership."

One of the system's key features is a pay-for-performance plan that rewards and recognizes individual performance and contributions. The new system also will allow employees to get more involved in their individual career development, with broad pay bands and occupational groupings giving them more flexibility to shape their careers, Ms. Lacey said.

The result, Mr. Abell said, will be a workplace that's "more productive (and more) efficient, with our jobs aligned with our mission." Once the system is implemented, DOD "ought to be a happier place to live and work," he said.