Teams getting civilians hired faster

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  It has been taking up to 200 days to get some vacant Air Force civilian jobs filled, and senior leaders have said those long delays have to stop.

Three process-improvement teams researched ways to reduce the total time a job request is in the system, and the administrative-handling time spent on each.

"The teams identified more than 40 policy, procedure or systems changes that they feel would improve the fill process toward the 'ideal to be' state," David Davenport said. He is the chief of the human-resources laboratory and re-engineering division at the Air Force Personnel Center here.

"And even early on we're showing results," he said. "That means (leaders) will be able to hire workers sooner," and that may mean more people will be in work areas from the flightline to headquarters to get the mission done, he said.

"We have to remember who our customer is -- military and civilian managers -- in the field," said Ron Orr, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics. "We must look at it from their focus, getting skilled people out there faster to roll up their sleeves and help get the job done in these busy times."

"But this is a complex issue, and we're only fixing the small part of the overall process that we can fix here," said Greg Den Herder, executive director of the center. "Hopefully our success so far will stimulate similar efforts at every level. It must be a multifront war."

In one week, the teams were able to reduce the total time spent on the job-fill process at the personnel center by 12 to 14 days.

Three other "rapid-improvement events" covering additional processes were conducted in September.

Rapid-improvement events are part of a larger "Lean" streamlining process, a government-wide program to remove waste while making programs more cost-effective and efficient, officials said.

Lean is an ongoing process for continuous improvement, and the teams will continue to refine the process as changes are approved, officials said. (Courtesy of AFPC News Service)