THE SHAPE OF SUCCESS


Te first is to integrate the SRPE into what should already be an ongoing conversa- tion about every employee’s development. We


can’t assess someone’s potential


unless we understand who they are, what they’ve done and what they’d like to do. We cannot disconnect discussions about an employee’s potential from their career goals or the training, experiences and edu- cation they choose to pursue.


Tis ongoing conversation or cycle begins with the Individual Development Plan (IDP), whereby an employee and a super- visor talk about the employee’s goals for their career, education, training and so on, then lay out a plan. Tis is where the employee describes where they see them- selves and where they want to go. Based on the IDP, the employee and supervisor should make choices about future oppor- tunities. (See “Career Navigator,” Page 101.)


In the SRPE, the supervisor and senior rater assess the employee’s potential—not just as an individual, but across relevant peer groups. Tis answers questions about where an employee is and where they can go, based on their potential:


• Are they skilled in the field they’d like to pursue?


• Have they experienced the right pro- gram type, phase and category to prepare them for the next level?


• Are they ready for the next step? If not, what training or experiences would get them there?


An honest conversation about the SRPE helps the employee understand strengths and weaknesses, their competitive poten- tial and what they could do to reach their career goals.


After reviewing the SRPE and pursuing training or experiences,


the 108 employee


and supervisor can return to the IDP and change or continue plans to meet the employee’s career goals, perhaps improving the employee’s demonstrated potential. Because this should be a con- tinuous cycle of communication, nothing on the SRPE should shock or surprise the employee. If it does, communication was clearly lacking, and that needs to be addressed.


MAXIMIZING THE SRPE’S VALUE Te second way we’ve leveraged SRPEs is to think diligently about how we maxi- mize their value for our team members’ assessment and their competitive poten- tial. SRPEs are most effective to the Army and the employee when they pro- vide a consistent, accurate assessment of a civilian employee’s potential for future progress against a substantial set of peers in both grade and function.


Based on feedback from previous cen- tralized selection boards, we understood that inconsistent phrasing, small cohorts, imprecise distinctions or multiple No. 1 enumerations (ratings) in the same orga- nization caused confusion and did not enhance an


employee’s competitive


potential. Making distinctions meaning- ful, consistent and accurate is important not only for the board, but also for indi- vidual employees.


In PEO CS&CSS, we established the program executive officer as the senior rater for all NH-IV employees, giving us a large pool of comparable associates, both overall and by functional group. It also means that every associate will have a SRPE from the general officer or Senior Executive Service level, which is required for centralized selection list boards and provides a consistent evaluation and enu- meration for all NH-IV personnel in our organization.


At


the beginning of each SRPE cycle,


supervisors think critically about each associate’s experience, training and dem- onstrated potential before participating in program manager—O-5 and O-6— meetings to negotiate and agree on an organizational order of merit list (OML). Teams develop OMLs within each orga- nization and within each functional area. Ten, at the PEO level, senior leaders negotiate a PEO-wide OML to rank our employees overall and by functional area, paying particular attention to ratings of


“exceptional potential” in managing the senior rater’s overall profile. Tis process gives us a clear and fair assessment of potential across the more than 150 asso- ciates in our NH-IV workforce, based on discussions and input from all of our senior leaders. Te process also collects draft narrative comments and recom- mendations for each associate’s training or experiences.


To make finalizing the senior rater’s com- ments as efficient as possible, our staff created a Microsoft Excel-based tool with unique macros


that take in the OML


and suggested comments. Te tool aligns recommended senior rater comments, enumerations and potential training or assignment opportunities based on career fields and experiences. It is tremendously helpful, making the process of complet- ing senior rater comments easier and far more consistent and fair.


HOW A PEO CAN KEEP COMMUNICATION REAL Tere’s one additional point I’d like to emphasize about SRPEs and any changes we make


in how we recruit,


retain,


motivate and develop our people: Real communication matters. Shortly after coming aboard at PEO CS&CSS, I con- ducted a climate survey and found myself both surprised and troubled by some responses. When asked whether their


Army AL&T Magazine


July-September 2017


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