BUILDING THE ARMY ACQUISITION TEAM
As the secretary has said, talent management should be a delib- erate, data-driven approach to the processes and systems that enable the Army to better manage its officer corps. Before we acquire talent, however, we must understand what we want these new acquisition officers to do. When we understand that, we can better understand the mix of knowledge, skills, behaviors and preferences that we want to look for in accessions to acquisition.
Tis is critical to the Army because there is considerable compe- tition for the top talent in America today. Tis is not, as Dr. E. Casey Wardynski, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, said recently, a “come as you are” Army. We need people who not only are technologically adept, resilient and problem-solving, but also who reflect and share the values of our nation.
In Army acquisition, our job is to get those talented people to join our ranks. Unlike industry, which can pull in talent wher- ever it needs it and from wherever it can find it, the Army has no
“lateral entry,” as Wardynski noted. Officer or enlisted, people in the current system generally start at the bottom and work their way up. Tat means it’s considerably harder for us because we have to start developing our military acquisition talent at the bottom, too, and make acquisition attractive to the people with the skills, knowledge, behaviors and preferences that the Army acquisition enterprise needs.
In many areas on the civilian side of the acquisition workforce, that is also often true. In some fields, such as contracting, the way the Army does business is so different from the way indus- try does; starting as an intern is often the way people find their way into acquisition. Even civilians who come “laterally” into acquisition—after retiring from military service or from indus- try—still have to learn how the Army does business.
NEW TOOLS, OLD CHALLENGES Te Army Talent Management Strategy will provide the tools to create a bridge between the current and future systems. With the rollout of the Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army (IPPS-A) to the regular Army, we at last will have a tool that will help us gather the detailed data we need to identify and recruit the talent we need for the future.
Tis will help us develop the talent marketplace that Esper has spoken of in recent months—transparent, data-rich and governed by business rules that will help match officers’ talents to assign- ments and engender trust among commanders, officers and the Army. When IPPS-A rolls out to the civilian workforce, we can
8 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2019
further develop our knowledge of who our people are and what we need them to do.
Te challenges are manifold, and the challenge of changing the culture in the Army is central among them. Te current system for officer assignments was created in 1980 with the enactment of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act. It is a rigid, conveyor-belt system that’s highly centralized and often based too much on an officer’s time in service. With assignments managed from the top, all officers follow what is essentially a standard career path. Tey often have little choice in where they go and what they do.
Basing assignments on talents, knowledge, skills, behavior and preferences makes much more sense. “Talent-based branching” began at West Point in 2012 and gathered detailed insight into the unique talents of each new officer. Not only that, it also gathered the unique demands of each Army basic branch. Tat, along with technology, has enabled the development of the talent marketplace.
Using the talent marketplace, the Army will place officers in the assignments in which they are most likely to be engaged, produc- tive and satisfied—and engaged, productive and satisfied is a great way to retain talent. Te Army’s new Assignment Interac- tive Module 2.0, which facilitates the assignment marketplace, will help officers find their own sweet spot. We have to make every effort for acquisition to be that.
But, of course, it’s not just about officers picking and choosing where they want to go. It’s about where they’re needed. It’s also about officers having the training and education they need to succeed at acquisition. At my direction, the Army Director for Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office has launched the Functional Area (FA) 51 (acquisition) Officer Advanced Education Implementation Plan.
Recent history shows that the vast majority of officers, when they access into FA 51, do not have an acquisition-relevant degree. Approximately 75 percent of officers do not have a business degree relevant to acquisition. Only 15-20 percent of officers have a graduate degree with sufficient business credits. Of those with a relevant graduate degree, 6-10 percent will require a busi- ness certificate program to go along with the DAWIA training they will receive at the Army Acquisition Center of Excellence in Huntsville, Alabama. Te new authorities that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 gave us will help to do some of that. Much of what we must do will
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