| Comment Number: | OL-10511892 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 6:10:12 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Department of Defense 5CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 National Security Personnel System Proposed Rule/Regulation as currently published in the Federal Register omits the professional development and training of the existing workforce. The National Security Personnel System Rule/Regulation includes discussion on pay, performance management, labor relations, adverse actions, and appeals, but excludes the responsibilities, functions, policies, procedures, processes, and systems for professional development and training of the workforce. Before centralization of several Civilian Personnel Operation Centers and Civilian Personnel Advisory Centers approximately 10 years ago, the Civilian Personnel Offices required strong interest and participation of first line supervisors, managers, and senior leadership in the professional training and development of their staff through the old performance appraisal system that included a record of an employee’s individual development plan on the reverse side of a DA Form 5398. Many of us still employed with Department of the Army still can remember how the DA Form 5398 gave us some reasonable assurance that employees would be provided with professional training and development to perform their assigned job description duties, to include those from a reduction in workforce. Since centralization, it seems the importance of professional training and development of staff has become a last to do item on a task list of first line supervisors, manages, and senior leadership with the transfer/transition of functions and responsibilities from Civilian Personnel Offices to organizations of Major Commands, Major Subordinate Commands, and installations from a reduction in workforce initiative that subsequently resulted in an increase in span of control of supervisor to employee ratio. I recommend we incorporate professional training and development provisions before final publication of the proposed rule/regulation, since we constantly require retraining of current skills of the workforce to perform tomorrow’s functions and responsibilities using changing automation and information technology.