Practice Exchange

Ilene Gast, Associate Editor

This column highlights innovative assessment programs of interest to assessment professionals. If you are conducting a project that would interest the ACN readers, or if you know someone who is, please let me hear from you. I can be reached by phone at (202) 305-0590, by fax at (202) 305-3664, or e-mail at ifgast@aol.com.

Michigan Department of Civil Service Develops Electronic Vacancy Posting System

by Ronald J. Moffett
State of Michigan Department of Civil Service

Imagine a nurse taking your blood pressure with a thermometer or a mechanic working on your car's engine with a paintbrush. Without the right tools, even simple tasks can seem impossible. Your customers also need the rights tools to attract and retain an effective and representative workforce. The Michigan Department of Civil Service developed one such tool, called the Electronic Vacancy Posting System to help our customers enhance their human resource recruitment efforts.

The State of Michigan is just like any other large employer with a diverse workforce. It has numerous positions available that require a variety of qualifications. Finding the right candidate with the right qualifications at the right time for the right position has never been an easy task. Today's tight labor market and rapid governmental, organizational, and technological changes have only made the tasks of recruiting, selecting, and hiring staff that much more difficult. In turn, these demands have placed a premium on filling critical position vacancies as efficiently as possible. A solution had to be developed to supplement the employment list referral process used in the classified state civil service system. We began by assessing our current strategies and looking for innovations that would make significant contributions to exceed our customer's expectations. Soon thereafter, we turned our attention to the capabilities, possibilities, and promise of the World Wide Web.

By using Internet web-based technology we soon realized that we could significantly reduce the time it takes for qualified applicants to learn about new career opportunities and express an interest in specific vacant positions. We also knew this technology would help us reach out and expand our efforts in attracting applicants by further promoting a selection process that is open and accessible. As we began developing the electronic vacancy system we listened to our customers. We learned that they wanted a system that promotes self-service, and one that is efficient and easy to use. We believe we have accomplished all of these criteria, and then some.

Here's how it works. When departments or agencies have a vacant position to fill and want to take advantage of the electronic posting system they can either develop an employment advertisement on their own, or seek assistance from the Department of Civil Service. To post the job vacancies on line themselves to the Department of Civil Service's employment web page, all the human resource office staff need to do is enter a specific Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address followed by the equivalent of a Personal Identification Number (PIN). This PIN grants access to the Vacancy Entry screen that allows department or agency human resource staff to follow a series of instructions and enter all the relevant information about the vacant position. Of course the advertisement must include basic information such as job description, location, minimum qualifications, salary, EEO/ADA information, and contact information. An edit screen is provided to amend information should that be necessary. Once all the information is entered and verified, all that's left is to click on the "submit" button for instant posting to the Department of Civil Service's employment web page. That is all there is to it. It's really that simple!

For more information about the Electronic Vacancy Posting System please visit our web site at http://www.mdcs.state.mi.us/, or feel free to contact me at (517) 373-3060, or at moffettr@state.mi.us.

OPM's Automated Organizational Assessment Data Base

by Thomas H. Kiefer
U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Solid information on organizational climate can be an important component in strategic planning and is essential for developing and implementing an effective organizational change program. The OPM's Personnel Resources and Development Center has assembled and validated the Organizational Assessment Survey (OAS) to provide Federal, State, and local governments with a tool they can use to get this information.

Since 1991, OPM has administered versions of the Organizational Assessment Survey through: (1) three government wide samples and (2) over 20 individual agency administrations. The data base currently consists of over 500,000 records. Through the Performance America network (see ACN, December 1996), agency affiliates can make historical comparisons with pervious survey administrations in their agency, with administrations in other agencies, with Federal government-wide data sets, or with data classified in respect to other benchmark standards, e.g., the Presidential/Baldrige Quality Award.

In order to add value efficiently for agency executives and managers, survey data must be easy to collect, analyze, and report. The traditional methodology of hard-copy surveys forms and reports often does not serve these needs. Such surveys are costly and time-consuming to administer, while "one size fits all" data reports can be hard to interpret and leave many questions unanswered.

To bring organizational climate assessment into the computer age, OPM has developed an Internet-based system for survey administration, data analysis, and report generation. Agencies using the OAS will now have access to paper-less administration of the survey. After initial set-up, the survey, or parts of it, can be readministered periodically. For example, an agency might want to collect quarterly survey data from an employee sample on their perceptions of diversity, fairness, and leadership, and use it to track progress on meeting the agency's selection and career development goals. Thus, survey data can be made an ongoing, integral part of HR strategic planning in ways that were not feasible with paper-and-pencil systems.

OPM's Internet system also make survey results available on-line. Since agencies have control over data access, executives can decide who gets to see what information. Those with access to the data base are able to make historical and benchmark comparisons whenever needed. This ease of access will be especially useful as agencies work to develop data-linked outcome measures in response to the Government Performance and Results Act, and similar initiatives.

For more information, contact Thomas Kiefer at OPM at (202)-606-2019; or at thkiefer@opm.gov.