HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Beginning April 1, bargaining unit federal employees here will begin using a new, standardized performance appraisal program as part of the Department of Defense’s New Beginnings initiative.
According to the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service website, the organization’s “mandate is to implement significant improvements to DOD Human Resource practices and policies, including implementation of a new Defense-wide Performance Management and Appraisal Program.”
New Beginnings is a collaborative labor-management effort involving the DOD, federal employees and national-level union representatives, including implementation of a new Defense Performance Management and Appraisal Program, also known as DPMAP.
“DPMAP will link organizational mission and goals to individual performance plans, as well as ensure regular feedback during the appraisal cycle between employees and supervisors,” said Tom Fredericks, 66th Air Base Group deputy director. “We’re hoping that will also lead to increased employee engagement, morale and effectiveness.”
Even though the full implementation is not scheduled to begin until next month, Kathy Owens, chief of Employee and Labor Relations, suggests supervisors and employees begin working on performance plans as soon as possible.
“Because DPMAP is quite different than the system most personnel have been using, there are numerous online resources available,” she said. “Right now, supervisors and employees should become familiar with the MyPerformance tool and begin working on their performance plans.”
The automated MyPerformance tool located on MyBiz+ is where employees converting to DPMAP have the ability to create and view their performance plan. Rating officials should have access to create/view their subordinate employees’ plans as long as the hierarchy in DCPDS is correct.
“Organizational Human Resources personnel are also available to help employees with answers to their questions about the creation of the plans,” Owens said.
While DPMAP doesn’t include self-assessments, Owens said personnel should engage with their supervisor throughout the rating period.
“Hanscom employees are encouraged to provide input to their supervisor as a reminder of their significant accomplishments, achievements and contributions during the performance year,” she said.
The new program will have three rating tiers: outstanding, fully successful and unacceptable.
“Key to the program is its emphasis on timely recognition and reward of employee contributions throughout the cycle, which runs annually from April 1 to March 31,” said Owens. “This isn’t about sitting down on the 365th day and giving feedback; it has to happen throughout the appraisal cycle.”
DPMAP will cover General Schedule, Federal Wage System, and several additional groups of employees. The majority of Hanscom’s civilian workforce will be covered.
This program does not cover employees who are working under other performance management programs, such as Hanscom employees in the Acquisition Workforce Demonstration Project, or AcqDemo.
While many Hanscom employees have taken the online training, those who have not must to do so at Joint Knowledge Online.
Owens said there are numerous resources available to employees to learn more about DPMAP. A few are listed below.
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center SharePoint site: https://cs2.eis.af.mil/sites/22005/dpmap/default.aspx
Performance Plan Checklist: https://www.cpms.osd.mil/Content/Documents/DPMAP/Participant/Lesson3_ChecklistPerformancePlans_Rev2(P).pdf
SMART Performance Standards Worksheet: https://www.cpms.osd.mil/Content/Documents/DPMAP/Participant/Lesson3_SMART_Worksheet_Rev2(P).pdf
Planning Meeting Video: https://www.cpms.osd.mil/Content/Documents/DPMAP/Lesson3PlanningMeeting.mp4
Quick reference guides and a Performance Management and Appraisal Tool kit are available on DOD's New Beginnings page located at: https://www.cpms.osd.mil/Subpage/NewBeginnings/DPMAP
For further information, contact your respective HR representative.