By MC2 Patrick Dionne

Staff from NPS’ Human Resources Office, including from left George Martinez, Jennifer Amorin, Cindy Dunn and Kenneth Stewart, have been hard at work preparing for the university’s upcoming switch to the new DOD Performance Management and Appraisal System, called DPMAP, to be implemented, Oct. 1. DPMAP is a DOD-mandated, enterprise-wide system that stresses the importance of communication, performance and accountability.

“In performance management, it is a requirement that every federal agency has a vibrant performance management system that holds their employees accountable to standards, and accurately assesses their performance,” said Supervisory Human Resource Specialist Jennifer Amorin. “Though every federal agency has one, the DOD had an issue in that it had multiple systems, and that wasn’t working.

“That’s where this directive comes in,” she continued. “This system will help unify and simplify the way NPS does performance management, and show that we are all held to the same level of expectations relative to position.”

DPMAP will replace several former performance management systems used by government employees around campus, including the Interim Performance Management System (IPMS), the Performance Feedback System (PFS), and the faculty performance appraisal program. HR staff say the new system structures everyone under a unified approach that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely.

“The program requires three performance discussions throughout the year, and more encouraged, for each of the critical elements of your job .. the duties and what you actually do,” explained HR Labor Relations Specialist Kenneth Stewart. “You will receive a rating – either a five, three or a one –accompanied by a narrative that supports it.

“This forces people to take the time to adequately supervise their subordinates, and give them clear direction, hear their feedback on how they feel they did, leading to a more meaningful performance review,” continued Stewart.

Past systems have allowed performance management to sometime morph into a “check in the box” function, Stewart added. “You can’t do that with DPMAP. It requires real supervision and a thoughtful evaluation and performance review.”

With a new system, of course, comes the required training to implement. NPS’ HR team has been hard at work developing a comprehensive training plan, and has brought together a team of trainers from across campus to assist. Members of the NPS chapter of the Federal Managers Association (FMA), as well as the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1690, and other volunteers, will join HR staff in providing several training sessions to NPS personnel, beginning March 1, to ensure the information the campus needs to implement the new system is available.

But Stewart stresses the training is not just about how to use DPMAP. Rather, its intent is to demonstrate the logic behind the system-wide change.

“People are going to show up to our training, thinking we will show them how to log in and enter information into a system. But what they are actually learning is far more important,” added Stewart. “This is a shift in culture that fosters greater, two-way communication, empowers employees, and leads to greater efficiency within the federal government.

“It ensures that supervisors understand what employees are doing, and that employees clearly understand what is expected of them,” he continued. “We owe it to the taxpayers that we use our time efficiently and appropriately, and DPMAP helps us do just that.”