U.S. Office of Personnel Management www.opm.gov - Recruiting, Retaining and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People
Strategic Compensation Conference 2000
Choosing the Best Course for Today and Tomorrow
Pay Update Find out the latest breaking news in pay. We anticipate topics such as the latest on the 2001 pay adjustments and locality pay area changes, progress on improving the National Compensation Survey program, new flexibilities for using the 3Rs, legislative initiatives, and much more. |
Leave Update Join the OPM experts as we provide an update on the ever-changing world of Federal leave programs and policies. We will discuss the expanded use of sick leave for family care, changes in the administration of the Family and Medical Leave Act, things to consider when establishing an emergency leave transfer program, and more. |
Effective Compensation Alternatives: The 3Rs This session will provide an in-depth look at using recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances (the 3Rs) in designing effective compensation strategies. OPM and agency representatives will provide information on how you can best use these powerful incentives to resolve tough recruitment and retention problems. The session will include a basic overview of the 3Rs authorities, with information on how they may become more flexible in the future. The session will also highlight the results of a recent OPM study on the 3Rs and agency best practices. |
Making Your Way Through the Maze of Family-Friendly Leave Programs "Everyone loves family-friendly leave. But what is it, exactly?" This session will present an overview of the various family-friendly leave programs and policies and provide answers to questions that often baffle agencies and employees alike. For example, how will the new entitlement to use 12 weeks of sick leave for family care affect an employee's entitlement to use 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? Will the employee still be able to receive donated annual leave from the leave transfer program? How can an employee dispute an agency's denial of family-friendly leave? This is an advanced session, intended for participants who already have a basic knowledge of leave-related law, regulations, and practices. |
Choosing the Right Alternative Work Schedule Design Flexible work schedules, compressed work schedules, credit hours, in-lieu-of holidays, gliding schedules, 5-4/9s, maxiflex, overtime rules--and the list goes on. What should you consider before choosing among the many available approaches? If you have to design, administer, or fix an alternative work schedules program, this is your chance to spend time with an OPM expert on alternative work schedules. |
A Primer on the General Schedule Pay Structure What are the basic concepts and assumptions that underlie the General Schedule pay system? Join OPM's pay policy staff in a discussion of the structural features of the Government's largest pay system, including structural versus individual pay adjustments, external versus internal pay equity considerations, the anatomy of the pay structure (e.g., pay ranges, midpoints, overlap, range progression), cost controls, and much more. |
Performance Management Update The key to successful accomplishment of agency missions and goals continues to be effective use of your human resources. The processes incorporated within effective performance management practices provide the means to focus and develop this essential resource. This session will present new variations on a familiar theme by updating you on the latest happenings in this ever-evolving program area. |
Linking Budget to Performance at GSA Defining organizational measures of performance has proven effective at the General Services Administration (GSA). Representatives from GSA's Public Buildings Service (PBS) will discuss their successful Linking Budget to Performance initiative. The initiative allocates regional office budgets based on how well the regions meet their organizational performance targets and has dramatically increased PBS' efficiency, profitability, and effectiveness. Paul Lynch, Assistant Commissioner for Business Performance, PBS, will discuss the various performance measures they use, how they establish performance goals, and how they reward employees based on regional performance. W. Leighton Waters of the Greater Southwest Region will provide a firsthand perspective on his region's performance under the initiative. |
Does Pass/Fail Appraisal Work? Is pass/fail appraisal an effective performance management tool? Marie Brennan from OPM's Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness will report on its study of title 5 agencies with at least 2 years of experience using a pass/fail appraisal program. In addition, Ernest Tucker of Health and Human Services, and Paula Lelansky of Education will describe their agencies' participation in the study and the results of their pass/fail programs. |
Evaluating Performance Management Programs: Are You Doing the Right Things Right? Employee performance and productivity are vital factors for achieving organizational goals. Are your performance management programs promoting desired employee performance? Are your programs helping, hindering, or ineffective in helping your organization to meet its goals? In this session, you will hear how two different agencies evaluated their performance management programs, what insights they gained, and what improvements they made. |
SES Performance Management 2000 Performance management for the Senior Executive Service (SES) is changing. Staff from the Office of Executive Resources Management, OPM, will update you about the current initiatives for SES performance management in the 21st century. Find out more about efforts that will enable senior executives to continue leading the performance transformation within the Federal Government. |
The Balancing Act The National Partnership for Reinventing Government encourages agencies to appraise supervisory and managerial employees based on three balanced measures--business goals, customer satisfaction, and employee involvement. In this session you will hear how the Bureau of Land Management and the Veterans Affairs' Los Angeles Regional Office implemented balanced measures and how they use the results to appraise, improve, and/or reward the performance of supervisors and managers. |
Classification Update OPM classification experts will provide the latest information on the "hottest" position classification topics of the day. Some that are sure to be discussed are: the Information Technology standard study; the new Job Family Position Classification Standards for the Human Resources Management Group, GS-0200; status reports on all other job family standards studies; and special Classification Programs Division projects to improve OPM products and services that support position classification work. |
Promoting Professionalism in the Federal Human Resources Community The human resources (HR) field is undergoing fundamental change regarding roles, methods of service delivery, and competencies needed to be effective. Recent studies indicate a need for more focused HR training and development to meet current and future HR challenges. Come hear how an International Personnel Managers Association (IPMA) Federal Section Working Group, OPM's Employment Service, a Human Resources Management Council (HRMC) Subcommittee, and the National Institutes of Health are tackling these issues. They will explain the five basic roles of the HR competency model developed and refined by IPMA, the National Academy of Public Administration, and OPM, and also explain how Federal competency training and certification can help enhance the image of HR professionals and provide a foundation for consistent service delivery expectations. The panel of presenters will discuss these efforts and their implications for current HR staffs, their professional development and certification, and updating qualifications requirements. |
Revisiting the Factor Evaluation System (FES) Classification Factors In an effort to simplify the position classification process, OPM's Personnel Resources and Development Center is exploring the possibility of validating a Factor Evaluation System (FES) that consolidates some of the nine current factors. OPM is also looking into the challenges that automating such a system would present. Come to this session and learn how the study is being conducted, its implications for the position classification practice, as well as other applications of the FES system such as Bureau of Labor Statistics salary surveys. We will demonstrate a prototype that illustrates the ease of conversion and the impact on expert classification systems. |
A New Approach to Developing Position Classification Standards The Classification Programs Division has conducted a business process reengineering study to revamp the classification standards development process. The primary objective was to reduce the amount of time it takes to issue new job family standards. Attendees will learn how the study was done, and how the results will affect those who have position classification responsibility. |
Universal Classification Systems: Before and After Implementation Two public sector applications of a generic approach to position classification offer lessons and ideas to consider. The Canadian Government has developed the Universal Classification Standard (UCS) system that will be used to classify a wide variety of national government positions and that Canadian HR officials plan to implement soon. Ms. Jamieson will explain the UCS, how it was developed, and challenges faced and overcome in their efforts to implement the new system. To classify United Nations (UN) positions, the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) has used a similar type of generic point-factor system for many years. The UN uses a Master Classification Standard to classify professional positions. Mr. Salomons, a consultant to the ICSC, will explain the Master Classification System, how it was developed, and how it compares to our Factor Evaluation System. |
Strategic Compensation Update What's the latest on OPM's efforts to improve Federal compensation in ways that will better support the missions of our diverse family of agencies? Find out about OPM's research on private sector and non-Federal compensation systems and how OPM is making the information available to the Federal community. Get a picture of how OPM is working with the entire Federal community to assess possible changes against a background of shared goals and principles. Hear about the plans for the Strategic Compensation Initiative over the coming year. |
Broadbanding Panel The number of Federal and State government agencies using broadbanding as a compensation tool continues to grow. Speakers from three public sector organizations will provide information on the design, development, and implementation of broadbanding systems. Get a picture of how different organizations use broadbanding to deal with their unique challenges. |
Variable Pay Variable pay includes broad spectrum of pay practices – all the way from sales commissions to group incentive awards. The presentation will provide information on determining if variable pay is the right tool to support your organization's mission. The session will make you better equipped to make decisions about variable pay--from designing a variable pay policy to effectively communicating the program throughout an organization. |
Information Technology: A Human Resources Challenge The recruitment and retention of Information Technology (IT) workers is one of the major challenges facing human resources management professionals in government and the private sector. How has the Federal Government mobilized to meet the challenge? See how OPM, the Chief Information Officers Council, and agencies are using both traditional methods and new strategies to attract, manage, and retain the IT workforce necessary to support vital government functions. Find out about: new classification standards, competency-based qualification standards, improved hiring flexibilities, OPM's study of special rates for IT employees, and Chief Information Officers Council compensation initiatives. |
The Role of the Compensation Practitioner The role of the compensation professional is becoming more and more complex. Today's tight labor markets are pushing the field of compensation toward greater innovation. In the Federal Government, the compensation practitioner is still expected to "apply the rules." But he or she also needs to think strategically about using compensation tools to get and keep the people needed to achieve the mission. How are today's HR organizations going about this? Is a new Federal compensation practitioner emerging? What challenges and opportunities face Federal agencies? Come hear two very experienced HR executives discuss these issues in a lively panel format. No handouts used at this session. |
Benefit Reform Initiatives OPM's Center for Benefits Design and Delivery is working on the employee benefits aspect of OPM's compensation reform initiative. The Center is focusing on projects that include long-term care insurance, converting the employee share of health benefits premiums to pre-tax withholding, flexible spending accounts for unreimbursed health and dependent care costs, and measures aimed at containing health insurance premiums. |
Strategic Rewards: The Big Picture Federal managers are coming to realize that pay is not the only answer to attracting and retaining employees, and it may not even be the most important. Today's employees place a high value on things like training and development opportunities, work/life balance, strong leadership, and a healthy organizational climate. Learn how any agency can become a more attractive employer by adopting a strategic rewards perspective. |
Bargaining Over Pay and Benefits Management and Labor representatives from the FDIC discuss the complex and challenging issues they have faced in designing compensation and benefit systems, how these systems have evolved over the years, and the special challenges that confront both parties as they negotiate compensation and benefit schemes outside the bargaining constraints of Title 5, United States Code. No handouts used at this session. |
Managing Human Resources with the Central Personnel Data File and FEDSCOPE Kelly Croft of OPM's Office of Workforce Information will introduce the new FEDSCOPE online utility for accessing Federal employment data. He will describe how to access the system, demonstrate its capabilities, explain the type of data available, review why agency submissions to the Central Personnel Data File system are important, and offer some ideas for how agencies might use the data system. |
The Role of Salary Surveys in Pay Setting What exactly are salary surveys and how might Federal human resources managers and professionals use them when they establish salary structures or set pay for individuals? John Davis, a nationally recognized compensation consultant and teacher, will provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about salary surveys, including how to find, evaluate, and use the pay survey that's right for your organization. |
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