October 15th -- the day the world changed?

  • Published
  • By Col. Andrew Britschgi
  • 17th Training Wing Vice Commander
The world changed October 15th of this year! Everyone noticed the change, right? On that day, more than 200 civilian employees at Goodfellow changed over to the new National Security Personnel System (NSPS). Oh, most of you didn't notice? That's because they all showed up for work on that day and did the same outstanding work they always have done. 

NSPS isn't changing the jobs of our civilian employees, it changes how they are recognized and rewarded for the jobs they do. In simple terms, NSPS is a pay for performance system. It puts more emphasis and reward on job performance than the previous Civil Service system. Now, civilian employees under the NSPS system are provided feedback related to their performance and evaluated strictly on performance of their job objectives that are directly tied to the wing mission. That evaluation will then directly impact bonuses, raises and promotions each employee will receive following their annual appraisal. 

Incumbent to any personnel system change is training and understanding for the affected employees and their supervisors. Prior to the changeover, employees, supervisors and commanders were given training in communication "soft skills," along with NSPS system specifics. While not directly related to NSPS, the communication "soft skills" training was a great enabler for NSPS implementation due to the core
requirement for supervisors and employees to dialogue continuously about the employee's job performance and the supervisors' expectations, along with changing resource and mission needs. Training for and understanding of NSPS did not end
with the implementation of the system this October. Through the first scheduled annual appraisal in January, 2008, training sessions and exercises will be accomplished to ensure employees and supervisors are knowledgeable and able to take full advantage
of NSPS. 

So while you might not have noticed the monumental change the wing underwent this
October 15th, it did happen. Our converting civilian employees now have the opportunity to grow in their jobs and be rewarded for their valuable contributions to the 17th Training Wing's mission of providing combat-ready intelligence, firefighter, SPINSTRA, and permanent party Airman Professionals to the Combatant Commander.