# AGENDA

**1. Welcome --**[Anna Cenatiempo](mailto:anna.cenatiempo@va.gov),
Moderator (202-273-5043)

> **2. HRMO Activity**

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**[SELECTION(S) MADE:]{.underline}**

Randy D. Wilson has been selected as the HR Manager at VAMC, Sheridan,
WY.

**[CURRENT VACANCIES:]{.underline}**

GS-13 Honolulu, HI Opening Date: 02/14/05

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

***NOTE***: Referrals will be made as applications are received.

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GS-13 Muskogee, OK Opening Date: 02/25/06

Closing Date: 03/24/06

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

GS-13 Spokane, WA Opening Date: 11/07/05

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

3.  **HR Management Programs and Policies - Items of Interest:**

1\. Status of the Hybrid Implementation Project - [Mary
Park](mailto:Mary.Park@med.va.gov) (202-273-7583)

> At the headquarters level the waiting period for congressional review
> ended without any required actions. The VA Directives and Handbook
> 5005 chapters and qualification standards are completing the
> concurrence process for signature by the Assistant Secretary for Human
> Resources and Administration. Once signed OHRM will post the policies
> to their web sites.
>
> The VHA Program Offices are preparing notifications to employees
> selected to serve as members of the national and alternate VISN
> (regional) professional standards boards for the second generation
> hybrid occupations with the exception of Blind Rehabilitation
> Specialists. The notices will be sent to the employee through the
> Title 38 Hybrid VISN Coordinators within the next 10 days. The notice
> will include information on the mandatory training required for board
> members. Once the training is complete, we will move toward scheduling
> the initial one-time boarding at the national level for the board
> members followed by the boarding of field VISN board members.
>
> At the VISN and facility level, Title 38 Hybrid Coordinators should
> have completed orientation for their leadership, general orientation
> for employees, requesting supervisors to be preparing functional
> statements, and in the process of formulating local and VISN boards as
> needed.
>
> VHA has requested an extension to the initial timeline set to complete
> the special one-time boarding to June 30, 2006 with a provision that
> any advancement resulting from that board be retroactive to April 2,
> 2006 based on the original timeline.
>
> 2\. Grandfathered Retention Allowances - [Deborah
> Allen](mailto:Deborah.Allen@mail.va.gov) (202-273-9700)
>
> Retention allowances that were authorized prior to May 1, 2005 have
> been paid until the allowance was reauthorized or terminated. This
> flexibility expires April 30, 2006. **You must terminate retention
> allowance payments that were authorized prior to May 1 from the PAID
> system no later than April 30.**
>
> Employees whose retention allowances were grandfathered have been
> excluded from our policy changes effective May 1 (e.g., rate of basic
> pay excludes locality payments, service agreements were never
> required, optional payments methods were not available, etc). If a
> retention incentive is still warranted, you may reauthorize a new
> retention incentive under current policy in VA Handbook 5007, Part VI,
> Chapter 3. You must terminate the current retention allowance on any
> day through April 30, however, the reauthorization must begin on the
> first day of a pay period.
>
> No action is required in the case of employees who are fulfilling
> service agreements for recruitment or relocation bonuses authorized
> before May 1, 2005.

3\. Within Grade Increase Eligibility for Nurses - [Anna
Cenatiempo](mailto:anna.cenatiempo@mail.va.gov) (202-273-5043)

> There are many nurses in the PAID system that have a Within Grade
> Increase (WGI) eligibility code of 2 (ineligible) despite the fact
> that they are not at the top step of their grade. WIST discussed this
> on their monthly conference call in the past couple of months, and
> although the number slightly decreased as a result, there are still
> approximately 300 employees in this category. Generally, nurses are
> ineligible for a WGI if they are on a time-limited appointment of less
> than one year or are at the top step of their grade.
>
> Please review the WGI eligibility for nurses at your facility and make
> corrections as necessary. To assist you, there is a report available
> in RSD titled "NURSE WIG REPORT, report description: "WIG CODE 2 and
> STEP LESS THAN 12." Keep in mind that if the WGI eligibility code was
> incorrect, the employee may have missed a WGI and one will have to be
> granted retroactively. You may also need to process corrections to any
> actions that occurred after the date of the retroactive WGI. Please
> review and make any necessary corrections by March 31.

4\. Government-wide surveys in early 2006 -- [Anna
Cenatiempo](mailto:anna.cenatiempo@mail.va.gov) (202-273-5043)

> The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board is conducting three small
> Government-wide surveys in early 2006.  The will address the following
> topics:

-   A Survey of Hiring Authorities to discover the recruitment and
    assessment processes used, the extent of supervisors\' involvement
    in those processes, and any relationship those processes have to
    their satisfaction with the resulting hire (target survey population
    = approximately 4,800 supervisors Government-wide)

-   A Survey of Entry-Level Employees to assess how Federal agencies can
    better attract and select qualified applications for career-entry
    opportunities and to explore perceptions that younger generations
    have of Federal employment and the hiring process (target survey
    population = approximately 2,000 recently hired employees
    Government-wide)

-   A Survey of Mid-High Level Employees to learn why new hires at
    grades GS-12, 13, 14, and 15 chose to work for the Government at
    this time in their careers and to explore their experiences with the
    hiring process.  In addition, supervisors of these employees will be
    surveyed to learn whether there are barriers to attracting
    applicants at mid-high level grades.  (target survey population =
    approximately 2,000 recently hired mid-level employees and their
    supervisors Government-wide)

The Office of Labor Relations is notifying national unions about these
third party surveys.

 

> Servicing human resources offices may be contacted to assist
> distributing paper surveys to employees and
> supervisors.  Approximately 15 minutes will be needed to complete the
> surveys.  Please encourage employees and supervisors to participate.

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1.  **A little bit of this...a little bit of that**

> 1\. Presidential Management Fellows Program (PMF) (Update) -- [[Janice
> Lucas]{.underline}](mailto:janice.lucas@va.gov) (202 -273-9819).
>
> Mr. Pittman recently signed the memo announcing this years PMF
> program. The memo encourages all Administrations, Staff Offices, and
> local stations to participate in the program and attend the PMF Job
> Fair to be held at the Washington DC Convention Center, Monday, April
> 10 through Wednesday, April 12, 2006. For budgeting purposes, OPM is
> still undecided on the exact cost of acquiring a PMF candidate for the
> 2006 PMF program. In the past, the cost for an agency to obtain each
> candidate was \$4,800. That figure may rise to \$6,000. As soon as we
> have definitive information on the actual cost, we will pass it along.
> A fact sheet which provides information on the program is available by
> contacting one of the program contacts or liaisons below:
>
> Janice Lucas -- (202) 273-9819,
> [[janice.lucas@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:janice.lucas@va.gov)
>
> Debra Walker -- (202) 273-8922,
> [[debra.walker@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:debra.walker@va.gov)
>
> Anna Doroshaw -- (202) 273-9466,
> [[anna.doroshaw@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:anna.doroshaw@va.gov)
>
> Cynthia Leach -- (202) 273-9761,
> [[cynthia.leach@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:cynthia.leach@va.gov)
>
> **VHA**
>
> Terry Morrow -- (202) 273-8887,
> [[terry.morrow2@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:terry.morrow2@va.gov)
>
> **VBA**
>
> Sharon Seesholtz -- (202) 273-9015,
> [[sharon.seesholtz@vba.va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:sharon.seesholtz@vba.va.gov)
>
> **NCA**
>
> Rhonika Howard -- (202) 273-5307,
> [[rhonika.howard@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:rhonika.howard@va.gov)
>
> **Staff Offices**
>
> Marisa Jackson -- (202) 273-9709,
> [[marisa.jackson2@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:marisa.jackson2@va.gov)
>
> Cynthia Snipes -- (202) 273-9712,
> [[cynthia.snipes@va.gov]{.underline}](mailto:cynthia.snipes@va.gov)
>
> 2\. Child Care Subsidy - [Matilda
> Bruno-Gaston](mailto:Matilda.Bruno-Gaston@mail.va.gov) (202-273-5938)
>
> In an effort to provide everyone with changes in the administration of
> the Child Care Subsidy Program, a separate conference call has been
> scheduled for Tuesday March14, 2006, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. At that
> time, more information will be available and questions and concerns
> will be addressed. The dial in number is 1-800-767-1750 and the Access
> Code is 27435. For Central Office personnel, the location of the
> conference call is 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Room 730.
>
> If you have any questions about this scheduled conference call, you
> may contact me or any of the following persons on the Worklife and
> Benefits team: Willie Swailes at 202-273-9036, Katie
> McCullough-Bradshaw at 202-273-9836 and Francene Shelton at
> 202-273-4943.

2.  **VHA Updates**

> 1\. 2006 All-Employee Survey - [Daniel
> Kowalski](mailto:Daniel.Kowalski@va.gov) (973-395-7245)
>
> VHA will administer its bi-annual All Employee Survey from April 24 to
> May 15, 2006. Employees will self-select whether to take the survey on
> the Internet, on the telephone, or by completing a paper scanable
> survey. The questions in the 2006 survey will include all of the
> questions in the 2004 survey as well as a few additional questions to
> measure engagement. We added a few occupations to the demographic
> section of the survey and employees from the National Center for
> Organizational Development are working with facilities to map
> workgroups. Sirota Consulting will collect and aggregate the data and
> return the data to the survey committee for analysis and presentation
> to the Networks. Those feedback sessions will begin in late June 2006.
>
> In January, VHA notified the national unions as required by our
> contractual obligations and the survey committee briefed the National
> Partnership Council at its January meeting. You received a copy of
> that presentation. The national unions were incredibly supportive in
> 2004 and we anticipate the same level of support this year.
>
> From the analysis done on prior employee surveys, we know that
> employee satisfaction is not a soft issue. Higher levels of employee
> satisfaction travels with lower voluntary employee turnover, fewer EEO
> complaints, higher levels of patient satisfaction, lower costs of
> providing care to veterans after adjusting for economies of scale, and
> better performance in a number of clinical indicators.
>
> In 2004, 52% of employees in VHA took the survey. Our goal in 2006 is
> a 65% response rate. Publicity for the survey will begin in late
> March. But the survey committee needs your help. Please take the
> survey and encourage all employees to take the survey.
>
> Please see the additional attachment.

3.  **The Healthcare Retention and Recruitment Office**

> 1\. Recruitment Event Schedule - [Ron
> Reed](mailto:Ronald.Reed2@va.gov) (504-568-0811 x5522)

  ----------- ---------------------------- ---------------- ---------------
  **DATE**    **EVENT**                    **LOCATION**     **CITY**

  **Mar.      **National Coalition of      **Wyndham        **Chicago, IL**
  10-12**     Ethnic Minority Nurses       Hotel**          
              Association (NCEMNA)**                        

  **Mar.      **American Association of    **Caribe Hilton  **San Juan,
  10-14**     Geriatric Psychiatry**       Hotel**          PR**

  **Mar.      **American Pharmaceutical    **Moscone        **San
  17-21**     Association (APhA)**         Convention       Francisco, CA**
                                           Center**         

  **Mar.      **Clinical Laboratory        **Charlotte      **Charlotte,
  18-21**     Medicine Association         Convention       NC**
              (CLMA)**                     Center**         

  **Mar.      **Association of             **Washington     **Washington,
  19-23**     PeriOperative Registered     Convention       DC**
              Nurses (AORN)**              Center**         

  **April     **National Student Nurses    **Baltimore      **Baltimore,
  5-9**       Association Annual Meeting** Convention       MD**
                                           Center**         

  **April     **Student National Medical   **Pending**      **Atlanta, GA**
  13-16**     Association (SNMA)**                          

  **May       **American Association of    **Anaheim        **Anaheim, CA**
  20-25**     Critical Care Nurses/NTI**   Convention       
                                           Center**         

  **May       **American College of        **DC Hilton      **Washington,
  20-25**     Radiology**                  Hotel**          DC**
  ----------- ---------------------------- ---------------- ---------------

> For information about posting vacancies to
> [www.vacareers.va.gov](http://www.vacareers.va.gov/), please contact
> Ron Reed at <Ronald.Reed2@med.va.gov> or (504) 568-0811, ext. 5522.
>
> **Just a reminder the next conference call is scheduled for Wednesday,
> April 12^th^, 2006.**