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Library > Fact Sheets > AF LABORATORY PERSONNEL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
AF LABORATORY PERSONNEL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
MISSION
Identify, develop, and test innovative personnel processes for AFRL's scientist and engineer (S&E) workforce, using the Laboratory Personnel Demonstration Project authority.
WHAT IS LAB DEMO?
In the most general terms, a demonstration project provides a means for testing and introducing beneficial change in Government-wide human resources management systems. The DOD labs obtained the authority from the Office of Personnel Management to waive existing Federal human resources management law and regulations in title 5, United States Code, and title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, to propose, develop, test, and evaluate interventions for its own human resources management system to effectively manage its civilian workforce and shape the future of Federal human resource management.
The Air Force Laboratory Personnel Demonstration is a series of initiatives (called "interventions") covering the acquisition, sustainment, separation, and resource allocation of AFRL's professional civilian Science & Engineering workforce. Several interventions were approved when Lab Demo was initially implemented. Looking into the future, even more initiatives will be sought to improve recruitment and retention of high-quality employees and to shape the Laboratory work force into a more flexible structure that can effectively respond to rapid changes in the technology market place.
Taken all together, the Lab Demo interventions define an employment environment that breaks away from many of the rigid rules and regulations of traditional government employment and replaces them with more flexible and efficient practices that allow AFRL to compete aggressively with other world-class technology producers. The paragraphs that follow outline the most significant interventions.
Simplified Job Classification --
Another problem that Lab Demo addresses is the lengthy and cumbersome job classification system under Title-V. Realizing that local supervisors are better able to judge the requirements for specific jobs than distant "classifiers," lab managers have been given classification authority and a new classification document--the Statement of Duties and Experience (SDE)--created as a simplified classification tool. Each SDE contains job-specific information that addresses the unique requirements of the position. Menu-driven software also helps managers select the proper codes for traditional classification elements that are still required.
Broadbanding and the Contribution-based Compensation System (CCS) --
Four pay bands now replace the seven traditional GS grades covering scientists and engineers in the AF Laboratory Personnel Demonstration. Each of these pay bands covers a large enough pay range to allow significant salary growth. Broadband-I encompasses GS grades 7 through 11, Broadband-II covers GS-12 and -13, Broadband-III covers GS-14, and Broadband-IV replaces GS-15. Like their GS counterparts, these broadbands have significant salary overlap. As an employee progresses in contribution over the course of your career, one you can advance through the broadbands without movement to new positions. This is in stark difference to Title-V, where one must compete for and be promoted into higher-level positions. Even with this difference, it is still possible to be competitively promoted under Lab Demo if a higher-level vacancy exists and a Lab Demo employee is determined to be the best candidate for the job.
Over time, the contribution scores received will determine each employee's broadband level. As individual scores increase, so too does salary and employees will move upward through the broadbands. Formal descriptors define in detail what level of contribution is expected at each broadband level. Individual job titles carry with them an adjective that indicates which broadband the position is assigned. For example, a Broadband-I electrical engineer would carry the title, "Associate Electrical Engineer." Broadband-III employees are "Senior" and Broadband-IV's carry "Principal" in their job title. Broadband-II employees are not given a specific adjective; they are considered journeymen--more experienced than "Associates" but not yet "Senior."
CCS is arguably the cornerstone of Lab Demo. It replaces the tenure-based grade and step advancement under Title-V with a pay-for-contribution system that rewards employees in relation to the value of their contribution to the AFRL mission. Monies that were used for grade and step-increases are now pooled and used to give employees annual incentive increases. Individual pay increases are primarily based on an employee's Overall Contribution Score (OCS). The OCS is a result of weighted factor scores in six key areas, which have been determined to define useful employee contribution toward the AFRL mission. Those six factors are Technical Problem Solving, Communication and Reporting, Corporate Resource Management, Technology Transfer, R&D Business Development, and Teamwork and Leadership. For each of these, there are descriptors written for each of the four broadband levels that detail what level of contribution is expected. These descriptors can also be found in the Federal Register.
Demo employees are expected to contribute in each of these factors. Supervisors are instructed to interpret the factors broadly, but it is up to the employee to apply to their job in a way that produces meaningful results. Wherever possible, supervisors provide opportunities to contribute across the spectrum of factors. However it is also the employees' responsibility to seek out opportunities on their own.
Delegated Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act Authority (FEPCA)
FEPCA originally gave installation commanders the authority to approve recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances to current or prospective employees. Under Lab Demo, authority to use these recruitment and retention tools has been delegated to the Laboratory Technical Directors. Typically, this authority may be used to make relocation economically feasible for new hires or to retain star employees who might otherwise be lured into the private sector.
Award Authority --
Before Lab Demo, significant cash awards required approval at a level outside the laboratory. This intervention delegates approval authority to the Lab Commander and below. It is now practical to bestow substantial awards (up to $10,000) at the time of an employee's significant accomplishment. In addition to these noncompetitive cash awards, Lab Demo has retained historically significant competitive awards that have been used to honor "the best of the best" in scientific achievement within the Lab.
Expanded Developmental Opportunities --
Well-trained and educated personnel are a critical resource with which organizations accomplish their Air Force mission. The Air Force actively promotes training and education as a means of enhancing the effectiveness of its civilian work force. AFRL recognizes the many personal and professional sacrifices made by its dedicated employees, and strives to provide developmental opportunities that will in turn allow them to continue to discover, develop, and deliver affordable war-fighting technologies to its customers.
Before Lab Demo, a varied assortment of opportunities such as full-time scholastic training and training with industry were already available to AFRL employees. These professional developmental activities are retained under Lab Demo along with other developmental opportunities. The spectrum of activities available under DOP is limited only by the constraint that potential contribution to the organization's mission exists. Over a specified period of time a researcher can now devote full time to writing technical papers, articles or books, or take a sabbatical to teach at a college or university. However the time is spent, the objective of the Developmental Opportunities Program is to provide renewed vivacity and motivational change of pace. Approval authority for taking advantage of opportunities under this initiative rests with the directorate chief.
Extended Probationary Period --
Under the Title-V system, the probationary period for new employees is one year. For many occupations, this is sufficient. However AFRL recognizes that for the type of work performed by its scientists and engineers, one year is typically not long enough to effectively assess a new employee's potential in the R&D environment. Since most R&D programs typically run several years, the probationary period for new hires under Demo has been extended to three years. After that time, employees successfully accomplishing mission-related work are removed from probationary status. Also, Lab Demo does away with career conditional status that employees under Title-V must initially serve. New hires into Lab Demo are given career appointments immediately, and simply serve the extended probationary period.
Voluntary Emeritus Corps --
Realizing that in a research laboratory environment much of the real brain trust is in the experience of our most senior scientists and engineers, the Voluntary Emeritus Corps (VEC) was formed to provide an avenue for them to continue to contribute to the scientific community into retirement. Under this intervention, retirement eligible scientists and engineers who have demonstrated significant scientific contribution during their careers are eligible to join the Voluntary Emeritus Corps. As a member, they are provided office and laboratory facilities to continue their research and act as mentors to the younger work force. While the VEC are not paid a salary, they do have travel and other necessary expenses paid by the government. This is a win-win situation in which the life-long researcher can continue to pursue interesting technical issues and the laboratory retains a valuable resource without encumbering a job position that can be filled by younger up-and-comers.
Internal Merit Promotion System for S&E Candidates --
Prior to Demo, every fill action required an analysis of job requirements, assessment of qualifications against distinct standards, and the rating and ranking of candidates to be accomplished by a personnel management specialist. This intervention provides laboratory management with the option to take the authority and responsibility for determining the screening and ranking criteria for covered positions.
OFFICIAL DEMO GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS
· Federal Register - (Approval & Legislative Authority to conduct Lab Demo)
· Federal Register Amendment, 21 Jan 00
· Federal Register Amendment, 18 Oct 05
· Federal Register Amendment, 6 Apr 09
· 2010 Broadband Salary Ranges, 3 Jan 2010
· AFRL Manual 36-104
CCS RESULTS
12th Cycle CCS Results
For additional information on the Lab Demo Project, please contact AFRL.LabDemo@wpafb.af.mil or call (937) 904-9600.
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