Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard and Acting Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sidney Mills today announced a revised Action Plan for improving personnel management in the Bureau.
The revitalized Personnel Management Action Plan which is now being implemented places renewed emphasis on many continuing needs and adds a number of new items of major import to the effective accomplishment of the Bureau's mission. Highlights include:
--Implementation of the Civil Service Reform Act including the Senior Executive Service, merit pay and performance appraisal based on results;
--Developing and operating a new personnel system for the Bureau's Indian Education function in accordance with Public Law 95-561;
--Designing and operating a comprehensive manpower planning and recruiting system including an expansion of the prototype Indian intake and development program;
--Improving the interpretation and guidance of qualification and classification material including the application of the knowledge-skillability (KSA) approach mandated by the Federal Uniform Guidelines; and
--Various actions in the labor-management relations, affirmative action,
and troubled employee program areas.
The action plan has been developed and will be implemented in close coordination with the Department's Assistant Secretary for Policy, Budget and Administration and representatives of the Office of Personnel Management, who are providing assistance and monitoring to the improvement effort. Other bureaus in Interior have also been given the chance to participate by contributing skilled employees on a temporary project basis.
Under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Gerard, many significant problem areas of management in the BIA are being addressed through a comprehensive Management Improvement Program (MIP) including financial integrity, field organizational structures and relationship, administrative processes, automated information systems, and technical assistance and training.
The improvement needs in the Bureau's own personnel system and operations were the subject of a previous actions plan thrust starting in early 1976, and were reemphasized by subsequent reports of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and of the Department's BIA reorganization task force.
A full-time project manager will assist in the coordination of the multi-action effort and prepare monthly progress reports for Bureau,-Departmental and OPM management.
