RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Personnel experts from the 12th Mission Support Squadron will host a special base wide briefing July 24 at 8 a.m. in the base theater to better acquaint Randolph Airmen and civilians with the recent changes to the Air Force officer and enlisted evaluation processes.
The changes, which include new streamlined officer and enlisted performance reports, feedback worksheets and an all electronic routing process that removes the military personnel flight completely, will be implemented in stages between now and Jan. 1, 2008.
"The goal of this change is to improve performance documentation by pulling out the unnecessary fluff and getting to the meat of what's important in our Airmen as well as reducing the administrative workload that comes with the current process," said Chief Master Sgt. Bobbie Heyward, military personnel flight superintendent. "Like all changes, it's going to take time for everyone to get used to the new system, but I think most people will find these changes for the better."
One of the biggest differences Airmen will find in the new system, is the addition of their physical fitness test results included on their EPRs and OPRs, said Chief Heyward. In the new form, Airmen will either be marked as meeting the standard (with a score of 75 or above), not meeting the standard (with a score of 74.99 or less) and exempt (if they are on a waiver from all four aspects of the test). Those Airmen marked as "does not meet" in this category will face a referral EPR or OPR.
"This is going to play a major role in the new evaluation system," Chief Heyward said. "A referral EPR could affect an individual's chances for promotion, a special duty assignment and other aspects of their career. That's why it is so important for Airmen to remain fit throughout the year and make sure they pass their annual test. Air Force leaders feel the PT program has been in place for three years now, which is long enough for everyone to be prepared and pass."
Another big change Chief Heyward noted is the addition of ratee acknowledgement before an EPR or OPR can be processed.
Through the new process, raters will be required to conduct face-to-face feedback with ratees and give them at least three days to review their performance evaluation form and sign it.
"This is such an important breakthrough for the EPR/OPR system," said Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Page, 12th Flying Training Wing command chief. "How many times have we heard the horror stories of our Airmen going to the MPF to look at their records only to be surprised by a rating that is much lower than what was expected. Ratees can now address significant discrepancies before their EPR processes through the system."
The addition of the ratee review is primarily a way to keep open communication between the rater and ratee, as well as a way to reduce the amount of administrative errors made in the current process, said Chief Heyward.
"It's a good way for Airmen to note perhaps an accomplishment they thought was significant that wasn't included or even just simple mistakes on the form," she said. "But Airmen do need to note that raters are not required to make the ratee's requested changes. It's more of a courtesy review."
Another breakthrough in the new evaluation system is the implementation of digital signatures, said Chief Heyward.
The rater, additional rater, reviewer and ratee will all be required to digitally sign the new EPR and OPR forms using their common access cards. Once the form is complete and reviewed, each person can click on their designated signature block and follow the prompts to sign it accordingly. Once signed, all comments and ratings will be locked in and the form will be auto-dated, Chief Heyward said.
"Raters want to be sure everything is perfect before signing," she said. "Once signed, there is no going back. If there is a crucial change, the rater will have to start completely over with a new form."
Chief Heyward added that there are some instances where a "pen and ink" signature will be used, including on referral EPRs and OPRs and instances where at least one evaluator does not have access to a CAC enabled computer.
Those members receiving referral performance reports will be notified face-to-face and given 10 days to rebut, the chief added.
In addition to electronic signatures, Air Force officials also plan to streamline the way forms will be processed by removing the MPF from the procedure, said Chief Heyward.
Under the new process, a unit's commander's support staff will notify a rater that an evaluation is due. The rater will in turn complete the evaluation form, obtain digital signatures from the additional rater and ratee and electronically send the form to the CSS. After obtaining the commander's (or reviewer's) digital signature, the CSS then uploads the form into the case management system, from which, the Air Force Personnel Center uploads it into the Automated Records Management System. The ratee can then access their EPR or OPR through ARMS via the Virtual MPF.
"This will save the Air Force many man hours in the long run," said Chief Heyward.
Other changes the MPF superintendent noted in relation to the new EPR and OPR forms are in their overall structure and appearance. Both forms were shortened and enhanced to decrease the time required to accomplish the report, said Chief Heyward.
In regards to the new EPR (AF Forms 910 and 911) , both the additional rater and reviewers areas were reduced to three lines and the form was reformatted for raters to provide two to four lines of text after each key performance area.
"The new EPR will be much easier to navigate with each section having its own corresponding bullets," said Chief Heyward. "This should also reduce the unnecessary fluff and make things more clear and precise."
Two of the biggest changes officers will note in the OPR system is the change to only one OPR (AF Form 707) for second lieutenants through colonels and the reduction in size to only one page, with the exception of referrals.
While the current OPR form includes six performance factor blocks to rate job knowledge, leadership skills, professional qualities, organizational skills, judgment and decisions, and communication skills, the new form has only one block to indicate all standards are met. If an officer does not meet standards, the new form allows room for the rater to detail why the ratee does not.
"This is designed to reduce all the 'fluff' or unnecessary information often accompanied in the current OPR system and get to what really matters," said Capt. Gregory Beaulieu, MPF commander.
Another major change in the Air Force performance evaluation system are new performance feedback worksheets (AF Forms 931, 932 and 724), which are currently in affect.
Perhaps the biggest change Airmen will find on the forms is the removal of the sliding scale and a standardized criterion for each performance assessment area using a "does not meet," "meets," "above average," and "clearly exceeds" criterion, Chief Heyward said. The immediate rater's comments are also aligned to the respective performance assessment areas on the front-side.
The chief added that the forms can still be either handwritten or typed and do not require a digital signature.
"This is quite a change from the old performance feedback forms," said Chief Heyward. "But like the EPRs and OPRs, I think they are also easy to navigate and will catch on quickly."
The current implementation timeline requires senior master sergeants to come online with the new performance reports starting Aug. 1; followed by all officers, airmen basic through senior airmen and chief master sergeants Aug. 15. Master sergeants are to begin using the new forms starting Oct. 1, followed by staff and technical sergeants Jan. 1, 2008. The implementation schedule is based on the promotion eligibility cutoff dates for each grade. CSS' are also scheduled to take over the process starting Aug. 1.
For additional information on the new officer and enlisted evaluation processes, visit
http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/main_content.asp?prods1=1&prods2=2&prods3=11&p_faqid=5369.