Our agency has not yet implemented the information technology (IT)
parenthetical specialty titles for the GS-334 Computer Specialist Series. Does
OPM expect us to classify our GS-334s by specialty and obtain staffing data for
these positions by June 30, 2000?
We understand that the Office of Personnel Management only recently provided
agencies with the IT parenthetical specialty titles and that use of these titles
is optional at this time. We are not requiring agencies to assign a specialty
title to each of their GS-334 positions for the purpose of the special rate
study. If you have not yet implemented the specialty titles, please estimate the
number of IT employees by specialty and provide data on their staffing situation
as accurately as possible (except for the information requested in Form B, as
discussed in question 5, below). This will require working closely with your
agency's Chief Information Officer and other IT managers who have the
expertise and first-hand knowledge needed to provide staffing data reflective of
your IT workforce.
If OPM approves any special rate schedules by specialty title as a result of
this study, agencies will be required to specifically identify employees in
covered positions at that time.
CPM 2000-7 requests that we provide headcount data for each skill
category on Form A (Attachment 2). Do you want us to include vacant positions
(by specialty) in the headcount data?
Please provide data on the actual number of employees on-board (i.e.,
filled positions) for each specialty. This data will help us estimate the impact
of establishing special rates for a particular category.
A number of our IT positions could be identified by more than one
specialty title. How should we submit data for such hybrid positions?
For the purpose of this report, we are focusing on employees' paramount or
primary specialty. You should not double-count employees who have more than one
specialty. Please include them under their paramount/primary specialty. However,
if you have employees for whom one specialty is not paramount but who do not fit
in the "General" category, submit the headcount and ranking
information for such hybrid employees on page 2 of Form A.
By what grade levels do we define "Entry/Development,"
"Full Performance Level," and "Supervisory/Managerial" on
Form A?
Form A requests that you rank recruitment and retention problems by specialty
and general work level. We hope to obtain an overall picture of where the IT
staffing problems primarily exist from this information. We did not define these
work levels by grade because we felt it was not necessary for this purpose. In
addition, the grades covered by these work levels could vary between agencies.
Form B requests more detailed staffing data by grade level for each skill
category.
We are not able to provide the staffing data requested in Form B
(Attachment 3 to CPM 2000-7) because we have not yet implemented the IT
specialty titles/skill categories. Do you want us to provide estimates?
On Form B we request very specific staffing data by grade level for each IT
specialty/skill category. If you are not able to provide such specific data,
please estimate the number of employees at each grade level for each
specialty/skill category (page 1 of Form B). This will help us estimate the cost
of any future special rate schedules. In addition, please submit a separate Form
B with the staffing data requested for all your GS-334 positions in total.
What beginning and ending dates should we use for the staffing data on
Form B?
A 1-year snapshot should adequately reflect the staffing situation for a
particular IT specialty. The ending data should be current to within 60 days of
your data submission to OPM, if possible. If data are not available for the full
year, the snapshot timeframe should not be less than 6 months.
Should we submit a different Form C for each IT specialty?
We would like you to rank IT recruitment and retention problems by geographic
area overall, for all IT specialties, on Form C (Attachment 4 to CPM 2000-7). It
is not necessary to submit separate rankings for each specialty unless you would
like to highlight that staffing problems are particularly acute for a specific
skill category in a given area.
On Form A, does OPM expect us to assign a ranking to each skill
category?
Yes, for all skill categories for which you have employees. Assign a
ranking or rating of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 in all columns for each skill category
that applies to your agency--with "1" used for categories with the
most severe staffing problems and "5" for categories with the least
severe staffing problems. (We are not asking you to select the five skill
categories in each column with the most severe staffing problems and rank order
only the top five.)
New User
