Personnel Directorate introduces new Centralized Selection Process for hiring

  • Published
  • By Lemitchel King
  • Air Force Sustainment Center

The Air Force Sustainment Center Personnel Directorate has finalized plans for a new, command-directed centralized hiring process that will help reduce potential for hiring bias and get critical positions filled faster, such as positions covered under direct-hire authority and entry-level, developmental positions that are hired externally.  The program launched October 1.

“AFSC had more than 1,300 personnel actions in fiscal 2020 that this program would apply to. This represents the volume, per year, for our center and the majority of those are wage grade positions,” said Sarah Walker, Human Resource Specialist for AFSC. “This will impact our three air logistics complexes the most, in addition to positions in other organizations across AFSC.” 

The intent of the centralized cell is to increase transparency of the selection process and provide hiring officials with various perspectives and insight on the candidates as well as take the hiring process out of the hands of first-level supervisors, which will free up their time for their daily work.  First-level supervisors will have input into their hiring needs and also will be able to provide feedback on the overall process and their new employee following placement of the candidate.  

“As we compare AFSC to other centers across Air Force Materiel Command, we are responsible for 60 percent of AFMC’s entire developmental position hiring, a significant volume as it relates to the command,” said Kevin Vegas, AFSC Personnel Programs and Policy Division chief.

The centralized process will be continuously evaluated using Art of the Possible methods to measure success and monitor areas of the process that may need to be adjusted or improved, such as measuring the turnover rates, workforce demographics and supervisor feedback.  AFSC will use the Management Analysis Tool to capture the gated process and provide continuous process improvements. 

“AFSC Directorate of Personnel has been working with more than 30 key stakeholders on developing an overarching center-level guidance to ensure we are meeting their needs as we move forward with this groundbreaking hiring initiative,” said Walker. 

Information is available for supervisors and management to help with understanding the new process at AFSC Resource Manager One-Stop-Shop SharePoint at https://usaf.dps.mil/teams/TMCA19297/CSP/Forms/AllItems.aspx.