Position Management
NFC’s HR solutions at the core are position driven. EmpowHR provides the full complement of position management functionality. Position Management allows the creation or modification of all position information, including a job code and position. Position Management is used to assign data to positions and move employees in and out of positions, as appropriate. The data that is specific to each position is the basis for organizational planning, recruitment, and career planning. This is appropriate for Federal positions as duties, responsibilities, pay, and other factors are determined by the position, not the incumbent.
The EmpowHR system has the ability to create and maintain Position Descriptions (PDs) and Job Analysis. Users are able to develop, edit, and store PDs in a comprehensive library and can associate a PD to an announcement in the workflow. Additionally, users have the ability to select questions from a comprehensive library in the development of job analyses.
The system supports workforce management that allows managing and tracking of encumbered, vacant, detail, and obligated positions, to include the lifecycle of the position. EmpowHR records a complete and comprehensive audit trail that relates to and details all actions made to each position.
Personnel Action, Payroll Transaction, and Benefits Processing
EmpowHR provides for the full processing capabilities for all personnel actions, payroll transactions, and benefits management. These functionalities are either initiated by the Manager through a self-service module or by HR when the request is received. Entry of the actions is supported by automated workflow processes within EmpowHR. Reports and Admin modules are available to assist with control of transaction workflow and processing validation. EmpowHR also maintains historical rows for all types of actions including payroll and benefits transactions.
Person Model
EmpowHR allows for the management of government, contingent, and contract workers through the Person Model. The module supports the storage and tracking of these workers within one centralized system with no redundant data and allows users to manage and report on all types of workers. The EmpowHR Person Model also includes a component that displays a summary of all badge, security clearance, and email address details for an individual. The security clearance module enables customers to enter and track security clearance status and expiration dates. Currently, NFC’s system does not automatically notify employees/managers of upcoming reinvestigations. However, the Person Model includes all information needed to track these manually and the system can be modified to automate the process, if a customer requests it. Additionally, the EmpowHR Person Model provides the ability for users to track warrants and certifications and emergency contact information for employees, contingent workers, and persons of interest. Information is stored and tracked within one central repository to capture relevant data attributes and organizational relationships.
Manager Self Service and Manager PAR Request
EmpowHR provides customers with manager self-service capabilities for non-recruitment actions as defined by the customer through the Manager Self Service (MSS) component. With MSS, managers are able to:
- Initiate a PAR
- Manage PAR Requests
- Review Transactions
- Delegate Approvals
- Add Attachments
Managers have the ability to perform personnel requests for their direct reports and their subordinates. Once a manager initiates a request, it passes through an approval workflow process that is specified by the Agency. Once the request is approved, it is submitted to the appropriate EmpowHR module for processing. Workflow processes and configuration of approved manager actions is determined by the customer during the migration process. Managers have the ability to view the data for employees in their chain of command (e.g., employee information, position information, title, grade, Bargaining Unit status, service computation date (SCD), within-grade increase (WGI) Due Date, Last Promotion Date, etc.). The chain of command is determined by tracking positions and their reporting structure, established through the “Reports To” feature in EmpowHR or through the use of Department Security Tree.
The functionality of MSS is described below:
Non-Recruitment Actions
EmpowHR's MSS Manager PAR Request gives a manager or supervisor the ability to initiate certain personnel action requests for employees in their organization. Once a PAR is initiated, it is sent through the appropriate approval workflow channels utilized an automated workflow process. Managers can review the approval status of a request through the Review Transactions component.
Upon final approval, the PAR is sent to the HR personnel for further processing. The point at which the request enters the HR workflow is determined by the Agency Administrator. Once the action has been processed by HR, the initiating manager will receive a notification that the transaction has been processed.
The types of PAR actions available through the Manager PAR Request component are configured by each Agency.
Employee Self-Service
NFC provides a Web-based employee self-service capability for benefits enrollment via the Employee Personal Page (EPP). Employees are able to process address changes, Federal and State tax withholdings, financial allotments, direct deposit, health insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions, and they can download and print their Earnings and Leave Statements through this Web-based system. During open enrollment season, an employee can enter via EPP any changes to his or her benefits plan, including Flexible Spending Accounts. Once submitted, all benefits enrollment requests will be submitted directly to the NFC system.
Performance Management
EmpowHR's ePerformance, component provides self-service functionality for managers, employees, and HR administrators in support of the performance and staff development processes. NFC’s ePerformance tool supports the entire planning and evaluation process, including aligning employee performance to development goals and enterprise objectives.
A manager has the ability to initiate a performance review and edit, add, or delete an employee's performance objectives. Through a self-service evaluation application for managers, employees, and HR administrators, ePerformance can be used as a tool for planning, collaboration, communication, assessment, and monitoring evaluations. In completing mid-year and year-end performance appraisals, a manager will be able to rate an employee's performance measures and elements and ultimately approve and date the performance review when complete. ePerformance allows managers and employees to approve performance appraisals and plans online and forward to the next reviewer/approver. The entire approval process is tracked within ePerformance so that a record is available for current and future use. The system retains the name of the official approving user and a timestamp indicating when the approval was performed. Notifications are sent accordingly to managers and employees throughout the performance review process. This process eliminates the need for manual or "wet" signatures. Agencies can also identify individuals that are pre-approved to sign SF-50s. The name of the appropriate person will be automatically printed on the hard copy form to signify approval. This also eliminates the need for a manual signature.
Labor and Employee Relations
EmpowHR has the capability to track both employee and labor relations information. This includes, but is not limited to information related to disciplinary actions, grievances, and third-party decisions. Additionally, customers can use the attachment functionality in the product to make specific information (i.e., Bargaining Unit Agreements) available for view.
Third Party Integration
NFC is vendor agnostic and offers great flexibility and options with non-core offerings. NFC integrates with your Agency. Additionally, NFC maintains a public-private partnership to deliver non-core service offerings. Currently, EmpowHR is integrated with Office Personnel Management's (OPM) USAStaffing, NGA.net’s eRecruit, and HRworx’s EODonline. These tools offer comprehensive recruiting and hiring solutions that provide a seamless process for identifying candidates, posting job announcements, assessing candidates, rating and ranking candidates, and on-boarding new employees.
Staff Acquisition and Onboarding
Acendre eRecruit, USA Staffing, and HRworx EODonline integrate with EmpowHR, and offer comprehensive recruiting and hiring solutions that provide a seamless process for identifying candidates, posting job announcements, assessing candidates, rating and ranking candidates, and on-boarding new employees.