A few weeks ago, I came across a competency-based workforce management approach used at the National Park Service (NPS), as presented by Elizabeth Dodson, on April 22, 2009, at the recent Federal Facilities Council (FFC) Workforce Management Symposium.
Her presentation was called Facility Management Competencies: A Tool for Learning, and is available for downloading on the FFC website.
This week, I thought we might take a look at why the NPS adopted this model and summarize some of the key developmental concepts it uses.
Federal Facilities Workforce Management Recommendations
In part, the NPS competency model was developed based on a set of recommended federal facilities asset management core competencies, which has been developed to provide a strategic roadmap to raise the standards in this field through 2020. Those recommendations outline a set of goals and objectives for the transformation of the federal facilities workforce:
- To effectively manage federal facilities portfolios to 2020
- To develop core FM competencies and functional requirements
- Compare current skills base with those required
- Develop a long-term strategy to acquire, develop, and sustain the FM workforce
- Collaborate to revise the federal FM job classification series
- Expand the federal asset management knowledge base
- Apply the balanced scorecard to measure FM workforce development
Building on these goals, the NPS has developed their competency program, addressing six key areas, including: asset management, operations and maintenance, project management, resource stewardship, business management, and supervision/leadership.
The NPS Asset Portfolio
As described on www.nps.gov – the NPS website, there are nearly 400 cultural, natural, and recreational “parks” in the system, distributed across the nation. The table below is from the website, providing more details about the assets, which are maintained beyond the typical industry standard expected live-cycle. Dodson’s presentation referenced a computer maintenance management system (CMMS) that is used to manage the program (my own quick web search indicated that NPS uses Maximo).
NPS Facilities Management Workforce
With a portfolio of over 400 parks in the NPS system, there is a large FM workforce. Those whose assignment is a specific FM role are assigned a portfolio of assets to manage, and their pay grade is determined by the scale of the assignment:
- 1,200 assets (large parks) – GS 14/15
- 200-400 assets (mid-size parks) – GS 12/13
- 50-100 assets (small to mid-size parks) – GS 9/11
At the GS 14/15 level, Dodson compares the employee’s assignment to that of running a city complete with roads, sewer, housing, and refuse disposal. With such diversity in the assignments, a complex mix of skills is mandatory, built on a foundation of cultural, natural, and recreational resource stewardship.
The NPS Competency Curriculum
Dodson defines the FM competencies in general terms as “skills, knowledges, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics which an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully.” Her briefing included a number of source documents that were used to develop the Facility Manager Leaders Program (FMLP) curriculum that is used at the NPS.
FMLP is a one-year course of study comprised of over 700 hours of distributed education and training, combined with developmental assignments. The program includes a foundation in basic principles, advance FM practices, and a Capstone study course.
Finally, the FMLP program is undergoing an update during 2009. It is one of a number of programs that have been developed since Executive Order 13327 was issued in 2004 to improve the federal government’s overall management approach to real property and facilities asset management. Dodson’s presentation gave an in-depth view of the NPS’s thorough approach to managing this important function.
Next week we’ll get back to the Facility Management Organization Maturity Model’s Level 5 competencies. As always, thanks for reading the FM Notes from the Field blog, and thanks again to Steven and IWMSNews.com for hosting it. Please drop a note to me at jim.turner@iwmsnews.com if you would like more information on the material in these blog posts.
