UNIQUE POSITION NUMBERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-07181R000200030025-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2000
• Sequence Number: 25
• Content Type: REQ

Approved For Release 2001/08/07 : CIA-RDP78-07181 R000200030025-7
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Approved For Release 2001/08/07 : CIA-RDP78-07181 R000200030025-7
 Approved For Release 2001/0~9,7Ct71EIDP78-07181R000200030025-7
UNIQUE POSITION NUMBERS
QUESTION
Should the Agency adopt a system of unique position numbers which
would identify a position regardless of subsequent changes in location on
the staffing complement?
BACKGROUND
1. At the present time each Office and Area Division has an
independent series of numbers for positions with the result that there may,
be 60 slots with the same number.
2. A slot number supposedly remains the same after a reorganization
if the function of the position is unchanged and it remains in the same
office. There are frequent exceptions, however, in cases of large
reorganizations or when an office wants to realign the numbers for ease in
finding a position. All position numbers are changed or lose their identity
when two offices are combined.
3. It is impossible by computer and virtually impossible mannually
to trace the history of a position or to identify its incumbents through the
years.
4. Although the position number is one of the items on the present
and proposed Service Record Card, which the Civil Service Commission requires
all agencies maintain either by computer or manually, it has no significance
outside an agency.
DISCUSSION
1. In addition to providing a method for tracing the history of a
position from this time forward, unique numbers would offer several distinct
advantages related to processing personnel actions, editing of input and
maintenance of personnel records:
a) A position with a unique number can be located in only one place
on the staffing complement of the Agency. By simply indexing the
position number, all data pertaining to the slot could be'determined
readily - the directorate, office, division, branch, etc., the
headquarters, grade, title, career service, and planned incumbency.
Although the Request for Personnel Action would require the completion
of the organizational designations for the benefit of the approving
officer, if changed from the previous action, it would be unnecessary
to edit and standardize the nomenclature for input into the system.
This is now done by Position Control Section of'TRB. The clear text
Approved For Release 2001/08/07 : CIA-RDP78-07181 R000200030025-7
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Approved For Release 2001/08/ A.RdP78-07181 R000200030025-7
could be taken from the Staffing System for printing on the notification
of action. (Indexing can be done without unique numbers but it will
require additional manual input, considerably more complex programming,
and will be slower to access).
b) It would simplify tremendously the paperwork required to reflect
reorganizations within an office, to merge two offices, and to
reassign personnel subsequently.
c) Since it is planned to store a certain amount of position data in
the man record, i.e. grade, SD, occupational title, and subcategory of
the position vis-a-vis the employee's data, the system could not only
isolate all individuals ever assigned to a uniquely numbered position.
but also provide comparative analyses of personnel and position data
that is not possible now except on a current basis.
2. At the time of conversion, new numbers could be assigned by
computer in the staffing order sequence, new PCR's produced and personnel
actions computer generated assigning incumbents to the positions. Lists
of the old versus the new numbers would be furnished PMCD and the offices.
This would have the short-term advantage of realigning positions in chronolog
ical sequence. The first Form 261 processed will change all that and
never again would they be in true number'sequence. This is probably the
greatest long-term disadvantage of unique numbers.
3. PMCD would have to renumber all position descriptions now maintained
by office groupings. The list of old and new numbers should facilitate
this task.
4. If a number of offices maintain manual position inventories, and
plan to continue in future, for use in preparing Requests for Personnel
Actions, a completely new numbering system could cause a great deal of
confusion and extra work during the period of dual operation of the old
and new systems. One way to avoid this is to prefix the current number
with two unique characters for each office. The disadvantages of this
solution are (a) positions would be six digits long whereas five alpha/
numeric designations would provide enough unique numbers for the probable
lifetime of the Agency, and (b) some offices are already in the 4000 or
5000 series which means that it might be necessary in future to double
back and reissue numbers used prior to conversion.
5. The questionnaire being sent to personnel officers on the PCR
asks what offices maintain manual position inventories.
6. The position numbers in current use are so out of order, offices
might welcome an opportunity to realign them again.
Approved For Release 2001/08/07 : CIA-RDP78-07181 R000200030025-7
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RECOMMENDATION
1. If the Agency wants the capability to perform historical analyses
of positions and incumbents, provide for a system of unique position
' - numbers.
2. Determine the magnitude of the conversion problem if new numbers
bear no resemblance to current numbers both to PMCD and the individual
offices (based upon results of,the PCR questionnaire). If it is not
feasible to adopt a completely new number, create unique numbers by prefixing
the current numbers with alphabetic characters.
Approved For Release 2001/08/07 : CIA-RDP78-07181 R000200030025-7
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