INSPECTOR GENERAL SURVEY OF THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00498A000300090005-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 197
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2002
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 15, 1976
• Content Type: MF

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I?DA 76-1~1~7
15 APR 1976
MEMQRAPdI3UA4 FCR: Director of Joint Computer Support
FRa3 John ~. tic"hahon, Associate Deputy
Director for Administration
SUBJ~C'i' Inspector general Survey cif the
Office of Personnel
During the course of his survey of the Office of
Personnel, the inspector General made several observa-
tions and recommendations regarding the relationship
of ?~ffice of Personnel and f?JCS, ate have ;attached (in
four sections those c~bservstions. Please be prepared
to discuss them during our SLAP Systems meeting vn
I9 April 1976.
J?hn N . A~tcMahon
Distribution:.
4rig ~ 1 - D/JCS
DDA Subject w/cys of atts
1 - DDA Chrono
1 - JNM Chrono
ADDA:JNMcMahon:kmg (15 Apr 76
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Com uter Program Development
20. The 13-year history of Agency attempts to deveIap
a comprehensive human resources computer program is no_ t a ___
happy one, First conceived in 1963, the program was intended
to amalgamate ail the key data elements in a central inter-?
locking and mutually supporting system. It was to include
a capability 'For both the current and historical recall of
.data for the proper management of jab-related activities of
our employees. It was a very ambitious undertaking, though
by na means beyond the limits of then available computer
technology or significantly ahead of several other similar
y
ef~Forts being undertaken by private industry.
21. In 1973, after nearly ten frustrating years of
effort on this so-called Support Information Processing
System (SIPS) a decision was made to take a new appraach---
one that would still +rre~ave together the various aspects of
human resource data management (personnels financial,
.contract and security) but would be built in step-by-step
fashion, rather than altogether. The new effort, called
Management Assistance Program (MAPS), was placed under the
Office of Joint Computer Services (OJCS) in 1974 where it
continues to be developed. For the Office o~ Personnel,
the program will culminate in the Persign II system. This
will combine current and historical data from most of the
now-separate systems on a wide range of personnel matters
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and will provide managers a readily available means of infor-
motion consolidation and recall.
22. At the present time matters stand thus: An inter-
mediate stage program (Persign I) is nearing completion which,
using the I5N1 360, wi17 permit the accession of personnel
information now being fed--via paper tapes--into the obsolete
RCA 501. Persign I will also include, for the first time, a
consolidation of both staff and contract. ernplayee information.
It dues not have a rnemory bank which would permit analysis of
historical trends in personnel matters. This latter feature
will be tackled under a .program called GAE' (General Archive
Program) which is only now on the drawing board, The
"official".deadline for Persign II (Persign I and GAP and
ether programs) completion is mid-1g7~. r`_._, -
23. Everyone we talked to, both~in the Office of Per-
sonnel and OJCS, were enthusiastic about thEp goals planned
for Persign II. One analyst9 well aec~uain~tee~ with the pro-
gram, said s "It wi l 1 be the mi 1 l er~i ur~r for persordrel
management.." !fore to the point, the same analyst, vrhen
asked whether the new prt,gram would wc,rk, repliedm "That's
the vrrong question--it simply has to work, because the old
programs on PCA 507 will simply not carry the Agency along--?
they cannot do the jab that must be done." We would go
even a few ,steps further. Without a new computer approachg
Agency initiatives in human resource managemenfi will continue
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to be hampered by inadequate and often misleading data.
-Basic personnel compilations provided by the present com-
puter systems are limited in scope, often out of date, and
some probably contain significant errors which can neither
be identified nor corrected with the present system. ,Far
example, bath the CIARDS retirement data and the insurance
data for the.FEGLI program now filed in the current computer
system is acknowledged by Chief, Automated Data Resources.
Staff, to be in error. .This situation has arisen because
the computer has been unable to handle the workload
required for appropriate updating. Persign II wii.1 pic~C
up much i nfar~mati on from .the old systern and to the extent
it is in error, it will continue to be so. However, Chief,
Automated Data Resources Staff, feels confident that mast
of the major problem areas are knawn~and can be corrected
in due course---given the increased capacity and speed of
the system. ~~
24. Our inspection of the computer issue raised far us
some disconcerting danger signals. Most persons directly
involved with planning for and managing Persigrq II do not
believe the deadlines wi17 be met (the sole exception of
those we talked to was the Director, OJCS). Estimates of ~ ?r~~, ~`:~%
slippage range from a few months, to~rieve~. We are in no
position to verify these statements , b~ e feel tl'~at 'I t i s
important to report on the symptoms of possible difficulties
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which came to our attention.
25. Persign II has a very high priority in ti'ie Office
of Personnel`s planning. Likewise, OJCS, the other major
component invalved with Persign II, considers it to be a
very important project. OJCS, however, faces many demanding
customers and must taiiar its work program accordingly.
Thus, the original target date set by OJGS for completion
of the Persign II project proposal was initially we11 behind
the date set by OP, this discrepancy was resolved throuaF~
joint committee action. but even naw? Persign II, thougY? in
the sa--called ?'Gategary I?' priority on the OJCS wank roster,
is about 20th in prior?ty in a listing of ~5 ar 2fi otner~ -
proj ects ( frt~rrs all Directorates ).
26, There is apparently considerable confusion about
_how many analysts are actually working on t~~ve program.
We heard estimates from responsible Office of Personnel
officials ranging from two %a eight; We wrere tall that
three persons the ~1uta~nated Data Resource Staffs pra-~
prided the main Office of Personnel support and liaison
far the effort. k'e were tal d, i nci dental ly, "a;~"iat a
:prospective move of the Automated Data Resources S~:aff
later this year might cause serious delays. We visited
the Staff, housed in OJC5 working quarters, and found the
quarters very inadequate and the work farce poorly sup-
ported by OJCS. The Staff Chief put the best face cr her
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situation, but she could not erase our feeling that she
enjoyed very little authority in her position, either with
her own office or with her host, the OJCS. Further, we
learned that only two of the three persons on her staff
worked on Persign II; the other analyst has been and is at
~~rork an a computerized locater system which is quite
ancillary to the main system.
27. We learned that there are monthly meetings to chart
he progress of Persign II and other MAPS efforts. These
ire inter-Directorate meetings attended by senior working-
~evel officers as well as the Directors of several Office3,
~eludin~ OP and OJCS. One senior officer who attends some
~= these meetings, when asked whether the meetings come to
rips with real ,issues, replied, "Mostly, they lie a lot to
Bch other." Again, we can only report symptoms: con
!icting priorities, working-level concern that things gre-
et going as planned, organizational confusion, and just
~sibly, a certain amount of self-deception.
28. The current concern with Persign YI stems,
cording to many, from the many partial personnel data
;terns which are being created on request by OJCS to meet
~~~cial needs of particular Offices. Some of these are
~,bably quite necessary, but vre think that each one should
scrutinized very carefully for its possible impact in
scheduling for Persign II.
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29. The importance of avoiding unnecessary further
delay in the development and implementation of Persign II
is difficult to overstate. Both the currently unsatisfiable
need far accurate and complete management information and
the fragilities, inadequacies and costs. of the patchwork of
systems now performing vital personnel functions argue for
a very high priority. This, and our concern about the
symptoms we encountered, lend to the following~recom-
mendations.
Pecommendation No. 3. That the Director of Personnel w
~rrking with the Director of OJCS, review the priorities `
~~? Persign II in terms of manpowEr assigned and the
~fsical arrangements allotted to staffs.
ilecorranendation Flo. 4. That the 'Director of Personnel,
sing with other tlffices concerned with the MAPS pro~ram,~
sew the elements of Persign II and assign subsidiary
Sri ti es to those which do. not re_preseni: key elements of
;onnel data urgently needed far managerial decisions or
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~__~ provisions of personnel services. ~
Recommendation No. 5. That the Director of Personne
?~'~~~st that the Director, OJCS obtain his concurrence
~:-~~^e undertaking personnel-related jobs far other
~~a~zations that are likely to impact unfavorab
'~~ f`?~_completiori of Persign II.
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Agency personnel management system and f the Office's role
that system. That roles for more th n twenty yearns has een
primarily one of service and supp rt--activities for ich the
Office generally received hig marks from componen managers.
3. The Office also h s various ?'approval".functions which
usually amount to review f decisions made el where to insure
their consistency with general Agency polio guidelines and with
current or threatens restrictions impose by outside authorities-~-
1 aw, Congress, ONlB,, CSC and the l i ke. y i s function undoubtedly
issue, r ported in Tab F, led/ors to support what others view as
'~ ' '? osition.
the Off~;ce s negative p
4. The Director of Personnel is also assigned responsibility
far conducting research, for making statistical and analytical
studies pertinent to Agency personnel management and for developing
and recommending policies, standards and procedures for personnelt
management in the Agency. In the light of managers "no innovation"
complaints, we investigated each aspect of this assignment.
5. Our findings on "statistical and analytical studies"
(i.e. management information) are discussed in lab A. Current
achievements cannot be regarded as impressive, but lack cf inno~
accounts for muc of .the perception t t the Office is negative
about personne initiatives dsvelop~ elsewhere. It certainly
accounts for he attitude about th mast-cited recent example--
the negativ response to efforts supported by many to raise the.
ari s. Our investi anon of that
grades of many sen~ror secret 9
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nation is not a primary cause far ttre limited Progresso The
real culprit has been the excessively long delay in implementing
computer approaches conceived many years ago--thirteen to be
exact.
5. Turning to research, we found a sma11'but significant
research e~fart underway in the .Plans Staff of the Office of
Personnel. This Staff consists of a supergrade~,chief and three
REALACES Fnwn+ vK.a
analysts. ;It has already.pl~yedauseful role i'n helping the
;,
Career Services meet the challenges posed by the introduction of
~~ ', ~
the flCI`s innovations in personnel, management. This assistance
i~as ineluded~written guidance, surveys of. personnel. practices in'
}'
the Di rectara ;es as requested, revi ews of personnel
~~:handbooks,
~,
Management
1
1
Committee and tnq uul. ~nese errorts cannot be audged'`~s out-
standingly success`~ul--given the continued lack of Agenc~~wide
.:appreciation for who the "New Approaches o Personnel Man ement"
is intended to do. 8u still, the Staff mus bbe given credi for
playing a useful role d~~ing a difficult transitti~nal period in
its publicizing of new prog`r~ams and, more parti cul arl~r, i n
:backstopping them with useful search.
~. The Staff is presently engaged 1n research which should
\ ``.
-have excellent payoff .f\or the Agency personnel`.,system in ~i;he
future. Together with the Staff Personnel Dives n, the Staff
~.,
is playing a prominent role in the newly-created Car s Committee,.
established in response to several of the policy recommendations
.~
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Office of Personnel. Moreover, the current recognition that the
differences between contract and staff ;'employees are diminishing
supports such consolidation and Head U rters companerit managers
1
tivere found to favor this idea, first advanced to the Inspection
`team by the DDA. Therefore, a recarr~nendation (No. 2} that contract
Y
personnel reca~r s be sa consolidated`~has been included on
page A-l5 of Ta A.
Employee Personnel Records and Mana~ment Information,
22. The personnel records system is the child (perhaps
the victim) of the decentralized type of operation that has
characterized Agency management for over two decades. This,,
l
and the complications introduced over the years by cover,
compartmentalization, multiple employment categories and the
like, provide ample explanation for. the Agency?s current patch-
-~rork of records and retard systems, none of which entirely fail.
t.a do their job but none of which seem wholly adeaua~Ge. The
Office of Personnel deserves high credit for somehow maintaining
~.r-.c; satisfying- mast needs from a mixture of non--interlocking
-:^d and computer operated records systerr~s, while embarked on a t`5
f~fl r
~~-,ear long effort (to date} to develop and insert data into
~~~~dern, integrated, computerized replacement. The Inspectors
ry~~.-~. very favorably impressed with the abilities; attitudes
': accomplishments of the people working at these often un--
~~