Crane, Ind. – The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) team received the 2019 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Philip Heiler Award for Human Resources. The HRIS team develops information systems solutions for Human Resources, including two that provided more than 228 thousand dollars in cost savings and 6.6 thousand in work hours per year since implementation.
“These tools are having a positive impact on the Human Resources processes and services, and minimized the time requirements of our customers,” said Connie Vallandingham, a Human Resources Branch Manager. Other members of the HRIS team include Branch lead Misty Klein and HRIS Specialist Christopher Goodwin.
The HRIS team has created more than a dozen tools that eliminate duplication of effort, automate transactional processes for HR customers and staff, and provide real-time, relevant and reliable data and information analysis and reports to leadership and staff across the warfare center.
The Request for Personnel Action (RPA) Forms Generator gives managers a single entry point for HR personnel actions, decreases processing time, and increases awareness and involvement of the hiring manager in the entire personnel action process. The RPA Form Management tool alone has saved over 2000 work hours per year since 2015, and has been used over 8,000 times. The team has also created tools for Telework, performance and recognition, and more than a dozen others.
“Our goal is to eliminate or automate redundant and transaction work,” said Jim Hardin, NSWC Crane’s Human Resources Director. “Now, other Navy activities are benchmarking these tools and best practices, giving our HRIS team a Navy-wide impact.”
Vallandingham said the HRIS team’s goal is to start with NSWC Crane and grow until Department of Defense needs are met and exceeded. With that end in mind, NSWC Crane hosted thirty personnel from Warfare Center Headquarters Human Resources, NAVSEA HRIS, and Warfare Centers across the country to increase efficiencies throughout the organization in August.
“The HRIS team and the whole of NSWC Crane’s HR Department have been constantly looking around corners in the name of innovation,” said Hardin. “This award recognizes the incredible results of everyone’s hard work and resourcefulness.”
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.