national league of postmasters presents postal support employee (pse) guidance for recruiting,...
TRANSCRIPT
National LEAGUE of Postmasters National LEAGUE of Postmasters PresentsPresents
Postal Support Employee (PSE)Postal Support Employee (PSE)
Guidance forGuidance forRecruiting, Testing, HiringRecruiting, Testing, Hiring
(shown with a green background)(shown with a green background) & Applying & Applying
(shown with a white background)(shown with a white background)
June 2011June 2011
The Postal Support Employee (PSE)
Per the APWU Agreement:http://www.apwu.org/news/nsb/2011/nsb07-110418-highlights.pdf
• PSEs are a new type of bargaining unit employees intended to provide the USPS with flexibility. A PSE will be appointed for a term not to exceed 360 calendar days.
• If there is still an Operational need, a PSE may be reappointed for another NTE 360 day term after a 5 day break in service.
PSE Implementation Timeline
APWU Contract ratified by members 5/11/2011
HCES and eCareer system changes completed 5/16/2011
System and process ready for PSE hiring 5/21/2011
APWU Contract Effective Date 5/23/2011
PSE Guidance memo signed and released 5/25/2011
Local Services can begin eCareer Requisition process. Submit an RAR100 to the HRSSC requesting PSE positions in appropriate organizational units. HRSSC will create the positions and respond to the submitter with new position numbers. Newly created positions load to eCareer overnight.
5/25/2011
PSE Employment Opportunity letter to APWU Casuals, APWU TEs, and PMR/LRs released; Local efforts for outreach
5/27/2011
Local Services drafts PSE Requisitions with carefully timed opening and closing dates, and PSE hiring process begins.
5/27/2011 and beyond
APWU Casuals and APWU TEs, PMRs must be off the rolls 8/23/2011
PSE Jobs Established To Date and Exam Requirements
This is information necessary for completing the hiring form and the exams that will be necessary:
APWU PSE's must be selected competitively from an externally-posted announcement.
eCareer will be used to announce the vacancies and manage the process.
Submit an RAR100 to HRSSC to create the position. This form can be found at: http://blue.usps.gov/humanresources/professionalportal/erm/hrss/toolkits_organizational%20management.shtml?
Competitive PostingCompetitive Posting
eCareer Processors can begin the process of creating positions and drafting vacancy announcements for posting on usps.com.
– Timing of open and closing dates are important to allow for diversity outreach efforts and local efforts to notify APWU Casuals, APWU TEs, and other noncareer employees of announcement plans.
Policy requires posting for a minimum of 5 business days.• Perception of fairness and equal
opportunity• Opportunities for veterans to gather and
attach documents to support veteran preference claims
The following slides (8-13)
offer information specific to Creating/posting for
this Job Position
Competitive PostingCompetitive Posting
• Include the following statement for Benefit Information: Limited benefits include raises, paid vacation days and access to health insurance after the first 360-day term.
• Include the following statement for PSEs who will perform window duties: PSEs who will be assigned to serve the public at a public window will be required to enter a training program and may be required to qualify on an after-training test.
• Include a statement directing current noncareer employees who wish to apply to use or create a new external email account, a new external Candidate Profile, Apply, and follow instructions for testing.
• Avoid closing dates that will create a holiday conflict such as the upcoming July 4 holiday.
– For postings requiring an online exam (e.g., PSE Clerk, which requires Test 473), avoid a close date of June 20, 2011.
– For postings requiring a Paper/Pencil Exam (e.g., PSE Custodian, which requires Test 916), avoid closing date of June 19 through June 23, 2011.
Competitive PostingCompetitive Posting
• eCareer will populate your Requisition with the salary for the grade as stored in the payroll system pay tables, just like the TE salaries. Overwrite with the negotiated PSE pay rate only:
Grade 3 $12.00
Grade 4 $12.38
Grade 5 $13.74
Grade 6 $14.60
Grade 7 $15.52
Grade 8 $15.85
Plan your Announcement Strategy
• Consider posting announcement to open on a Monday at 12:01am so posting does not go over a weekend.
• An eligibility statement regarding area of consideration may be used at your discretion.
– When using an area of consideration limitation, Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants may not be eliminated. VEOA eligibles are:• Veterans Preference Eligibles• Veterans with 3 or more years of substantially
continuous military service– Local services will be responsible for determining individual
applicant eligibility and justifying any rejections based on these eligibility statements.
Expect to need more applicants?
Recruitment plans for surge PSE hiring have been developed for each Area.
These plans provide useful information to target your hiring outreach efforts, including
» General Job Fairs » Diversity Job Fairs» Technical School » Disability Outreach and Events » Veterans Outreach
Find them on the Talent Acquisition and Retention web site.
Involve your District Manager of Learning Development and Diversity for help executing an effective recruitment strategy.
PSE TestingPSE Testing
• PSEs must meet the qualifications established for the PSE job, including any required examinations.
• eCareer will automatically route applicants through the appropriate examination process with our testing vendor, pan, and add claimed veterans’ preference points to passing scores and sorting applicants per policy.
PSE TestingPSE Testing• Current and former noncareer employees who
wish to apply for externally-posted announcements must create a new external Candidate Profile, Apply, and follow instructions for testing.
– Cannot use the email address associated with previous Candidate Profile.
– Cannot use previous Candidate Profile used in the past as it was converted to an internal Profile when hired.
– Any email/Profile combination used in the past cannot be reused.
• Following are tips for Completing the eCareer
Profile
type USPS.com in the browser
bar.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Careers”
eCareer External
EitherClick on Search jobs online
OrCreate your eCareer profile
Create an Account
Please note
Set Criteria for your job Search
Use Keyword “PSE”
Enter your choice of state
Click on the job posting to view
the job description, purpose and requirements
Be sure to read the position information before applying
Ensure that all * are completed
Answer each question
This is where you explain why you want
this position. Compose in word then copy and
paste
Do not attach anything unless the vacancy announcement asks
for an attachment
List your qualifications and accomplishments here that might apply to this position. You can create this in Word and spell check and edit before pasting into this section. ALSO Don’t forget to complete information in the References tab.
General Hiring Guidance
• A PSE may not have an effective date of appointment prior to May 23, 2011.
• Selections are made from Hiring Lists using Rule of 3.
• A Casual employee selected from a competitive Hiring List for PSE must have a 6 day (or more) break in service before appointment as a PSE.
• An insurance-eligible noncareer employee (NALC TE, APWU TE, and PMR/LR with more than 1 year service) selected from a competitive Hiring List for PSE must have a 5 day break in service before appointment as a PSE.
• Dual appointments may be made when and if a currently employed RCA, TRC, or PMR/LR applies and is reached and selected competitively for a PSE vacancy announced in eCareer. Dual appointments are at the discretion of the installation head.
• There is no need to reorder drug tests, criminal record checks, or motor vehicle record checks for noncareer employees if the break in service will be (or has been) less than 90 days.
• Enter PSE seniority date and rank for the eCareer data transfer activity that generates the accession Form 50.
• Seniority tie breakers are still under discussion with the APWU.
• For now, rank similar to RCA seniority, as follows:– By installation, by craft, by level per rank on Hiring List
General Hiring Guidance, Cont.
• A currently employed APWU PSE may be reassigned to a different APWU PSE job in the same or different office at the installation head’s discretion provided the PSE qualifies on the appropriate test prior to placement.
• PS 50 Nature of Action Code 721, Reassignment, or 925, Reassignment/Change Appointing Office, required for:– Reassignment to an APWU PSE job in a different office – Reassignment to an APWU PSE job in a different craft or
with a different exam requirement – No “promotion” or “change to lower level” actions;
noncareer employees considered to be one grade
General Hiring Guidance, Cont.
• PSEs fulfilling an ongoing operational need may be reappointed on the expiration of their term after a 5 day break in service.
• PSEs being reappointed as PSE must have a 5-day break (no more, no less) because a 6 day or more break will negatively impact the employee’s eligibility for health insurance.
• PSEs separated for lack of work must be qualified on the appropriate test prior to rehire as a PSE. Evidence of qualifying on the appropriate test in the past is acceptable. – This is the only type of separation to which this applies. A
PSE who resigns is not eligible for noncompetitive selection for a PSE vacancy.
General Hiring Guidance, Cont.
1187 Form
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