ALCOAST 082/20 - MAR 2020 2019 USCG HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

R 131113 MAR 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-1//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N01650//
ALCOAST 082/20
COMDTNOTE 1650
SUBJ:  2019 USCG HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 250735 NOV 19/ALCOAST 369/19
1. Pursuant to REF (A), I am pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019
USCG Human Resource Management (HRM) Achievement Awards. These awards provide
recognition for noteworthy human resource management accomplishments by Coast
Guard personnel. More specifically, the awards reflect member or team
emphasis on outstanding performance in the care and support of Coast Guard
personnel through exceptional customer service, innovative thinking, and
improved methods in human resource management. Forty-one packets were
submitted from across the Coast Guard and all reflected the highest
standards of professionalism and devotion to duty.
2. There are six categories for HRM Achievement Awards:
    a. Officers (Commissioned Officer/Chief Warrant Officer),
    b. Civilian Employees (General Schedule/Federal Wage Schedule),
    c. Non-appropriated fund (NAF) employees,
    d. Enlisted Personnel,
    e. Team Achievement Large consisting of 11 to 20 personnel, and
    f. Team Achievement Small consisting of 4 to 10 personnel. [Upon review of
the team nominations it was decided to break up the Team category to allow
smaller teams the ability to compete against nominees with similar scope
and capabilities.]    
3. LT Chase Mercer, COMDT (CG-1B1), is the winner in the Officer category. 
As the Lead COMDT (CG-1) PMO Project Officer, he led the oversight of over
300 HR system change requests, many under flag level scrutiny, and major DA
upgrades ensuring timely pay & benefits valued at $4B+/year. He also
developed the comprehensive user validation testing scope while also in a
notable role as the OSC Business Analyst. As the Competency Management
System Manager, LT Mercer directed the creation or adjustment of 94
competencies and over 38,000 position based changes. LT Mercer served as the
COMDT (CG-1) LDAC Co-Chair and then was hand-selected again as facilitator of
a specific DEOMI team to review and report survey results. He was a major
force during the largest partial government shutdown, ensuring flag level
communications and continued resources for major pay and benefits concerns.
He did all this while excelling in Villanova's HR Development Master's Program.
LT Mercer's sincere care of CG personnel has been extraordinary and vastly
improved the HR world of work.
4.  Mr. Joseph Paris, District 5, is the winner in the Civilian category. 
As Management Analyst for Fifth District Force Readiness Branch, Mr. Paris’
commitment to excellence and devotion to duty was evident through superior
support of over 820 reservists assigned within the Fifth District geographic
boundary. Mr. Paris meticulously compiled and analyzed monthly readiness data,
providing unit commanders with details on member training and readiness.
Additionally, he took corrective actions that rectified training and
performance shortfalls, contributions that directly led to a considerable
readiness increase across all four Fifth District Sectors and 27 subunits. 
These actions were a key factor in the Fifth District earning the highest
FY19 readiness ranking among LANTAREA districts. Mr. Paris also played a
pivotal role in the first-ever Reserve recall for Southwest Border operations;
he provided key oversight and administrative support for 72 reservists
(the most by a district) during three separate, 60 day deployments over a
six month period.
5. Ms. Candice Harrison, Community Services Command, is the winner in the
NAF category. Having served as the Assistant Director of HR in support of NAF
employees, Ms. Harrison oversaw classification, benefits, training, employee
relations and recruitment in support of the Coast Guard 1,400+ employee NAF
workforce. With an anticipated increase in the NAF workforce in 2019, Ms.
Harrison conducted a comprehensive study to evaluate and improve all stages
of the hiring process. She outlined the steps for the study and started with
a flowchart of the standard hiring process. She worked with the HR staff,
assigned various segments of the process for review, analysis, benchmarking,
and recommendations. She also ensured customer feedback was integrated, and
she developed a streamlined process along with a comprehensive hiring guide.
The guide was distributed to the field and posted on the ADP payroll system
website which serves as the Information System for NAF employees and managers.
This effort has resulted in a streamlined process for the NAF hiring process,
reducing the time from job posting to the employee start date from 68 days to
59 days. Her efforts were instrumental in the opening of CGX Centerville, where
she directly contributed to a 15% increase in hiring actions Coast Guard wide,
bringing on a total of 626 new employees.
6. YN1 Adrian Arcia, Base Charleston, is the winner in the enlisted category. 
As a Servicing Personnel Office (SPO) Technician he created the Customer-service
Yeoman Real-time Information System (CYRIS) for four SPOs spanning across three
districts. CYRIS is a portal based ticket system allowing real-time accountability
between the P&A and SPO. Additionally, CYRIS provides a myriad of features to
include automated e-mails to the member and supervisor as the ticket status
changes, increasing visibility for the customer on their pay items. Moreover,
CYRIS automatically creates due dates upon submission, ensuring comments must be
submitted to change a tickets status. Furthermore, CYRIS captures data from each
ticket allowing metrics to be obtained to determine future restructuring based off
the amount of tickets submitted, time lines for the completion of transactions, and
identifying submission discrepancies allowing for field level training. PPC selected
CYRIS to Beta test the new Human Resource initiative to further streamline P&A and
SPO processes, ultimately enhancing customer service satisfaction.
7. The CYRIS Charter Team is the winner in the Team Large category. To overcome
enterprise capability gaps encompassed through antiquated tracking systems
between the SPO and P&A, the CYRIS Charter Team (CT) was created to establish a
standardized method of accountability and allow real-time metrics. CYRIS is a
portal-based ticket system allowing accountability between the SPO and P&As.
Additionally, the CYRIS CT was awarded the Privacy Threshold Analysis approval
through DHS for three years, eliminating potential security risks. Identifying the
need for standardization and transparency, the CYRIS CT created due dates for
tickets per transaction as well as automated emails to members and supervisors.
Furthermore, CYRIS also captures data allowing for metrics to be obtained for
Senior Leadership for restructuring. The CYRIS CT efforts resulted in four SPOs 
being selected by PPC to Beta test the Human Resource initiative for future
processes between P&A and SPOs.
8. The D5 Southwest Border (SWB) Planning Team is the winner in the Team Small
category. The team provided exceptional support for 72 reservists mobilized to
support the humanitarian crisis at the SWB. The team thoroughly reviewed
Coast Guard and DOD policy and created a comprehensive plan that employed experts
conducting exportable training to deploying members at two separate mobilization
sites. The satellite-model approach deployed teams of administrative and logistical
experts that hosted mobilization training with zero errors in travel orders, ensured
all Form DD-214s were properly prepared, and armed each reservist with valuable
pre-deployment information well before they reported. This method later became the
model for future mobilizations Coast Guard-wide. The team also leveraged relationships
with local hotels and MWR facilities to procure double occupancy lodging at reduced
rates, saving more than $26,000 for this unplanned mission.
9. The HRM Award Panel consisted of:
    a. CAPT Joseph Sundland, COMDT (CG-67)
    b. CDR Russell Mayer, COMDT (CG-1331)
    c. LT Luke Strittmatter, (CG INTELCOORDCEN)
    d. CIV Dawn Gray, COMDT (CG-1B3)
    e. PERS4 Timothy DeVall, (District 1)
    f. PERS2 Brenda Rosado, COMDT (CG-1332)
10. POC: For HRM Awards is LT J.W. McElroy, James.W.McElroy@uscg.mil.
11. Bravo Zulu to these HRM Award winners and all nominees who care, serve, and
support the men and women of the world’s best Coast Guard!
12. RADM J. M. Nunan, Assistant Commandant for Human Resources, sends.
13. Internet release is authorized.