Report - Government Executive

The Defense Intelligence Enterprise Human Capital Strategic Plan (2010–2015) discusses
DCIPS’ purpose in more detail. 52 The plan states that “DCIPS will provide DoD leaders and
managers with the consistent policy framework needed to hire, develop, compensate, recognize,
reward, and retain the high-performing civilian workforce necessary to accomplish the
intelligence needs.” It further alludes to DCIPS in Objective 1.2 of its workforce goal:
“Implement and ensure consistent management and sustainment of DCIPS across the
Enterprise.”
Senior managers who participated in the focus groups described DCIPS as a way to achieve
specific organizational goals or process improvements—for example, make DoD a unified
enterprise or stop infighting among DoD intelligence components. None of these managers
described DCIPS goals in terms of how they affect mission outcomes.
Meanwhile, HR officials in the DoD intelligence components most often described DCIPS’ goals
in the context of improving and speeding up HR processes—for example, improved ability to
attract, hire, and retain quality staff. Employees who attended the open forums and participated
in the online dialogue had different views and levels of understanding about the goals. Overall,
they viewed DCIPS as a system designed to support HR functions and processes, but offered a
variety of reasons for why the system exists:
• Increase consistency in performance management among the agencies;
• Provide a tool to reward good performance and address poor performance;
• Manage the budget by reducing salary costs;
• Provide a process for faster salary increases for younger employees;
• Link individual performance to the agency’s mission; and
• “Get rid” of poor performers.
A clear, consistent message about DCIPS goals must be communicated to the workforce, and
senior management must reinforce it frequently. OUSD(I) has not accomplished this to date. 53
Moving forward, DoD components will be hard pressed to ensure buy-in and measure DCIPS’
success without first ensuring common understanding of the system’s goals and demonstrating
how the system supports DoD’s intelligence mission.
DCIPS’ Support for IC Goals
The level at which performance is assessed and rewarded should reinforce the desired scope of
collaboration; this is a fundamental principle of rewarding collaboration. As noted in Figure 3-1.
Objectives of the NICCP Framework, reinforcing the IC-wide values of “Commitment, Courage,
52 Issued by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Human Capital Management Office,
undated.
53 Chapter 4 deals with these communication and strategy challenges in more detail.
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