NOAA Office of Program Planning and Integration

NOAA’s business operations provide the critical policy, programmatic, and managerial foundation to support NOAA’s mission. Following the Functional Model (see Appendix C), this chapter discusses human capital, physical capital, and policy and administration.

HUMAN CAPITAL Human capital is the collective hearts and minds of the organization—NOAA’s expertise, values, wisdom, and relationships. NOAA’s people are the foundation of the agency’s long-standing record of scientific, technical, and organizational excellence, thereby ensuring continuity, reliability, and innovation in the diverse products and services valued by our many customers and stakeholders. The quality of human capital can be understood as the fit of expertise to duty, and individual performance with respect to tasks, as well as professional satisfaction with the work that individuals perform.

PHYSICAL CAPITAL Physical capital is the utilities or infrastructure of the agency— including satellite systems, ships, buoys, aircraft , research facilities, and high performance computing—which enables all other functions to be conducted. The quality of physical capital can be measured by how well it meets design requirements and user needs, and if it is acquired and maintained on time and within budget.

POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION The successful conduct of all NOAA’s functions requires skilled leadership to coordinate activities and organize people across the agency, as well as with agency partners. Policy and administration align the agency to the mission and guide the agency toward the outcomes most desired by stakeholders.

3.0 – Workforce Management

NOAA’s employees are its most important asset. Their expertise, creativity, commitment, diversity, and innovation are vital to the accomplishment of NOAA’s mission and the Nation’s interests. The Workforce Management Office (WFMO) provides policies, programs, and processes that facilitate the recruitment, hiring, development, and retention of a diverse, highly-skilled, motivated, and effective workforce capable of accomplishing the agency’s mission. NOAA’s workforce is greater than just NOAA employees. It also includes contractors working on and off-site, grantees, and cooperators.

The WFMO provides NOAA-wide leadership to workforce management functions, including strategic human capital planning, labor management, labor relations, employee relations, performance management and incentive awards, executive resources, training and distance learning, and career development. Policy functions include family-friendly workplace practices such as telework, and Commerce Alternative Personnel System policy guidance. The WFMO serves as the operating human resources (HR) office for NOAA, providing a full range of recruitment, staffing, classification, and management advisory services; retirement and benefits counseling; personnel and payroll processing; and a partnership with management in carrying out NOAA’s mission.  The WFMO organization includes:

»Client services, including an Advisory Services Division, two Staffing Divisions, a Payroll, Records and Timekeeping Division, a Benefits and Retirements Division and an Executive Resources Division;

»The Policy, Oversight and Accountability Division, which takes the lead in interpreting and implementing OPM, DOC and other legal and regulatory guidance, and provides oversight to NOAA’s Delegated Examining program and other internal control processes related to human resource management;

»Corporate and strategic human capital initiatives, including the Strategic Human Capital Division and Training Group;

»The Employee and Labor Relations Division, which manages NOAA’s labor/management and employee relations/performance management programs;

»The Workplace Resources and Enhancement Division, which takes the lead in implementing NOAA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution, Reasonable Accommodation, Federal Occupational Health and Wellness, and Diversity and Inclusion programs; and

»The Human Resources IT Division, which manages the interfaces between NOAA and the various Federal and DOC systems related to recruitment, staffing, pay, position management, and other official personnel records and reporting.

The WFMO serves as a business partner with NOAA Line, Staff and corporate offices to recruit, hire, develop and retain world-class talent to support NOAA’s mission.  In addition to its recruiting and staffing operations, WFMO supports NOAA’s strategic human capital management through workforce planning and analysis, competency identification and assessment, consultation.

WFMO manages NOAA’s Leadership Competencies Development Program, and the NOAA Rotational Assignment Program. These programs, in addition to the Commerce Learning Center, provide educational and experiential opportunities for NOAA employees to better understand and contribute to NOAA’s overall mission and challenges, and to prepare for future leadership roles.

New NOAA employees can access employee information, including information on staff roles and responsibilities, benefits, and entitlements at www.wfm.noaa.gov/new_employee/index.html. The Commerce Learning Center is a Learning Management System that is overseen by DOC in collaboration with NOAA. More information about the Commerce Learning Center is available at https://doc.learn.com and https://doc.learn.com/noaa.

More information about WFMO is available at www.wfm.noaa.gov.