CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONNEL CAREERISTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00357R001000040046-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2001
• Sequence Number: 46
• Publication Date: April 6, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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G APR 1972
SUBJECT : Classification of Personnel Careerists
1. In response to your request for the SP Junior Advisory Panel to
review the merits of classifying Personnel careerists into distinct groups or
levels of professionalism, we recommend that the following categories be
adopted within the SP Career Service.
a. Professional - Generalists, Specialists, and Professional
Trainees:
With the objective of increasing the professionalism within
the Personnel Career Service, we recommend that the criteria
set forth below be used for the selection of new employees L---
the Personnel Career Service at the professional level:
(1) Have at least a bachelor's degree in personnel
management, business/public administration,
behavioral science, or equivalent experience in
personnel.
(2) Successfully complete a series of interviews
members of the appropriate career service pa: c,,
the Career Management Officer and the Chairman
of the SP Career Board or the Director of Personnel.
(3) Take the PETB or PATB, including assessment.
(4) Possess long-range career potential.
While realizing that the above represents a change from cur_re=
practice, the junior Advisory Panel (JAP) believes acceptance c ;:he
criteria will upgrade both the expertise and image of the Agency's
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Personnel Officers. Although the field of Personnel Manage-
ment has not been as restrictive as other career fields, the
Panel feels that the growing body of knowledge in the behavioral
sciences requires the SP Career Service to become more
selective when considering officers. It is the strong conviction
of JAP members that Personnel is.a profession and, as such,
requires continuing study if the Personnel Officer is to provide
the support and expertise to management that he is expected to
provide. The old cliche that anyone who "likes to work with
people" or is a "nice guy" can be a Personnel Officer is out-
moded and disfunctional.
Because the Office of Personnel has a history of hiring people
without degrees in personnel management, it is easy to say a
degree in personnel administration is not necessary. On the otk
hand, Personnel is a changing profession which requires continuing
study, and the SP Career Service will undoubtedly be improved by
hiring new employees with either academic training or job
experience in the personnel field.
The Panel sees Items 2, 3 and 4 above as steps designed to
improve the professionalism of people entering into the Personnel
Career Service. We further recommend that all employees
currently assi ed to ri,_~ Office ~ 1' rsn~~~et lea requirea to ~c t
the above-rea~___ >~. r~ - entG h~f 5. sin ro the _t ic- jr.t,:~
and before bein romoted to GS-11.
b. Personnel Technicians:
The Panel recommends that the following criteria be instituted
to become a Personnel Technician:
(1) At least a high school graduate (Additional Education
Desirable). We recognize that generally employees must be
high school graduates to work for the Agency; however, the
point being made here is that we do not feel the standard
should be higher, say two years of college, since the Personnel
Technician category that they would be joining is semi-
professional in nature and thus includes some clerical duties.
Realistically, the Panel feels the education limitation has to
be set low because of the rather large number of employees
who would be classified as Personnel Technicians.
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(2) Minimum two years of Agency experience. We
believe that clericals should be given the opportunity to
become SP careerists based upon their job performance.
Two years would provide sufficient time to assess an
individual's performance and enable the Career Service
to make a sound judgment. Also, this time will give the
clericals a chance to make up their minds as to what career
they wish to pursue in the Agency.
(3) Successfully complete a test equivalent to the P E Ti3
or PATB. The Panel proposes that PSS/OMS develop a neVv test
because the PATB or PETB is not appropriate for use on the
semi-professional employee.
(4) Interviews by the CMO and the SP Junior Promotion
Panel, meeting as a group. After preliminary screening by
the CMO/OP, the Panel involved in considering the individual
for promotion would determine if he meets the qualifications
for entry into the SP career service as a Personnel Technician.
Acceptance of an individual into the SP career service who does
not meet all of the qualifications should be subject to the
approval of on the Director of Personnel.
Entry into the Personnel Technician category would usually be at the
GS-06/07 level with maximum advancement through grade GS-iO.
c. Clericals:
The Panel' is convinced that all Agency or at least all Support
Directorate clerical employees should belong to one career
service. As Agency clerical employees generally perform
similar functions no matter where they are assigned, it is not
consistent with the Agency career service concept to have
clericals with a variety of career service designations. Adoption
of a clerical career service would give clerical employees the
opportunity to move unimpeded between Directorates, pert -.i
the implementation of a consistent Agency clerical promotion
policy and, most important, enable the Office of Personnel to
strengthen its centralized placement function. The Panel
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accordingly recommends that all Personnel clericals,
GS-06 and below, not be designated as members of the
SP career service but rather be assigned the service
designation of an over -all Agency clerical career service.
The Panel recognizes that it is not easy to implement this
recommendation and plans to study this subject further at
a later date and propose courses of action at that time.
2. The SP Junior Advisory Panel has given this subject serious con-
sideration in view of its impact on the SP service and the Agency. It is the strong
conviction of the Panel members that if we are to avoid the "status quo" and be
qualified to meet the challenges involving innovation, creativity, and initiative
during the coming years as the Agency grows technologically and further matures,
we have no alternative but to press for the professionalism of the Personnel
careerist. The recommendation to establish categories of personnel earecrists
and criteria for each category is a first step in this direction. We are also
concerned with the criteria for categorizing positions in the SP career service,
but do not plan to pursue this matter any further until we have your reaction to
this memorandum.
41 A9A
Chairman
SP Junior Advisory Panel
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