Some civilian career updates just clicks away

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The Air Force Personnel Center here recently introduced a new self-service application -- the Electronic Civilian Record Update -- as part of its ongoing commitment to civilian force development. 

ECRU gives civilians preparing to meet a development team panel the ability to perform Web updates on certain civilian career information, such as developmental and professional military education, and duty titles. 

The new capability, built on an existing software application, is an interim solution for helping force development teams resolve an ongoing issue of not having employee records updated in time before the panels meet. The self-service updates performed by employees give career development team members a clearer picture of the workforce and helps them to more effectively develop future leaders and meet the needs of the Air Force.

The Air Force is working an initiative, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, that will give all Air Force civilians the ability to update their education, training and special qualifications (certifications, professional licenses) through My Biz. My Biz is a self-service module that is part of the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System. Using My Biz, civilians have the capability to update work e-mail addresses, work/home telephone numbers, handicap codes, ethnicity and national origin, and language. However, other critical pieces - such as education -- are "view only." In the future, My Biz will provide additional update capabilities.

"When the long-term solution becomes a reality, it will be a huge leap forward in giving civilians the power to manage their careers more effectively," said Cindy Waechter, chief of the civilian future operations branch at AFPC. "Instead of being dependent on others to do those updates, customers will be able to do them at their convenience. This new capability will basically streamline what used to be a fragmented process into one Web-based, self-service application."

Currently, civilian employees have to trek to various locations to update their records because certain tasks are performed at the flight, installation level and at other organizations. For example, to update education and training, civilian employees must visit their civilian personnel office. Once there, they drop off copies of their transcripts or certificates of documentation and wait for the system to be updated.

"Our goal is to give customers the ability to go in and update their important career information themselves, so it can be immediately reflected in their career brief," Ms. Waechter said. "By eliminating those unnecessary steps, we can provide faster and smarter service when our customers need it."

For more information, visit AFPC's "Ask" Web site and search for "ECRU."