ASSIGNMENT 3 - QUALITY PAPER

The U.S. Navy’s Initiative to Better Serve the Fleet

The Navy’s initiative to consolidate several Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) and Customer Support Detachment (CSD) locations was designed to improve efficiency and provide Sailors with a modern service delivery model. However, these changes were hastily implemented in a disorganized fashion without comprehensive guidelines. Based upon research, the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) Public Affairs (2017) stated, “as part of an overall initiative to better serve the Fleet, NPC announced a plan to implement a pay and personnel customer service model that is centralized, integrated and self-service-oriented by consolidating several PSD and CSD locations in fiscal year 2017” (NPC, 2017).

Modernizing and centralizing customer support services are beneficial towards self-service initiatives, such as, updating records of emergency data, submitting changes to marital status, adding dependents, and requests to separate or retire online. Modernizing and centralizing customer support services has also led to massive workloads required to maintain adequate and timeliness of tasks in regards to customer service matters. Furthermore, eliminating the face-to-face and personal aspect of customer service. It is extremely critical for Command Pay and Personnel Administrator’s (CPPA’s) to maintain accountability, auditability, and fully engage with personnel in the absence of the local PSD’s and CSD’s.

Countless Sailors lack guidance on how to initiate these vital requests and are required to rely on newly published guidelines or CPPA’s, which hinders the readiness for change. With an abundance of Sailors lacking guidance regarding individual requirements of the self-service integration, this allows room for error and delays. Furthermore, requiring additional training and rework by CPPA’s. Unfortunately, the only further assistance provided in regards to the transition is through the Transaction Online Processing System (TOPS) or Centralized Hotline.

Reference

Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs. (2017, February 06). Navy Personnel Command

Consolidates Several PSD/CSDs. Retrieved April 11, 2019, from https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=98732