5 Competency (essay format)

Position/Series/Grade: Human Resources Specialist – Employee Benefits

Competency 1 – Ability to interpret and apply Federal benefits, awards, retirement, and leave laws, regulations, procedures, and case precedents in order to effectively manage a Federal employee benefits program

I have the ability to interpret and apply a comprehensive thorough knowledge of Benefits, Awards, and Retirements laws. I assist employees by ensuring they have properly completed the necessary documents and are knowledgeable of their selections. I ensure employees are familiar with vesting and agency contributions for the Retirement Plans.

I am responsible for performing a full range of duties processing documentation using the electronic software. I have been afforded the opportunity to gain specialized knowledge, experience, and ability to interpret/apply procedures, manuals, regulations, circulations, laws, and other pertinent regulatory guidelines. I exhibit knowledge and ability in interpreting/applying procedures, manuals, regulations, circulations, laws, and other pertinent regulatory guidelines relating to major function specializations of Human Resources Management. I was responsible for processing Incentive Awards. I follow strict Federal procedures, manuals, regulations, circulations, laws, and other pertinent regulatory guidelines to counsel employees regarding beneficiaries.

I have processed, logged, and coded the different types of awards. I am very attentive to detail to ensure awards are not given the same cases numbers, amounts are correct per regulation, and all required signatures are on awards prior to coding. I have provided assistance in coordinating and preparing for Ceremonies. Based on my efforts, over 100 employees have been recognized throughout the greater Houston area.

In my previous position I have counseled employees regarding their benefits and pay; as well as inform management on the employee.

Competency 2 - Ability to perform case management and review benefits packets to gather, organize, problem solve, analyze data and facts, and recommend or initiate specific action or resolution

In my current previous position as a Human Resource Assistant; I prepare New Employee benefit packets. I have used problem solving skills to analyze issues that have arisen as it relates to employees benefits. I have conducted research, in addition to contacting the insurance companies to resolves employees issues.

I thoroughly explain the healthcare benefits, life insurance and retirement plans; in addition to providing individual assistance prior to their selections. I communicate daily via telephone with employees from diverse backgrounds regarding benefits. I check my telephone messages and return telephone calls promptly. I display professionalism, empathy, and sympathy as it relates to benefits. I am an active listener and have the ability to think and act innovatively, look beyond currently reality to forecast future direction, and solve problems creatively.

Competency 3 - Ability to communicate orally, interacting effectively with individuals and groups with diverse backgrounds, levels of understanding, and/or opinions and priorities

As a Human Resource Assistant I am the primary liaison between the resource management division and the employee. Effective communication is vital to the minimization of conflict while promoting awareness relative to benefit information. I communicate in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. My goal is to ensure that employees are knowledgeable of all benefits. I communicate daily via telephone with employees from diverse backgrounds regarding benefits. I aim to be proactive with regards to follow up. I display professionalism, empathy, and sympathy as it relates to benefits. I am a careful listener. I have the ability to think and act innovatively, look beyond reality to forecast future direction, and solve problems creatively.

In May 2014, I completed the Civility, Respect, and Engagement, in Workplace Facilitator Training (CREW). Currently I facilitate workgroups with the Veterans Affairs Administration Hospital by communicating with employees and providing various activities to enhance workplace civility. I engage group members and implement alternative behaviors to create a conducive work environment. I encourage the group members to address their peers respectfully while encouraging positive peer-to-peer interaction.

Organizing ideas and thoughts effectively through both written correspondence and oral presentation is necessary for fulfilling the duty of conducting studies and special projects. In my academic work it was compulsory to write thesis and projects in order to be awarded the three degrees I have. As a result, I have gained knowledge and experience on how to organize and communicate ideas. This competency is parallel to one of the core competency of health care professionals of employing practice that is based on evidence. This basically means integrating research with clinical know-how and participation in research and learning activities to the possible extent. The purpose of conducting studies and special projects is to come up with new knowledge, authenticate existing theories, discover new theories, explain a case, describe a case, predict the aftermath of a certain case and control a particular situation. In the health care field this translates to product development, quality improvement, resource allocation, need assessment and utilization of health care. I am highly skilled in this field and my outcomes will be commendable.

Competency 4 - Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in writing, to include policies, training presentations, and correspondence for a variety of purposes to various offices in both Federal and private sectors

I possess a high level of written communication skills. I have completed several college level Communication and English courses which have aided my ability to effectively communicate in writing. I have composed professional documents such as business letters, memos, invoices, emails, etc; in order to relay the proper information needed. I use word processing programs for composing emails, memos, letters, formal reports, and certificates. I use spell check to ensure errors corrected. I proofread my documents for wordiness and accuracy.

When writing, I state the items by level of importance, from most important to least. The documents I have created are carefully written so the recipient of any background would be able to understand the message being relayed. I do not use big ambiguous words. I’m very simple, precise, and to the point; when communicating in writing. I display professionalism, empathy, and sympathy.

Competency 5 - Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work in order to timely accomplish a variety of tasks while working under pressure and/or stressful conditions

It is the mandate of a human resource specialist to perform operations on a collected data with the view of generating a suitable report for use in decision-making. In this case, the person should gather, clean, organize, and perform classification standards on it without biasing. This should take place in an independent manner. Such data can critically benefit an organization, especially in achieving its objectives and targets. In most cases, the office of the personnel management receives periodic evaluations to ascertain if it is working to achieve its target goals. Therefore, the participants in such a setup must be well armed with the knowledge of data analysis by both use of manual and computer software.

Competency 6 - Ability to utilize various computer programs and databases, such as VistA, GRB (Government Retirement and Benefits), e-OPF, and Microsoft Office software programs

The successful applicant needs to be thoroughly knowledgeable on various computer programs. These computer programs include the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) and the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). The VistA and the CPRS programs are integrated software that contains all the necessary information about veterans’ health care needs. The CPRS is basically a graphical user interface that allows users to navigate through the VistA, which is basically a large database that contains the medical records of veterans across the United States, Hawaii, and Alaska. The system is responsible for transforming the Veteran Affairs’ healthcare system by improving efficiency and safety in health care delivery for veterans. The database is critical for the efficient administration of health care to veterans across the country.

With a Masters and a Doctorate in Health Administration, I have a thorough knowledge of the VistA and the CPRS computer programs. I know how to gather information from the system to carry out research on issues such as the number of veteran re-admissions in a state over a certain period of time. I can also update the records in the system as well as capture a patient’s medical records from the database. Through my coursework, I have utilized the programs for many research assignments. I also have real life experience with using the programs in my previous jobs as well as the experience garnered from conducting my dissertations for both my Masters and Post Graduate degrees in Health Administration. I am knowledgeable of computer programs such as WebHR, EOPF, and Vista on a daily basis. In the WebHR Program you view and retrieve SF52’s for coding purposes. Upon completion of coding actions; you record completed once the action flows thru to DFAS. On the other hand in the EOPF Program is a workflow completed actions into employee EOPF. You can also view documents, edit documents, delete documents in the EOPF.

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