Historically, Contractors have performed the applications support for EmpowHR including the operations and maintenance, software change requests, new agency migrations and other special projects. This past fall, NFC launched the EmpowHR In-sourcing Project to transition the EmpowHR Applications Support from the Contractors to NFC Federal Staff. In this new in-sourced model, NFC will perform all the applications support for the EmpowHR application including incident management, development management, change management and release management.

A cross-functional team with members from throughout Government Employees Service Division (GESD), Information Technology Service Division (ITSD) and Human Resources are currently performing the following activities to promote a seamless transition to the in-sourced model:

• Designing and implementing the in-sourced operating model, governance structure and organization
• Recruiting and hiring Federal IT specialists with PeopleSoft expertise to perform the applications support services
• Conducting knowledge sharing and capability transfer between the current Contractor and NFC Staff
• Implementing enhanced tools to support the in-sourcing of EmpowHR Applications Support, including Stat for PeopleSoft (configuration management tool), and Control M (batch scheduler)

In-sourcing of the EmpowHR Program will provide NFC and its customers with several benefits:

• Increased flexibility over the EmpowHR application (i.e., improving NFC’s ability to quickly respond to changing customer needs and varying requirements)
• A single source of accountability for the EmpowHR Program
• A reduction in spending on contracting services, in line with OMB’s guidance
• An investment in the cultivation of internal expertise and commitment to the EmpowHR program

Currently, we are preparing for the transition, which will formally commence beginning July 2011 and run through September 2012. In order to minimize the impact to our customers, we will be using a phased approach over the fifteen month period to transition the applications support program and associated processes to Federal employees.

The in-sourced EmpowHR Program will enable NFC to provide greater service levels for our EmpowHR customers and also provide Federal employment opportunities at the NFC in New Orleans, LA.

For more information including a list of the open positions, please see the links under the Resources Menu.