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About Availability

JUMP TO: Recruitment Area Wizard — an automated process

KEY TOPICS:

  • IntroductionWhat tois Availability?
    • How Availability is Calculated in BalanceAAP / List of Sub-modules
  • Understanding External Availability Sub-modulesComponents
    • Why U.S. Census Information is Important
      • What is the Current U.S. Census Data Source?
    • What is a Reasonable Recruitment Area?
    • About Census Occupation Code Matching
  • AddUnderstanding aInternal Recruitment Area to the SystemAvailability
    • Feeder (Optional)Job Change the Default Advanced Options
    • If Standard Area was Chosen
    • If Custom Area was Chosen
    • (Optional) More Reasonable Recruitment Area Data SourcesConsiderations
  • AssignAbout RecruitmentFactor Areas
    • Assign a Default Recruitment Area by PlanWeights
    • (Optional)List Assignof aRelated Recruitment Area by Job Group
    • Edit a Recruitment Area Assignment (by Job Group)
  • Import Recruitment Areas and Census Codes from another Plan
  • Establish Recruitment Areas in a Master Plan
  • Census Coding

NEXT STEPS:

EstablishLearn Externalabout the Availability by Building Recruitment AreasCalculation

IntroductionWhat is Availability?

Availability is a calculation that compares the composition of the likely candidate pool with the composition of your organization's workforce to Externalascertain whether women and minorities are adequately represented. Since these candidates can come from both external and internal sources, Availability Sub-modules External Availability is the first part of determining Availability. This software task area is comprised of two taskcalculation areas,factors:

  • External Availability (Factor 1)

    • AND

  • Internal Availability (Factor 2)

Weighted calculations for Factor 1 and Factor 2 are considered together in an AAP to establish how many qualified minorities and women are "available" for jobs at your organization.

How Availability is Calculated in BalanceAAP / List of Sub-modules

BalanceAAP offers an array of tools to support the plan preparer, from building and weighting Availability components to outputting the final Incumbency versus Availability analysis. Accordingly, the Availability module takes you through each step, in the following order, as shown in the side navigation menu:

  • External
  • Internal — Identify and apply weight to "feeder" jobs that serve as a pipeline to other positions.
  • Factor Weights — Assign weight to the relative importance of Factor 1 versus Factor 2.

Quick Tip: Because performing the Availability analysis will take some time and attention, feel free to return to this current Help page as you work through the steps. The module-specific articles are also accessible from the Help Table of Contents, via the link in the Help header.

Each of these components are defined below.

Understanding External Availability Components

Why U.S. Census Information is Important

This U.S. Census Bureau captures responses from the American population about demographics and occupation, collecting the information in an "EEO Tabulation" (for short). To support the External Availability calculation, balanceAAP is loaded with U.S. Census Bureauthis demographic data,data set, which is organized byby:

  • definedDefined geographic regions and

    • AND

  • codedOccupation bycode occupation.

Links to Federal Resources:

What is the current U.S. Census Data Source?
For plans dated January 1, 2014 and later, the census data source is the EEO 2006-2010 ACS Tabulation Data set (or EEO Tabulation for short). Therefore, under Create Plan / Step 5, the default setting conforms to the appropriate data source.

Note: Older plans in balanceAAP may have been created using the 2000 census data source.

Quick Reminder: Click the Recruitment Areas > [Settings] button, located in the upper toolbar, to display the current Plan Settings for the External Availability (or census data) Source. You can also review other Availability Calculation Settings.

What is a Reasonable Recruitment Area?

A Reasonable Recruitment Area is the geographic area from which your company recruits;recruits. As appropriate for your organization's recruiting and thishiring areapractices, each RRA may be tailored to an AAP by Job Group, as appropriate. Group.

An RRA can be built from the following standard census areas:

  • Place (city or municipality)
  • State
  • Country (or county set, if low population)
  • Core-Based Statistical Area, or CBSA (metropolitan area)

This articleBalanceAAP also coverssupports customthe RRAs,customization whichand blending of areas.

About Census Occupation Code Matching

Census Occupation codes form the bases for determining how many people in the defined Reasonable Recruitment Area(s) have the requisite skills for jobs at your organization. Therefore, each Job code/Title at your organization must be matched to a Census Occupation code so the proper External Availability statistics can be builtpulled.

Understanding Internal Availability

As positions become open at your organization, the Internal Availability analysis looks at the presence of women and minority candidates within your organization who are qualified for potential movement into these jobs.

This task area involves:

  • Identifying “feeder jobs” for a Job Group by combiningJob census areas, or using other data categories (e.g., education) that are available in balanceAAP.

    Add a Recruitment Area to the System

    Note: If Zip codes or a Drilldown fields are included in the data set for use in determining RRAs, Recruitment Areas will open the Recruitment Area Wizard, and the areas will be organized by that field.

    A Recruitment Area must first be added to the system, via Recruitment Areas, making it available for later assignment to a planTitle/Code or Job Group.

  • If Beginmultiple byfeeders choosingare identified for the [AddJob Group, weighting the relative importance of each identified job in providing qualified incumbents.

Feeder Job Considerations

A feeder job acts as a Recruitment"stepping Area]stone," buttonoffering frominternal candidates a pathway into a higher-level Job Group, when a suitable position opens. Although this movement typically occurs through advancement, or promotion, some organizations may also consider lateral moves, or transfers, as feeder pathways. If multiple jobs feed one Job Group, weighting can be applied to reflect their relative contribution to likely placements.

For the uppercalculation toolbar.to Frombe performed, the Reasonablefeeder Recruitmentjob Areasmust menu,be clickstaffed during the plan year. In determining feeder jobs, organizations typically rely on current (and historical) promotion data, along with examining their promotion practices.

About Factor Weights

In determining the total radioAvailability buttonresult, for:Factor Weights represent how much emphasis is assigned to:

  • StandardFactor 1 — External Availability Reasonable Recruitment Area from the standard regions defined (2010 census, including counties, states, and CBSAs)

    • OR VERSUS

  • Custom Reasonable Recruitment Area combiningFactor 2 or— moreInternal standard regions and assigning custom weightsAvailability

(Optional)When Changeweighted and considered together, the Defaulttwo Advancedfactors Options

will Whenproduce usingan estimate of overall Availability by Job Group for comparison to your organization's workforce. The resulting INCUMBENCY VERSUS AVAILABILITY report will alert you to any underemployment of minorities and women.

Ultimately, the 2006-2010PLACEMENT censusGOALS data source, Advanced Optionsreport will beserve setas a guidepost for filling open positions where underutilization is present, during the upcoming plan year.

List of Related Reports

In addition to theAAP-required systemreporting, defaults,balanceAAP outputs several underlying Reports to serve as notedAvailability below.checkpoints Click Show Advanced Options, a link atalong the bottom of the menu. Then, review the default selections, and make new selections, as necessary:way:

  • ResidenceRequired in the AAP — Includes both employed and unemployed persons, based on where they live (Default)

    • AVAILABILITY ORFACTOR

      COMPUTATION FORM
    • INCUMBENCY VERSUS ESTIMATED AVAILABILITY
    • PLACEMENT GOALS
  • WorksiteSupporting reports —
    • AVAILABILITY WORKSHEET
    • RECRUITMENT AREA COMPOSITION
    • REQUISITE SKILLS CALCULATIONS
    • CENSUS CODE ASSIGNMENTS
    • FEEDER JOB CALCULATIONS
    • SHORTFALL
    • BEST UTILIZATION RULE (Available in Factor Weights includes employed people, based on where they live)

AND

QuickGuide Tipto AAP Reports: If the Show Advanced Options link is not displayed, check the setting for census data source, as outlined below under Review Plan Settings for External Availability. The census data source must be 2006-2010.

Click [Next].

If Standard Area was Chosen

Select the Region Type from the drop-down. If the State drop-down displays, select a State.

Highlight the desired region on the Regions list, and click [Next]. The selected region will display on the Name menu. Review and rename it if desired, and click [Finish].

If Custom Area was Chosen

Select the Region type, and if applicable, select the State name. The Unselected Regions field will be populated with the available regions. Use the [Right arrow] to move the highlighted region to the Selected Regions field.

Notes: Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard to select more than one region. To remove a region from the Selected Regions field; highlight it; and click the [Left arrow].

To display regions from other statistical areas, revisit the Region Type and State drop-downs. Add one or more regions in the same manner as described above.

Click [Next]. Name the RRA, and Weight each of the area’s regions: Retain the even weighting displayed as the default, or edit each Weight field as desired. (A warning will display if the sum is over or under 100 percent.)

Example: Richland County and Fargo, North Dakota could be combined into a custom RRA. After weighting each region, based on its role in supplying qualified candidates for your organization's workforce, the resulting RRA could be named: “Richland County 60% Fargo 40%”.

Click [Finish].

(Optional) More Reasonable Recruitment Area Data Sources

After clicking [Add Recruitment Area] menu, choose More Reasonable Recruitment Area options. Select one of the topics below; click [Next]; and proceed through the guided menus:

  • Age
  • Earnings
  • Educational Attainment (5 levels)
  • Educational Attainment (6 levels)
  • Industry
  • Other (e.g., NORC Ph.D. data)

Assign Recruitment Areas

Areas that have been added to the system can be assigned in any of your organization’s plans, by accessing one of two sub-tabs in the External Availability > Recruitment Areas tab header:

  • By Plan (Default entry page)
  • By Job Group

Assign a Default Recruitment Area by Plan

On first entry to the By Plan tab, the default Recruitment Area will be set to the United States. Select an RRA specific to your organization from the drop-down.

(Optional) Assign a Recruitment Area by Job Group

On the By Job Group tab, click the Use Default Recruitment Area link for a Job Group to override the default RRA. Choose a different RRA from the drop-down, and Save the selection.

Quick Reminder:: Click [Add Recruitment Area] if the area you wish to use is not displayed in the drop-down.

Edit a Recruitment Area Assignment (by Job Group)

Return to the Recruitment Areas > By Job Groups sub-tab. Using the Recruitment Areas for Job Groups menu, click on a Recruitment Area link. Select another area from the provided drop-down, and click Save. Remember, if the area you want to assign is not displayed for selection, return to instructions above to Add a Reasonable Recruitment Area.

Quick Tip: Areas created by the Recruitment Area Wizard can be made available for selection: Recruitment Area Wizard / Include Wizard Areas in Assignment Menus.

Import Recruitment Areas and Census Codes from another Plan

To bring in Recruitment Areas and Census Coding from an existing balanceAAP plan, choose [Import] from the upper toolbar.

Choose Company, Establishment, and Plan from the drop-downs.

If the source plan is detected as using a different census data source, answer an additional question, regarding whether to translate Recruitment Areas or import only census codes.

Note: This import will not affect any current census codes when they are not present in the source plan.