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Narratives (and Settings)

KEY TOPICS:

  • Determine Narrative Settings
    • Select Report Type (for Organizational Profile)
    • Turn on REACH Integration
    • Edit Tags and Values
    • (Optional) Manage Documents for the Select Reports list
  • Import Narratives from another balanceAAP Plan
  • Edit Tags & Values
  • Work with Narratives in a Master Plan
  • Edit Narrative Templates

Develop Narratives for the AAP

Selecting Narratives from the side navigation menu will display the Settings tab, which also provides access to tabs for Tags & Values, Templates, and Published Narrative, as described in this Help chapter.

Determine Narrative Settings

After determining the settings below, click [Save].

About Narratives and their Components

Your organization’s Affirmative Action plan will include Sections for Minorities/Women, IWD (Individuals with Disabilities), and Veterans. balanceAAP provides boilerplate language on separate tabs for these Narratives, along with tools for customizing their content. The results from plan calculations will be merged into the Narratives text, and reports will be included to build a complete narrative.

Documents from your organization may also be uploaded and included in the AAP, as described below.

Include Reports in the AAP Document

To automatically insert the required reports within the final AAP document, check all of the following:

  • Include Reports for Minorities/Women
  • Include Reports for Individuals with Disabilities
  • Include Reports for Protected Veterans

Cross-reference: For information on exporting or printing the final narrative, see: Select Reports.

Quick Tip: Leave the boxes unchecked to review drafts of the narrative texts.

Select Report Type (for Organizational Profile)

Either of the following two reports satisfies the requirement for submitting an Organizational Profile. Check off one:

This option may be pre-selected for you, based on earlier settings you made in the system.

(If applicable) Turn on REACH Integration

If Good Faith Efforts data are available from BALANCEhub REACH and you would like to include the data in this Affirmative Action plan, check the box under: Reach Integration.

BALANCEhub Help Cross-reference:/ /Each/ Each REACH data record must be associated with at least one or more Locations, a Plan Date, and an Evaluation. See:REACH > Activities.

(Optional) Add a Header or Footer

Under Header and Footer, check the box next to: Include Header and Footer. If applicable, click: Include on the title page.

You may enter text for either the Header or Footer or both, using the Add Header Text and Add Footer Text menus.

Import Narrative Settings from another balanceAAP Plan

Narrative elements can be imported from another plan into this plan, using the Narratives > Settings tab. Select the items to import:

  • Settings
  • Tag Values
  • Templates
  • Supporting Documents

Then select the Company, Establishment, and Plan from the provided drop-downs. Click [Import].

Edit Tags and Values

About Tags

The text assigned with a tag will appear wherever the tag is placed in a template. Based on tags, content is inserted into the proper place, remains accurate across an organization's plans, and is efficiently updated when information changes.

Example: [Affirmative Action Chief Policy Signer] is a tag, representing the name of the chief policy signer, perhaps "Jane Smith."

Using the Tag Library

On the Narratives >Tags and Values tab, a library of tags appears on the left side of the screen. Tags with an [In use] icon next to them are currently in place in one of the narrative Templates and should be updated with the relevant information. Tags with a [Value Assigned] icon indicate that information has been supplied. Tags without an icon are currently not in use in narrative Templates.

Select a tag from the list. Any text already applied to the tag will appear in the Tag Description field. Enter the appropriate information for each tag into the Tag Description field and click [Save], and then continue with the other tags.

Add a Tag to the System

Create a tag by clicking [Add a New Tag]. Enter:

  • Tag Name
  • Tag Description
  • Number of Rows (from 1 to 6, which will be available in the narrative for tag content)

Click [Save]. Tags created in one plan can be used in any plan in your organization. (For instructions on including the tag in the narrative, see the next heading below: Edit the Narrative Templates.)

Delete the tag (for all plans in your organization) by clicking [Delete]. You can only delete tags you have created.

(Optional) Manage Documents for the Select Report list

Appendices and other corporate documents can be added at the end of a narrative on the Select Reports list. From there, they can be compiled into the completed AAP. Begin by clicking the [Manage Documents] button.

From the tab header, select the narrative to which the supporting documents should be added. Click Browse, and find the document. add [Add Another File] as necessary. Click [Upload]. Multiple documents will appear under Uploaded Documents in the order of upload.

Next, review their order of appearance, as this order will be reflected on the Select Reports > Narratives list. To edit a document’s location, use the [Move Up/Move Down] arrows at the right of the File Name. Once the order is suitable, click [Save].

Note: On the Select Reports list, the document(s) will appear directly after the associated narrative, in the order you determined.

Click the [Edit] icon to change how the document’s Display Name appears on the Select Reports list. Click the [Delete] icon to remove one of the Uploaded Documents.

When the Upload list is satisfactory, click the Return to Settings tab.

Work with Narratives in a Master Plan

All edits made, using menus on the Narratives > Settings tab apply to the sub-plans, and these settings cannot be changed within the sub-plan.

The following elements may be cascaded to sub-plans by using a Master Plan option, which will display where applicable and be checked by default:

  • Uploaded Documents that were added through [Manage Documents] (above)
  • Tags & Values
  • Content for each Narrative Template (e.g., Minorities/Women, IWD)

These elements may be edited within a sub-plan for the specific needs of that plan.

Quick Reminder: If a sub-plan setting (e.g., option, tag, content edit) applies to all sub plans, determine it within the Master Plan.