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Create an Affirmative Action Plan

KEY TOPICS:

  • Select Plan Type
  • Enter Plan Dates
  • Enter General Information
  • Determine if Multiple Plans or Single Plan
  • Determine Availability Settings
  • Select Prior Plan as History Source
  • Turn on Disability/Veteran Status Tools
  • Select EEO Schedule
  • Additional Steps to Create Sub plans for a Master Plan

Note: A Master plan (with subplans for locations) is suited for organizations with multiple locations, sharing a common data set.

Create a New Plan in balanceAAP

Once you have made selections in response to the questions below, click [Create Plan]. The system will then direct you to the plan's Home page, where you can continue working.

Cross-reference: For more information on balanceAAP Help and other universal tools, see: Home page.

Once created, the plan will also be available for selection on the Recent Plans tab, which is accessible from the header bar by clicking Plans.

Select Plan Type

Select whether you are creating an Annual Plan or an interim Update Plan.

Enter Plan Dates

Enter Plan Effective Date

The plan date is the effective date for the annual Affirmative Action plan, or the date it begins. Data from the year prior will be used in the plan's calculations (as described below). Contractors must also complete at least a six-month Update Plan.

Example: If you have a January 1, 2013 Annual Plan, the Update Plan will be dated July 1, 2013.

Enter Personnel Action Date Range

The personnel action date range for an Annual Plan will be the 12-month period prior to the Annual plan date.

Example: For a January 1, 2013 plan, the personnel action date range will span from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.

The personnel action date range for an Update Plan will span the time between the Annual Plan date and the Update Plan date.

Example: For an Annual Plan, effective January 1, 2013, the six-month Update Plan date is July 1, 2013. Therefore, the personnel action date range will go from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013.

Enter General Information

Type in the following —

Company Name: Enter the name as you would like it to appear on plan reports.

Plan Name: The Plan Name should include the effective plan date, and indicate Annual or Update.

Example: "January 1, 2013 Annual Affirmative Action Plan".

Establishment Name: A geographical location may be entered (e.g., "Vienna, VA").

Recommended for a Master Plan: The Establishment Name should be entered as "Master Plan". Later in the process, specific establishment/location names will be entered for each sub plan.

Determine if Multiple Plans or Single Plan

"Will you be creating multiple plans from a master plan data set?"

If your organization has multiple establishments or locations, sharing a common data set, select: Yes.

If a single plan will be created for one establishment or location, or if the organization only has one location, select: No.

Determine Availability Settings

From the Availability menu, answer questions for the following two options:

Use Zip Code Information to Determine Recruitment Areas

"Will you be using zip code information to determine recruitment areas for your job groups?"

Select: Yes or No.

Cross-reference: Zip code data can be efficiently used to create the plan's Recruitment Areas. However, other tools are also available; see: External Availability.

If Yes: Which zip code would you like to use when calculating External Availability in your plan?

Select ONE of the following options:

  • Roster Work Code
  • Roster Home Zip Code
  • Applicant Zip Code
  • Plan Code Zip Code — Master plan/sub-plan set only

Cross-reference: Zip code settings for External Availability are also included in the: Recruitment Area Wizard.

Select the Census Data Source

"Do you want to use 2000 census data or EEO 2006-2010 ACS Tabulation data for external availability?"

Choose between the two provided types of data released by the U.S. Census Bureau to be used when calculating External Availability.

Cross-reference: The EEO 2006-2010 data source includes four-digit occupation codes, while the earlier 2000 data source relies on three-digit codes. Choose the option that matches how your organization’s data set is coded. For plans, dated 2014 or later, the earlier codes can be updated, using balanceAAP crosswalk or auto census coding, as necessary. See: Plan Settings > Availability Calculation Settings

Prior Year Plan

"Do you have a prior year plan in BALANCEaap or balanceAAP?"

Select one of the following answers:

Option 1— I do not have a prior year plan in balanceAAP.

Cross-reference: For those creating a first balanceAAP plan, an alternate History Source can be determined later. See: History Source.

Option 2 — I want to use a prior year plan from balanceAAP.

If a prior year plan was created in balanceAAP, then select the plan from the Company, Establishment, and Plan drop-downs.

Note: An Update Plans uses settings from the associated Annual Plan. Select the correct corresponding Annual Plan from the Company, Establishment, and Plan drop-downs.

Option 3 — I want to import a prior year plan from a balanceAAP file.

If the prior year plan that was created using the desktop or client server version of balanceAAP, select this option. Follow the guided menus to locate the balanceAAP file. Please refer to the System Tools section for more information on the balanceAAP Import.

Again, if you are creating an Update Plan, select the correct corresponding Annual Plan from the Company, Establishment, and Plan drop-downs.

Turn on Disability/Veteran Status Tools

Most users should retain the default selection to include analysis on individuals with disabilities (IWDs) and protected Veterans, a setting required as of the 2015 plan year.

Select EEO Schedule

Select the appropriate EEO schedule from the following options, based on your company type:

  • 1-Private
  • 4-Governmental
  • 5-Educational (Elementary & Secondary Education)
  • 6-Educational (Postsecondary Education)
  • IPEDS [[Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System]

Audit Status

To use audit status as a filter option for the BALANCEhub report distribution display, check the box for: Is this plan under audit?