More than numbers—FTE management removing obstacles, gaining efficiency
2016-09-30
As part of JSC 2.016, senior staff is striving to make FTE management a more efficient and useful process for everyone at the center.
What does FTE stand for? Full-Time Equivalent. This is the way we measure how many full-time employees are required to perform work here at Johnson Space Center. One FTE is equal to one person working full-time, and full-time at JSC is defined as working 80 hours in a two-week pay period.
JSC Director Dr. Ellen Ochoa and senior management are challenging JSC team members to take a hard look at the processes they follow every day with fresh eyes and the mindset of eliminating obstacles. We obviously want to make sure we are effectively utilizing our workforce, but we currently seem to spend a lot of time adding up tenths of FTEs.
Lauri Hansen, director of Engineering and lead for this initiative, explained what this new process looks like.
“Senior staff will determine if there is any cause for concern about FTE overruns at a top level,” Hansen said, “while first-line managers will be asked to manage content and not numbers. This reduces management overhead and will lessen the impact of the time spent managing to numbers.”
Goals for this new process:
Micromanagement will not lead us to the stars. Using our time, energy and resources where they really matter, however, can.
“We want to use resources as efficiently as possible,” Hansen said. “Removing obstacles to FTE management will allow us to do that and strategically align our workforce with the work that needs to be done.”
Michele Y. Martin
NASA Johnson Space Center
What does FTE stand for? Full-Time Equivalent. This is the way we measure how many full-time employees are required to perform work here at Johnson Space Center. One FTE is equal to one person working full-time, and full-time at JSC is defined as working 80 hours in a two-week pay period.
JSC Director Dr. Ellen Ochoa and senior management are challenging JSC team members to take a hard look at the processes they follow every day with fresh eyes and the mindset of eliminating obstacles. We obviously want to make sure we are effectively utilizing our workforce, but we currently seem to spend a lot of time adding up tenths of FTEs.
Lauri Hansen, director of Engineering and lead for this initiative, explained what this new process looks like.
“Senior staff will determine if there is any cause for concern about FTE overruns at a top level,” Hansen said, “while first-line managers will be asked to manage content and not numbers. This reduces management overhead and will lessen the impact of the time spent managing to numbers.”
Goals for this new process:
- To manage the content of work (not numbers) from both a customer and provider perspective. Are employees working on the right things and the right priorities?
- Make sure we are fully using our workforce on our highest priorities without self-imposed limitations.
- Watch at the program/center level to make sure we don’t overrun program marks.
Micromanagement will not lead us to the stars. Using our time, energy and resources where they really matter, however, can.
“We want to use resources as efficiently as possible,” Hansen said. “Removing obstacles to FTE management will allow us to do that and strategically align our workforce with the work that needs to be done.”
Michele Y. Martin
NASA Johnson Space Center