The new year is a time of new beginnings. What better way to kick off 2023 than by furthering your enlisted Coast Guard career? The best way to do that is by strengthening your Enlisted Evaluation Report (EER) and your knowledge of the Enlisted Evaluation System (EES) to position yourself for success in 2023 and beyond.
The evaluations branch of the Enlisted Personnel Management division (EPM-3) has a host of resources to help you accurately depict your performance during your next evaluation period. Read on to learn how EPM-3 can help you advance your career goals.
Tips and resources
Members “should take responsibility for their own evaluations and advertise their own accomplishments,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Matthew Sharp of EPM-3. Enlisted members can boost their professional prospects by crafting strong bullet points that showcase their accomplishments. To help the enlisted workforce highlight their strengths and talents, EPM-3 offers a writing workshop on the art of crafting substantive bullets that quantify accomplishments using action-impact statements.
The cornerstone of success, according to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jessica Olmeda, is frequent and transparent communication. Of course, it is completely optional, but members are strongly encouraged to have regular conversations with their supervisors to confirm if their performance is meeting the standard. Feedback goes two ways and keeping lines of communication open helps align expectations and prevents surprises during mid-period counseling, or worse, during the final evaluation. “Never show up to receive an evaluation without an idea of its general nature,” Olmeda advised.
“We encourage members to self-evaluate by using the appropriate CG-3788 [form], which will be entered into Direct Access, then forwarded to their supervisors,” Olmeda added. This bolsters honest conversations and direct feedback.
Commands should also be familiar with policy governing the EES and avoid any unauthorized comments citing protected categories and information. EPM-3’s team of eight auditors review and validate every EER. In 2022, EPM-3 returned nearly 20% of EERs due to unauthorized comments.
“Commands and members with questions should feel free to reach out to EPM-3 at any time,” Sharp said. “You can always email or call us directly. There are three or four of us monitoring our inbox, and we are always happy to have a conversation.”
New trainings to come!
Starting in March, EPM-3 will offer a training for trainers (T4T) process. This will include “a deep dive into policies, procedures and best practices for members to share with others in their commands and have a clear understanding of policy and how to best evaluate personnel,” Sharp said. “We’re looking to give command representatives tools to improve EER and EES knowledge within their command which we believe will improve transparency and ultimately, performance.
Olmeda added these trainings are “providing a professional development opportunity for folks in the fleet to train their own people.” This is especially beneficial during critical funding environments where EPM-3 members may not be able to travel to requesting units.
The T4Ts are geared toward rating chains and members interested in professional development opportunities who are looking for ways to improve their knowledge of the process. Sessions will be limited to 10 participants to allow for more in-depth conversations and responses to inquiries. The trainings will be held quarterly beginning Mar. 1. EPM-3 is also developing a roster of trainers who can facilitate trainings in their local areas if EPM-3 cannot support them.
If you are interested in becoming an EER trainer, please email EPM-3 no later than Feb. 24.
“Help is always a phone call away”, Sharp emphasized. “We’re available for in-person and virtual trainings. We’re a full-service shop. We’re offering trainings for trainers as an extra addition for units to hold them locally.”
As a reminder, the enlisted evaluation schedule is as follows:
If you have any questions, please email EPM-3. To view their resources, click here.
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