Articles by Steve Oppermann
From Rio to Barcelona: The Travel of One Federal Retiree
What will you do when you retire? Many people travel to places they have always wanted to visit. Author Steve Oppermann is one of these retirees. He travels around the world, when not conducting human resources seminars for federal agencies.
Posted: August 6, 2009 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Save the KSAs! The Debate Rages On
The possible elimination of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) in filling jobs has triggered a virtual avalanche of articles and discussion. Even OPM can't wave a magic wand and make KSAs disappear, since the requirement to use them is embedded in law, so the question seems to be how, not if, they will be used.
Posted: July 21, 2009 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
"Green Blood" at the National Park Service
The author says that the nominee to head the National Park Service will be good for the agency's future.
Posted: July 16, 2009 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Save the KSAs! A Former Human Resources Manager Defends a Trio of Old Friends
There is plenty of controversy surrounding the federal hiring process. One aspect is the proposal to eliminate federal KSA's. An experienced federal human resources specialist weighs in with a proposal. The author says federal hiring can and should be improved and suggests how that can be achieved.
Posted: July 6, 2009 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
As the Economy Crumbles: One Federal Retiree's Feeble Attempts to Cope
How are you coping in the current economic climate? Many federal retirees are having to "economize" in some form or other in order to maintain our standard of living. Here is the experience of one federal employee who took his money out of the Thrift Savings Plan and invested on his own.
Posted: March 17, 2009 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Articles by Steve Oppermann: 50
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Steve Oppermann completed his Federal career on March 31, 1997, after more than 26 years of service, virtually all in human resources management. Steve rose from a basic personnel management trainee at Fort Riley, Kansas, to Regional Director of Personnel for General Services Administration (GSA) in Denver in less than 10 years.
In the latter position, he managed, through four subordinate supervisors, the functions of position classification, position management and pay administration; external recruitment and internal placement, including administration of the agency's Merit Promotion Plan; labor relations, including contract negotiations and day-to-day contract administration with three different labor organizations with exclusive recognition; employee relations, including performance management, conduct and discipline, and benefits administration; employee development and training; affirmative action, including special emphasis programs; and personnel action processing. After moving from GSA to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1985, Steve served as Chief of Personnel Operations for nearly nine years.
In addition to 25 years as a first-, second-, and third-line supervisor and program manager, Steve gained experience in every human resources function, as well as in equal employment opportunity (EEO). He also represented agency management in a wide variety of third-party settings, and worked effectively with top agency management and with supervisors and non-supervisory employees at all levels of the organization.
In 1993, Steve won a Congressional Fellowship sponsored by the American Political Science Association, spending from November of 1993 through October of 1994 working as a Legislative Assistant in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii. He spent the last 2 ½ years of his Federal career serving as a senior consultant to the NPS on the most complex third-party cases in employee relations and EEO. For the last four years, Steve has served as president of the board of Volunteers in Prevention (VIP), a registered Colorado non-profit organization that mentors at-risk youth.
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