About the NMB
- Chairman's Letter
- Mission Statement
- NMB Structure
- Board Members & Directors
- Registry of Board Members
The Office of Administration (OA) provides operational management, leadership and support for the entire agency. These services include: strategic planning and budgeting; accounting and finance; human resources management; procurement and contracting; information technology management and telecommunications; property and space management; and office support.
The NMB’s Human Capital Management Report provides a vehicle for ensuring that established objectives are assessed and reported on, accomplished objectives are noted, and that future goals are tracked for continuous improvement. The FY 2012 results will be used to make improvements in the human resources arena.
As the NMB moves to take advantage of online services in the personnel arena, the agency is becoming more efficient and effective, the results of which can be seen in the agency the hiring process. For internal posting, the NMB hires an employee within 30 days. In the cases of delegated examining positions, the NMB continues to show movement toward the 80 day standard.
The NMB continues to use the E-verify system to ensure that all new appointees are eligible to work. In addition, three individual surveys are conducted for all new hires to assess their work experience. The results help to improve the training and orientation process for not only the new hires but also as a refresher for our current staff.
In accordance with the NMB’s Capital Planning Plan, the NMB will is reviewing options for its information technology equipment while moving toward cloud computing. The NMB is in the process of implementing various aspects of “cloud” computing to better utilize its resources. During our movement to the cloud, the NMB Corporate Memory and Knowledge Store will also be moved to a cloud platform consistent with government requirements.
The NMB participated in the Eagle Horizon 2012 National Level Exercise which included a cyber-security incident. The exercise tested our ability to perform essential functions during a security incident. This test also allowed us to verify some aspects of our cloud computing. Participation in Eagle Horizon 2012 demonstrated that the cloud computing initiatives currently in the testing phase are more than adequate to meet the needs of the agency in an emergency situation. Once fully tested, the COOP plan will be updated.
The NMB’s accounting system, GLOWS, meets all current financial requirements. This system enables the agency to close its monthly financial records within one business day. The agency’s budget is spread out among three program areas which are consistent with the agency’s strategic and performance goals. The costs for all the other departments within the agency are accounted for separately in the accounting system to further provide detail accounting of program costs. The NMB is entering an agreement with the Bureau of Public Debt (BPD) to improve our financial reporting and processing by moving to a newer and more robust online platform, managed for the NMB under contract by BPD. This agreement will place at our finger tips, up-to-data financial information that can be used to make efficient financial decisions.
The Office of Administration provides budget planning, budget development, and oversight of budget execution. In addition, OA is responsible for the maintenance of the Agency’s core accounting system; financial reporting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Treasury; payments to vendors for goods and services received; issuing bills; and the preparation of the Agency’s financial statements which are audited on an annual basis.
The NMB continues to work with an outside firm to audit its financial statements. For the fifteenth consecutive year, Allmond & Company reported that the financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, and in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for Federal agencies. The FY 2012 audit report is included in this NMB Performance and Accountability Report which is posted on the agency’s website at www.nmb.gov. The material weakness identified in last year’s report is being addressed by establishing new processes and procedures that will guide the arbitration process.
As part of the small agency council, the NMB is working to ensure that its procurement functions meet all of the new requirements for procurement certification. The agreement with BPD provides an automatic system which will provide electronic processing of request to award.
With seven (7) percent of the NMB budget attributable to travel, the agency continues to review opportunities to reduce costs. We are moving to the on-line travel agent under the GSA contract. This process reduces the per ticket cost which can reduce overall travel costs in the long run. This system will also provide an electronic process for authorization, vouchers, and reimbursement.
The agency provides electronic access to all its policies. This allows our internal customers to have quick access to them. The NMB continues to use its website to provide information to its internal and external customers. The website provides access to our internal customers by allowing them to access the internal NMB forms. Also the website and our online Knowledge Store provide current and historical information to the public and our external customers.
In FY 2012, the NMB continued to refine its records and document management program, improving the search engine and further integrating the records database with the agency case management system.
The NMB staff continued to build and improve the public archive of information available through the NMB Knowledge Store. Currently, the NMB Knowledge Store contains over 100,000 documents in an easily searchable format, including arbitration awards, representation decisions, annual reports, PEB reports, and collective bargaining contracts. During FY 2012, the NMB developed a new Knowledge Store interface that speeds recovery of documents and frees the data to reside in the new cloud environment being created by the agency.