OCHR celebrates
Norfolk
with grand re-opening
By Anna Taylor • Public Affairs Specialist The Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR) Norfolk celebrated its 20th anniversary and grand re-opening of Bldg. 491 Aug. 24 following a destructive flood last year. The organization, which was established in 1997, aims to ensure the Department of the Navy, including the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), has the right people in the right place at the right time. OCHR Norfolk works closely with the shipyard’s Fleet Forces Command Human Resources Office (FLTHRO) located in Bldg. 15 to process vital personnel actions that keep NNSY open for business, including staffing and classification for internal and external recruitment actions, processing civilian personnel actions and retirements, providing labor relations advice and guidance, and scheduling, coordinating and providing training. When it opened two decades ago, OCHR Norfolk (then known as Human Resources Service Center East) had only 112 employees servicing a population of 30,500 civilians located primarily at commands in Virginia and North Carolina. Today OCHR Norfolk’s workforce has more than doubled and 228 employees service nearly 37,000 civilians. Its servicing model is now based on major command rather than geographic location. Approximately 65 of its staff work for the Civilian Benefits Center, which operates as a Navy-wide Center of Excellence and provides retirement and benefits counseling to more than 214,000 Navy civilian employees worldwide. In Oct. 2016, Hurricane Matthew roared up the coast of North Carolina, drenching Hampton Roads with more than a foot of rain. “Due to the strength of that storm and the failure of flood control points, the parking lot [of Bldg. 491] was completely submerged,” said OCHR Norfolk Director Joseph Winiarz. “The interior of the building had standing water in nearly 70 percent of the structure, and in some areas the water reached as high as 24 inches on the walls…it was uninhabitable.” According to Winiarz, thanks to a focused and dedicated team, a recovery plan was implemented to ensure the safety, security and well-being of employees, equipment and personal belongings so business operations could continue with minimal disruption. OCHR Norfolk employees established alternate work locations at the command’s two other buildings, one on the north end of NNSY in Bldg. 17, and the other at its Robin Hood Road training complex in Norfolk. “Within two business days, OCHR Norfolk returned to near full capacity,” said Winiarz. “To those business partners who stepped forward to assist us in our time of need, thank you!” In April 2017, after six months of displacement, OCHR was able to move back in to Bldg. 491. In addition to Winiarz, two distinguished guests spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony: Director of the Office of Civilian Human Resources Tony TorresRamos (SES) made the trip from Washington,
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There are about 214,000 civilian employees working for the Department of the Navy – the size of the top Fortune 500 companies. There are more than 558 occupations – from accounting to zoology. More than 50,000 of the civilians are engineers and world-class scientists and researchers. About 57,000 civilians hold bachelor’s degrees; 27,000 have master’s degrees and 4,400 are PhDs. More than 35,000 civilians are blue collar artisans. Nearly 7,000 civilians work in the medical community. Veterans comprise more than half of the civilian workforce.
D.C. to give the keynote address. Former OCHR Norfolk Director and retired Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Management at the Department of Veterans Affairs Patricia Rice (SES) also delivered remarks. “We know where we were, and we know where we are, we don’t yet know what’s to come, but we know it’s coming,” said Winiarz. “We know the journey ahead awaits us, excites us and will no doubt bring out the best in us – just as it always has.”