HR Update - FY 26 Issue 01
Issue Date: September 18, 2025
In This Issue
- Dashboard Reports Available for Admin Staff in AspireAlaska
- DOP Announces New Employee Relations Manager: Cathy Robinson
- New DOP SharePoint Portals for Union Master Agreement Enrollment
- New Telework Policy and Forms
- All Telework Agreements Now Tracked in IRIS
- Updates Coming to Probationary Evaluations in AspireAlaska
- AspireAlaska Learning Office Hours and New User Demos
- DOP Comings and Goings
Dashboard Reports Available for Admin Staff in AspireAlaska
The AspireAlaska Team in the Division of Personnel has recently updated the reports available to departmental administrative staff, which can be viewed from the Reports Dashboard in AspireAlaska. The reports available include:
- Off-Cycle Performance Evaluations Expiring Soon
- Performance Evaluations Completed in the Last 30 Days
- Users with Pay Increases Due in the Next 60 Days with Completed Evaluations
- Employees Expected to Have Performance Evaluations
- Statewide Performance Evaluation Step Status Tracking
To view these Dashboards, login to AspireAlaska and under the side menu go to Reports > Dashboards and these reports show under Admin Staff Reports. It is recommended that admin staff check these reports once a month to keep track of how Performance Evaluations are being processed for their division.
These reports are intended to help agencies better track their employees’ Performance Evaluations, ensuring that evaluations are completed timely, which ensures that the pay increases are processed timely. Please feel free to reach out to AspireAlaska@alaska.gov if there are additional reports that would help track Performance Evaluations.
DOP Announces New Employee Relations Manager: Cathy Robinson
We’re proud to share that Cathy Robinson has officially stepped into a new role: Employee Relations Program Manager. For nearly two years, Cathy has served as an Assistant Program Manager of Employee Relations, bringing her experience and knowledge to every challenge. Before joining the state HR community in 2018, Cathy built her HR foundation in the private sector at Providence Hospital. She later transitioned to public service as the HR Manager for the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Her journey with the Division of Personnel began during HR integration, where she played a pivotal role in launching our Absence Management team. Stepping up seems to be second nature for Cathy. While leading the AM team, she didn’t hesitate to lend critical support to the state’s Talent Acquisition efforts during an especially demanding period—proving once again that she’s not just a team player, but a team builder.
New DOP SharePoint Portals for Union Master Agreement Enrollment
We are pleased to announce the creation of a new SharePoint site set up for Internal Online Forms submission. This site will serve as a central hub where employees can easily submit a sign-up form to Master Letters of Agreement with the Alaska State Employees Association, Alaska Public Employees Association, the Public Safety Employees Association, and Public Employees Local 71 (LTC). A variety of forms online to be processed, including:
- Alternate Workweek
- Reduced Workweek
- In-State Telework (for telework in different duty station), and
- Out of State Telework (for telework in different duty station).
We will be adding forms and information to the site moving forward as needed.
The aim is to streamline the process, ensuring that all union submissions are efficiently managed and tracked. This allows employees to sign on to Master Letters of Agreements instead of having to seek individual Letters of Agreements with the unions. It also makes sure that all necessary parties are informed of what is happening so that it can be approved, tracked, and implemented. This includes informing Division of Finance Payroll Services and the union if needed.
New Telework Policy and Forms
A new Telework Policy has been released from the Division of Personnel in alignment with the Office of the Governor. The purpose of this policy is to create consistency across telework agreements and to add clarification on the previous telework policy.
Key Highlights include:
- Telework Eligibility: Clear criteria for telework eligibility have been established, consistent with the previous policy but now offering more specific guidance. To qualify, employees must have well-defined performance expectations and a secure, technically compliant telework location.
- Telework Eligibility: Clear criteria for telework eligibility have been established, consistent with the previous policy but now offering more specific guidance. To qualify, employees must have well-defined performance expectations and a secure, technically compliant telework location.
- Disqualification Criteria: Employees may be ineligible for telework if they have received formal disciplinary action or are currently on a Performance Improvement Plan within the past 12 months. Additionally, probationary employees are not approved for telework unless an exception is granted by the Division Director, Deputy Commissioner, or Commissioner.
- Situational Telework is maxed at 29 days. If an employee needs to telework longer than 29 days, an approved Telework Agreement form will need to be completed.
- Routine out-of-state telework requires approval by the Office of Governor. Out of State telework is limited to:
- Family or personal emergency
- Medical Situation
- The State’s best interest (e.g., critical knowledge transfer/training of a new incumbent or completion of a significant project, mission critical work, etc.)
- International Telework is prohibited unless expressly pre-approved by the Chief of Staff.
- Telework Forms Update: To streamline the telework process, employees will now complete one of two distinct forms based on the telework location: in-state or out-of-state. This ensures that the correct approval workflows are followed and that all required information specific to each telework type is accurately captured.
- Master LOA Enrollment: Employees in positions covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement who telework from a location other than the position’s official duty station must sign-up to a Master Letter of Agreement (LOA) and have union concurrence. Sign-up forms are available on the DOP Internal Online Forms SharePoint site.
All Telework Agreements Now Tracked in IRIS
Departments are responsible for 1) Entering Telework Agreements into IRIS and 2) Updating the IRIS entry should the end date change. This new protocol is intended to improve the accuracy of telework reporting and streamline the management of telework arrangements across all departments and agencies. Please work with your Division/Department HR Staff and leadership for information about who will be doing the data entry for your Division/Department.
The Division of Finance created a job aid for entering TWA data in IRIS HRM; and there is a video demonstration in AspireAlaska entitled State of Alaska - Entering Telework Agreements in IRIS Demo.
Updates Coming to Probationary Evaluations in AspireAlaska
The AspireAlaska Team is excited to announce that we are working on rolling out the auto-launching of mid-probation and end of probation evaluation tasks. This update aims to ensure that probationary employees are consistently receiving official feedback during their probationary period. It is also necessary to have these completed to grant any pay increases due at the end of the probationary period.
The plan for launching the probationary evaluations in AspireAlaska is for:
- mid-probation evaluation to launch about 30 days before the middle of the probationary period and,
- end of probation evaluation to launch 45 days before the end of probation date.
If the end of probation evaluation is not completed by the time the employee is moved to permanent status in IRIS HRM, then the evaluation will be removed from the employee’s task list and have to be started over. It is critical to complete these evaluations on time.
By automating the probationary evaluation process, we hope to make it easier for supervisors to remember when the evaluations are due and make sure that pay increases are processed timely.
Be on the lookout for more specific information in the upcoming months. We are hoping to start auto-launching evaluations in November 2025.
AspireAlaska Learning Office Hours and New User Demos
We’re excited to share two fantastic opportunities from the Learning & Development team to help you get the most out of AspireAlaska!
New to AspireAlaska? Join Our Live Demo Series!
Whether you're just getting started or want a quick refresher, our 30-minute virtual demo is the perfect way to learn how to:
- Log in and navigate the AspireAlaska Platform
- Search for and assign free online courses
- Understand your learning transcript
- Ask questions in real time
These interactive sessions are offered twice a month for the rest of the year. Register now to find a date that works for you and reserve your spot.
Note: This demo focuses on the learning features of AspireAlaska. For questions related to performance management, please reach out to the AspireAlaska helpdesk at aspirealaska@alaska.gov.
Introducing AspireAlaska Learning Office Hours
Need personalized support? We’re piloting Learning Office Hours, where you can schedule a 1-on-1 session with an AspireAlaska expert to get help with:
- Finding the right training for yourself or your team
- Assigning training to yourself or your team
- Navigating the AspireAlaska Learning Management System
- Or anything else related to your learning journey
Note: Learning Office Hours are dedicated to supporting the learning features of AspireAlaska. For assistance with performance management, please contact the AspireAlaska helpdesk at aspirealaska@alaska.gov
DOP Comings and Goings
Goings
- Becca Hanson (Employee Relations)
- Shana Vanderpol (Employee Relations)
- Markie Daigle (Employee Relations)
- Shanon Stallard (Employee Relations)
- Shay Braden (Classification)
Comings (New to DOP/Internal Promotions or Transfers*)
- Elizabeth Miller (Classification)
- Jordan Miller (Classification)