I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e EPR Writing 101

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

EPR Writing 101


So You Have to Write an EPR?

Performance feedback and performance evaluation are critically important to the success of our Airmen

Don’t treat it lightly…remember, your subordinate is not the only one being evaluated, but…

It’s not rocket surgery, i.e., it’s very straight forward…or at least it should be (don’t make it harder than you have to)

Don’t think you’re a good writer? That’s OK, you don’t necessarily have to be…you just need to be an accurate writer

Bullet writing is not based on standard English Like anything else, it takes practice to be “good” at it…


“OMG, it snuck up on me!”

Why did you wait for the RIP? You knew it was coming Get your resources together – today!

Require your subordinate to give you input Weekly or Monthly Activity Reports Use it as a learning/training opportunity

Give them a target block to fill Check the member’s PIF…you might be surprised Get those PFWs out and review them Tongue and Quill, dictionary, thesaurus, unit guides

If you think it could be late – speak up NOW! Take a deep breath…and do it one bullet at a time

Set it aside if you need to, but watch the suspense


Three Required Ingredients of an EPR Bullet…

Action, Result, and Impact


The First Ingredient - Action

ACTION – what was the verifiable action? Start the bullet with an action verb

Airman and Jr. NCOs: produced, constructed, designed, created, etc

SNCOs: led, managed, supervised, directed, etc Be cautious of nebulous terms like conceived, formulated,

or envisioned Don’t overlook task leadership in Airman and JNCOs Don’t entirely discount things that didn’t quite work out

If it was a good idea, give it the credit it’s due “Laid the groundwork for…” and “paved the way…” But don’t assume an outcome…this is a performance

evaluation


The Second Ingredient - Result

RESULT – what was the quantitative and/or qualitative outcome of the member’s action? Figures, percentages, ratios (be careful w/numbers)

Adds weight and credibility Provides a frame of reference or scope

“Describers” are just as important, but be careful… First-ever, largest, finest, best-to-date, first-rate, etc

are all good to use, but make sure they’re realistic, accurate, and verifiable

Be careful with “creativity”…primary responsibility as a supervisor is to accurately articulate the performance of your Airmen

Don’t call the ratee’s, or your own integrity, into question


The Third Ingredient - Impact

IMPACT – what positive affect did the member’s action have on the mission of the unit? This is actually where you should start first

Primarily select actions whose results have made an impact

This is the heart of the bullet…this is the money maker Everything else in the bullet supports this, so make

it meaningful Testimonials work well, especially from commanders,

senior staff, aircrew, etc., but don’t overuse


Anatomy of a Bullet

or…

How I Wrote My First EPR


Start with the action…

SSgt Jones set up some chairs.


then throw in something that describes the action…

SSgt Jones helped set up over 300 chairs in less than one hour for the 2005 CCAF Graduation.


now, put in a result…

SSgt Jones helped set up over 300 chairs in less than one hour for the 2005 CCAF Graduation.

480 guests and graduates attended this career milestone event.


and explain the impact…

SSgt Jones helped set up over 300 chairs in less than one hour for the 2005 CCAF Graduation. 480 guests and graduates attended this career milestone. Outstanding event praised by 1st Fighter Wing Commander as “best ever seen” at Langley AFB.


and finally, put it in EPR format.

- Key member of CCAF graduation; set up over 300 chairs in under 1 hour; attended by 480 guests/graduates; outstanding event honored career milestone/praised by 1 FW/CC--”best ever seen”


Action + Result + Impact = Your Subordinates Success

- Key member of CCAF graduation; set up over 300 chairs in under 1 hour; attended by 480 guests/graduates; outstanding event honored career milestone/praised by 1 FW/CC--”best ever seen”


Action + Result + Impact = Your Subordinates Success

- Key to CCAF grad; set up 300 chairs in 1 hour; attended by 480; event praised by 1 FW/CC--”best ever seen”


And on the other side of the coin…“My Supervisor Just Asked Me For Inputs!”

No one cares more about your career then you (right?) You should have been doing that all year Give your inputs digitally on the proper form Don’t be shy, tell it like you think it is

You have the “technical” expertise – explain it Identify what’s important to you Impress with your ability to write (communicate)


A Few Do’s and Don’ts

Do get your subordinate’s inputs, but don’t rely on them as your sole source

Do get performance input from other supervisors Do be clear, accurate, and fair

Fair doesn’t mean equal… Don’t get “thesaurusidis” Don’t focus on single events…good or bad Don’t be late…there are few legitimate excuses And for the love of all things holy and sacred, don’t

forget to spell check!

Instructor Pet Peeves:


Self-QC

Use the unit EPR Checklist Ensure your word picture matches ratings on front Make sure your final product makes sense Don’t use punctuation at the end of bullets Make sure verb tenses agree; “maintains and

distributed…” are in tense conflict “Praise” (first) line should be in present or future tense Body of comments block should be in past tense Promotion statement/job recommendation (last) line

should be in present or future tense Make sure the bullet and sub-bullet lines line up Don’t expect someone else to edit your work

You should never push an eval up the chain until you consider it “final”


EPR WritingPractical Example


Losing & Winning Bullets

- Participated and assisted with NAF Resale Auction; generated over $3,000 in revenue for the Vance MWR

- Managed NAF resale auction inventory; advertised 89K items…generated $3K; funded local MWR services

What was wrong with the first version?

Weak Intro, wasted real-estate

- Participated and assisted with NAF Resale Auction; generated over $3,000 in revenue for the Vance MWR


- Revamped entire process of receiving data from Services and reporting NAF Financial Statement to wing/CC

-- Process now ensures focused and in-depth review on assessing financial soundness of all NAF operations

-Streamlined NAF Finance reports system…3K statements qrtly/$73K; armed Wng/CC for budget increases

Two lines, no data, wordy, no tangible impact

- Revamped entire process of receiving data from Services and reporting NAF Financial Statement to wing/CC

-- Process now ensures focused and in-depth review on assessing financial soundness of all NAF operations



- Counselor to squadron personnel; mentored individuals on personal & professional standards in the Air Force

- Mentored 12 CGO/NCO’s; directed weekly leadership class…23 hrs/produced 7 quarterly award winners

Space filler, numbers missing, no impact

- Counselor to squadron personnel; mentored individuals on personal & professional standards in the Air Force



Summary

Few things are more important! Action, Result, Impact format Know your resources, and use them

Including supervisors, peers, etc.


Questions?

Documents

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e EPR Writing 101