Sharepoint SMMC slating process

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The USMC Sergeants Major Slating Process is a forum conducted by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps with Force Level Sergeants Major. It was introduced in February 2000 to ensure the assignment of the best qualified Sergeant Major leadership and experience to General Officer (GO) level commands and to ensure all eligible Sergeants Major receive fair and equitable consideration for those assignments.

CHALLENGE:  The process typically begins months prior to the actual slating board. Candidate packages are submitted through email to the Headquarters Marine Corps Manpower Management (MM) Office. Personnel from the MM office access multiple web databases to retrieve military records for each candidate and store them on local computers and shared drives. In preparation for each board, candidate packages are printed and consolidated into binders for review by the voting members. When the board convenes, all Force Level Sergeants Major around the world travel to Headquarters Marine Corps to participate in the slating process, expending resources to hold the event. In an effort to reduce costs and save valuable time for each voting member, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps requested an online mechanism to hold virtual slating boards, keeping Force Level Sergeants Major in place during the vote.  

SOLUTION: Hartwood developers built a one-stop-shop, wizard driven solution for building and managing multiple, simultaneous virtual slating boards. The tool provides a fully functional dashboard, equip with web redirection technology to display only what is needed, depending on the permissions associated with the visiting user. The home page is configured with a communication mechanism, allowing for the posting and dissemination of all related board messages, and sends automated email notifications at various times during the board process. Global navigation links are utilized to bring forth a full directory (including photos, links to bios, and POC information) of all Sergeants Major currently serving in GO assignments. The tool streamlines the collection and tracking of packages, creating separate folders for each candidate, and providing drag and drop capability to quickly upload all required documents. At a pre-designated time, the tool creates a virtual board, pulling in all candidate packages and displaying them, in order, for voting members. Each voting member can vote in place, online, from their home office. Upon completion of each board, the tool provides a single-click mechanism for tallying votes, which are then displayed for voting members and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, who signs off on the vote. Board results remain on the dashboard for 30 days, then are automatically retired to an archived state with retention of up to 2 years. 

RESULT:  Hartwood consultants presented the solution to the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps and received high praise for the effort and accuracy of the slating process, incorporated into the tool. He authorized deployment and requested the solution be presented with a full demonstration at the 2017 Sergeants Major Symposium.