TO: Department and Agency Personnel, Human Resource, and Affirmative Action Offices FROM: Scott DeFruscio, Director of Staffing Services SUBJECT: PCO Email Canvasses The Department of Civil Service (the Department) is pleased to announce new policies for agencies that choose to canvass the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) eligible lists by email. These policies will improve the timeliness and efficiency when canvassing a PCO eligible list. This Advisory Memorandum updates and replaces the section on Email Canvasses in GIB No. 14-03. Agencies now have two options when canvassing a PCO list by email. Agencies may choose between:
Email Canvassing in General - Agencies may immediately appoint reachable eligibles who respond to an email canvass before the deadline for response. The email canvass must contain all of the information that would be provided in a canvass letter. For convenience and consistency, the email should provide this link to canvass letter information: http://www.cs.ny.gov/extdocs/forms/S-60.page2.pdf. Agencies must provide all information contained in the email canvass to eligibles who contact them with problems opening attachments to the email. Eligibles may respond to the canvass in a variety of ways (e.g., by letter or fax), even if the agency requests responses only by email. Agencies must consider timely responses, regardless of the method the eligible used to respond. If an eligible declines by email, the agency must mail a confirming letter to the eligible. If an email is returned as undeliverable, the agency must canvass the eligible by letter and/or by phone, if the eligible must be coded to effect an appointment. Agencies must check https://www.cs.ny.gov/businesssuite/Examinations/ and click on Email Opt Outs to see if any eligible has opted out of receiving email canvasses for the title/eligible list. The agency must canvass these eligibles following the procedures for canvasses by letter and/or by phone, if the eligibles must be coded to effect an appointment. If an eligible indicates they do not want to receive canvasses by email, refer them to the PCO Exam Unit at PCO@cs.ny.gov. 10-Day Email-Only Canvassing - 10-day email-only canvass procedures follow the procedures for canvasses by mail. Eligibles must be given at least 10 business days from the date the email is sent to respond to the canvass, consistent with Civil Service Rule 4.1 (b). If the eligible does not respond in that time the eligible may be coded NR (No Response), unless the eligible responds late. 2-Day Email Canvassing - 2-day email canvass procedures follow the procedures for phone canvasses. Eligibles must be given at least two business days from the date the email is sent to respond to the canvass, consistent with Civil Service Rule 4.1 (b). If an eligible does not respond to the email canvass, the agency must still consider the eligible as active and may not inactivate an eligible on a cert based on a failure to respond to a 2-day email canvass. The agency may choose to not consider eligibles who do not respond to the email canvass, but they must be coded as non-selects (NS). The agency must use the procedures for a new 10-day email canvass or for canvasses by letter and/or phone to follow up the 2-day email canvass of any non-responders and then record the results in ELMS, if the eligibles must be coded to effect an appointment. Email Address Query - The Department has developed a query agencies can use to obtain the email address of PCO list eligibles on a cert. To access the query, log into HR Professionals, click on Examinations, then click on Email Addresses for Certs. After entering the cert number, email addresses will appear for all eligibles on that cert who provided the Department their email addresses. The request can be limited to a range of eligibles (for example 1 through 50). The email address will be the most current email address the eligible has provided the Department. In some cases, more than one email address may be shown for an eligible. If an eligible did not provide an email address, they are included in the Email Opt Outs listing described above. Updating Email Addresses - Eligibles may update their email address by logging into the Department web site at https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount. Return to Top ^ |