The Human Resources Department used to be departmentalized, meaning each command directorate had an administrative officer who handled human resource issues. Now, those functions are combined into one department, increasing continuity, communication and service.

‘‘The problem with the way we used to handle human resources was that no one had a handle on the ‘big picture,’” said Lt. Cmdr. John Eckenrode, department head for Bethesda’s newly formed Human Resources Department. ‘‘The idea was to put [human resources] all on one shelf so that there is now just one point of contact.”

Bethesda officials determined the ‘‘reconstruction of human capital” was its top priority last year, Eckenrode said. A case study found administrative officers handling human resources issues was inadequate.

The administrative officers, he said, were also being tasked with other directorate issues, like budgeting or scheduling. The collateral duties took away from their ability to handle human resources, Eckenrode said.

‘‘Our Position descriptions where changed and they now match better to what we are actually responsible for doing,” said Jana Semler, a program analyst for Bethesda’s Human Resources Department. ‘‘The [new department] evenly distributes the amount of personnel each program analyst is responsible for and now we are able to focus on human resources with out worrying about [other duties].”

Eckenrode said one of the most notable improvements will be the department’s ability to fill job positions in a more timely and efficient manner. He said it took an average of 138 days to fill a position. The new organization expects to fill positions in less than 100 days.

‘‘The [Human Resources Department] hopes to decrease position turn around time by two months,” Eckenrode said.

‘‘We are still working as a liaison for the same people and I think to them, the department heads and managers, this change may seem transparent but this [reorganization] has definitely speed things up,” said Semler, who previously served as the administration officer for the Military Family Health Department.