OPM has issued a memo telling agencies that within-grade increases are not supposed to be given out automatically. Will the memo change the existing system? Not likely. Here’s why.
Despite numerous examples of failed implementation, pay-for-performance for the Federal sector continues to build momentum.
Pay-for-performance may prove a boon to government, but experiences to date indicate much groundwork must be laid before assumptions translate into proven successes. “As someone who looks forward to Director Berry’s tenure at OPM, I urge him and his staff to temper their enthusiasm for PFP with the cool-but-conclusive data at hand.”
Performance pay plans are continuing in the federal government. A recent example: A pay-for-performance demonstration plan has been approved for about 2800 non-bargaining unit employees of the Food Safety and Inspection Service of USDA.
A decision needs to be made as to whether pay-for-performance for federal employees should be expanded or concluded.
Federal pay for performance systems have run into opposition and mixed reviews. This article considers awards, cost of administering the programs, inflated ratings, and distinguishing between the pay-banding aspects of pay for performance and the appraisal processes upon which they rely.
There is no perfect compensation system. If the Obama administration and the Democratic congress want to extend pay-for-performance experiments to the rest of government, they would do well to consider several factors – some of which may be overlooked by good-government think tanks, high-price consultants, and agency human resources officers. Here are some of the issues that need to be addressed.
Pay for performance has been a controversial subject on which millions of dollars has been spent by lawyers, managers, HR specialists and unions. Here’s a new twist to the idea: Eliminating the time requirement for competitive promotions and leaving the agency with discretion as to how soon to push an employee through the system.
Performance management is largely a subjective process. Federal managers are in the best position to make decisions on federal pay and performance. It is unfair to American taxpayers to allow a system in which performance plays a very small role in how employees are compensated.
A legislative proposal would implement a pay for performance system that would create “less anxiety” among federal employees.
