Mike Causey

Ground Truth

What\'s the civil service equivalent of yelling \"fire\" in a crowded theater? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says you try shouting Pay for Performance to a g...

Federal News Network Staff

July 24, 2008 12:53 pm

3 min read

Uttering the words “pay for performance” to a group of federal workers may be the equivalent of screaming “fire” in a crowded theater. It gets everybody’s attention!

Lots of feds, in a dozen agencies, are now working under some kind of PFP (pay for performance) system. PFP eliminates within grade raises (which go into the pay pool,) PFF gives workers January raises based, in part, on their performance ratings.

Under guidelines Congress set for Defense’s giant NSPS program, workers (unless rated “unacceptable”) are guaranteed 60 percent of the congressionally-mandated January raise and 100 percent of the locality adjustment.

Officials running the various programs say they are going good, and getting better each year. But some of the folks on the ground, in the trenches, see it differently.

For instance:

“I have over 30 years military-federal service… I have gone through numerous civilian employees rating processes. I have always thought each system catered to performance and also who-one-knows… I went under NSPS PFP last November and it baffles me. I was provided one high level training class and assumed knowledgeable enough to fully understand the process and operate the automated system. PFP claims to be ‘unbiased and fair’. I see it largely as a system that is ‘chaotic, unfriendly, and un-personable’.

As we all know, the current TAPES system requires the rater/Sr. rater to be ‘in the weeds’ …with each employee knowing intimately what he does, did and is capable of doing… With that relationship, the rater determines what awards employees are to receive versus an NSPS PFP ‘unbiased panel’ who may have no clue as to who you are or anything about you other than what is written in front of them. The system definitely has limitations. And if you, your rater and senior rater are not blessed as a writer, then the employee will not benefit as much as someone who is blessed…” C. at Defense

“As for pay for performance, to me it is confusing and overly complex and I have attended several training classes. A straight GS knows what he or she will be getting come Jan ’09. I have no idea… and I won’t know until I see my pay check. I now find myself in this nether world between the steps on a straight GS scale for my pay. According to the GS pay scale for this year I actually lost money from what I would have received if I had been in the GS system. So whoever said most people received more of a raise was not looking in my direction. And yes I was rated as a 3, which is good according to my unit leadership…” At The Pentagon

“I worked in private industry more than 20 years and the last five of employment, in the government, have been the most successful economically. I foolishly accepted a position after discharge from the Military in 1970 at a low rate of pay and spent “years” trying to recover from that mistake. The only way I could get a “within grade step increase” was to job hop. Private industry is famous for their ability to be “unable to match” your current salary at the negotiation table thereby promoting resume lying as an art form. Raises and promotions within the corporate environment are awarded to suck-ups and favorites at a higher rate than the deserving and are also used primarily to punish those unworthy workers, provided it is politically acceptable at the time.

“PFP sounds great. Fair and impartial implementation is practically impossible. PFP and the phrase ‘it is not what you know but who you know’ go hand in hand.” Government Printing Office

Nearly Useless Factoid

Because of the rotation of the earth, an object can be thrown farther if it is thrown west, according to TechnologyBB.com.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com