The Department of Defense is beginning its move towards paying department employees on the basis of individual employee performance, Stephen Barr reports in the Washington Post.  Government employee labor unions and advocacy groups have raised numerous objections to transition, which could end up affecting up to 200,000 people.  See Barr's ...

There are new survey results to ponder.  A plurality (45%) of federal employees disagrees with the statement: “Pay raises depend on how well employees perform their jobs.”

 

Read Stephen Barr’s Federal Diary column today [The Washington Post, Feb. 12, 2007].  Do you get the sense that ...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has concluded that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must strengthen its ability to provide effective training support for those charged with developing and implementing personnel systems reform.

 

With all the controversy surrounding pay-for-performance reward systems, the balking National Security Personnel System (NSPS), ...

There’s a definite pattern regarding the topics of greatest interest to Understanding Government readers:  pay and use of contractors.

At first blush, there would appear to be little correlation between the two.  One involves employees’ individual levels of compensation and the other encompasses the philosophical question of how and ...

News out of the Commerce Department reminds me of the fabled man-bites-dog news story.

Just when the pay-for-performance concept is being buffeted and battered in the courts, some Union members at the Commerce Department expressly voted FOR inclusion in the agency’s demonstration project.  This report, by Karen Rutzick ...

A reader's comment on the NSPS: Keep up the great points and we will all realize that our government workforce and the American blood line eventually comes to the realization that human nature, unless controlled, will show up at the most inappropriate time. I will make this short with ...

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The problem with personnel systems is personnel.

 

Programs designed to evaluate employee performance are inherently flawed.  They are designed by people, who, despite the best of intentions, believe written words can properly and comprehensively capture the true essence of any employee’s performance and worth on the job.

 

That’s a rather dire ...

Re: The Best and The Brightestby Joe at 02:18AM (EST) on Dec 13, 2005 I would recommend the government service in the DOD.Of course the new graduates won’t be in the old personnel system long enough to get used to it, but the new system is ...

by Anonymous on 2005.11.25 03:47PM EST  |   Does Joe's anecdote ring true? Absolutely. In my workplace, 99% of the people just want to do their jobs and not stick their necks out. Are they afraid to speak out even when they are protected by solid labor-relations regulations? Yes, they fear ...