One of the planned changes in the Department of Homeland
Security personnel rules involving pay for performance drawing
attention on Capitol Hill and in employee organizations
involves how managers will communicate performance expectations
to employees. Under the proposed rules-which are now in their
public comment period and which may be changed significantly
before being finalized-a verbal communication can be the
basis for evaluating performance, in addition to traditional
written standards.
DHS officials told a recent joint House-Senate hearing that
the department’s managers need to be able to deliver verbal
direction in crises that are outside the normal expectations
of what the employee is expected to do. The written standards
“can be made agile” by additional expectations communicated
verbally, deputy secretary Adm. James Loy told the hearing.
However, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said that “I
don’t believe this can withstand Constitutional scrutiny”
because employees won’t know what is expected of them. She
said the result could be a “a he said-she said, you should
have known, I wasn’t sure” situation in which the employees
can’t be held accountable for their performance and the
manager won’t be held accountable for setting expectations.
A lack of documentation also could become an issue if the
employee appeals any action taken based on failure to follow
verbal standards.
Comptroller General David Walker said “it is certainly
important that performance standards be documented” in order
to hold both employees and managers accountable.