Federal Manager's Daily Report

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.