Half of the federal civilian workforce, excluding postal
workers, could be under a performance-based pay system in
one to two years, according to a report following a forum
held by the National Academy of Public Administration,
which is affiliated with the Brookings Institute.
The report says the focus of the debate over pay for
performance has moved from a consideration of whether it’s
a good idea or not, to how it should be implemented.
The Office of Personnel Management has recently announced
a new pay for performance system for all senior executive
service and President Bush continues to push his human
capital performance fund to reward the top 10 percent of
performers.
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of
Defense are planning pay for performance and as of last
October, 20 percent of non-postal career federal employees
worked under non-civil service general schedule systems.
Currently the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
and the General Accounting Office have all instituted
pay for performance.