The Pentagon has put out a statement on the ratings process used in NSPS, in an attempt to answer one of the frequently raised criticisms, that it uses a forced distribution system in which management has set goals of rating certain percentages of employees no higher than at certain preset levels.
Federal unions have complained about the ratings system since the program’s inception and of late have gained sympathetic listeners among several key members of Congress with oversight of DoD. The Obama administration in response has frozen any further transfers of employees into NSPS pending a review that likely will consume a number of months.
"Statistics on rating distribution for the last three performance payout cycles indicate that between 50 and 60 percent of NSPS employees received a rating of level 3, with the remaining 40 to 50 percent of employees receiving ratings both above and below this level. The range of rating distribution illustrates that meaningful distinctions in performance are made. Additional distinctions are made through the assignment of shares within each rating level,” said a DoD paper.
"Pay pool managers are not required to assign ratings to achieve a bell curve or produce a particular share value. The value of a pay pool share is influenced by the number of shares distributed (the more shares awarded, the lower the share value), but maintaining a "high” share value is not the goal of the NSPS pay-for-performance system,” it added.
Under NSPS, the employee has the right to request a reconsideration of the rating of record or the rating assigned to individual job objectives.