MSPB said preliminary data from a recent survey indicate that many employees believe that hiring decisions are driven more by favoritism and connections than by applicants’ relative abilities.
Hiring flexibilities can contribute to such perceptions when they are not chosen judiciously and administered carefully, MSPB said.
In the 2005 Merit Principles Survey, just 37 percent of respondents said they felt they were treated fairly in the area of advancement, MSPB said in urging caution on how agencies use hiring flexibilities.
While it cited progress eliminating prohibited discrimination practices, it suggested that agencies have a long way to go to convince employees that advancement and promotion procedures give them a fair shake – or at least to improve transparency, which is proving to be one of the major challenges of implementing pay for performance systems.
It recommended the following to get the most out of flexibilities while downplaying the appearance of favoritism:
Use hiring flexibilities judiciously to avoid the perception of unnecessarily restricting competition;
Clarify how hiring flexibilities work so applicants can compete on their merits instead of on their ability to comprehend and comply with hiring procedures;
Explain the basis on which applicants will compete to minimize perceptions that hiring processes and decisions are arbitrary; and,
Seek feedback from employees and applicants on the hiring process.
