DoD has taken positive steps to incorporate 10 internal safeguards in the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System, but it could do more to ensure the fair, effective, and credible implementation of the system, GAO has said.
After analyzing guidance, interviewing officials and conducting discussion groups with employees at select DoD components, GAO cited opportunities to immediately improve the implementation of certain safeguards and it said the continued monitoring of all is needed.
While DoD’s guidance requires feedback between employees and supervisors at the midpoint and at the close of the performance rating cycle, GAO determined that in the case of one safeguard – involving employees – DoD could immediately improve its implementation.
While DoD has leveraged mechanisms like town hall meetings and "brown bags" to involve employees in DCIPS, its guidance does not identify a formalized process for the continuous involvement of employees in the system implementation–which could ultimately undermine its credibility, according to GAO-10-134.
It also said that while DoD has stated that it will conduct an analysis of final ratings utilizing demographic data, that the department does not have a written policy outlining how this will be accomplished, and therefore may be unable to fully determine whether potential barriers to fair and equitable ratings exist.
