The SEC has changed several personnel policies, including replacing a performance bonus incentive program with other types of monetary and non-monetary rewards. Image: Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe SEC has been carrying out recommendations of a series of GAO reports since 2013 to improve personnel management, the GAO has said, with one result being an improvement in employee views of the agency.
The report said for example that 51 percent of employees now strongly or somewhat agree that morale “is generally high most of the time” while only 29 percent strongly or somewhat disagree; that essentially reverses the 34 and 50 percent in the first of the surveys. Scores also increased over that time on questions about employees having a voice in workplace decisions, the level of trust in their office and the usefulness of the feedback supervisors provide.
GAO noted that since its prior report in 2019, the SEC has changed several personnel policies, including replacing a performance bonus incentive program with other types of monetary and non-monetary rewards to recognize accomplishments. The agency also replaced a career development program that sought to create a pool of candidates to fill vacant senior positions by identifying high-potential employees with one that assesses employees for each vacancy and opens leadership training to all employees.
“However, many employees continue to have unfavorable views on some issues related to performance management. For example, more than half of employees disagreed that SEC’s new two-tier rating system creates meaningful distinctions in performance among employees or incentivizes high performance,” it said.
Employees meanwhile had favorable views of SEC’s efforts to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce which included setting goals in its 2020-2022 strategic plan and then establishing a professional development program for minority leaders, the GAO said. Large majorities agreed that the agency values diversity and inclusiveness, that it is making meaningful progress in the area and that it is committed to a workforce representative of society.
However, the SEC’s strategy “doesn’t include a way to measure its progress—which is necessary in ensuring it meets its goals,” GAO added, saying that the agency intends to develop such measures for its 2023–2026 strategic plan.
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See also,
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