With one out of three feds reporting having been rejected for an internal vacancy in the past two years, both agencies and those who didn’t get hired could benefit from feedback, the Merit Systems Protection Board has said.
Employees and selecting officials alike dread the awkwardness when employees apply for internal vacancies and are not selected, but while some selecting officials fear negative repercussions from having these open and honest discussions with employees, it could actually be riskier not to share this information, MSPB said.
When employees lack accurate information regarding the basis for selection decisions – 58 percent request an explanation — they may attribute the decision to personal biases that are not job-related.
MSPB found that employees that not selected for a job indicate lower engagement and are more likely to perceive favoritism, both personally and organizationally.
It said that one out of five employees reported receiving helpful feedback and that those employees are more likely to be more engaged and less likely to suspect foul play.
While it’s impossible to know for sure whether helpful feedback correlates precisely to engagement or the perception of favoritism MSPB argues they are clearly related.
