As pay for performance systems gain ground in the federal
government, a study by the Corporate Leadership Council
has found that getting employees to apply themselves fully
requires their emotional engagement beyond essential
elements of a professional relationship such as pay, the
Merit Systems Protection Board has said in its most recent
Issues of Merit newsletter.
It said that while pay for performance advocates argue
such systems emphasize outcomes, can help recruit and retain
high quality workers, and are more appropriate because they
compensate employees for their contributions, the CLC
research indicates that pay does not appear to motivate
employees even though it can be an effective recruitment tool.
Rather, employee engagement is needed to improve organizational
performance, meaning workers should have a positive connection
to their employer, said MSPB.
It said, “When employees are actively engaged, they are
willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help
meet their organization’s goals,” adding, “the higher the
percentage of the workforce that is actively engaged, the
more productive the organization is likely to be.”
The CLC study found that around 11 percent of the employees
in the organizations studied are “actively engaged,” and
none scored above 25 percent.
