The Defense Business Board tasked with reviewing the National Security Personnel System concluded that DoD attempted to accomplish too much too soon with the pay for performance system currently covering more than 200,000 civilian employees.
It said a "fix" is insufficient and that a "reconstruction" is in order that considers employee input. It also said the moratorium on bringing converting new personnel into the system should continue until DoD demonstrates that its goals are being reached with the data it collects.
The value of such systems in getting agency work accomplished was not called into question and the commitment to the principles underlying NSPS remains strong, it said. However, it said foundational issues must be addressed for the system to be accepted by the workforce – concerns remain about favoritism and make-work.
The path and criteria for success of the system must be better defined, the board said. Also, the leadership capacity of supervisors – who make up one third of NSPS covered employees — should be expanded and enhanced.
One area targeted for immediate correction is the pay pool process, the most consistent point of complaint. Simply, it needs to be easily explainable by supervisors and understood by employees.
"Consistency in pay pool size, business rules, and funding levels would diminish the perception that different share outcomes are due to organizational differences and not to employees’ performance," the report said.
A lack of transparency over career progression within pay-bands is also a problem. Said the report, "a lack of transparency in reassignment rather than competitive promotion opportunities leads to fears of cronyism and favoritism in supervisors and management."