The director of OPM has introduced the idea of a simplified government-wide career ladder consisting of just three stages: apprentice, journey-level, and expert as an alternative to meticulously parsed grades and steps.
At a recent management forum, John Berry called the current civil service system "strained to the breaking point," and spoke of the need for comprehensive reform, including recruitment and hiring reforms to be announced before the end of the year.
A three-stage career ladder could prevent HR staff from having to "shoe-horn a justification" for placing a new hire at a particular level in the organization, Berry said.
He said that in such a model the entire first stage could be probationary, or a shortened probationary period could require an affirmative step at the end rather than resulting in automatic tenure.
Movement from one phase into the next would have to be decided with fairness, comprehensiveness, and transparency, Berry cautioned.
Fairness would mean "we build workable standards, apply them uniformly, hear all voices, and do not leave ultimate decisions at one person’s discretion," and comprehensiveness would mean assessing "the entire breadth of your professional contributions, both inside and outside the office."
Ultimately, one’s fate might be in the hands of a performance review board consisting of colleagues from one’s field, managers, labor representatives, or the public, and no advancement decision would be left up to a single person.
