OPM has finalized, in a September 25 Federal Register notice, rules governing performance appraisals and related issues for the SES designed to make systems more consistent across agencies.
Apart from seeking to create greater consistency in pay in the performance-based compensation system for senior execs, the rules could help pave the way for move movement of those execs among agencies—originally a main goal of creating the executive cadre in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, but one that has been relatively little used in actual practice.
The rules are a followup to 2012 changes that had for example set a standard of five ratings levels—most agencies already had used that number but some had used fewer.
Among other changes, the regulations require critical elements in each executive’s performance plan to be based on the OPM-defined executive core qualifications although leaving room for agencies to set their own additional requirements including on technical matters. In setting agency-specific requirements, agencies “should be clear on how the requirements will be measured and make executives aware of those assessment methods. They must make sure that such requirements are within the area of responsibility and control of the executive,” OPM said.
The rules also: define and identify the difference between performance standards and performance requirements; establish timelines for communicating performance plans, conducting appraisals, and assigning and communicating annual summary ratings; revise policies for review of an executive’s initial rating before it is passed on for higher review; expand the functions of agency performance review boards, which make recommendations on pay adjustments; and require that organizational performance assessments are considered when rating executives.
