Fewer top federal executives are receiving the highest
performance ratings, according to data just released by the
Office of Personnel Management.
According to the report on SES performance ratings, awards
and salaries, 59.4 percent of career senior executives
received the highest performance rating, down from 74.5
percent in fiscal 2003, something OPM said reflects an
increasingly realistic SES pay-for-performance system.
The percentage of all SES members rated at the highest
level in fiscal 2004 was 61.6 percent.
The percentage of senior executives receiving performance
awards rose by about one percentage point over last year
to 58.2, and the average increased by about $1,000 to
$13,734 in 2004.
Agencies are required to submit their executive-level
appraisal systems to OPM for certification that they make
“meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.’
Still, the results from different agencies vary
significantly. Some agencies continue to rate nearly all
of their senior executives at the highest levels, such as
the Department of Defense, which gave 99.5 percent of its
1,049 SES the highest rating, and the Department of State,
which gave 93.6 percent of its 150 SES the highest rating.
Other agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
which for the previous three years rated 100 percent of its
SES at the highest level, gave just 9.3 percent of its 150
SES the highest rating.
Once certified, SES members are entitled to higher pay. The
average rate of basic SES pay with an average adjustment of
$5,202 is $147,131.
