OPM Touts Progress on Personnel Issues

OPM says that departments are making progress toward improving their personnel programs in key areas measured by the President’s Management Agenda, with two more departments, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, getting “green lights” on the latest quarterly scorecard. That brings to 15 the number of major agencies with that status, but another 11 are still in the “yellow light” area, including the Defense and Homeland Security departments. OPM says that 81 percent of agencies now have performance appraisal systems which link to agency mission and strategic priorities. Improvements in performance appraisal systems are considered key to changes in personnel practices that the Bush administration would like to make government-wide to emphasize pay for performance.